DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA
JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES
PFIZER-BIONTECH VACCINE CLEARED
YEAR AFTER CORONAVIRUS
UK gets first shot next week
800,000 doses of mRNA vaccine in
first phase; US regulators to meet
December 10; minus 70 degrees
Celsius distribution a challenge
GUY FAULCONBRIDGE &
PAUL SANDLE
LONDON, DECEMBER 2
BRITAIN APPROVED Pfizer’s
Covid-19 vaccine Wednesday,
jumping ahead of the United
StatesandEuropetobecomethe
West’s first country to formally
endorseajabitsaidshouldreach
themostvulnerablepeopleearly
“next week.”
British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson touted the approval of
the vaccine, which uses novel
mRNA technology, as a global
win and a ray of hope amid the
gloom of the coronavirus that
has killed nearly 1.5 million peo-
ple, hammered the economy
and upended life worldwide.
Britain’s Medicines and
Healthcare products Regulatory
Agency (MHRA) granted emer-
gency use approval to the Pfizer-
BioNTechvaccine,whichtheysay
is 95 per cent effective in pre-
venting illness, in record time —
just 23 days since Pfizer pub-
lished the first data from its final
stageclinicaltrialwhichinvolved
more than 43,000 people.
“It’s fantastic,” Johnson said.
“The vaccine will begin to be
made available across the UK
from next week. It’s the protec-
tion of vaccines that will ulti-
mately allow us to reclaim our
lives and get the economy mov-
ing again.”
The world’s big powers have
Manipulated China has now risen,
media: doesn’t care what world
Twitter flags thinks of it: RSS chief
BJP IT cell DEEPTIMAN TIWARY
chief’s post NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
Malviya
tweeted in
response to
Rahul
Gandhi’s post
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
TWITTERONWednesdaytagged
a tweet by BJP IT Cell head Amit
Malviyaas“manipulatedmedia”,
the first time the feature has
shown up on timelines in India.
On November 28, Malviya,
responding to a tweet by
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
who had posted a photograph of
a policeman swinging a baton at
an elderly man during the ongo-
ing farmer protests, put out a
video titled “Propaganda vs
Reality”. Along with the video,
Malviyatweeted:“RahulGandhi
must be the most discredited
opposition leader India has seen
in a long time.”
His tweet suggested that the
photograph taken by PTI photo-
journalist Ravi Choudhary,
which was tweeted by Rahul
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Forced to flee by Naxals, families of
policemen ask: will we ever return?
PAGE 1
ANCHOR
GARGI VERMA
DANTEWADA, DECEMBER 2
SITTING IN his mud hut, atop a
hillock in the Bangali camp of
Kirandul in Chhattisgarh's
Dantewada, Unga Mandavi said
his five-year-old son has recur-
ring nightmares of his grandfa-
ther hanging from one of the
BUSINESS AS USUAL
BY UNNY
been racing for a vaccine for
months in an attempt to be first
tobeginthelongroadtorecovery.
The approval of a vaccine for
use almost exactly a year since
the novel coronavirus emerged
inWuhan,China,isatriumphfor
science,PfizerbossAlbertBourla
and his German biotechnology
partner BioNTech.
China has already given
emergency approval for three
experimental vaccines and has
inoculatedaround1millionpeo-
ple since July. Russia has been
vaccinatingfrontlineworkersaf-
ter approving its Sputnik V shot
in August before it had com-
pleted late-stage testing on
safety and efficacy.
ButtheEuropeanUnion’sdrug
regulator said on Wednesday
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
DESPITE CLAIMING to have so-
cialism and non-expansionism
as its ideology, China has em-
bracedtheexpansionistidealsof
the emperors of its past, accord-
ingtoRSSchief MohanBhagwat.
Speaking at a discussion ti-
tled “Role of India in Global
Perspective”, organised by the
RSS Sunday, Bhagwat said that
despiteeffortsbytheUS,amulti-
Five ex-ministers in J&K district
polls: ‘Can’t wait indefinitely’
NAVEED IQBAL &
ARUN SHARMA
SRINAGAR, JAMMU,
DECEMBER 2
“WHO KNOWS when the next
Assembly election will be held?
This is the right moment to con-
test elections and move forward
for the people,” says former J&K
state minister Taj Mohiudin.
The Congress leader, who is
a former MLA from Uri in north
Kashmir, is not alone.
Mohiudin is among five for-
mer ministers, an ex-MP and
The house in Gumiyapal village that the Mandavis fled two
months ago, leaving behind their belongings. Gargi Verma
Scientists at a trial site for Covaxin in Kolkata on Wednesday. Phase-III trials of the vaccine
candidate, being developed by Bharat Biotech and ICMR-NIV, started on Wednesday. PTI
Not top of India wishlist but officials
track rollout, push similar vaccine
KAUNAIN SHERIFF M
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
THE PFIZER-BioNTech vaccine
needs a minus 70 degrees
Celsius cold chain requirement
and is not being tested in India.
So it isn’t very high on New
Delhi’swatchlistbutitsapproval
androlloutintheUKareof much
more than academic interest.
For the vaccine to be consid-
eredforusehere,theIndiansub-
sidiary of Pfizer will have to ap-
proach the regulator and share
the data it has submitted to the
polarworldhasarisenandChina
is trying to spread its influence.
“China has now risen. Now
this is what China wants to do.
Communists keep saying that
we are socialists and we will
never go towards capitalism, we
are not expansionist. But Guruji
(former RSS chief M S
Golwalkar)saidinthe1960sthat
thiswillnothappen.Hesaidwait
for some time and China will
come back to its basic nature. It
will have little of Confucius and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
over 20 ex-MLAs and
MLCs, all heavyweights
cutting across party
lines, who are contest-
ing the first ever District
Development Council
(DDC) polls in J&K — the
DECISION
first political step in the 2020
newly created Union
J&K
DISTRICT,
Territory after the state LOCAL POLLS phase DDC polls on
was bifurcated in
August last year. unexpectedly high turnout of
“Peoplewantroadsand elec- 51.7 per cent across J&K, includ-
tricity, and they need represen- ing 40.6 per cent in the Valley.
tatives that they can go to. We The second phase was more
can’t hide, we have to contest mutedwithanoverallturnoutof
elections andgo back to the peo-
SINCE 1932
FANTASTIC, SAYS JOHNSON, WILL
LET US RECLAIM OUR LIVES
UK regulator. “They can then ask
for an approval and, accordingly,
the regulator will take a deci-
E
sion,” an official told The Indian
Express.
EXPLAINED
Top officials moni-
toring India’s vaccine
plan said that Pfizer’s
vaccine may not meet
the country’s “immedi-
ate” domestic require-
ments given that the firm has
prior delivery commitments
withseveralcountries.Still,talks
are on.
VKPaul,whochairsthehigh-
level National Expert Group on
INSIDE
MAMATA’S ADDRESS
TO OXFORD UNION
SOCIETY CANCELLED:
‘UNFORESEEN
CIRCUMSTANCES’
PAGE 5
CBSE: BOARD EXAMS
WON’T BE ONLINE
PAGE 7
ple. In a Union Territory,
a DDC member is as
good as an MLA in the
former state,” says
Shoaib Lone, a former
MLA from Baramulla
who is contesting on a
J&K Apni Party ticket.
Thefirstof theeight-
November 28 drew an
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
trees in the forest back in their
village.
Two months ago, the
Mandavis, along with five other
families from their village, had
fled their homes in Gumiyapal,
20 km from this camp, to escape
Naxals who were alleged target-
ing families of those working
with the police and other secu-
rity agencies.
“My father Lacchu Mandavi
was one of the village elders, re-
spected by one and all. The
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Vaccine Administration, had
spelled out India’s strategy with
respecttosuch candidates—like
Pfizer and Moderna — which
haveshownpositivere-
sults in Phase 3 abroad
but are not being tested
here.
● “We know that
doses of this vaccine
(Pfizer)willnotbeavail-
able in huge quantities… If this
vaccine candidate has to come,
and if we require it, we are
preparing ourselves…we have
parallel plans,” Paul had said.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
`6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
CENTRE-FARMER TALKS
On table before 2nd
round: stubble fine,
MSP, power subsidy
R-Day chief P VAIDYANATHAN IYER
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
guest: Delhi AS THE CENTRE prepares to sit
reaches across the table with 35 farmer
groups at 12 noon in Vigyan
BhawanonThursdayforthesec-
out to Boris ond round of discussions, it may
be willing to address certain is-
At Delhi’s Singhu border
Wednesday. Amit Mehra
Johnson sues, some not necessarily
linked to the farm laws, which
the farmers’ representatives ex- Ordinance on October 28. The
pressed anxiety over. Commission for Air Quality
SHUBHAJIT ROY Inthefirstroundof talksheld ManagementinNationalCapital
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2 Tuesday, farmer groups were Region and Adjoining Areas
worked up about a new law that Ordinance, 2020, farmers said,
BRITISH PRIME Minister Boris came into force through an CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Johnson has been approached
Amarinder to meet
through informal channels to be
the chief guest at the Republic
Day celebrations in January
2021, The
Indian Express
has learnt.
Usually,
Shah before talks;
Tomar hopeful
the invitation
for the cele-
brations and
the confirma-
Has been
tion are sealed
by the end of
sounded out November.
KANCHAN VASDEV,
MANOJ CG
But this year, & HARIKISHAN SHARMA
with the CHANDIGARH, NEW DELHI,
Covid-19 pandemic disrupting DECEMBER 2
diplomaticcalendars,NewDelhi
hassentoutfeelerstoJohnsonto PUNJAB CHIEF Minister
know if he is willing to travel to Amarinder Singh will meet Amarinder Singh sought
India in January. UnionHomeMinisterAmitShah time from Amit Shah
But given the surge in Covid- Thursday morning, before the
19 cases in the UK since October, next round of talks between the
itcouldbedifficultfortheBritish Centre and farmer union repre- ficials, including Chief Principal
PM to commit to an overseas sentatives to try and resolve the Secretary Suresh Kumar, will
travel engagement in less than standoff over the newly enacted CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
two months from now. So while farm laws.
Delhi has sounded him out, it is Sources said the Chief
keeping its fingers crossed. Minister sought time from Shah MEET THE FARMER
There is no official word yet forameetingThursdayanditwill LEADERS
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 take place at 9.30 am. Punjab of- PAGE 6
New Delhi
 2 THE SECOND PAGE
FROM PAGE ONE
5 ex-ministers
in J&K district
polls: ‘Can’t
keep waiting’
48.62, and a low voter count in
southKashmirpullingdownthe
Valley's number to 33 per cent.
Followingthestate'sbifurca-
tion into the UTs of J&K and
Ladakh on August 5, 2019, the
Centre has repeatedly said that
J&K would become a state “at an
early opportunity”. But several
senior leaders in the DDC fray
“don't see any point in waiting
indefinitely”. Some say they are
merely taking up the responsi-
bility placed on them by their
political parties.
“I do not consider this a step
down from my former position
because of the urgent need to
address the political void. One
cannot keep waiting for the
Assembly elections to be an-
nounced,” says Mohiudin, who
iscontestingfromParenpillanin
Uri, which is a fraction in size of
his former Assembly segment
andwillgotopollsonDecember
10.
Apart from Mohiudin, the
former ministers who are vying
for a DDC seat include Sham
Choudhary and Shakti Parihar
from BJP, Shabir Khan from
Congress and Aijaz Khan, a for-
merCongressleaderisnowwith
the Apni Party.
Choudhary is pitted against
Congress leader and former
Rajya Sabha MP T S Bajwa in
Jammu's Suchetgarh. “My party
may have had something in
mind while fielding me in the
DDC polls since I had been an
MLA and a Cabinet Minister. In
the Council, my role will be to
raise local issues like bijli, sadak,
pani(power,roads,water),”says
Choudhary.
Bajwa says his party fielded
him since “a heavyweight was
needed to fight against the BJP
candidate, who is also a heavy-
weight”.
Says Shabir Khan, another
former state minister and
Congress candidate from
Manjakote: “There is no proto-
col here... you may be a senior
leader but if you don’t contest,
workers at the ground level get
demoralised.Inwhatevercapac-
ity, you are working for the wel-
fare of people and development
of the area.”
In Uri, Mohiudin points to
several projects that are lan-
guishing without a “political
push”. “There are bridges worth
crores that are awaiting a small
approach road worth Rs 2-3
lakh. Filtration plants and so
many other infrastructure proj-
ects are on hold. The bureau-
cracy here is totally defunct,” he
says.
Mohiudin served as a
Cabinet Minister twice -- first in
the PDP-Congress coalition gov-
ernmentin2002andtheninthe
NC-Congress coalition in 2008.
“I was not elected again in 2014
and since then every project I
had initiated has remained
stalled,” he says.
Another former state minis-
ter, Aijaz Khan, switched from
Congress to Apni Party and is a
candidateinThuruconstituency
of Jammu'sReasi.“Myparticipa-
tion will bridge the trust deficit
betweenpeopleandthegovern-
ment,” says Khan. BJP’s Shakti
Parihar, also a former state min-
ister, is contesting from Marmat
and Gundna in Jammu's Doda
district.
The prominent ex-MLAs
CLARIFICATIONS
& CORRECTIONS
ON 02.12.20, PAGE 1
THE ANI photograph of farmers
meetingUnionministerswasin-
correctly attributed.
The error is regretted.
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from Jammu in the fray include
BharatiBhushanandProf Gharu
Ram. They were among the six
legislatorswhowereexpelledby
the BJP in 2011 for defying the
party whip during voting for the
Legislative Council elections.
Another former MLA,
Charanjit Singh, is contesting
fromKathuablock.Aformerbu-
reaucrat, Singh is the father-in-
law of EkkJutt Jammu chairman
Ankur Sharma, the advocate
who raised the issue of minor-
ity status to Hindus of J&K in the
Supreme Court and challenged
the Roshni Act, seeking a CBI in-
quiry through a PIL in the J&K
High Court.
Other leading former legis-
lators from Jammu include
Kanta Andora, wife of former
minister and chairman of Dogra
Swabhiman Sangathan
Choudhary Lal Singh, Shehnaz
Ganai and Choudhry Akram
(Congress).
Apart from Mohiudin and
Lone, the other prominent for-
mer MLA contesting in the
Valley is PDP's Ajaz Mir from
Zainpora in Shopian. Mir had
represented the Wachi area of
the district in the J&K Assembly.
On table before
2nd round:
stubble fine,
MSP, power
subsidy
may end up imposing a penalty
of upto Rs 1 crore or a jail term of
up to five years or both for stub-
ble burning that harms air qual-
ity in NCR.
“This is an aspect which can
beaddressed,”saidasourceinthe
governmentwhodidnotwishto
be named.
As things stand now, farmers
havetakenamaximalistposition
and are unyielding on their de-
mand for scrapping the three
laws, and hardwiring the MSP
(Maximum Support Price) into
thelawitself.Thegovernment,on
the other hand, believes these
laws will unshackle farmers, and
allow them to sell their produce
anywhere, including any private
market, and not just the desig-
nated mandis.
The Central government is,
however, open to talks and has
asked the farmer groups to write
down their reservations on each
of the three laws. Till 5 pm, the
government had not received
their specific objections to the
clauses in the three laws.
Thegovernmentwillalsoun-
derline its commitment to con-
tinue with the procurement
process as it was before June 5,
2020,whentheFarmers’Produce
TradeandCommerce(Promotion
andFacilitation)Ordinance,2020,
wasissued.Thereareworriesthat
themarketfeepaidbytheCentre
or its agencies and the quantum
of procurement may be reduced
over a period of time.
AnotherissuetheCentralgov-
ernmentmaybewillingtoreview
relates to the dispute resolution
mechanismasprovidedforinthe
law on contract farming i.e. the
Farmers (Empowerment and
Protection) Agreement on Price
AssuranceandFarmServicesAct,
2020.
The rules notified under this
Act provided only for a govern-
ment officer-led dispute resolu-
tion, which farmers fear may be
biased.“Thegovernmentcancon-
sider allowing civilcourtsasa re-
course for farmers,” said the
source.
Abigconcernforfarmersalso
stems from the proposed
Electricity (Amendment) Bill,
2020. Farmers fear the central
idea behind the Bill is to do away
withsubsidies,andthattheywill
start receiving bills for electricity
consumed in farming activities.
The government, however,
contends that the Bill does not
even broach the issue of doing
away with subsidies but the idea
EXCLUSIVE
WEB
EXPLAINED
UK gets first shot next week
that its longer approval process
for Covid-19 vaccines was safer,
asitwasbasedonmoreevidence
and checks that the emergency
procedurechosenbyBritain.
British leaders said that,
while they would love to get a
jab themselves, priority had to
be given to those most in need
-- the elderly, those in care
homes and health workers.
“Thisauthorizationisagoal
we have been working toward
sincewe first declaredthat sci-
ence will win,” said CEO
Bourla. “As we anticipate fur-
ther authorisations and ap-
provals, we are focused on
moving with the same level of
urgency to safely supply a
high-quality vaccine around
the world.”
Britain’s medicines regula-
tor approved the vaccine in
record time - partly by doing a
“rolling”concurrentanalysisof
data and the manufacturing
process while Pfizer raced to
conclude trials.
Not on top of India’s wishlist but officials
track rollout, give push to similar vaccine
“If we have to chalk a strat-
egy for this vaccine candidate
(Pfizer or Moderna), then we
willmoveforward.However,it
is a confirmed fact that even if
we receive (any dose), we will
get it only after a few months,”
he said.
India’s current strategy,
specifically keeping in mind its
largescalerequirement,isbased
onexpectedsuppliesoffivevac-
cinecandidatescurrentlyinclin-
is to state upfront the extent of
cross-subsidisationtohelpdeter-
mineratesfordifferentsetsofcus-
tomers.
However,farmersarenotcon-
vinced. They feel once the extent
of subsidy is known, they will
have to pay it only to be reim-
bursed by the state government
lateron.“Wehavetoassurefarm-
ersthisisnotthecase,”thesource
said.
Amarinder to
meet Shah
before talks;
Tomar hopeful
accompany Singh to discuss the
farmer protests at the gates of
Delhi, sources said.
The Chief Minister, sources
said, wants the Centre to take a
call on the new farm laws, given
the growing anger among farm-
ers. He has been of the view that
the Centre should agree to make
MSPastatutoryrightforfarmers
and ensure that the mandi sys-
tem continues.
Farmer leaders, on the other
hand, havebeen saying theywill
calloff thestironlyif thegovern-
ment agrees to repeal the three
farm laws passed by Parliament.
On Wednesday, farmer lead-
ersurgedtheCentretoconvenea
special session of Parliament to
repeal the new laws.
SourcessaidSinghcouldalso
raise the issue of Bills passed by
the Punjab Assembly in October
to negate the Centre’s laws. The
Billsareyettogettheassentofthe
Governor.Singhhadearlierindi-
cated he would legal recourse
should the Governor not grant
approval to the Bills and send
them to the President.
Meanwhile, Union
Agriculture Minister Narendra
SinghTomar,whohasbeenlead-
ing the talks with the farmers,
urgedthemtocallofftheprotest,
saying the government is ready
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
BEING QUEER AND SEXUAL MINORITY IS NOT A CHOICE, SAYS RAINBOW LIT FEST
DIRECTOR SHARIF D RANGNEKAR
FestivaldirectorSharifDinanathRangnekarthrowslightonwhyqueerrepresentationisnecessaryinthe
mainstream,howthingshavechangedforthequeercommunityinthelastfewyearsandmore.
SOUTH KOREA’S
K-POP LAW
Entertainers may be
allowed to defer
military service to 30
“With 450 people dying of
COVID-19 infection every day
in the UK, the benefits of rapid
vaccineapprovaloutweighthe
potential risks,” said Andrew
Hill,seniorvisitingresearchfel-
low in the Department of
PharmacologyattheUniversity
of Liverpool. “However, we
neednewindependentclinical
trials to monitor long-term
safety and efficacy.”
The US regulator, Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), is
set to meet on December 10 to
discuss whether to recom-
mend emergency use author-
ization of the Pfizer/BioNTech
vaccine and the European
MedicinesAgencysaiditcould
give emergency approval for
the shot by December 29.
“Thedatasubmittedtoreg-
ulatory agencies around the
world are the result of a scien-
tifically rigorous and highly
ethical research and develop-
ment programme,” said Ugur
Sahin, chief executive and co-
ical trials here: Astrazeneca-
Oxford,ZydusCadilla,Biological
E,DrReddy’sandBharatBiotech.
“We have high expecta-
tions…that these five vaccine
candidates will come through.
They are all easy platforms.
And the availability of the
doses (of the five vaccine can-
didates) is extremely high.
They can bring the pandemic
under control,” Paul had said.
Wednesday’s decision by
to “listen, discuss and solve their
problems”.
“Representatives of the
farmer unions are going to par-
ticipate in the meeting and will
discuss their points. The govern-
ment will place its views on the
points,andtheywillpresenttheir
views.Letusseehowmuchofthe
issuecanberesolved,”Tomartold
reporters in response to queries
about the talks Thursday.
Asked about the demand of
the farmers that there should be
legal guarantee of MSP-based
procurement, Tomar said,
“Whatever subject comes up for
discussion during the meeting,
that will be discussed. How an
itemcanbedisposedof,thelegal
aspects of that will be discussed.
Onthebasisofthis,adecisionwill
be taken.”
Hesaidtheycanproceedfur-
ther only after the Acts are dis-
cussed clause-by-clause.
“If farmershaveanyproblem
regardingthesereforms,thenthe
governmentisreadytolisten,dis-
cuss and solve their problems…
They should stop protesting and
findasolutionthroughdialogue.
Talksareon,wehopetofindaso-
lution soon,” Tomar said.
Earlier in the day, Tomar and
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal
met Shah at his residence.
Feelers sent out
to Boris Johnson
to be R-Day
chief guest
from either the Indian or the
British government on a possi-
ble visit by Johnson.
The protocol in such matters
is that the invitation letter goes
out only after ascertaining the
availability of the foreign leader.
Sources said that while
Johnson’s in-person visit has
beenintheworksforsometime,
this time, the outreach has hap-
pened at the political level.
FULL COVERAGE
founder of BioNTech.
USmediareportedTuesday
that the White House had
summoned FDA head Stephen
Hahn to discuss why the US
agency hadn’t moved faster to
authorise Pfizer’s vaccine.
Britain said it would start
vaccinating ordinary people
early next week after it gets
800,000 doses from Pfizer’s
manufacturing centre in
Belgium. The speed of the roll-
out depends onhowfast Pfizer
can manufacture and deliver
the vaccine.
Johnson said last month
that Britain had ordered 40
million doses of the Pfizer vac-
cine -- enough for just under a
third of the population as two
shots of the jab are needed per
person to gain immunity.
Health Secretary Matt
Hancock said hospitals were
ready to receive the shots and
vaccination centres would be
set up across the country but
he admitted distribution
the UK regulator is also signif-
icantforIndiaonthetechfront.
Lookingatthe globaldiscourse
around Pfizer and Moderna’s
mRNA vaccine, the
Department of Biotechnology
provided seed funding for
Pune-based Gennova
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd, the
country’s first mRNA-based
vaccinemanufacturingfacility.
“Never has an mRNA vac-
cine been used but these vac-
If Johnsonconfirmshisavail-
ability and takes up the invita-
tion,hewillbesixthfromtheUK
to be Republic Day chief guest.
He will also be the first
British PM since John Major in
1993 to be chief guest at the cel-
ebrations. In the past, members
of the British royalty have been
chief guests — Prince Philip in
1959 and Queen Elizabeth II in
1961. British chancellor of ex-
chequer Rap Butler (1956, along
with Japan's former chief justice
KotaroTanaka)andthenChief of
Defence Staff Lord Louis
Mountbatten (1964) have also
been chief guests in the past.
This time, however, India
may have a truncated version of
the Republic Day celebrations,
much like the scaled-down ver-
sion of Independence Day cele-
brations on August 15.
An invitation to be Republic
Day chief guest is symbolicfrom
the Indian government's per-
spective. New Delhi has been
weaving strategy with hospital-
itytodecideitschief guest.Every
year, the choice is dictated by a
number of factors — strategic
and diplomatic, business inter-
ests and geo-politics.
The choice of the UK is inter-
estingsincetieswithpost-Brexit
UK will be tested on multiple
fronts — economic, people-to-
people, political and strategic
levels. Both sides will be keen to
engage with each other, and
whiledealingwiththeUK,Delhi
willwanttoleverageitsrelation-
ship with the EU— especially on
economic ties.
Forced to flee
by Naxals,
families of
cops say journey
back bleak
Naxals used to beat him up in
front of the whole village after
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
FARMERS’ PROTEST
LIVE UPDATES
Water cannons used on
Punjab Youth Congress
workers
would be a challenge given
that the vaccine must be
shipped and stored at -70 de-
grees Celsius, the sort of tem-
peraturetypicalof anAntarctic
winter.
Pfizerhassaidtheshotscan
be kept in thermal shipping
boxes for up to 30 days, from
up to 15 days previously
guided. Afterwards, the vac-
cine can be kept at fridge tem-
peratures for up to five days.
Other frontrunners in the
vaccine race include U.S.
biotech firm Moderna, which
hassaidits shotis94% success-
ful in late-stage clinical trials.
Moderna and Pfizer have de-
veloped their shots using new
messenger RNA (mRNA) tech-
nology.
AstraZeneca said last
month its shot, which is based
on traditional vaccine technol-
ogy, was 70 per cent effective
inpivotaltrialsandcouldbeup
to 90 per cent effective.
(REUTERS)
cines are synthetic and easier
toproduce.Rampingupcapac-
ity is that much easier,” a
source said. “But more data
and investigation will be cru-
cial for approval.”
Incidentally, the Prime
Minister Monday had a de-
tailed discussion with
Gennova which expects to
launch its own mRNA-based
vaccine candidate for Covid by
March 2021.
one of my brothers joined the
police," said Unga, Mandavi's
eldest son. "We would request
them to let us be. Our brother
joined the police of his own free
will and wasn't even in the vil-
lage.Buttheywouldforcemyfa-
ther to attend their jan adalat
and beat him up. He ended up
feeling very hurt and insulted.”
Then one day, during last
year's monsoons, the 65-year-
old took his youngest grandson
for a bath in the stream and an
hour later, was found dead,
hanging from a tree using his
gamcha.
But even after Mandavi's
death, the 'torture' continued.
“They would still come and beat
me. They demanded that my
brother leave the force. But how
could we tell him? He hasn't
kept in touch since he left.
Finally, in September, we were
told to either give up our lives or
our homes. So we left and came
here," said Unga.
Security officials say that as
a sort of domination exercise,
Maoists in Chhattisgarh have
been targeting “soft targets”, es-
pecially family members of po-
liceandDRGrecruits."There'san
instant distrust the minute
someone visits the police. All
their threats and torture stem
from the fear that families may
leak information to the police,"
said a senior IPS officer.
Among the 20 people from
six families who had to flee
Gumiyapal village are the ailing
parents of Ajay Telam, a consta-
blepostedatKirandulpolicesta-
tion.Telam'sparentsLacchuand
Vijjo, both in their 60s, were al-
leged abducted by Naxals in July
and released after 14 hours, af-
ter the villagers of Gumiyapal
pleaded for their release at a
'Naxal court', said Telam.
In September, the couple,
alongwiththeirdaughters,were
given the same option: leave or
get killed. They now stay with
their son in Kirandul and share
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
A man’s quest for his
missing wife gets
praise from court
NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY
In today’s episode, we’re looking at the case
of a man whose wife went missing three
years ago and whose whereabouts he’s still
trying to ascertain.
the house with another family
from Gumiyapal – relatives of a
constable posted in Dantewada.
Back in Gumiyapal village,
380-odd km from state capital
Raipur, villagers talk of the sud-
dendepartureof thesixfamilies.
Seventy-year-oldAite,wholives
next door to the Mandavis, said,
"They were not even allowed to
take their clothes or their uten-
sils. All that they had collected
over the years was left behind
and later stolen."
The Mandavis had a mud
house, nine cows and several
goats, and an outhouse for
guests. Sprawled over half an
acre, the family grew rice and
vegetables. "They could never
harvest their rice. But when the
crop matured, it disappeared
overnight,"saidanothervillager.
Some distance away stands
thehousethatconstableTelam's
parents left behind. A plaque
outside the house declares his
father Lacchu as 'para samiti ad-
hyaksh'."Allthatisthepastnow;
presently, everyone wants to
save their lives. So here we are,
staying in this dingy house on
rent," said Telam.
Dantewada SP Abhishek
Pallava insisted Maoists were
losing ground and their attempt
atterrorisingvillagerswasasign
of their desperation. "The six
families who were forced to
leave their village in September
are now all living safely in
Kirandul. They will go back once
we start a camp in Gumiyapal,"
he said.
TribalactivistSoniSori,how-
ever, said, "Today there are six
families,tomorrow therewill be
more. Eventually, the villages
willbecomeempty.Iwanttoask
police and the Maoists, once
these innocent villagers are
thrown out, what happens to
them? Who is responsible for
their situation now?"
For now, while the six fami-
lies hope to go back to their vil-
lage, they know the chances are
bleak.
Lachmu Mariami, whose
younger brother-in-law is
posted as DRG (District Reserve
Guard)inDantewada,hadtoflee
with her husband and five chil-
dren, the youngest barely
months old. “We could take
nothing,justleftwiththeclothes
we were wearing. I had a hand-
pump a few feet away from my
house in the village; now, Iwake
up at 4 am and queue up for wa-
ter," she says.
Lachmuhasbeenworkingas
a domestic help, while her hus-
band Unga is a daily-wager. "My
daughters were registered in
school in our village, our ration
cardsarealsothere.Willweever
go back?," she wondered.
China
expansionist,
doesn’t care
what world
thinks of it:
RSS chief
more of the expansionism of its
past emperors. And that’s what
we see today. Today, China has
become a big economic power
and it wants to expand its influ-
ence. It is not bothered about
whattheworldthinksaboutit.It
is pursuing its goal,” Bhagwat
said.
The RSS chief also said that
India is stronger than ever and
has realised its strength.
Referring to a story of how a
lion raised like a goat kept be-
having like one until shown the
mirror, Bhagwat said: “We al-
ways had the capability, but we
never realised it. We do so now.
In the aftermath of the 1962
war, there was a perception that
India was a cry baby (seeking
help from the US to fight China).
That situation is not there to-
day... (But) we will not use
strength for hooliganism. When
we become strong, we will pro-
tect the weak. If we become
rich, we will engage in philan-
thropy.”
Referring to Russia and the
Middle East, he said: “In the
multipolar world now, Russia is
also playing its game. It is trying
to progress by suppressing the
West. This has created a lot of
chaos in the Middle East. It has
had an impact on the world.
Religiousfundamentalismisris-
ing again.”
Speaking about the rise of
nationalism across the world,
Bhagwat said, “There is a term
called liberal democracy, which
says that all this nationalism is
useless, the whole world is one.
It’s a good thought. But all those
countries, which called them-
selves liberal democracies, are
embracing nationalism. What
France, what America, what
England and what Holland. So
the idea that the whole world is
one and market forces will drive
thepeoplehasbeenabandoned.
Man imagined such a world on
the strength of science. That sci-
ence has reached its limit.”
Bhagwat said India will have
a major role to play because
among the new rising powers,
onlyIndiacanprovidetrust,con-
fidence and a sense of security.
“People fear other powers. They
don’t trust them. Those powers
included, everyone thinks if
India comes ahead to lead,
everyone will benefit,” he said.
Twitter flags BJP
IT cell chief’s
tweet as
‘manipulated
media’
Gandhi, was wrong because the
policeman had not actually hit
the farmer.
On Wednesday, Twitter
tagged Malviya’s tweet as “ma-
nipulated media”. An accompa-
nying note, which gave context
to why it was deemed manipu-
lated, said fact-checking site
BoomLive had “analysed a
longer un-edited video which
showsasecondofficerswinging
his baton at the man” and also
“identified the farmer, who
stated that he was hit and
showed bruises he said were
from the incident”.
“TheycansayIhavenotbeen
hit but I am right here if they
want to come and see my in-
juries," Sukhdev Singh, the
farmer from Sangojla in
Kapurthala district of Punjab,
told Boom Live.
Malviya did not respond to
phone calls from The Indian
Express for comment.
Responding to a query, a
Twitter spokesperson said, “The
referenced Tweet was labeled
based on our Synthetic and
Manipulated Media policy.”
Twitter’s “Synthetic andma-
nipulated media policy” was in-
troduced in February 2020 to
help users determine fabricated
content. During the recently
concludedUSelections,thesela-
bels appeared across many
tweets, evenmany posted by US
President Donald Trump.
The manipulated media pol-
icy states that Twitter “may la-
bel Tweets that include media
(videos, audio, and images) that
havebeendeceptivelyalteredor
fabricated”. It adds: “You may
not share deceptively altered
media on Twitter in ways that
misleadordeceivepeopleabout
the media’s authenticity where
threats to physical safety or
other serious harm may result.”
Along with the labels, the com-
pany also reduces the visibility
of such posts.
Earlier this year, Twitter
started labelling handles of gov-
ernment-funded media organi-
sations, party operatives and
government officials as well.
These labels have not yet been
activated in India.
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

3 THE CITY
Total Vacant
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020 TOTAL CASES HOSPITAL BEDS 18,660 11,009
5,78,324 VENTILATORS 1,492 351

*Total active cases

Daily cases Recoveries Deaths Tests

CORONAVIRUS Dec 1
Dec 2
4,006
3,944
5,036
5,329
86
82
58,456
78,949
IN THE CAPITAL Total 30,302* 5,38,680 9,342 64,25,470

Yet to take exams, MORE THAN HALF ACTIVE CASES UNDER HOME ISOLATION Umar Khalid’s judicial
Jamia’s distance 43 home isolation deaths, remand extended

none since Nov 4, says govt

New Delhi: A Delhi court has ex- mand application whenever ju-

learning students tendedthejudicialremandoffor-

mer JNU student Umar Khalid in
a case related to the Northeast
dicialcustodywastobeextended.
The observations came when
Khalid’scounselsoughtanoppor-

risk losing a year

Delhi riots, observing there was tunity for arguments against the
noscopeofgivinganopportunity applicationbypoliceforextension
to his lawyers to oppose the re- of his judicial remand. ENS

SUKRITA BARUAH
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
UNDERGRADUATESTUDENTSof
Jamia Millia Islamia’s Centre for
Distance and Online Learning
(CDOL), who were to have grad-
uated this year, are yet to take
theirfinalexamsevenasthewin-
dow to take admissions for mas-
tersprogrammesinJamiaareset
to close in less than a month.
In July this year, the UGC had
issued guidelines to universities
and higher education institutes
to hold examinations for final
year students by September 30.
The Supreme Court had upheld
this but had allowed states and
UnionTerritoriestoapproachthe
UGCforextensioninthedeadline.
Studentswhoseekadmission
inpostgraduateprogrammesare
requiredtoproducetheirfinalun-
dergraduate marksheets at the
time of admission. Those await-
ing results can produce a provi-
sionalcertificatewhichconfirms
thattheyhavetakentheirfinalex-
ams. However, while Jamia’s
postgraduateadmissionsareon-
going, students of its CDOL, who
were to have graduated in June
this year, are still waiting for the
examinations to be conducted.
On October 29, CDOL had is-
sued an “Urgent Notice” asking
students of various programmes
to submit their examination
forms and stating that examina-
tions will be held “in the months
of November-December 2020”.
However, the datesheet for the
exams is yet to be released.
Meanwhile, Jamia has begun
releasing lists of selected candi-
datesforitsvariousmasterspro-
grammeswiththeprovisionthat
students whose undergraduate
qualifying examresults have not
yet been released may claim
provisional admission by sub-
mitting “a certificate issued by
theconcernedcollege/university
to the effect that he/she has ap-
pearedinthefinalsemester/year
of the concerned qualifying ex-
aminations.” Students will have
to submit the result by
December 31.
This is posing hurdles for
CDOL students who have been
selected for these masters pro-
grammes. “The selected list for
MA Islamic Studies was released
on November 19 and I had to
claim my provisional admission
byNovember27.ButwhenIwent
to do this, I was told it isn’t possi-
ble because I haven’t even ap-
peared in a qualifying examina-
tion. We should be allowed to
take provisional admission, oth-
erwise we will lose a year,” said a
BA (General) student of CDOL.
Jamia Controller of
Examinations Nazim Jafri said
CDOLwasyettonotifyanydetails
to his office: “We can only go
aheadwithorganisingtheexams
if the centre notifies us, sends us
a datesheet and gives us details
onhowmanystudentswillbeap-
pearing.Inameetingtodayitwas
said students of the centre will
also be given time till December
31liketheothersbutitwillbethe
centre’s responsibility to make
sure all the documents are in
place by then.”
Director (Academic) Ahrar
Husain said the exams are likely
to be notified in a couple of days,
without expanding on why they
have been delayed so far.
ASTHA SAXENA
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
AS MANY as 43 people availing
treatment for Covid-19 under
home isolation have died so far,
with not a single death reported
fromNovember4toDecember1
in the city, as per the data shared
by the state health department.
In Delhi, there are 30,302 ac-
tive cases at the moment, out of
which 18,423 are under home
isolation. The strategy for home
isolation was introduced by the
state government at the time
when the city hospitals were
swampedwithmildandmoder-
atecasesof Covid-19,leavingthe
healthcare system under stress.
Atpresent,thoseunderhome
isolation are provided a pulse
oximeter by the Delhi govern-
ment to monitor oxygen satura-
tion levels. As per protocol, a
team from each district calls the
patientathometoenquireabout
his/herhealth,andtounderstand
if they are facing any problems.
According to the Delhi gov-
ernment’s guidelines, patients
advised home isolation can end
it after 17 days of the onset of
symptomsandif thereisnofever
in the last 10 days. After the end
of 17 days, the health team as-
signed to the patients will offi-
ciallyinformthemabouttheend
of the isolation period. There is
no need for testing after this pe-
riod is over. So far, more than
2,50,000 patients have recov-
ered under home isolation.
“Eachandeverycaseisclosely
monitoredbytheteamof district
officials. The timely hospitalisa-
tionofpatientsisthemostimpor-
tantfactorforonesavailingtreat-
Samples for RT-PCR test being collected on Wednesday.
Praveen Khanna
mentunderhomeisolation,”said
a senior health official.
Senior officials in the state
government also attributed the
trendtoa seriesof stepstaken by
thestategovernment,suchasfree
e-ambulanceserviceforpatients
who might need hospitalisation.
“Theservicesareavailablefor
patients at their doorstep, which
hasgiventhemtheconfidenceto
trust the medical services of the
city.Wearehopingthatthemor-
talities will continue to decline
while the recovery rate goes up,”
said a senior Delhi government
official.
In a recent meeting chaired
by the DDMA chairman, Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal, NITI
Aayog member Dr VK Paul, AI-
IMSdirectorDrRandeepGuleria
and Dr Balram Bhargava, the of-
ficials were directed to monitor
Covid-19 patients under home
isolation and ensure there is
timely hospitalisation.
According to doctors,the ma-
jority of patients (81 per cent)
havemilddiseaseandarefittobe
treated at home, and only 19-20
per cent will require hospitalisa-
tion, including 5-6 per cent who
requireICUcare.Expertsfeelthat
while home isolation is essential
andrequired,thereisaneedtore-
maincarefulandthedoctorneeds
to be in contact with the patient.
Prof Vijay Hadda, a specialist
inpulmonarymedicineatAIIMS,
said: “Initially, the policy was to
admit each and every patient in
the hospital. But looking at the
numbers now, it is impossible to
treateverypatientinthehospital.
Sotheconceptof homeisolation
and quarantine was introduced.
Clinical presentation, require-
mentforsupportivecare,poten-
tial risk factors and the ability of
thepatienttoself-isolateathome
aresomeof thefactorstokeepin
mind before advising home iso-
lation to any patient.”
80k tests in
city in past
24 hours
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
DELHI RECORDED 3,944 fresh
cases of Covid-19, taking the in-
fection tally in the capital to over
5,78,324 on Wednesday, while
82 more fatalities pushed the
death toll to 9,342. The fresh
cases came out of a record
78,949 tests conducted the pre-
vious day, including 36,370 RT-
PCR tests, while the positivity
rate dropped to 5 per cent.
Health Minister Satyendar
Jain said the positivity rate is
rapidly coming down in the city.
Calling it a heartening trend, he
said that the rate is expected to
come down below 5 per cent in
the next few days. “Positivityde-
clined to 5 per cent today from
15.26 per cent on November 7.
The highest total tests and high-
estRT-PCRtestsever,withlowest
RT-PCRpositivityof 8.99percent
(were conducted). Steadily co-
rona cases and positivity coming
down. Hope this will continue.
Please observe all precautions,”
Jain tweeted on Wednesday.
Positivity rate is the percent-
age of people who have tested
positive for the virus of those
who have been tested. The rate
is the parameter on which the
severityof thediseasecanbecal-
culated and can contribute to-
wards taking the required con-
tainment measures.

Real estate
developer
denied bail
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NOIDA, DECEMBER 2

A DISTRICT court in Gautam

BuddhNagarWednesdaydenied
bail to a real estate developer in
connectionwithrealestatefraud.
The director and promoter of
Rudra Group Mukesh Khurana
wasarrestedbyNoidaPoliceear-
lierthismonthforallegedlydup-
ing customers.
"We had received a com-
plaint against Khurana after a
Meerut official was duped. The
complainant had invested in a
Ghaziabad flat but no work was
carried out for year. The accused
has several economic offence
cases filed against him in Delhi.
Further investigation is pend-
ing," said an official from Phase
3 police station.
According to police, Khurana
is the owner and director of
Rudra Group, whose corporate
office is located in Noida’s Sector
63. An FIR for alleged cheating
was filed in Phase 3 police sta-
tion on October 6 by Sunita
Singh,AdditionalCityMagistrate
in Meerut.
According to the complaint, a
high-rise was being built in
Indirapuram and more than 90
lakhwastakenforthreeflatsinthe
project. The possession had been
guaranteed in 2016, but even af-
ter four years construction at the
site had not been carried out, the
complaint alleged.
According to officials, the
construction was due to be car-
ried out on a site disputed since
1994. Police had been gathering
evidence on more alleged cases
againstthe real estatedeveloper.

Anti-smog guns
now at Bhalswa
New Delhi: The North Delhi
Municipal Corporation will in-
stall anti-smog guns at several
places in the city, including in-
dustrial areas and near landfill
sites, Mayor Jai Prakash has said.
To this end, some anti-smog
guns were installed at Bhalswa
landfill site on Wednesday. “This
will help curb air pollution. Anti-
smog guns have been installed
near the trommel machines so
dustparticlesduringsegregation
of garbageanditsdisposalcanbe
suppressed,”themayorsaid. ENS

New Delhi

4 THE CITY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
Day after talks, farmers dig their heels in: Call
special Parliament session or will intensify stir
AMIL BHATNAGAR
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
ON DAY seven of their protest at
the Singhu border, farmers de-
manded a special Parliament
session to repeal the three
farmer laws promulgated by
the Centre. Farmer unions lead-
ing the stir also called for a na-
tionwide protest on December
5 against what they called cor-
poratisation of farming that the
new laws will enable. The call
comes a day after 35 farmer
union leaders held talks with
the Centre but failed to arrive at
a breakthrough.
"The government is at-
tempting to divide the unions
and their unity, solidarity. We
will not form smaller commit-
tees as they asked. This is a large
movement and we will take
everyone along. We have unan-
imously decided that we will
give them a point by point re-
buttal of the clauses in the farm
bills. It will be about 7-8 pages.
We want that a special session
be called in the Parliament to
repeal it. And will give every
reasoning for our demands," Dr
Darshan Pal, president of the
Krantikari Kisan Union, said.
The unions have called for a
nationwide agitation by farm-
ers and supporters, and asked
them to take to the streets to
burn effigies of the government.
Farmers also stated that many
sportspersons and defence per-
sonnel will return their medals
and awards if there’s no break-
through. They said they also
plan to block more roads inside
Delhi in the days to come.
These demands will form
the basis of their talks with the
Centre on Thursday — the dele-
gation is preparing a detailed
response to specific clauses in
the Acts, which will be submit-
ted to the Ministry. Farmers
have maintained that they will
not move away from the bor-
ders and the protests will con-
tinue under the banner of
Sanyukt Kisan Morcha. Farmers
also reiterated their demand for
a guaranteed minimum sup-
port price (MSP).
"Governments of other
countries are expressing soli-
darity with the farmers. We
have to warn the government
that if these laws are not re-
pealed soon, we might take
steps that will invite police ac-
tion on us. We are ready to face
that too," said Gurnam Singh,
president of the Sanyukt Kisan
Morcha.
The meeting between differ-
ent farm unions on Wednesday
was also attended by those
from Rajasthan, Odisha and
Uttar Pradesh. During their
60-year-old
farmer dies
RAAKHI JAGGA
CHANDIGARH, DECEMBER 2
A 60-YEAR-OLD farmer from
Punjab died Wednesday morn-
ing, hours after falling sick at the
Tikri border.
Farmers' representatives
said Gurjant Singh, a resident of
Bachhoana village in Punjab's
Mansa district, got unwell in the
night and was rushed to a local
hospital before being referred
to Rohtak, where he died.
They said Singh, who was
part of Bharatiya Kisan Union,
Ugrahan, had started for Delhi
from Dabwali border on
November 27 and had reached
Tikri border after over 15 hours.
Lachman Singh Sewewala,
general secretary of Pendu Khet
Mazdoor Union, said Singh's
body has been kept in the mor-
tuary at Bahadurgarh civil hos-
pital and will not be cremated
till a compensation of Rs 10 lakh
is given to the family, in addition
to a job for a family member
and loan waiver.
Jhajjar Police officials con-
firmed Singh's body had been
brought to the Bahadurgarh
Civil Hospital on Wednesday af-
ternoon.
"The cause of death is un-
known as of now, that will only
be ascertained after a post-
mortem, depending on
whether the family chooses to
get this done," said Pawan
Kumar, DSP (Bahadurgarh).
Farmers’ representatives
speak to the media at
Singhu border Wednesday.
Amit Mehra
press conference, farmer unions
said Naresh Tikait's Bharatiya
Kisan Union (BKU) from
Western UP will be part of the
deliberations and is now offi-
cially a part of the protest.
A week into the protest, the
number of farmers has in-
creased considerably at Singhu
on the Delhi-Haryana border.
Tents for protesters to rest have
come up on the Haryana side,
close to the Delhi Police barri-
cades, along with dozens of lan-
gars.
"More and more people will
join since the government is not
ready to yield. They have not
been responding to what we
want and our only way is to let
the blockade remain. Senior
leaders are having conversa-
tions with the government and
we hope the Centre realises the
magnitude of this protest," said
Jagjit Singh, a farmer from
Mohali.
Teen kills mother for
not divorcing father,
apprehended: Police
MAHENDERSINGH
MANRAL
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
A 17-YEAR-OLD juvenile was ap-
prehended from Western range
forallegedlykillinghismotheraf-
ter a row over not giving divorce
to his father.
Initial investigation has re-
vealedthatthevictim'seldestson
was angry as his friends were
makingfunofhimafterhisfather
appliedfordivorcebuthismother
refused to accept it.
Theboywasproducedbefore
ajuvenilecourtandsenttoajuve-
nile correctional home.
Police said the deceased was
stayinginOuterDelhialongwith
herdaughterandthesecondson.
“Shegotseparatedfromherhus-
band around three-and-a-half
years ago and their divorce case
ispendingincourtasshehadnot
agreed. Her eldest son was stay-
ing with her husband. In her
statement, the victim’s daughter
toldpolicethathereldestbrother
believedthathermotherwasthe
reason for their divorce and, in
frontofthem,threatenedtomur-
derherseveraltimesifshedidnot
agreetothedivorce,”aseniorpo-
lice officer said.
The incident took place on
November 30 when the victim’s
eldestsoncametoherhouselate
Farmers protest at the Delhi border near Ghazipur on Wednesday. Praveen Khanna
Amarinder, Kejriwal spar after
Delhi notifies 1 of 3 farm laws
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
DELHI CHIEF Minister Arvind
KejriwalsaidWednesdaythathe
was under immense pressure to
givepermissiontoDelhiPoliceto
convert nine stadia in Delhi into
temporary detention centres for
protesting farmers.
“Sincethetimewerefusedto
convert the nine stadia in Delhi
into temporary jails, the Central
government is very upset with
me. They had planned to put
farmersintothesejailsassoonas
they reached Delhi, and our re-
fusalupsetthem.Iwasputunder
alotof pressure,Igotseveralcalls
from people,” he said.
He alleged that Punjab Chief
Minister Captain Amarinder
Singh might be under similar
pressure and that he was speak-
ing BJP’s language and lying
abouttheAamAadmiPartygov-
ernment in Delhi.
“I want to ask Captain Sahab,
are you under the pressure of
theseverysamepeople,because
of which you are making these
false allegations against me,
abusing me, and talking on be-
half of theBJP?Isthisyourfriend-
Police said the victim's
eldest son was angry as
his friends were
making fun of him
over the matter
at night and asked for food.
“While eating, he was removing
afoodstainfromhisclotheswhen
her mother saw a knife in his
jacket. When asked about it, he
saidthathewassupposedtogive
it to his friend,” an officer said.
Afterwards, claiming to have
gottenlate,heaskedthevictimto
drophimhome.“Sheagreedand
around 12.40 am, she left home
along with him but did not re-
turn,” the officer said.
The victim’s body was found
onDecember1lyingunderapile
of bricks near the house. After
identifying the victim with the
help of locals, police approached
her daughter. “She tried to con-
tact her brother and found his
phone was switched off. Police
apprehendedhimonWednesday
after collecting local intelligence
from informers. He told police
that he was annoyed as she was
not giving divorce to his father
andthathisfriendsweremaking
funof himbecauseof this,”anof-
ficer said.
ANAND VIHAR SIRIFORT
Vey Poor Very Poor
389 353
AQI AQI
PM: 10 PM: 2.5
0 500 0 500
0-50 Good 51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate
ship with the BJP, or are you un- legislators. The party, which has
der pressure? I know that the refrained from attacking the
reason may be your family is Centre over the past several
chargedwithcasesandreceiving months,hascomeoutinfullsup-
notices from the ED," he said. portof agitatingfarmers,withits
The Punjab CM had hit out at legislatorsmakingarrangements
Kejriwal on Tuesday after the at Nirankari Ground in Burari,
Delhigovernmentnotifiedoneof Singhu border and Tikri border
the three farm laws that were and the party hitting out at the
passedbytheCentre,andhadac- Centre and the Punjab govern-
cused the Delhi government of ment at the same time.
double standards. Kejriwal alleged that Singh
Kejriwal said Wednesday had several chances to stop the
that these allegations were false law from being passed but did
as the laws were passed by the not raise his voice.
Centreanditwasnottheprerog- “In2019,theCentreformeda
ative of any state to implement committee to make these laws
or not implement them. andCaptainsahabwaspartofthe
The Punjab CM said that in- committee. Why did he not op-
stead of notifying the law, Delhi pose and stop these laws from
could have made efforts to being passed then? Why did he
counter them. “Kejriwal could not tell people that the Centre
havetriedtomakesomeeffortto was making these black laws?
counter them and protect the You had several opportunities to
rights of the farmers,” he said. stop the law, but you didn’t,”
Calling the Delhi CM a Kejriwal said.
“sneaky little fellow” Singh said Singh, however, said that the
his“doublestandardshavebeen allegations made by Kejriwal
exposed time and again, he is were incorrect. Not once were
nowcompletelycorneredonthe these laws discussed or even
issue.” mentionedinthecommittee,he
AAPistheprimaryopposition said,addingthatKejriwalwasin-
inPunjab.Itistheonlystate,other dulging in dirty politics while
thanDelhi,wherethepartyhasa pretendingtoopposepoliticking
sizeableorganisationandelected on the issue.
ONE ARM DISTANCE
A man walks past a Covid advisory on a wall. Amit Mehra
Raid reveals pollution certificates
issued without checks in Faridabad
“One of the teams formed
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE for this task visited the United
GURGAON, DECEMBER 02 Petrol Pump on Gurgaon-
Faridabad road Tuesday and
AN FIR has been lodged against found that a PUC certificate had
a pollution check centre for giv- been issued by the pollution in-
ing pollution certificates to ve- vestigation centre located there
hicles in Faridabad without to a truck without any investi-
proper inspection, said officials gation,” said Jitendra Gehlawat,
on Wednesday. secretary of the Regional
According to officials, a spe- Transport Authority.
cial campaign is being carried “Issuing a PUC certificate
out by the Regional Transport withoutinvestigationisaserious
Authority for inspection of pol- offence and the orders of the
lution check centres. Honourable Supreme Court in
SHADIPUR
Very Poor
351
AQI
PM: 10
0 500
201-300 Poor 301-400 Very Poor
As Punjab farmers
project pan-India stir,
some from Karnataka,
Rajasthan trickle in
SUKRITA BARUAH &
ASHNA BUTANI
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
BEHIND A push for more repre-
sentatives in the farmers’ dele-
gation during Tuesday’s talks
with the Centre is a concern that
the unrest is being perceived as
one limited to farmers from
Punjab.
At the border blockades at
both Singhu and Tikri, an over-
whelming majority of farmers
present are from Punjab, fol-
lowedbyHaryana, and the coor-
dinating unions have been keen
thatitnotappearthatonlyfarm-
ers from these two states are
pushing for the repeal of the
three new farm laws and legal
assurance of fixed minimum
support price (MSP).
SinceSaturday,farmersfrom
WesternUttarPradeshhavealso
beengatheringatDelhi’sborders
with UP, and small groups of
farmers from a few other states,
includingUttarakhand,havealso
started trickling in at the protest
sites.Andprotestleaders,whoon
Wednesday gave a call for a na-
tionwideprotestonDecember5,
havealsoemphasisedthatfarm-
ers from other states, including
Kerala and Maharashtra, will ar-
rive in Delhi in the days to come.
Narender Sangwan from
Sonepat was among those who
expressedthis sentiment, “From
the whole country, farmers are
coming towards Delhi. This is a
questionof all-Indiafarmlegisla-
tion and farmers all across the
country will benefit from this
movement.”
Smallgroupsof farmersfrom
other states who had already
made it to Delhi’s borders ex-
pressedtheirdesirethattheMSP
regime be fully implemented in
their regions.
“In our village, we only get
MSPforwheatandcotton.While
the MSP for bajra is Rs 2,150 per
quintal, we are selling it for Rs
1,300. It might take time for the
movement to spread but I think
it will happen gradually,” said
Sahabram Sahran from
Rajasthan’s Ganganagar district.
Also at Ghazipur border is a
small group from Karnataka.
Shabeer Basha (38), who culti-
vates coconut and silk in the
state’s Tumkur district, said he
this regard have also been vio-
latedthroughthisaction,”hesaid.
An FIR has been registered
under Sections 420, 467, 468
and 188 of the IPC as well as
Section 15 of the Environment
Protection Act against the
owner and employees of the
centre.
“In future, an FIR will simi-
larly be lodged against any
other pollution investigation
centre that overlooks norms
and issues PUC certificates,”
said the secretary.
New Delhi
DWARKA- SECTOR 8
Very Poor
388
AQI
PM: 2.5 500
0
401-500 Severe
Protesters camped at the
Singhu border. Amit Mehra
travelled for eight days in a pri-
vate vehicle to reach the Delhi
border. He referred to the farm-
ers’ protest as a “national move-
ment”. On November 21, mem-
bers of the Karnataka Rajya
Raitha Sangha decided that they
wouldjointhemovementinsol-
idarity. “Twenty of us drove
through Hyderabad in our pri-
vate vehicles. We participated in
arallyinHyderabadwitharound
100 farmers. Then we drove up
north and were stopped at the
Rajasthan border for two days.
We reached just this morning
and are scattered across the dif-
ferent Delhi borders. There are
more who want to join us but
since the journey is not an easy
one,theyarebeginningtoprotest
in their states.” He added that
farmers from Andhra Pradesh
andTelanganaaremakingefforts
toreachDelhi.“Theissuesweare
fightingfordonotpertainonlyto
farmers of one or two states but
to all of us,” he said.
Farmers from Punjab also
reasoned that they have been
the loudest so far because they
have the most to lose in the
event of erosion of the MSP
regime.
“Inotherstates,thecondition
of farmers is far worse than us —
MSPs and mandis aren’t largely
functional. In 2006, the Bihar
government had rolled back its
APMCact and its farmers are in a
bad state and people from the
state travel all across the coun-
trytoworkasmigrantlabourers.
While the MSP for paddy is Rs
1,868perquintal,thereitsellsfor
Rs1,100perquintal.Inourstates,
theAPMCsandmandisarefunc-
tional and we know what their
benefitscanbe.Sowedon’twant
toloseit,”saidJeevanSinghfrom
Punjab’s Muktsardistrict, part of
the blockade at Tikri border.
JNU writes to UGC:
Extend deadline for
research scholars
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
AFTER PERSISTENT attempts by
the Jawaharlal Nehru University
Students’ Union (JNUSU) to get
the university administration to
extend the deadline for submis-
sion of theses of research schol-
ars, the university Wednesday
made public a letter written by
the Registrar to the University
Grants Commission (UGC) in
October regarding the same.
As of now, research scholars
have until December 31 to sub-
mit their theses as per UGC di-
rections.
The letter dated October 10
to the UGC Chairman, written
by Registrar Pramod Kumar,
asks for a six month extension
in submission deadline. “Our
students have not been able to
conduct their research experi-
ments in the university labora-
tories nor have they been able
to access library services that
are critical for completion of
thesis drafts,” he wrote.
“Furthermore, the prepara-
tion of draft chapters and final
submission of the M Phil and
PhD thesis in certain
school/centres requires the con-
duct of field work that has not
been possible due to the Covid
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
S K Y WA T C H
FORECAST
Mainly Clear Sky.
Mist/shallow fog in
the morning
MAX: 26.0 MIN: 8.0
1°Cabovenormal 1°Cbelownormal
Traders at
mandi warn
of veggie,
fruit crunch
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
AZADPUR AGRICULTURAL
Produce Market Committee
(APMC) chairperson Adeel
Ahmad Khan said prices of veg-
etables and fruits in the city will
increase in the next few days if
the farmers go ahead and block
other routes to the city, saying
theAPMChas witnessed a sharp
fall in incoming products since
the protests.
“Since the protests started,
the amount of agricultural pro-
duce has dropped by around 50
per cent, subject to some fluctu-
ations. We tend to get 12,000
metric tonnes daily on an aver-
age,whichhasreducedto6,000-
7,000 MT now,” said Khan.
Khan said the reduced pro-
duce is sufficient for Delhi.
“However, if the farmers block
more roads, and if the incoming
products fall, then it could lead
to a rise in prices.”
The prices of green vegeta-
bles have increased by 10-15 per
cent, said Khan. “Most of the
green vegetables come from
Haryana. Now blockages are be-
ing seen with respect to vehicles
from UP — from where we get
tomatoes and peas. Apples have
seen a slight shift in prices as
well.”
Currently, the Singhu border
is being blocked, which is one of
the routes taken by farmers of
northernstatestocometoDelhi.
Vijay Kumar, a trader at
Azadpur mandi, said, “It is apple
season. Most of the apples come
from Kashmir, and the drivers
take the Panipat-Sonipat route
tocometoDelhi,whichhasbeen
blocked by the protests.”
Kumar said the number of
trucks has reduced and the pat-
tern is erratic due to this reason.
“Some drivers manage to take
the Rohtak route and reach.
Rightnowthetrucksare stuckat
Kundli border. This has affected
customers from buying as well,
so there has actually been a
slightdecreaseintheprices,with
one carton (15-16 kg) which
used to sell for Rs 1,000-1,200,
selling for around Rs 900 due to
reduction in buyers.”
Traders at Ghazipur mandi
have also reported the same.
Aijaz Ahmed, a trader of
tomatoes at Ghazipur mandi,
said, “There used to be 20-25
trucks coming in. It has been re-
duced to 8-10 trucks. However,
prices have not changed.”
Bunty Gautam, a vegetable
trader at Ghazipur mandi, said,
“Lesser quantities of cauliflower,
bottle gourd and peas are com-
ing into the market because of
theroadblockages.However,the
prices have not changed yet.”
lockdown. Most students also
could not take their research
data as the lockdown was sud-
den and the duration was also
unforeseen,” Kumar added.
He also requested that the
“thesis submission requirement
of submitting evidence of a
publication and presentation in
two conferences” be relaxed by
“extending the date of submit-
ting such evidence at least un-
til the viva voce examinations
and within a maximum period
of one year from the date of
submission of PhD thesis as a
one-time exception”.
UGC Secretary Rajnish Jain
did not respond to queries ask-
ing if the extension had been
considered.
Meanwhile, the JNU
Students’ Union has also been
pushing for phased entry of all
students on campus.
Till now, only PhD scholars
from science schools have been
allowed in two phases.
In a fresh notification, the
administration Wednesday al-
lowed MPhil and MTech stu-
dents from science schools also
to enter campus.
The JNUSU, however,
reiterated that this was “dis-
criminatory” towards students
from the social sciences and hu-
manities.
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

5 GOVT & POLITICS

THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020

Not here to snatch anything: Day after TMC

DELHI CONFIDENTIAL
Yogi hits back at Uddhav
SANDEEP ASHAR
MUMBAI, DECEMBER 2
AMID INTENSE politics over his
visit to Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
on Wednesday saidthat his gov-
ernmentwasnottakingawayin-
vestments from or obstructing
development of any other state.
Twitter/JPNadda Taking on Maharashtra Chief
HAPPINESS TWICE Minister Uddhav Thackeray,
Adityanath said, “I’m not here to
ON A day he turned 60, BJP president J P Nadda was flooded snatch anything away, why are
with greetings from across the country, but his own tweet on you so worried?”
the occasion may have taken many by surprise. Nadda In Mumbai for the listing of
tweeted pictures of his twin brother – Jagat Bhushan Nadda Lucknow Municipal
greeting him. "All good things come in pairs, best of all are a Corporation’sRs200-crorebond
set of twin with extra laughter and double grins. Wishing my at the Bombay Stock Exchange,
brother Jagat Bhushan Nadda a very happy birthday...” he Adityanathheldaseriesof meet-
tweeted, along with pictures of their families. Many were not ings with top business honchos,
aware that the BJP president has a twin brother, who is a financial companies and
teacher by profession. At his residence, both families cele- Bollywood personalities to at-
brated with good food and sweets, it is learnt. tract investments in UP.
But his visit had turned into
a slamming match between the
SEEKING REPRESENTATION ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi in
MaharashtraandtheUPgovern-
THE AGITATION by farmers from Punjab — the majority of ment, with Thackeray himself
them from the Sikh community — has pushed Punjab and takingadigatAdityanath.Hours
Sikh politics to the forefront. Amid the protests, Adhir Ranjan before Adityanath landed in
Chowdhury, the Congress’s leader in Lok Sabha, has shot off Mumbai on Tuesday, Thackeray
a letter to the Prime Minister over another Sikh-related issue.
The government had earlier this month set up a high-level
committee, headed by the PM, of eminent persons to cele-
brate the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the
ninth Sikh guru. Chowdhury is also a member of the commit-
Police organisations must work
tee. He has pointed out to the Prime Minister that while he
was honoured to be associated with the "solemn and sacred
anniversary", not a single Congress MP from Punjab has been
in coordinated manner: Shah
included. Hewrotethat manypublic representativesfrom the
BJP are represented in the committee, and urged the PM to EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
include some Congress MPs from the state as well. NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at BSE during
the listing of Lucknow Municipal Corporation bonds. PTI
warned that “no one can come
to Maharashtra and take away
industries from here”.
EchoingThackeray,ShivSena
MP Sanjay Raut said on
Wednesday: “Is Yogi going to go
to all states that produce films or
is he singling out Maharashtra?"
In a sharp riposte to
Thackeray and the government,
Adityanath said, “We have nei-
ther come here to snatch some-
body’s investments nor to im-
pede someone’s development.
This isnotpickand choose. Isthe
(Mumbai) film industry a purse
that one can just take away?"
While maintaining that he
was not here to lure investments
away from the state, Adityanath,
however, didn’t miss the oppor-
tunitytosignalthathewaseyeing
Maharashtra’sstatusasthecoun-
try'snumberoneinvestmentdes-
tination. FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
India, Russia
agree to deepen
counter-terror
cooperation
New Delhi: India and Russia on
Wednesday held consultations
AT BSE, ‘HISTORIC
MOMENT FOR UP’
Mumbai: Lucknow on
Wednesday became the
ninth Indian city to have
raised municipal bonds
and the first city from
north India to do so.
“This is a historic mo-
ment for Uttar Pradesh.
Lucknow is the first city
from north India to be
listedattheBSE.Itisarev-
olutionary step that will
usher in urban reforms,”
CM Yogi Adityanath said.
He presided over the
ringingbellsceremonyfor
the bond’s listing on
Wednesdaymorning.The
funds raised through the
bond will be invested in
various infrastructure
schemes in Lucknow, in-
cluding the water supply
project and housing proj-
ects, a government
spokesman said. ENS
says all is well,
Suvendu dashes
hopes of patch-up
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
KOLKATA,DECEMBER2
A DAY after the Trinamool
Congress (TMC) leadership
claimed that its differences with
dissident leader Suvendu
Adhikari were resolved, the for-
mer minister on Wednesday
texted senior party leader and
MP Saugata Roy on WhatsApp,
reportedly saying, “Forgive me,
it won’t be possible for me
to continue.”
In his message, the former
minister, who stepped down
from his Cabinet position last
Friday, reportedly expressed his
displeasure about details of
Tuesday’s meeting being leaked
to the media. Sources close to
Adhikari said he would address
the media on December 6, and
clarify his position.
Sources said Adhikari had
conveyedtothepartyleadership
that “it will be tough for him to
work together with the party as
itsleadershadgonetothemedia
making false claims without the
problems raised by him getting
resolvedandwithoutgivinghim
a chance to speak”.
LabellingtheTMCleadership’s
claim of a rapprochement as
“false”, people close to the TMC
heavyweight said his grievances
werenotaddressed.“Suvenduda
had sought some time after the
meetingtoexpresshisviews.But
Suvendu Adhikari
tendedbyMPAbhishekBanerjee,
who is Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee’s nephew, senior leader
Sudip Bandopadhyay, and poll
strategist Prashant Kishor.
Following the two-hour-long
discussions, Saugata Roy told re-
porters,“WemetwithSuvenduat
around6pm.Itwasheldinavery
cordialatmosphere.Suvenduhas
some reservation on some is-
sues...butheisverymuchwithus.
Therewasaneedforameetingto
sortoutallissues...Youcannotsay
achapterhasendedatanypointof
time in politics, but I am hopeful
that tomorrow [Wednesday]
Suvenduwillholdapressconfer-
ence and will clarify his stand.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Roy
mockedtheOpposition forbeing
“elated”aboutAdhikari’sresigna-
tion from the Cabinet.
After Adhikari resigned from
theCabinet,therewasspeculation
that he would join the BJP.
BJPnationalgeneralsecretary
KailashVijayvargiyasaid,“Hehas
raisedhisvoiceagainstcorruptac-

OUT OF BOUNDS
STRESSING THAT there should be
zerotoleranceforterrorism,Home
MinisterAmitShahonWednesday
FORTHEfirsttimeinrecenthistory,thegovernmenthasbanned told a gathering of top police offi-
entry of PIB cardholders to North Block citing Budget prepara- cersthatpoliceorganisationsmust
tion work. Earlier, this prohibition was limited to the Ministry work in a coordinated manner to
of Finance. In an order issued last week, the security at North makeIndiaasafenation.
Block,whichhousestheMinistryof FInance,Ministryof Home Addressing the 55th Annual
AffairsandtheDepartmentofPersonnelandTraining,hasbeen DGsP/IGsP Conference, organ-
askedtonotallowPIBcardholdersentryintotheentirecomplex ised by the Intelligence Bureau
beginning December 1. This could make the other two min- online, Shah emphasised the
istries out of bounds for journalists until February-end. needtoensuresafetyanddignity
of thepeopleandunderlinedthe
importance of capacity building
of policetodealwithemergency
Kumbh, 2022 elections situations and disasters.
“The Home Minister high-
on agenda: Nadda to
lighted policy issues on national
security and applauded the role
of police as frontline warriors in
begin four-day visit to crisis and disaster management.
He emphasised that there
should be zero tolerance against
Home Minister Amit Shah addresses the 55th Annual
DGsP/IGsP Conference, in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI
veloped and safe Nation,” the
MHA said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modilaterjoinedtheconference
and reviewed the action points
of the previous conference. “A
nariowithmorepeople-friendly
initiatives,” the MHA stated.
Shah also awarded 50 Indian
Police Medals to the awardees
andcongratulatedthemontheir
achievements.
on issues related to the UN
Security Council and agreed to
deepen cooperation on counter-
terrorism at multilateral plat-
forms.
The consultations come
aheadof Indiatakingupthenon-
permanent seat at the UNSC for
2021-22.
The Indian delegation for the
consultations was led by Vikas
Swarup, Secretary (West),
Ministry of External Affairs,
while the Russian delegation
was led by Sergey Vasilyevich
Vershinin, Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs of the Russian
Federation, and other Russian
Foreign Ministry officials.
TheIndiandelegationbriefed
Russia on its priorities during its
upcomingUNSCtenureandthey
decidedtoworkcloselytogether,
somepartyleaderstriedtopainta
different picture altogether. He
didn’tlikeit.Andnoweverything
has reached a dead end,” a leader
close to Adhikari told PTI.
Tuesday’s meeting was at-
Dilip Ghosh at a party event
in Kolkata. Shashi Ghosh
Outsiders played
a bigger role
tivitiesof partyleaders,including
that of ‘bhaipo [nephew]’. Now,
party leaders are trying to keep
him into the party so that such
corruption does not come out in
the open.” (WITHPTIINPUTS)
Task force to
create roadmap
for technical
education in
mother tongue
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2

UNION EDUCATION Minister

Uttarakhand tomorrow terrorism.... He directed that se-

curityagenciesshouldhaveaco-
review of internal security situ-
ationwaspresentedtothePrime
The three-day conference
willdiscussvariousaspectsof se-
given the common challenges
faced and in keeping with their
than Bengalis in Ramesh Pokhriyal
Wednesday announced the set-
on

vitedinthemeetingtogivefeed-
ordinated approach in national
security scenario and achieve
Minister and Home Minister,
anddiscussionswereheldtoim-
curityinthecountryandwillad-
dress the challenges facing po-
long standing Special and
Strategic Privileged Partnership,
developing ting up of a task force for creat-
ing a roadmap to impart techni-
LALMANI VERMA
DEHRADUN, DECEMBER 2
back on the ongoing prepara-
tions of the Kumbh Mela.”
the target of making India a de- prove the overall security sce- lice forces in the country. the statement said. ENS Bengal: Ghosh cal education in the mother
tongue. The task force, which

Mamata’s address to Oxford Union

BJPPRESIDENTJPNaddawillbe-
gin his four-day visit to
Uttarakhandbymeetingsantsin
Haridwar and attending Ganga
aarti atHar KiPauri onFriday.He
will also meet RSS functionaries
besides 14 organisational meet-
ings scheduled for his visit.
According to BJP
Uttarakhand president Bansi
Dhar Bhagat, Nadda will leave
Dehradun airport for Haridwar,
where he will visit Shanti Kunj.
He will then visit Niranjani
Akhara and meet representa-
tives of 13 akharas and other
sants.
Bhagat said a human chain
will be made to welcome Nadda
and safety protocols in view of
the pandemic will be followed.
Akhil Bharatiya Akhara
Parishad president Mahant
Narendra Giri said, “Discussion
on the upcoming Kumbh mela
willbeheld.Tworepresentatives
from each akhara have been in-
The BJP president will later
attend Ganga aarti at Har Ki
Pauri.
The Kumbh mela will begin
in Haridwar next month.
On Saturday, Nadda will
meetstateministersfollowedby
another meeting of zila pan-
chayat presidents and coopera-
tive bank chairpersons. A meet-
ing with the party’s state
in-charge, state president and
theChief Ministerwilltakeplace
on the same day, followed by a
conference of eminent person-
alities from the state.
On Sunday, Nadda will meet
Sangh Parivar functionaries. “No
agenda has been given for the
meeting so far. But certainly dis-
cussions will take place on the
affairsof thestate,groundorgan-
isational preparations for the
2022 Assembly polls, and feed-
back will be given on the func-
tioning of the Trivendra Singh
Rawat government,” said an RSS
functionary.
cancelled, Trinamool alleges pressure
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
KOLKATA,DECEMBER2
WEST BENGAL Chief Minister
MamataBanerjee’sscheduledad-
dress to the Oxford Union on
Wednesday was cancelled at the
lastminuteafterthedebatingso-
ciety sought to postpone it citing
“unforeseen circumstances”.
Banerjeewassettobecomethe
first Indian woman chief minister
toaddresstheprestigiousdebating
society,whichhashostedperson-
alitiessuchasBritishPMMargaret
ThatcherandUSPresidentRonald
Reaganinthepast.
Accordingtothestategovern-
ment, the Chief Minister was set
to begin her online address
Mamata was set to become
the first Indian woman CM to
address the society
around 2.30 pm on Wednesday,
andaround1.50pm,theorganis-
ersrequestedthattheprogramme
be rescheduled.
“Today afternoon, the organ-
isers suddenly sought postpone-
mentandreschedulingofthepro-
grammeatthelastmoment!The
requesthasbeenmadetelephon-
icallyfromtheorganisers’end,cit-
ingsomeunforeseenproblems,a
brief while ago. The programme
with Oxford Union today stands
cancelled,”theWestBengalHome
Department tweeted.
Offering its “sincerest apolo-
gies”,theOxfordUnioninanemail
to the West Bengal government
wrote,“Ouraudiencesentagreat
many questions, and we were all
workinghardtopullanumberof
elements together. However,
nothing prevails over circum-
stancessometimes;itseems.Isin-
cerelyhopethattheHon’bleChief
Minister will understand and
might honour us with her es-
teemed presence at the earliest
possibleconveniencetoyou.With
your permission, I will pass your
details onto my successor, to
whom I hand over this Friday.”
According to state secretariat
sources,Banerjeewasexpectedto
talk about the welfare schemes
launchedbyhergovernmentand
hadreceivedtheinvitationinJuly.
“Earlier, the Bengal CM’s pro-
posed visits to China, Chicago, St
Stephen’s (College in) Delhi were
cancelled at short notice. Who is
blockingtheseprogrammes?Itis
learnt that tremendous pressure
was put from the topmost levels
ontheorganisers.India’smostre-
spected opposition leader.
Elections coming soon! Got it?”
the TMC said in a statement.
will be chaired by Higher
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE EducationSecretaryAmitKhare,
KOLKATA,DECEMBER2 has been asked to submit a re-
port in a month.
STATE BJP president Dilip Ghosh
onWednesdayclaimedthat“out-
siders” had played a bigger role
The move
stems from
the new
than Bengalis in developing National
Bengal. He was reacting to the Education
TMC’sdigatthepartyfordeputing Policy (NEP),
central leaders to help with its whichencour-
preparations for Assembly polls. ages the use of
“Since the pre-Independence Ramesh mother
era, people who have come from Pokhriyal tongueandre-
other states have played a crucial gional lan-
role in Bengal’s development. guages as the
Mostofthosewhoworkedatjute medium of teaching in schools
millsandfactoriesherewerefrom as well as professional pro-
other states. So, those from out- grammes in higher education.
side played a bigger role than “The minister said that no
Bengalis in developing the state,” languagewillbeimposedonany
Ghoshsaidataprogrammehere. student but enabling provisions
Taking a dig at the TMC, he should be made so that bright
added, “Shah Rukh Khan and students are not deprived of
PrashantKishorhavebecomein- technical education due to lack
siders for them.” Khan is an am- of knowledge of English lan-
bassadorofthestate,whileKishor guage,” a press release by the
is the TMC’s poll strategist. Education Ministry said.

Jharkhand govt offices set to go

RECRUITMENT STOPPED
Rly bungalow peon system to continue, with changes
AVISHEK G DASTIDAR
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
BUNGALOW PEONS will con-
tinueinRailways,albeitinanew
avatar, according to a fresh order
issued by the Railway ministry
on Monday.
Afterreviewingthe100-year
old practice, the Railway Board
hasdecidedthatwhilefreshbun-
galowpeons,usuallyengagedby
officers as per their wishes, will
not be recruited, the ones work-
ing will continue to work at offi-
cers’ homes and vacant posts of
bungalow peons will be filled
from the existing pool.
Top sources explained to The
Indian Express that the order
makes it possible for officers to
select bungalow peons from
Group D staff recruited by
Railways, subject to consent of
the staff concerned. “Only thing
that changes is that earlier we
were allowed to take just about
anyone. That may not happen,”
said a source.
“Such posts may be filled
from substitute TADKs available
inIndianRailways.Alternatively,
these posts may also be filled by
regularemployees,fromanyunit
in Indian Railways. Subject to
willingnessof theemployeeand
the officer concerned. The lien
and seniority of the above em-
ployeesshallbeprotectedintheir
parent cadre,” the order says.
The order, issued after a
three-membercommitteeof of-
ficersadvocatedretainingthefa-
cility for railway officers, gives
zonal railway General Managers
powerstodecidewhattodowith
vacantpostsof thebungalowpe-
ons, formally known as
Telephone Attendant cum Dak
Khalasis (TADK). The order says
if any Group D staff is willing to
workasTADK,itmaybeallowed.
The order makes it clear that
existing posts of incumbent
TADKs will continue and their
employmentwillbegovernedby
existing rules.
The Railway Board stopped
recruitment of fresh bungalow
peons August 6 this year and of-
ficers were told that a new re-
cruitment policy in this regard
would be rolled out.
Bungalow peon is a sensitive
subject for railway officers.
Almost no one wants to give up
the facility arguing that it is in-
trinsic to the nature of their job.
Railway officers, like their coun-
terpartsintheArmy,areentitled
to a Group D employee posted
24X7 at their homes. The logic is
that railway officers may get
posted in remote, often inhos-
pitable,locationsandareusedto
taking work home or being held
up at work at odd hours. In such
a scenario, extending the help of
anemployeetohishome,officers
argue, is necessary. “That is why
thispracticehasbeentheresince
the beginning,” said a senior of-
ficer.
As Railway Minister, Lalu
Prasad had extended the facility
to officers posted in Railway
Board.
In 2014, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had urged
Railways to consider abolishing
the practice in favour of officers
takinganallowance.Thereafter,a
committee was formed to work
out a way forward.
tobacco-free, staff asked for affidavit
ABHISHEKANGAD
RANCHI,DECEMBER2
JHARKHAND HAS made it
mandatory for all state govern-
mentemployeestosubmitanaf-
fidavit stating that they will ab-
stainfromconsuminganyformof
tobacco.
The decision was taken on
Tuesday at a meeting of the
National Tobacco Control
Programme's state chapter,
headed by Jharkhand Chief
SecretarySukhdevSingh,withan
aim to implement the Cigarettes
and other Tobacco Products Act,
2003 (COTPA).
The state will also issue a
gazette notification on the affi-
davit,whichwillbeimplemented
from April 1 next year, it was in-
formed.
“Anaffidavithastobesubmit-
tedbyallgovernmentemployees
statingthattheywillnotconsume
tobacco. It will be implemented
from April 1, 2021,” the govern-
ment stated in a release.
Tobaccoproductsincludeany
“cigarettes, bidi, khaini, gutkha,
panmasala,zardaorsupariaswell
as hukka, e-hukka, e-cigarettes
and tobacco products being used
by any name — smoking and
smokeless”, it was decided.
Chief Secretary Singh also di-
rected the Rural Development
and Panchayati Raj departments
tosendletterstoallzilaparishads,
panchayatsamitisandgrampan-
chayatsandaskthemtoorganise
tobacco control discussions in
every gram sabha meeting.
Sources in the government said
PrincipalSecretary(Health)Nitin
Kulkarni had mooted the idea. It
is not clear whether there will be
any penal action on those found
in violation.
InApril,Jharkhandhadbanned
sale and consumption of tobacco
products in public places, includ-
ingonlinesales,inviewofincrease
inchancesof Covid-19infection.
In Tuesday’s meeting, all
deputy commissioners and su-
perintendent of police of the
state's border districts were or-
dered to increase vigil at check-
posts to stop entry of banned to-
bacco products.

New Delhi

6 GOVT & POLITICS
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
As trouble
mounts for
BJP, JJP,
Cong smells
a chance
VARINDER BHATIA
CHANDIGARH, DECEMBER 2
WITH THE prospect of a lengthy
standoff between farmers and
the Union government looming,
trouble seems to be mounting
for Chief Minister Manohar Lal
Khattar’s BJP government in
Haryana.
If the agitation is prolonged,
pressure is expected to increase
on several Haryana MLAs, in-
cluding Independents and those
from the Dushyant Chautala-led
JJP. It was with their support that
the BJP formed the government
after falling short of the majority
mark by six seats in the 2019
Assembly polls.
Out of the 90 Assembly con-
stituencies of Haryana, at least
40 are predominantly rural. JJP's
major vote bank comesfrom the
rural belt. Deputy CM Chautala's
consistent silence ever since
farmers began camping on
Delhi's borders has raised many
eyebrows. With the standoff in-
tensifying,JJPtoohasstartedgiv-
ing ample hints that it would
also be forced to think about its
“future strategy” if the talks be-
tween farmers and union gov-
ernment fails.
“Our party's senior leaders
are keeping a close watch on the
ongoing talks between farmers
and the Union government. We
shall take our next decision after
the talks conclude. JJP is farmers
party and will remain in favour
of the farmers, till eternity”, JJP's
youth wing leader and
Dushyant's younger brother,
Digvijay, had said Tuesday.
Sources in Congress told The
Indian Express that several JJP
andevenBJPMLAswerelikelyto
pull out of the alliance govern-
mentinthestatesoon.Haryana's
Leaderof Oppositionandformer
CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda told
The Indian Express, “Although
Dushyant has not yet contacted
me, but several MLAs are in
touch. They will eventually have
to make a choice between their
chairs and farmers. Farmers are
the ones who voted them to
power. Now, these farmers need
their elected representatives'
support.Ratherthanstandingby
their side, these people (JJP and
Independent MLAs) are sticking
to their chairs.
HaryanaAgricultureMinister
J P Dalal said: “There is no possi-
bility of the government falling.”
Former HC
judges rally
behind
farmers
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
CHANDIGARH, DECEMBER 2
THREE FORMER judges of the
Punjab and Haryana High Court
have expressed their support for
farmers protesting against
Centre’s farm laws, and have
urged the Union government to
listen to their grievances with an
open mind.
In a note released to the me-
dia on Wednesday, Justice M S
Gill, Justice Ranjit Singh and
Justice Nawab Singh also criti-
cised the manner in which the
farmers were treated by
Haryana Police. “It was not only
undemocratic, but brutal as
well. Use of indiscriminate wa-
ter cannons in this harsh cold
winter and use of lathis and
other means would put any
democratic government to
shame.”
They said they have chosen
tospeakoutafterseeinghowthe
entire farming community in
the country was highly ag-
grievedagainstthefarmlawsre-
cently enacted by the central
government.
“We fail to understand and
appreciate the urgency shown
by the central government in in-
troducing these farm laws by
first issuing ordinances that too
when whole nation was in lock-
down condition and fighting the
serious pandemic engulfing the
entire world. Was there any ur-
gency or emergency to take the
routethroughordinances?”they
asked.
SURJEET SINGH
PHOOL (75)
Bharatiya Kisan Union, or
BKU (Krantikari)
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
One of the most influential
leaders of the ongoing protests,
Phool was booked under UAPA
by Punjab government in 2009
when he was accused of being
linked toMaoistsandplacedun-
der “intensive interrogation” in
jail in Amritsar. Farmers’ unions
hadgottogetherinprotesttode-
mand his release. On govern-
ment’srequesttofarmerstoshift
protest location, Phool had
equated Burariwithan openjail.
HANNAN MOLLAH (74),
WEST BENGAL
All India Kisan Sabha
POLITICAL LINK: CPM
He joined CPM at the age of
16 and has since risen through
the ranks to become a Politburo
member.
BOGH SINGH MANSA (68)
BKU
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Singh, now president of the
union, has been working on is-
sues related to farmers for the
last 42 years and got involved in
activism in his student days as a
coordinating member of the
Punjab Students’ Union.
JOGINDER SINGH (75)
BKU (Ugrahan); one of the
largest outfits in protest
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Singh left the Army to
attend to his family’s farm and
formed BKU (Ugrahan) in
2002. He is among few leaders
with whom Home Minister
Amit Shah spoke with to
request the agitation to be
shifted to Burari.
DR DARSHAN PAL (70)
Krantikari Kisan Union;
active in Malwa region
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
After premature
retirement from Punjab Civil
Medical Service, Pal took to
agriculture — his family
owned 15 acres of land. He
started participating in
farmers’ programmes in 2007
and joined BKU. In 2016, when
Krantikari Kisan Union was
formed, he became its
member and was appointed
president during the
pandemic.
KULWANT SINGH
SANDHU (65)
Jamhuri Kisan Sabha.
POLITICALLINK:CENTRAL
COMMITTEE,REVOLUTIONARY
MARXISTPARTYOFINDIA
Sandhu began as a student
activist with CPM’s student
wing, SFI, and fought the
separatist movement in
Punjab. He was elected
sarpanch of Jalandhar’s Rurka
Kalan village given his
position against militancy and
was once shot in his leg. He
left CPM in 2001.
BUTA SINGH BURJ
GILL (66)
BKU (Ekta-Dakonda)
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
He has been working
among farmers since 1984
and was among leaders who
gheraoed Punjab Raj Bhawan
for several days in 1984. He
was earlier part of BKU (Ekta-
Sidhupur) faction, which
suffered a split in 2006, and
became part of the group
which was later renamed BKU
(Ekta-Dakonda).
NIRBHAY SINGH
DUDHIKE (70)
Kirti Kisan Union
POLITICAL LINK: CPI(ML) NEW
DEMOCRACY
Dudhike came to political
forefront during an agitation
against killing of two students in
police firing in Moga in 1972. He
was associated with Tarimala
Nagi Reddy’s Unity Centre of
Communist Revolutionaries of
India-Marxist Leninist (UCCRI-
Jharkhand govt begins procuring paddy, farmers to be paid 50% at time of delivery
ABHISHEK ANGAD
RANCHI, DECEMBER 2
EXPECTING A bumper paddy
crop this season, the Jharkhand
government has kicked off the
procurementprocesswithanas-
surance to pay the farmers 50
per cent of the amount at the
time of delivery.
This is a change in policy
fromthepreviousyearwhenthe
payments were made after
paddy processing in the mill,
which took around two months
from the date of procurement.
LEADING FROM THE FRONT: Farmer leaders after their meeting with Union ministers in the national capital on Tuesday. Tashi Tobgyal
The farmer negotiators
FromanArmyveteranandaformermedicalpractitionertoaformerfootballeranddyed-in-the-wool
Communists,meetthe35whoaresittingacrossthetableinthemeetingwiththegovernmenttoday
ML) and founded the Tillers
Union. He was jailed for 19
months during the Emergency
and joined CPI(ML) New
Democracy in the late 1980s.
BALDEV SINGH
NIHALGARH (64)
Kul Hind Kisan Sabha
POLITICAL LINK: STATE EXECUTIVE
MEMBER, CPI
He began with CPI’s youth
wing,AIYF,andlaterbecameone
of the frontline farmer leaders of
Punjab.KHKSisaffiliatedtoCPI’s
All India Kisan Sabha, and
Nihalgarm comes from a family
of Communists.
RULDU SINGH MANSA (68),
Punjab Kisan Union;
influential in Malwa
POLITICAL LINK: CPI(ML)
LIBERATION
Risingthroughfarmermove-
ments, Mansa is founder-leader
and president of All India Kisan
Mahasabha,whichisaffiliatedto
CPI(ML) Liberation. He was ex-
pelled from BKU (Ekta-
Sidhupur) some 15 years ago
due to his association with the
CPI(ML) Liberation.
MAJOR SINGH
PUNNAWAL (60)
All India Kisan Sabha
POLITICAL LINK: CPM
His family owns farms in
Punnawal.Married to “daughter
of a comrade”, Punnawal said it
was decided at his wedding that
he will work for the party while
his wife, a teacher, can work for
family income. Punnawal has
been with Left outfits for nearly
fivedecadesnowsincehejoined
SFIatacollegeinSangrurin1973.
INDERJEET SINGH KOT
BUDHA (50)
Kisan Sangharsh
Committee (Punjab – Kot
Buddha); active in
Amritsar, Tarn Taran,
Jalandhar, Firozepur, etc
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: NONE
He has a seven-acre farm in
Kot Buddha village in Tarn
Taran. He was unable to attend
the meeting due to ailing
health and sent a
representative. He was made
The state Food, Public
Distribution and Consumer
Affairs Department has pegged
the expected harvest at 4.5 lakh
metric tonnes—about 20 per
cent more than last year.
Department Director Dilip
Tirkey said 1,42,505 farmers
have registered so far on the ‘e-
uparjan’ website which details
the whole process.
“Last year we had expected
procurement of 3 lakh metric
tonnes,and3.7lakhtonneswere
procured. This year we have
pegged the procurement at 4.5
lakh metric tonnes because
the head of the outfit in 2018.
“We are with no party; we are
farmers,” he says.
GURBAKSH SINGH
BARNALA (67)
Jai Kisaan Andolan
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: NONE
Barnala said he is a small
farmer owning 2.5 acres in
Barnala’s Kattu village. He is a
founding member of his outfit,
which was established in 2015.
He did not attend the meeting
due to ill-health.
SATNAM SINGH
PANNU (65)
Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh
Committee; active in 10
districts in Majha, Doaba
and Malwa regions
Coming from Tarn Taran’s
Piddi village, Pannu has been ac-
tive in movements since his col-
legedays.Hisoutfitisconsidered
ashavingtakenthestrongestpo-
sitionagainstthefarmlawssince
the start. His union continued its
dharna on the tracks at Jandiala
Guru near Amritsar even after
others agreed to call off the
protest last week. His outfit was
formed in 2000 when the then
SAD-BJP government was not
procuring paddy from mandis
and it was due to their agitation
that the crop was finally lifted.
KANWALPREET SINGH
PANNU (55)
Kisan Sangharsh
Committee (Punjab)
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
His outfit was established in
2000 and has been part of sev-
eralagitations,includingtheone
against land acquisition laws in
2015. In April, his outfit held a
protest with distancing norms
during the lockdown, demand-
ingthatwheatcropbelifted,and
the needy be provided free
healthcare and ration.
HARJINDER SINGH
TANDA (57)
Azaad Kisan Sangharsh
Committee (Punjab);
active in four districts
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Tanda has a 13-acre farm on
Jharkhand is expecting a
bumper paddy crop this
season. File
which he grows paddy and veg-
etables, and was sarpanch of his
villagefor15yearsuntil2018.He
has participated in several
protestssince2000,whenhebe-
came a founding-member of
Kisan Sangharsh Committee. He
became part of the splinter
groupof thecommitteeandlater
founded Azad Kisan Sangharsh
Committee.
JAGJEET SINGH
DALEWAL (62)
BKU-Sidhupur; claims to
have 1.75 lakh members
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Dalewal belongs to a family
of farmers and has 17 acres of
land. Helped by his son in farm-
ing, he says he is losing money
by not sowing for the kharif
crop but “the loss we will face if
the laws are not reversed is
much higher than one season’s
financial loss”. He has been part
of unions for three decades
now.
HARMEET SINGH (43)
BKU (Qadian); has 70,000
members in the district
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
His grandfather was a found-
ing member of BKU, and Singh is
among the new generation
farmer-leadersinthestate.Hehas
20 acres of land, and says he tries
toholdthemovementaliveatthe
grassrootsthroughregularmeet-
ingsatthevillageanddistrictlevel.
He joined the union 15 years ago.
BALBIR SINGH
RAJEWAL (77)
BKU (Rajewal)
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Born in 1943 in Ludhiana in a
family of farmers, Rajewal com-
pleted his education and joined
the farmers’ union in 1971. He
has 60 acres of land, runs a
school, a college, and an “hon-
esty” shop which has no shop-
keeper but only has a box for
customers to deposit money for
what they buy. He says he has
never been affiliated to any po-
litical party. Rajewal has been
active in the union after his son
left his job as a commercial pi-
lot in 1992 to take over farming
from him.
Jharkhand received good rain-
fall,” he said.
Tirkey said a total of 370 col-
lections centres across the state
have been designated for paddy
procurement. “This year, we
have also decided that we will
give the payment to the farmer
as soon as detailsare updated on
our backend. Ranging from one
to three days, the farmer will get
50 per cent of the payment and
rest will be paid after complet-
ing all formalities. Earlier, the
farmerwouldhavetowaitforhis
croptobetransportedtothemill
to receive the payment.”
SATNAM SINGH SAHNI (48)
BKU (Daoba); active in
Daoba with mainly
sugarcane farmers as
members
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Among the youngest
farmer leaders, Sahni has
around 30 acres of land and
shot to fame among farmers’
unions when he mobilised
farmers against low
procurement rate of
sugarcane five years ago,
forcing the state government
to increase prices. A POLITICAL LINK: MARXIST
postgraduate from Khalsa
College, he was a footballer in
Panjab University.
BALVINDER SINGH
AULAKH (42)
Majha Kisan Committee;
active in Majha region
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Aulakh has led agitations re-
lated to issues faced by sugar-
cane farmers for the last six
years. A sarpanch, Aulakh set up
the committee in 2014 and has
alsobeenhandlingissuesrelated
to mandis in his area.
BALDEV SINGH SIRSA (72)
Lok Bhalai Insaaf Welfare
Society
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
FromAmritsar,Sirsaisawell-
knownfaceonlocalTVchannels
andisknownforhismanylitiga-
tionrelatedtofarmers’issuesand
Sikh religious institutes in High
Court. He has also worked in
Haryanaasasocialactivist.Sirsa’s
father was known to be close to
ChaudhryDeviLalandheiscon-
sidered close to OP Chautala.
SATNAM SINGH
BEHRU (81)
Indian Farmers
Association
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Behru has been working on
agrarian issues for nearly four
decades, and is well-known for
his petition in Supreme Court in
2011 against the Manmohan
Singhgovernmentfornotimple-
mentingtheSwaminathancom-
mittee report. His outfit backed
BJP in the 2014 elections but is
The collection centres are
Primary Agriculture Credit Co-
operative Societies (PACS), Large
AreaMultipurpose Co-operative
Societies (LAMPS) and Farmer
Producers Organisation (FPO),
among others.
The central government has
increasedtheminimumsupport
price(MSP)forpaddytoRs1,868
per quintal. The state govern-
ment is offering a bonus of Rs
182 on the MSP.
Tirkey said one of the issues
surrounding the procurement is
thefarmers’lackof computerlit-
eracy.Another,hesaid,isthelack
New Delhi
now at odds with the Narendra
Modigovernmentforrefusingto
implement the Swaminathan
committee’s recommendations
and “betraying the farmers”.
BUTA SINGH
SHADIPUR (59)
Bhartiya Kisan Manch
POLITICAL LINK: FORMER SAD
MEMBER
His father was a member of
SAD and Shadipur worked on is-
suesrelatedtofarmersonbehalf
of the party for more than 30
years. He left the party in 2016to
launchtheBhartiyaKisanManch
in 2016, and played a key role in
bringing together different out-
fits in the current agitation.
JUNGBEER SINGH
TANDA (45)
Doaba Kisan Samiti
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
From Hoshiarpur district,
Tunda has worked for farmers
on issues related to sugarcane
cultivation. His outfit said they
are determined to keep the agi-
tation apolitical.
MUKESH CHANDRA (65)
Doaba Kisan Sangharsh
Committee; influential in
areas around Jalandhar
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Vice president of his outfit,
Chandra led protests in
Jalandhar between August and
October 2016 to demand notifi-
cationof the0238varietyof sug-
arcanetobring itsprice toRs370
per quintal. He was part of the
groups which negotiated with
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh,
and eventually agreed to lift the
rail blockade.
SUKHPAL SINGH
DAFFAR (61)
Ganna Sangharsh
Committee; active in
Hoshiarpur
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Daffarispresidentofthecom-
mittee,whichmainly represents
sugarcanefarmersinDasuya.The
outfit led an agitation two years
agotodemandsugarmillstoclear
dues and increase prices, block-
ing Jammu-Jalandhar highway
and railway tracks.
Earlier, payments were
made after paddy
processing in the mill,
which took around two
months from the date
of procurement.
of forward linkages in PACS,
LAMPS or FPOs.
“We are facing some prob-
lems in farmer registrations, but
it is not a challenge. I feel that
farmersarenotattachedtothese
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
HARPAL SINGH (60)
Azad Kisan Committee
Doaba; operating
primarily in Hoshiarpur
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Singh has led the outfit
during road blockades in
Hoshiarpur in September
BALDEV SINGH MIYAPUR
(69)
BKU (Mann);
headquartered in Haryana
POLITICAL LINK: TRADITIONALLY
CLOSE TO THE CONGRESS
Miyapur is Punjab
president of the outfit and has
been a longstanding part of
farmer agitations across north
India, including raising the
demand for freedom to grow
Bt cotton in July 2019
KRIPAL SINGH NATHUVALA
(52)
Kisan Bachao Morcha;
Punjab-based farmers’
wing of International
Panthic Dal
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
Nathuvala is president of
KBM, which has been vocal
about farmers’ issues, including
water sharing, and was involved
innegotiationswithPunjabgov-
ernment over the rail blockade.
PARMINDER SINGH PAL
MAJRA (65)
BKU (Lakhowal),
POLITICAL LINK: OUTFIT CLOSE TO
THE SAD
Majra is Punjab president of
the outfit, which filed a petition
againstthefarmlawsinSupreme
Court,allegedlywithoutpermis-
sion of other farmer unions.
During talks with the Union
AgricultureSecretaryinOctober,
he had hit out at the Centre for
“trying to educate farmers”.
PREM SINGH BHANGU
Kul Hind Kisan Federation
POLITICAL LINK: MARXIST
COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA
(UNITED)
ApracticinglawyerinPunjab
andHaryanaHighCourt,Bhangu
isfounderpresidentof KHKF,es-
tablished in 2014. He has been
associated with farmers’ issues
since 1992 and is an old-timer in
Left politics, starting with SFI in
his college days in the 1970s.
KIRANJEET SEKHON
Kul Hind Kisan Federation
(Sangrur); active in
Sangrur
COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA
(UNITED)
Associated with the Left
since his college days and part
of Left farmers’ organisations,
Sekhon is a practicing lawyer
in Sangrur and floated a
Sangrur faction of KHKF two
years ago.
GURNAM SINGH CHANNUNI
(60) HARYANA
BKU (Chaduni)
POLITICAL LINK: AAP
An affluent farmer and
arhtiya from Kurukshetra
district, he has been
associated with farm issues
for several years and is the
face of the ongoing agitation
in Haryana. His wife
contested Lok Sabha polls on
an AAP ticket while he
contested 2019 Lok Sabha
polls as an Independent.
SHIV KUMAR KAKKA;
MADHYA PRADESH
Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor
Mahasangh
POLITICAL LINK: NONE
AveteranoftheJPMovement,
Kakawasborninafamilyoffarm-
ersandhasbeenassociatedwith
agrarian issues since the 1980s.
He was initially associated with
RSSandisknowntohavegoneto
jailmorethan50timesduetohis
role in agitations.
COMPILED BY
MANOJ C G, KRISHN
KAUSHIK, AVISHEK
DASTIDAR, ESHA ROY,
DIPANKAR GHOSE AND
DEEPTIMAN TIWARY
PACS, LAMPS centres as they
don’t provide other services like
soil testing.”
The department resolution
letter states that the farmer will
get an SMS as an alert after the
registration. It added that in
three districts, the Food
Corporationof Indiawillprocure
the paddy and in rest of the 21
districts, the paddy will be pro-
cured by the Jharkhand State
Food Corporation.
Tirkey added that due to the
moisture content in the paddy,
they may go slow on procure-
ment in the initial days.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020 EXPRESS NETWORK 7
BRIEFLY
Improve representation of women in 2021 board exams
will be held only in
judiciary, sensitise judges: AG to SC tionedstrengthof 1,113judgesin other High Courts of the coun- at all levels of the judiciary, in-
‘offline’ mode: CBSE
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
unable to do practicals in their
schools before the exams.
ANANTHAKRISHNAN G the High Courts and the try,” he said. “Currently, no data cluding the Supreme Court”. NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2 The Indian Express has re-
Sunny Deol NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2 KK Supreme Court across India... is centrally maintained on the Venugopal stressed that “this ported that school educators are
Venugopal Out of these 80 women judges, number of women in tribunals initiative must come from the THE CENTRAL Board of worried that although teaching-
STRESSING THE need for greater there are only two in the or lower courts.” SupremeCourtitself,considering Secondary Education (CBSE)an- learning is being conducted on-
SunnyDeol gender sensitisation among SupremeCourt,andtheother78 Healsohighlightedtheques- that the power of appointment nouncedonWednesdaythatthe line —with varyinglevels of suc-

testspositive members of the judiciary,

forcoronavirus
Shimla: BJP MP and actor
Sunny Deol Wednesday
saidhehastestedpositive
for coronavirus. “I have
tested positive for coron-
avirus.Iappealtothepeo-
ple who came in contact
withmerecentlytoisolate
themselves and go for the
COVIDtest,”hetweetedin
Hindi.The64-year-oldac-
torhadundergoneashou-
lder surgery at Mumbai
and was recuperating at a
farmhousenearManaliin
Kulludistrict.Deol’sspok-
esperson said the actor is
under home quarantine.
“Hehastestedpositivebut
isasymptomaticandfeel-
ingabsolutelyalright,”the
spokesperson said. PTI
Attorney General K K Venugopal
said Wednesday that “improv-
ingtherepresentationof women
in the judiciary could... go a long
way towards a more balanced
and empathetic approach in
casesinvolving sexual violence”.
The Attorney General said
this in his written submission to
the Supreme Court which is
hearing a plea against a bail con-
dition of the Madhya Pradesh
High Court which asked a man,
who is an accused in a case of at-
tempt to outrage the modesty of
a woman, to visit the home of
the alleged victim and request
her to tie a rakhi.
Venugopal told the bench of
Justices A M Khanwilkar and S
Uttarakhand:
Another shot at
Ravindra Bhat that judges, who
belong to the “old school” and
may be “patriarchal” in outlook,
should be sensitised so that they
do not pass orders objectifying
women in cases of sexual vio-
lence. He also called for manda-
tory training of all lawyers on
gender sensitisation.
Holding the mirror to the ju-
diciary, Venugopal said the
Supreme Court “only has 2
womenjudges,asagainstasanc-
tioned strength of 34 judges”
and “there has never been a fe-
male Chief Justice of India”.
This figure, he said, is “con-
sistently low across the Higher
Judiciary”.
“There are only 80 women
judges out of the total sanc-
TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE
are in various High Courts, com-
prising only 7.2 per cent of the
total number of judges.”
“Of the 26 courts whose data
was accessed, including the
Supreme Court, the Punjab and
Haryana High Court has the
maximum strength of women
judges (11 out of 85 judges) in
the country, followed by the
Madras High Court (9 out of 75
judges). There are eight women
judgesinbothDelhiandBombay
High Courts....There are six High
Courts, which consist of
Manipur, Meghalaya, Patna,
Tripura, Telangana, and
Uttarakhand, where no sitting
judges include any woman
judge. At the same time, there is
an only one-woman judge in six
tion of senior designation of
lawyers,pointing out that “there
are only 17 women senior coun-
sel designates in the Supreme
Court, as opposed to 403 men”.
“The Delhi High Court has
229 men and 8 women desig-
nates. Similarly, in the Bombay
High Court, there are 6 women
and 157 men designates,” the
Attorney General said.
To remedy the situation, the
SupremeCourt,hesaid,mustdi-
rect collection of data to deter-
mine the number of women
judgesinthelowerjudiciaryand
tribunals and also to determine
year-wisenumber of seniordes-
ignates by all High Courts.
Besides,itshouldalso“ensure
greaterrepresentationof women
Send those not wearing
masks for Covid service,
rests almost exclusively with the
Supreme Court Collegium. The
goal must be to achieve at least
50% representation of women in
all leadership positions”.
Referring to the MP HC issue
andotherinstances,hesaid“wide
prevalence of such orders makes
it clear that there is a need for ur-
gentinterventionof thisCourtto,
firstly, declare that such remarks
areunacceptableandhavethepo-
tentialtocausegraveharmtothe
victimandtosocietyatlarge,and
secondly,reiteratethatjudicialor-
dershavetoconformtocertainju-
dicial standards, and thirdly, take
necessarystepstoensurethatthis
does not happen in the future”.
FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
2021boardexaminationswillbe
held only in the offline written
mode – and not online – “as and
when” they are conducted.
This is the first major update
by the CBSE on the 2021 board
examinations for classes X and
XII students. However, it is yet to
announce if there will be any
modification in timeline for the
conduct of these exams, which
usually begin between mid-
February and early-March.
"No final decision has been
taken regarding the dates for
conduct of board exams, and
consultations with stakeholders
are still in process. The exams, as
and when they are to be con-
ducted, will be in written mode
and not in online mode. The ex-
amswillbeconductedfollowing
all Covid protocols," the board
said in a statement.
Theboardalsosaidthatitwill
have to explore alternatives to
cess in different schools — the
inability of students to attend
school is having an adverse im-
pacton thepractical component
of the students' curriculum.
While some states have al-
lowed for schools to re-open for
students of classes IX to XII in
November, most states, includ-
ing Delhi, have opted to keep
them closed.
Schools across the country
were closed mid-March when
the country went into a nation-
wide lockdown as a precaution
against the Covid-19 pandemic.
This lockdown also interrupted
the 2020 board examinations
mid-way.Theboardhaddecided
to grade students on the basis of
this truncated examination sea-
sonthroughamodifiedmarking
schemeandinSeptember,itcon-
ducted physical compartment
examinations and re-examina-
tions for class XII students who

UTTAR PRADESH
Manheldwith
wife,daughter
forkillingyouth
Muzaffarnagar:Amanhas
been arrested with his
wife for allegedly killing a
youth for having an affair
with their daughter in a
villageinShamlidistrictof
Uttar Pradesh, police said
onWednesday.Thefather
of the 22-year-old youth
hasaccusedthegirl’sfam-
ily of having a role in his
killing. The police have
also arrested the girl and
arelookingforhertwoab-
scondingbrothers,saidSP
Nityanand Rai. The mur-
der took place Monday in
Panthura village in Jhinj-
hana police station area,
saidtheSP,addingthatthe
policerecoveredthebody
fromadrystretchof Yam-
una riverbed at the in-
stanceofkeyaccusedDhir
SinghTuesday.DhirSingh
andhiswifeanddaughter
werearrestedafterthere-
covery, said the SP. PTI
GUJARAT
govt job for those
above age limit
LALMANI VERMA
DEHRADUN, DECEMBER 2
GOVERNMENT JOB seekers in
Uttarakhand, who have crossed
the application age limit of 42
owingtotheCovid-19lockdown,
may soon get another shot at re-
cruitment as the state govern-
ment looks set to announce a
six-month age limit relaxation,
sources said Wednesday.
These sources said the Chief
Minister’s Office has approved
the proposal and the Personnel
Department will soon release
the order. “An in-principle deci-
sionhasbeentaken.Theorderto
this effect will be issued after re-
ceiving the concurrence of the
Lok Seva Ayoga on the matter,”
saidBhupalSinghManral,secre-
tary, Personnel Department.
According to another official,
thedecisionwastakenaftersev-
eral job aspirants approached
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh
Rawat complaining that they
crossedthe age limit for the gov-
ernmentjobsinthestatebecause
the recruitment process was not
carriedoutduringthelockdown.
Sources saidthegovernment
has planned to give the six-
275 CASES: ACTIVE CASES: 4,28,644 practical exams if students are wanted to increase their scores.
94,99,413 DEATHS: 1,38,122
DAYS SINCE
PANDEMIC
BEGAN TESTS: 14,24,45,949 | RECOVERIES: 89,32,647 HC tells Gujarat govt Drugs case: 3 months after
TODAY
CASES
36,604
DEATHS
501
RECOVERIES
43,062
TESTS
10,96,651 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
ment to ensure proper imple-
mentation with a separate set of
arrest, Rhea brother gets bail
AHMEDABAD, DECEMBER 2
manpowerdedicatedtoensureit.
The division bench of Chief EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
THE GUJARAT High Court on JusticeVikramNathandJusticeJB MUMBAI, DECEMBER 2 Showik
Wednesdsay directed the Pardiwala Wednesday directed Chakraborty
Gujaratgovernmenttocomeout that “any person found to be not A SPECIAL court on Wednesday
with a notification to send those wearingorusingafacemask/cov- granted bail to Showik
found not wearing a mask, for eringinapublicplaceand/orvio- Chakraborty, actor Rhea forethecourtonSeptember5af-
community service at a Covid lating the Covid protocol of social Chakraborty's brother, who was terhisarrest,hehadretractedhis
STATESWITHRISINGACTIVECASES care centres, apart from impos- distancing, shall be mandated to arrestedbytheNarcoticsControl statement made before NCB,
ACTIVECASES RISEINLASTWEEK ing the penalty amount. do community service at any Bureau (NCB) in September in a statingthatitwasnon-voluntary.
Maharashtra 89,098 5,877 The direction came after two Covid care centre run by the local drugscasefiledafterthedeathof ThecourtonWednesdayalso
Rajasthan 27,974 2,777 days of hearing, following a pro- authorities”. actor Sushant Singh Rajput. grantedbailtoAbdelBasitParihar,
Madhya Pradesh 14,435 1,456 posal from HC advocate Vishal Suchmandateof community Showik, 24, had filed a sec- who the NCB claimed Showik
Awtani who was appearing as service has to be implemented ond bail application last month, had bought marijuana from.
STATESWHEREACTIVECASESAREDECLINING party-in-person to mandate for all violators without any dis- citing the Supreme Court judg-
ACTIVECASES DECLINEINLASTWEEK communityserviceforrepeatof- crimination, the court said. “The ment which had held that state-
NCB seeks revocation
Andhra Pradesh 7,427 5,597 fenders of the mask rule. duty should be non-medical in mentsmadebeforeNCBofficials of Bharti Singh bail
Chhattisgarh 19,333 5,121 OnTuesday,thestategovern- nature and can include activities cannot be considered confes- The NCB has approached the
Delhi 31,769 3,482 mentsubmittedtothecourtthat such as cleaning, housekeeping, sion. sessions court and urged that
whileitiskeenonimplementing help in cooking and serving the In his second bail plea before bail granted to Bharti Singh and
STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMCASES(TODAY) communityservice,itwouldbea food, preparation of record, data thecourt,Showikhadsubmitted husband Harsh Limbachiya be
CASESTODAY CASESTODAY mammoth task for the govern- feeding, etc.,” the court added. that when he was produced be- revoked.
Kerala 5,375 6,08,358
Maharashtra 4,930 18,28,826
Delhi 4,006 5,74,380
STATESREPORTINGMAXIMUMDEATHS(TODAY)
DEATHSTODAY TOTAL
Maharashtra 99 48,316
Delhi 86 9,260
West Bengal 52 8,476
DataasonDecember1,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealthandFamilyWelfare,IndianCouncilofMedical
Researchandstategovernments.Oftenthenumbersreleasedeverydaycontaindatafrompreviousdays

Manstripped, month age relaxation to those

who crossed 42 in July.
aswell.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareonlyindicativeandnotdefinitive

paradedover
dispute;5held
Khambhalia (Guj): Five
persons have been ar-
rested for allegedly strip-
ping a man and parading
him naked in a market
here after he accused
them of indulging in
cricket-betting,policesaid
on Wednesday. The inci-
dent took place on
Tuesday following which
the accused uploaded a
video of the incident on
social media.They were
angry with the man as he
had posted a video on
Facebook, accusing them
ofindulgingincricket-bet-
ting, a police officer said.
DSP Hirendra Chaudhary
said, “An FIR was lodged
Tuesdayandallthefiveac-
cusedhavebeenarrested.
Thecasehasbeenhanded
over to the local Crime
Branch,” he said. PTI
KARNATAKA
Second Covid wave could hit
Karnataka in Jan, experts warn
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
BENGALURU, DECEMBER 2
A TECHNICAL advisory commit-
tee advising the Karnataka gov-
ernment on how to tackle the
Covid-19 pandemic has warned
that a second wave of the coron-
avirus may hit the state in
Januaryandhassuggestedmeas-
ures like the imposition of night
curfewbetweenDecember26to
January1andabanonNewYear
celebrationstominimisetheim-
pact on the state.
“An early recognition of the
second wave of Covid-19 in the
statecanbedonebycloselymon-
itoring7-dayaveragegrowthrate
and reproduction number (R0)
at district and state levels. The
second wave of Covid-19 is ex-
pectedduringJanuary-February,
November 30 report.
It said that the inputs of an
epidemic intelligence team
should be utilised for early
recognition of the second wave
by the state government and a
“minimum of 1.25 lakh tests per
day”shouldbeconductedtillthe
endof February,withatleastone
lakh being RT-PCR tests.
Winter conditions, theopen-
ing up of public movement and
interactions,weakenforcements
and the movement of people
across states are cited as causes
for a possible second wave.
“There has been a second
wave of Covid-19 in the USA,
Europe, Australia, and other
countries. Recently, there has
been a surge in cases in Delhi,
Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala,
and other states that has been a
Ithasrecommendedthatthe
hospitalcarepreparednessinthe
state in January should be at the
levels that it was when the first
wave of the Covid-19 began re-
ceding in October “in terms of
beds, ICUs, ICU- ventilators, etc”.
The committee has said that
mass gatherings must only be
held in open areas, and has sug-
gested a ban on public New Year
celebrations and as well as a
night curfew from 8 pm to 5 pm
from December 26 to January 1.
Karnataka recorded its first
case on March 8, and till the end
of November, a total of 8.74 lakh
cases were detected in the state,
with 11,678 deaths. The period
of July to September was the
worst, when the state was wit-
nessing an average of 10,000
Covid-19 cases a day. The num-
ber of cases has since been

Formerminister 2021,” the committee, compris-

‘abducted,later
released’
Bengaluru: Former Karn-
ataka minister Varthur
Prakashwasallegedlyab-
ductedbyeightpeopleon
November27butreleased
the next day, police
sources said on Tuesday.
They said Prakash was re-
leased near Hoskote on
theoutskirtsofBengaluru.
“Prakash stated that he
was abducted with his
driver when he had gone
to his farmhouse in Kolar
GoldFields,”asourcesaid,
adding the former minis-
ter was allegedly tortured
Prakash lodged a police
complaint after returning
home,sourcessaid.When
reporters sought to know
about the incident,
Prakashsaid,“Iwillletyou
know.” PTI
ing of health experts, stated in a
Some nations used Covid to extend
their influence: Vice Army Chief
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
WHILE THE strategic security of
most nations has suffered this
year as funds were diverted to
combat the pandemic, some
countries have taken advantage
of this period to extend their in-
fluence militarily, politically and
economically,ViceArmyChief Lt
GenSKSainisaidonWednesday.
Virtually addressing the par-
ticipantsof theNationalDefence
Course Bangladesh, Lt Gen Saini,
speakingabouttheimpactof the
coronavirus, said, “Strategic se-
curity of most nations has been
impacted due to reduction in
funds for military capability and
cause for concern in other
states,” the committee stated.
Lt Gen
S K Saini
projects since vast sums of
money have been diverted for
urgent health requirements.
“While countries are strug-
gling to rein in the virus, certain
countrieshaveseizedtheoppor-
tunity to extend their influence
militarily, economically and po-
litically, which does not augur
well for the world community,”
Lt Gen Saini said, according to a
statement released by the Army.
The Vice Army Chief did not
nameanycountry,thoughhisre-
marks come in the backdrop of
brought under control, with an
average of 1,500 cases a day.
thenearlyseven-monthstandoff
with China in eastern Ladakh.
Lt Gen Saini spoke about
force readiness, training, opera-
tional logistics and human re-
sources issues, and said that
“forcesustainmentisachallenge
due to delays in delivery sched-
ules owing to production halts
and workforce disruptions”.
“Militaries of the region must
evolveadefencecooperationplan
sincetheywillbecomethefirstre-
sponders during such health dis-
asters,” he said. The defence-in-
dustrial base, he said, needs to be
re-invigorated “to meet sustain-
ment and modernisation needs”
and to focus on “force preserva-
tion and readiness by giving a
freshimpetustohealthsecurity”.

New Delhi
 8 EXPRESS NETWORK WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020

Academicians mourn UP’s first ‘love jihad’ arrest: Muslim man SC adjourns Kappan
demise of eminent who eloped with Hindu woman last year bail hearing, kin to be
historian VN Datta
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
NOTED SCHOLARS, literary per-
sonalities and journalists on
Wednesday mourned the death
of eminent historian Vishwa
Nath Datta.
Bornin1926,Dattahadanil-
lustrious career as an academi-
cian and public intellectual, and
belonged to independent India’s
first generation of historians
who brought a liberal and plu-
ralistic outlook to the writing of
modern Indian history.
Datta died at his residence in
New Delhi on Monday. He was
made party in plea
on Bhagat Singh, Maulana Azad,
and the Jallianwala Bagh mas-
sacre are landmarks of historical
scholarship. He was also a won-
derfully generous human being.
His work and example live on,”
Guha tweeted on Wednesday.
Paying homage to Datta, a
wreathwasalsoplacedonbehalf
of former prime minister Dr
Manmohan Singh, informed
NonicaDatta,thedaughterof the
late historian.
Datta,aprofessorEmeritusat
Kurukshetra University and for-
mer general president of the
IndianHistoryCongress, studied
at Government College, Lahore,
Lucknow University and the
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
LUCKNOW, DECEMBER 2
THREEDAYSafterthefirstFIRun-
der the new anti-conversion of
Uttar Pradesh was registered in
Bareilly,policeonWednesdayar-
restedtheaccusedOwaisAhmad,
21, for allegedly pressuring a
HinduwomantoconverttoIslam
andthreateningherparentswhen
they objected.
According to a statement is-
sued by Bareilly police, the ac-
cused was absconding for the
past few days and police teams
were conducting raids since
‘2020 set to be among warmest yrs on record’
November 28, when an FIR was
registeredagainsthimundersec-
tions504(intentionalinsultwith
intent to provoke breach of
peace) and 506 (criminal intim-
idation) of the IPC and the Uttar
Pradesh Vidhi Viruddh Dharm
Samparivartan Pratishedh
Adhyadesh,2020,whichwasno-
tified on Saturday.
It is alleged that Owais was in
arelationshipwithawomanfrom
the same locality and they had
eloped last year, before being
brought back. While Owais had
been arrested then, the woman
haddeniedchargesofkidnapping
madeagainsthimbyherfather.In
April,thewoman’sfamilymarried
her off to someone else.
In the FIR registered on Sund-
ay,thewoman’sfatherhasalleged
thatOwaishasbeentryingtocon-
verther,luringandpressuringher.
The complaint has added that he
is threatening the family.
According to senior police of-
ficers, the woman’s family has
saidthatsincehecametoknowof
themarriage,Owaishadbeenha-
rassing them and pressuring
themtocallbackthewomanand
let the two of them get married
after she converts. He last visited
the family on Saturday after
which they approached police,
said SHO of Deorania Police
Station, Daya Shankar.
The new law against “love ji-
had”providesforajailtermupto
10years,withallallegedoffences
cognizableandnon-bailable.The
ordinancesaysnopersonshallat-
tempttoconvertanotherbymis-
representation,force,allurement,
any fraudulent means or by mar-
riage. If a person converts back to
thereligiontheymostrecentlybe-
longedto,thatisnottobeconsid-
eredasconversionundertheordi-
nance. Any aggrieved person can
lodgeacomplaint,andtheburden
of proof liesontheaccusedorthe
person who has converted.
Every case is different, says CJI as Sibal
points to Arnab Goswami matter
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
THE SUPREME Court on
Wednesday adjourned to next
week the hearing on a plea chal-
lenging the arrest of Kerala jour-
nalist Siddique Kappan after the
Uttar Pradesh government said
that “shocking findings” have Kappan and three others
cometolightintheinvestigation. were arrested on October 5
“Investigation conducted so on their way to Hathras
farhasfoundsomeshockingfind-

E
94 years old. University of Cambridge. ings,” Solicitor General Tushar
While Historian Ramach- HestartedhiscareerasEditor, Mehta told a bench — of Chief suicide case.
andra Guha described Datta’s IndianGazetteers,butlefttheca- WMO Secretary-General cially in the Arctic. Wildfires con- Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S “Every case is different,” re-

work on Bhagat Singh, Maulana
Azad andthe Jallianwala Bagh as
“landmarksof historicalscholar-
ship”,literatureandculturecritic
Ashok Vajpayee said he was a
scholar and teacher “with un-
usual academic rigour and a
deep-rooted vision”.
“Professor VN Datta’s books
reerinthegovernmenttopursue
hisacademicdreams,andjoined
DelhiUniversity’sKirorimalColl-
ege.Hewentontotakeupmulti-
ple academic roles as a visiting
professor at a number of univer-
sities, including Moscow, Lenin-
grad,Berlinandresidentfellowof
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
E X P L A I NE D
ESHA ROY ProfessorPetteriTaalassaidthere sumed vast areas in Australia, The report’s Bopanna and V Ramasub- sponded the CJI. Intervening,
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2 is at least a one in five chance of Siberia, the US West Coast and ramanian — which took up the Mehta said Kappan claimed to
global temperatures temporarily South America, sending plumes
implications writ petition by the Kerala Union work for Tejas newspaper which
THE YEAR 2020 is expected to go exceedingthepre-industriallevel of smoke circumnavigating the ● for India of Working Journalists (KUWJ). was closed in 2018. “Wewantto
down as one of the warmest in by1.5°Cby2024.TheUNagency’s globe.Wesawarecordnumberof CJI Bobde, who had in earlier hear the case as per the law and
historywithglobaltemperatures provisionalreportisbasedondata hurricanesintheAtlantic,includ- INDIA HAS a 7,500-km hearingsaskedwhythepetitioner the matter should have been
about 1.2°C above the pre-indus- findings between January- ing unprecedented back-to-back coastline, the seventh did not move the Allahabad High heardintheHC,”thebenchsaid.
trial(1850-1900)level,saidapro- October 2020. A final report will category 4 hurricanes in Central longest in Asia, and a Court, repeated the query on The KUWJ had earlier filed a
visional report released Wedne- be released in March. AmericainNovember.Floodingin large population resides Wednesday. “This is a criminal counter affidavit in the court
sdaybytheWorldMeteorological “Recordwarmyearshaveusu- partsofAfricaandSouth-EastAsia along this area. In 2014, matter.Evenifaccusedcomehere stating that Kappan was
Organization. allycoincidedwithastrongElNiño led to massive population dis- around 177 million peo- then also we ask them to ap- beaten in Mathura jail. Mehta
TheStateoftheGlobalClimate event,aswasthecasein2016.We placementandunderminedfood ple lived in coastal dis- proach HC,” the CJI told Senior said he will file a reply to the
2020reportalsosays2011-20will are now experiencing a La Niña, security for millions,” he said. tricts and 0.44 million Advocate Kapil Sibal who ap- counter affidavit.
bethewarmestdecadeonrecord, which has a cooling effect on The most notable warming lived in island territories peared for KUWJ. Kappan and three others
with the warmest six years all global temperatures, but has not was observed across northern in India, which are con- Sibal said the High Court had were arrested in Mathura on
coming since 2015. The warmest been sufficient to put a brake on Asia, particularly the Siberian sidered to be at a greater given dates for next month in ot- October 5 while on their way to
year on record is 2016, followed this year’s heat. Despite the cur- Arctic,wheretemperatureswere risk based on the report, her Habeas Corpus petitions and Hathras where a 19-year-old
closely by 2020. rent La Niña conditions, this year more than 5 °C above average. according to Anjal said he will be asked to go to the Dalitgirlhadbeenallegedlygan-
has already shown near-record Ocean heat content for 2019 Prakash, climate scientist trialcourtifheapproachesitnow. graped, leading to her death in a
heatcomparabletotheprevious was highest on record in the and professor at Bharti The CJI then asked if an asso- Delhihospital.Theywerebooked
recordof 2016,”saidProf.Taalas. datasetsgoingbackto1960.There Institute of Public Policy. ciation can raise an issue like this underseditionandterrorcharges
“We saw new extreme tem- is a clear signal for faster heat up- on behalf of a journalist to which with the UP Police claiming that
PRESS NOTICE peratures on land, sea and espe- takeinrecentdecades,saysthere- Sibal said that he will implead theaccusedgatheredfundstoin-
INVITING COMPOSITE port.Morethan90%oftheexcess Kappan’s wife. stigate riots on basis of caste “as
PERCENTAGE RATE energyaccumulatingintheclim- The bench said that the court they have done on basis of reli-
E-TENDER atesystemasaresultofincreased will again ask to approach the gion in protest of CAA”. The UP
(CORRIGENDUM) concentrations of greenhouse High Court in that case. government had earlier submit-
Last date/time of submission and gases goes into the ocean. Sibal then referred to the ted thatthe four were part of the
opening is extending upto 15.12.2020 The number of tropical cy- ArnabGoswamicaseandsaidthe PopularFrontof Indiaandformer
(upto 15:00 hrs) and 16.12.2020
(11.00 hrs) respectively in context of clones globally was above aver- SC had entertained his bail plea membersof theStudentsIslamic
NIT No. NIT/EEPCND/2020-21/86 age in 2020, with 96 cyclones as even when a similar plea was Movement of India.
dated 12.11.2020 circulated vide this of 17 November. In India, pending before the trial court. However, the KUWJ has
office letter no. NIT/EEPCND/2020- Cyclone Amphan “was the On November 11, the SC soughtKappan’sreleasefrom“il-
21/86 for the work of “Vertical
extension of AMPC building for costliest tropical cyclone on grantedbailtoRepublicTVEditor- legal detention” contending that
integral Pareel hub at Airport, New record for the North Indian in-Chief Arnab Goswami who he is a journalist with more than
Delhi.” Floated vide the online Ocean with reported economic challenged an order of the 10yearsofexperienceandwason
portal https://dopcivil.euniwizarde.
com other terms & conditions will
losses in India of approximately Bombay High Court which had waytoHathrastoreportontheal-
remain same. US$14 billion”, says the report. deniedhimbailinanabetmentto leged gang rape.
Executive Engineer (Civil)
Postal Civil Division,
New Delhi HATHRAS WOMAN’S DEATH
HARYANA MEDICAL SERVICES CORPORATION LIMITED
(A Government of Haryana Undertaking) No question of
Bays No. 59-62, Sector-2, Panchkula
Phone: 0172-2590608
NOTICE INVITING TENDERS (NIT)
DM tampering
HMSCL invites e-Tenders for Two Years Rate Contract
Microdebrider System, Operating Microscope ENT,
with evidence,
Coblator-Il System for Dept., Video Nystagmography Lab
on the website www.etenders.hry.nic.in. Please see corri-
UP govt tells HC
gendum if any regarding these tenders on the website
www.etenders.hry.nic.in only. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
Managing Director, LUCKNOW, DECEMBER 2
84117/HRY HMSCL, Panchkula.
IN ITS submission to Allahabad High Court’s
Lucknow Bench, which is hearing a PIL on the al-
leged gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old
Dalit woman in Hathras, the Uttar Pradesh gov-
ernment has justified its decision of not trans-
ferring District Magistrate Praveen Kumar
Laxkar, saying the demand for his transfer was
made by political parties with an “oblique mo-
tive” to “exert pressure”.
Thegovernmenthadmadethesubmissionlast
Wednesday anditwas madeavailableontheHigh
Court’s website this week.
UP government counsel S V Raju told the
bench of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Rajan
Roy, “...the government decided not to transfer the
District Magistrate for reasons that a political
game is being played and the transfer of District
GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA Magistrate has been made a political issue by po-
OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER litical parties with oblique motive so as to exert
KEONJHAR (R&B) CIRCLE, KEONJHAR political pressure.”
B-480 No._3592_/ Date._25.11.2020 “Secondly, he (Raju) submitted that there is no
INVITATIONS FOR BIDS (IFB) question of the District Magistrate tampering with
1st Corrigendum to Bid Identification No S.E.K.C., Keonjhar No. 13/2020-21 the evidence relevant to the investigation. Thirdly,
The following amendments are made to the above Invitation for Bids (IFB). securityofthefamilyisnowinthehandsoftheCRPF
1. Due to unavoidable reasons the bid documents in the website withwhichthestategovernmentanditsauthorities
www.tendersodisha.gov.in shall be available from 11.00 Hours of
11.12.2020 to 16.00 Hours of 21.12.2020 for online bidding. have no concern. Fourthly, the investigation itself is
2. Bids shall be received only “Online” on or before 16.00 Hours of being conducted by the Central Bureau of
21.12.2020. Investigation and here also the state government
3. Bids received "on-line" shall be opened at 12.00 Hours on 22.12.2020.
4. If the office happens to be closed on the stipulated date of opening of Bids doesnothaveany role,”the order stated.“He (Raju)
as specified, the bids will be opened on the next working day at the same time alsoattemptedtojustifythecremationofthevictim
and venue. inthenightbynarratingthefactsandtocontendthat
All other conditions remain same.
Sd/- A.N. Das
the District Magistrate did not commit any wrong
Superintending Engineer, in this regard,” the court said in its order.
Keonjhar (R&B) Circle, Keonjhar In its earlier order on November 2, the court
OIPR-34033/11/0018/2021 askedthestategovernment’scounselwhetheritwas
fair to allow the DM to continue at Hathras during
pendencyoftheinvestigation. It had said that dur-
ing “illegal cremation” of the woman, the DM was
in the thick of things. “Would it not be appropriate
to shift him elsewhere during the pendency of
theseproceedingswithouttherebeinganystigma
attachedtosuchanaction... onlytoensurefairness
andtransparencyinthematter,”thecourthadsaid.

Government of Odisha “e” Procurement Notice Youth Congress

WORKS DEPARTMENT
Bid Identification No. S.E.K.C., Keonjhar No. 17 / 2020-21 gets new chief
e-mail: sekcpwd_keonjhar@yahoo.com
B-481 Letter No. 3554 dt. 24.11.2020 New Delhi: Congress president
1. No of the work :- 10 Number of Building Works SoniaGandhionWednesdayap-
2. Estimated cost :- Rs. 216.30 Lakhs to Rs. 579.37 Lakhs pointed Srinivas B V as the pres-
3. Period of completion :- 09 (Nine) Calendar Months to 11 (Eleven) Calendar Months
ident of the Indian Youth
4. Date and Time of availability of Bid document in the portal :- From 11.00 Hours of 18.12.2020 to 16.00 Hours of 30.12.2020
5. Last date / Time for receipt of bids in the portal :- 16.00 Hours of 30.12.2020
Congress. Srinivas, who hails
6. Date of opening of Bid from Portal :- 12.00 Hours on 31.12.2020 from Karnataka, had been dis-
7. Name and address of the officer inviting Bid :- Superintending Engineer, Keonjhar (R&B) Circle, Keonjhar-758001 charging duties as the interim
Further details can be seen from the e-procurement portal "http://tendersodisha.gov.in" president of the Youth Congress
Superintending Engineer since July last year after the
Keonjhar (R&B) Circle, Keonjhar
OIPR-34033/11/0019/2021
abrupt resignation of the then
Chief Keshav Chand Yadav. ENS

New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
Cops use water
canon on Youth
Cong workers,
journalist hit by
stone in melee
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
CHANDIGARH, DECEMBER 2
THE CHANDIGARH police on
Wednesday resorted to water
canons to stop hundreds of
Punjab Youth Congress workers,
who had crossed the barricades
while marching towards the
Haryana CM’s residence in soli-
darity with the protesting farm-
ers.Amidthetussle,amediaper-
son got injured after being hit by
a stone.
At least 13 Youth Congress
workers, including Youth
Congress President Barinder
Dhillon, were arrested. Later,
they were released on bail.
Satender Chauhan, associ-
ated with a leading Hindi TV
news channel, was covering the
protest when a stone hit his
head. He received four stitches
on his head after being admitted
at a local hospital.
Deputy Superintendent of
Police (Central) Krishan Kumar
said, “We lodged an FIR against
the Youth Congress workers. No
complaint was received about
thestonepeltingandanyinjured
person. As many as 13 arrested
persons were later released on
regular bail.”
Dhillon said, "We regret the
injury to a mediaperson. Our
protest was peaceful and in sup-
portof theagitatedfarmers.Iwill
meettheinjured mediaperson.”
Ensure CCTVs in
every police station, CBI says CRPF not to blame for
SC tells states, UTs 14 deaths, files closure report
ANANTHAKRISHNAN G
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
THE SUPREME Court on
Wednesday asked States and
Union Territories to “ensure that
CCTV cameras are installed in
each and every Police Station
functioning” in their respective
limits and to store the recording
for a minimum of one year.
A bench of Justices R F
Nariman, K M Joseph and
AniruddhaBoseinitsjudgement
also asked the Centre “to install
CCTV cameras and recording
equipment in the offices of” the
CBI, NIA, ED, NCB, DRI, SFIO and
“any other agency which carries
out interrogations and has the
power of arrest”.
The ruling came on a plea by
one Paramvir Singh Saini, who
raised the issue of audio-video
recording of statements of wit-
nesses and installation of CCTVs
in police stations.
The Supreme Court had in
the D K Basu vs State of West
Bengalcaseof 2015directedthat
CCTVs be installed in all police
stationsandprisonstocheckhu-
DEFAMATION CASE
My disclosure has
been made for public
good: Ramani to court
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
JOURNALISTPRIYARamani,who
is on trial in a defamation case
filed by former Union minister
M J Akbar, on Wednesday told a
Delhi court that she has pleaded
truthasherdefence andthather
disclosureswereforpublicgood.
The submissions were made
byRamani'slawyer,senioradvo-
cate Rebecca John, who was
making her final arguments be-
fore Additional Chief
Metropolitan Magistrate
Ravindra Pandey. However, she
was unable to conclude her ar-
guments, which will now take
place on December 5.
John began by reading the
complaint against Ramani and,
while referring to Ramani's arti-
cle in the Vogue magazine, told
the court that an "unnecessary
controversy is raised in this case
that the entire article referred to
M J Akbar but only the first four
paragraphs referred to Akbar”.
After reading out Ramani's
tweet, in which she called Akbar
media's biggest predator, John
told the court that “till then sev-
eral women had spoken out
against Akbar”.
John made the court go
through several exceptions to
Section 499 of the IPC and ar-
Honey sold by major brands is
laced with sugar syrup, says CSE
Dabur, Patanjali reject charges; FSSAI says it will study findings, take action
SOURAV ROY BARMAN
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
HONEYSOLDbymajorbrandsin
India are laced with a modified
sugar syrup, imported from
Chinaaswellasmanufacturedin
India, which go undetected dur-
ingqualitychecksunderprevail-
ingIndianstandards,aCentrefor
Science and Environment (CSE)
investigation has found.
The major brands named by
CSE include Dabur and Patanjali.
Both have rejected the charges.
TheCSEalsoreleasedapaper
trail showing revisions in the
Indian quality standards for
honeybroughtaboutbytheFood
Safety and Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI) between 2017
and 2020. When contacted, the
FSSAI said it will study the find-
ings published by the CSE and
take necessary action.
Addressing a press confer-
ence Wednesday, CSE director
general Sunita Narain said sam-
plesof 10outof 13brands,which
were examined, failed to clear
theNuclearMagneticResonance
(NMR) test, which can provide
clues into the composition of a
product at the molecular level.
Of the 10 brands, three failed
toclearevenIndianqualitystan-
dards, while five failed the TMR
(test to detect rice syrup) apart
fromNMR.Thetestswerecarried
out in a German lab, Narain said.
man rights abuses.
However, when it sought a
statusreportfromstatesandUTs
in the present matter, 14 states
and two UTs responded. The
“majority”of themlackeddetails
on installation and working of
CCTV cameras in police stations.
In Wednesday’s judgement,
the court said that to ensure that
nopartofapolicestationisleftun-
covered,“itisimperativetoensure
thatCCTVcamerasareinstalledat
allentryandexitpoints;maingate
of the police station; all lock-ups;
all corridors; lobby/the reception
area; all verandas/outhouses,
Inspector’sroom;Sub-Inspector’s
room; areas outside the lock-up
room; station hall; in front of the
policestationcompound;outside
(not inside) washrooms/toilets;
Duty Officer’s room; back part of
the police station etc.”
The CCTV systems must be
night-vision equipped and must
record both video and audio, the
courtsaid,askingthegovernment
toprovideelectricityandInternet
in areas which lack these “as ex-
peditiously as possible using any
mode of providing electricity, in-
cluding solar/wind power”.
gued,“Itisnotdefamationtoim-
pute anything which is true con-
cerninganyperson,if itbeforthe
public good that the imputation
should be made or published”.
She told the court: “I have
pleaded truth as my defence,
that my disclosure has been
made in good faith, for public
good. The reason I have done so
is because it touched a question
of public importance.”
“Defamation is not an ab-
solute offence. It is a justifiable
offence.Evidenceinthiscasehas
to be dealt with differently... the
court must see if they have
proved their case beyond rea-
sonable doubt and whether I
have crossed the threshold of
preponderance of probability. I
don't have to prove it beyond
reasonable doubt,” John told the
court.
On allegations that Ramani
did not exercise due care and
caution, John told the court that
Akbar was found guilty of con-
tempt when he was the editor of
The Asian Age newspaper.
Akbar has sued Ramani for
defamation over allegations of
sexual misconduct and harass-
ment. With several other
women coming forward with
similar allegations against the
former journalist, Akbar re-
signed as Minister of State for
External Affairs.
E
E X P L A I NE D
FSSAI’s red
flags on
● syrup use
THE CSE findings assume
significance as the FSSAI,
a statutory body man-
dated to ensure food
safety, has red flagged
the use of syrups in
honey thrice in the re-
cent past. It directed the
states in December 2019
and June 2020 to en-
hance surveillance, sam-
pling and inspections of
honey manufacturing
units. On May 26, 2020, it
directed traders import-
ing certain kinds of
syrups to share details of
manufacturers to whom
the products were being
supplied, observing that
they were being used in
production of honey.
Incidentally, on August 1,
NMR tests were made manda-
tory for honey being exported
from India. Also, TMR tests were
removed from the list of quality
parameters in October 2019.
The German lab found that
“DaburhoneypassedtestsforC3
and C4 sugar, but failed the NMR
tests on all three samples. In one
sample it also failed on TMR and
2001 MANIPUR UPRISING
ESHA ROY
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
ALMOST TWO decades after 14
people died in alleged CRPF fir-
ing during the massive June 18
uprising in Imphal, the Central
Bureauof Investigationabsolved
the force of all blame in a closure
report it filed recently citing in-
sufficient evidence.
Theclosurereportcontradicts
the Justice C Upendra inquiry
commissionreportof2001,which
squarely blamed the CRPF's "ill-
considered" and "unnecessary"
use of force for the deaths.
According to the CBI, the force
acted in self-defence and "their
services should be appreciated".
The closure report was sub-
mitted in the Court of the Chief
Judicial Magistrate of Imphal
West district on October 1.
Now, the families of the de-
ceased, in a November 27 plea,
have asked the Manipur High
Courttoquashthereportanddi-
rect a fresh investigation.
The mass agitation of 2001,
one of the bloodiest in Manipur's
recent history, was triggered by
the Bangkok accord between the
Indian government and the
National Socialist Council of
Roshni Act: J&K Cong
leader in the dock
Jammu: The Jammu and
Kashmir High Court on
Wednesday directed the court's
registrytolistbeforethedivision
bench a writ petition highlight-
ing the construction of senior
Congress leader Raman Bhalla's
house allegedly on state land
bearing Khasra number 781.
The court directed the reg-
istry to list this petition accord-
inglyafterverifyingtheaforesaid
facts from the records. ENS
Patanjali honey passed tests for
C3 and C4 sugar, but failed TMR
andNMRtestsonbothsamples”.
In its response, Dabur India
Ltdsaid,“Therecentreportsseem
motivated and aimed at malign-
ingourbrand.Weassureourcon-
sumersthatDaburHoneyis100%
pure. We also assure our con-
sumers that Dabur does not im-
portanyhoney/syrupfromChina
andourhoneyissourcedentirely
from Indian beekeepers.”
“Daburiscomplyingwiththe
22 parameters... mandated by
FSSAI. In addition, Dabur Honey
is also tested for the presence of
antibiotics, as mandated by FS-
SAI. Further, Dabur is the only
company in India to have an
NMR testing equipment in our
own laboratory,” it added.
Patanjali Ayurved Ltd MD
Acharya Balakrishnan also
stressedonthe“100percentpu-
rity” of the company's product.
“It seems to be a plot to defame
Indian natural honey industry
and manufacturers in a bid to
promoteprocessedhoney.Itfur-
therseemstobeaninternational
marketing design to promote
German technology and ma-
chines which cost crores of ru-
pees,” he said.
When contacted for re-
sponse to the claims on quality
checks in the country, FSSAI CEO
Arun Singhal told The Indian
Express,“Ourscientificpanelfelt
that TMR was no longer neces-
Nagaland's Isak Muivah faction,
which extended the ceasefire
agreement to Manipur. Angered
by what they saw as a threat to
Manipur's territorial integrity,
over 50,000 protesters stormed
andsetafiremultiplegovernment
buildingsinthecapital,including
the Chief Minister's secretariat.
Security personnel opened
fire at two places—the Raj
Bhawan and the CM's bungalow
complex. Three people died in
the Raj Bhawan firing, according
to an FIR filed the same day.
Another FIR was filed in connec-
tion with the firing at the CM's
bungalow.
The CBI’s closure report now
says there is insufficient evi-
dence in the case, as documents
relating to the persons involved,
the shooting, and medical
recordsarenowheretobefound.
Only three deaths have been
officially recorded, it says.
"In the chain of untoward
events,14peoplewerekilledand
some injured as the security
forces resorted to gunfiring, as
theymighthavebeencompelled
by the circumstances... they had
the toughest time and were ren-
dered the arduous task in con-
trolling the wild mobs... as such,
their services should be appre-
EXPRESS NETWORK 9
INTERFAITH MARRIAGE
Adult’s right to marry
a person of choice is
sary as specific marker tests
fundamental right: HC
(SMR) had been mandated for
rice syrup. The Ministry of
Agriculture concurs with this
view. SMR can detect the pres-
ence of rice syrup. Some groups
have been advocating the use of
NMR machines. NMR happens by anybody irrespective of caste
to be very costly and the volume EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Karnataka HC said the or religion,” the bench said in its
of testing at present would not BENGALURU, DECEMBER 2 November 27 order while set-
make it cost effective for food ‘liberty regarding the ting Ramya at liberty.
testing labs. Moreover, our ex- AN ADULT individual's right to personal relationships The court said that since the
perts feel that the tests, which marry a person of his or her of two individuals scope of a habeas corpus is lim-
are mandated, are adequate to choice is a fundamental right ited to production of an individ-
detect adulteration and an ade- that cannot be denied on the ba- cannot be encroached ualincourt,Ramyawasbeingset
quate database is not available sis of caste or religion by any- by anybody irrespective to her liberty after the recording
yet to utilise NMR technique. In body, according to an observa- of her statement. “Ramya G be-
of caste or religion’
case of exports, NMR machines tion made by a division bench of ing a software engineer is capa-
areusedassomecountriesman- the Karnataka High Court last ble of taking a decision regard-
date that only honey certified week. at a facility run by an NGO, ing her life,” it said.
throughNMRissoldwithintheir A bench of Justices S Sujatha Mahila Daskshata Samiti, in The ruling came even as the
jurisdictions.” and Sachin Shankar Magadum Bengaluru after her parents re- Karnatakagovernmentfollowed
“We will study the findings made the observation in the fused to allow her to marry other BJP-ruled states in claim-
publishedbyCSEand takeall ac- course of disposal of a habeas Khan.Shehadbeenstayingaway ing the need for a special law to
tion necessary to ensure that corpus plea filed by a 25-year- from home after filing a com- stop inter-religious marriages,
only pure and unadulterated old software engineer, Wajeed plaint of alleged infringement of especially those involving
honey is sold in our country,” he Khan, over the refusal of the par- her liberty by her parents, she women from majority commu-
said. ents of a work colleague to ac- told the court in the presence of nities with men from minority
However,NarainsaidtheCSE knowledge their interfaith her parents and Khan's mother communities.
was not advocating the need to marriage. who were summoned by the A division bench of the
make NMR mandatory as “the The petition, with the court. Allahabad High Court recently
Chinese can make syrups that BengaluruPoliceasrespondents, “It is well settled that a right ruled in the case of a Muslim-
bypass NMR tests next”. sought the production of his fi- of any major individual to marry Hindu couple Salamat Ansari
The CSE said it was demand- ancee Ramya G, a software engi- the person of his or her choice is and Priyanka Khanwar alias Alia
ing that import of syrups and neer, and “to set her at her a fundamental right enshrined that the “right to live with a per-
honey from China be stopped liberty”. in the Constitution of India and sonof his/herchoiceirrespective
and that the Indian government When the police produced the said liberty regarding the of religion professed by them, is
should get samples tested using her in court, Ramya told the personalrelationshipsof twoin- intrinsic to right to life and per-
advanced technologies and court that she had been staying dividuals cannot be encroached sonal liberty”.
make this information public so
that consumers are aware.
Forensic experts Set to complete a year in
probing if
office, Hemant begins
Sheetal Amte
died of suicide review of state depts
or asphyxiation ABHISHEK ANGAD
revenue receipts as on October
20 stood at 36.5 per cent of the
RANCHI, DECEMBER 2 budget estimates.
ciated," says the closure report. VIVEK DESHPANDE The government claimed a
"The circumstances were so NAGPUR, DECEMBER 2 JHARKHAND CHIEF Minister tax amount of Rs 4,230 crore in
volatile that he firing by the se- Hemant Soren, who is set to 4,552 cases was pending in var-
curity personnel seemed to be FORENSIC EXPERTS are trying to complete one year in office in ious courts pertaining to the
unavoidable". ascertain if Sheetal Amte- late December, on Wednesday Commercial Tax Department.
The CBI's assessment is in Karajgi, the granddaughter of began a review of all depart- "The Finance Department
stark contrast to the Justice late social activist Baba Amte, ments in the state. Sources said should look into all such matters
Upendra report, which reads: died by suicide or because of as- his government wants to iden- pending in courts. Put our side
"...thefiringswhichwasjustified phyxiation caused by choking. tify priority areas, focus on re- strongly," Soren told the officers.
initially had turned otherwise, Sheetal was found dead on structurespendingandgetacur- He also said that action should
the CRPF posted at the Chief Monday at her residence. rent status of schemes. be taken on tax thefts.
Minister’s Bangalow complex Chandrapur SP Arvind Salve Sorenbeganwithconducting Afterthemeeting,Sorensaid,
had mishandled the situation didnotrespondtocallsandmes- checks in the Planning and "I think the work process will
and aggravated it unnecessarily. sages on Wednesday. But a Finance and Commercial Taxes improve because of the meet-
Theirsubsequentactsbymaking source told The Indian Express, Department and Personnel, Cab- ings and energy developed
continuous firings indiscrimi- "Sheetal had injected herself inet and Vigilance Department. among the officers. We dis-
nately even after the crowd/agi- with some medicine that puts Sources privy to the meeting cussed how the work should be
tatorsleftChief Minister’sprem- one into a deep sleep and also said the revenue collection was implemented on ground with
iseshadaggravatedthesituation substantially reduces muscular notuptomarkandSorenempha- constantmonitoring…Thereare
and turned it from bad to worse. control.Whenshefellasleep,she sised that despite spending on alotof issues,likewestillhaven't
It is my considered opinion that apparently had a bout of vomit welfareschemes,thegovernment got our GST compensation from
making of so many rounds con- that also surged into her respira- should start revenue collection. the Centre, among other
tinuedfiringsafterthecrowdhad tory tract and choked it. So, it is a Asperthedataavailablewith things, which need immediate
started to leave Chief Minister’s matter of investigation whether The Indian Express, Jharkhand's attention."
Bangalow complex were ill con- the death was caused by the
sidered on the part of CRPF." medicine she injected herself
"We are shocked that the with or due to asphyxiation.”
mainreasonforinsufficientev-
idenceisthelossoftheManipur
policedocket.Thisisnotthefirst
time that legal documents, es- CPM Department, Local Head
peciallythosepertainingtohu- Office, West Gandhi Maidan,
man rights violations, have Patna-800001
been lost in Manipur," said Corrigendum
Manipur human rights activist Advertisement dated 28.11.2020
of Indian Express for Last date of
Babloo Loitongbam.
submission of application by valuers is
31.12.2020 instead of 31.10.2020.
New Delhi
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

10
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020

THE EDITORIAL PAGE WORDLY WISE

What hath night to do with sleep?
— JOHN MILTON

FOUNDED BY
Law illegal
§

§
RAMNATH GOENKA
UP’s ‘love jihad’ ordinance has chilling effect on
BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL
freedom of conscience

TRUDEAU’S SERMON Abhinav Chandrachud

Delhi doesn’t need to appear so insecure. And Canadian PM
THE GOVERNOR OF Uttar Pradesh has re- her religion has more persuasive tenets than in prison, as against somebody who illegally
must be mindful of hazards of playing to his gallery

C
centlypromulgatedanordinanceto prohibit
“unlawful conversion” from one religion to
ANADIAN PRIME MINISTER Justin Trudeau’s comments professing sol- another. The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of
idaritywithfarmersfromPunjabprotestingatDelhi’sbordersagainstthe Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance,
recently approved farm legislation should not have come as a surprise 2020, as it is called, seeks to prevent “love ji-
to South Block. After all, in recent years, India has made a point of har- had” in the state by criminalising, among
nessingthepoliticalpowerof itsdiasporaacrosstheworld.From“Howdy, other things, marriages carried out solely for
the purpose of religious conversion.
Modi” to “Namaste, Trump”, from “Namaste, Wembley” to “Bharat ki Baat, Sabke Saath”,
However, the ordinance, as it is presently
and other glitzy events in world capitals, the government has underlined since 2014 that drafted, dangerously imperils the freedom
it considers Indians who are citizens of other countries as force multipliers for Delhi, and of conscience and the right to profess, prac-
indeed, for the BJP, in the larger world. In turn, some world leaders have tried to talk up tise and propagate religion under Article 25
their relations with the Indian leadership to win the hearts of their constituencies. David of the Constitution.
Cameron’s declaration at a packed Wembley stadium in London in 2015, with Prime Theordinancemakesitacriminaloffence
for a person to convert another by coercion,
Minister Narendra Modi by his side, that “achche din aa gaye hain”, was an early exam-
misrepresentation, fraud etc, which is unob-
ple of this, much before the back-to-back Trump-Modi fests in Houston and Ahmedabad.
jectionable. A marriage solemnised for the
TheCanadianPM’sintervention,however,may remindIndiaof a timewhenelectedlead- “sole purpose” of unlawfully converting the
ers in the mother country did not have diasporas eating out of their hands, and these di-
bride or the groom is required to be declared
asporas used their political clout in their adopted countries to highlight perceived issues void by the competent court. A person who
and problems back home. wishestoconverttoanotherreligion(includ-
In this backdrop, Delhi’s response to Trudeau, calling his comments “ill-informed”, ing to Hinduism) now has to follow a some-
what cumbersome process — issuing a dec-
sounded churlish, as if only India has the right to play diaspora politics. More than that, it
larationtothedistrictmagistrate,bothbefore
made it appear insecure and resentful. The fact is, Indian diplomacy has come a long way andaftertheconversion,andsubjectingone-
since the “foreign hand” bogey, when a large amount of its energies were devoted to con- self to an enquiry by the district magistrate.
vincingtherestof theworldaboutIndia’scredentialsasarobustdemocracy—thinkGerald However, there are several provisions in
Kaufman, British parliamentarian of another era, and 1990s Kashmir. If Trudeau is misin- theordinancewhichcouldplausiblybeiden-
tified as unconstitutional. For instance, the
formedinhisperceptionthattherightof peacefulprotestisindangerinIndia,itonlygoes
ordinancemakesitacriminaloffencetocon-
to show that there are large gaps in Delhi’s outreach to Canada that it needs to plug.
vertapersonby offeringheran“allurement”.
Havingsaidthat,however,itwouldbeinTrudeau’sinterests,andCanada’s,tobeaware The term “allurement” is defined very
of thehazardsof playingtocertaingalleriesintheSikhdiasporainTorontoandVancouver.
broadly,toincludeevenprovidingagifttothe
Canada has its own share of tragic memories, and political and security failures on the person who is sought to be converted. This
“Khalistan” issue. Trudeau’s week-long sojourn in India in February 2018 would have means that if a person offers a copy of the
made it clear to him that in today’s Punjab, there is little tolerance for extremism 2.0. His Bhagavad Gita to a non-Hindu, and the non-
government has steered clear of backing the Pakistani-sponsored “2020 Sikh referen- Hindu decides to convert to Hinduism after
reading it, the conversion could be said to
dum”. But by reaching out to the protesting farmers outside Delhi under pressure from
have taken place by “allurement” since it oc-
a section of the Liberal Party Sikh MPs, Trudeau is only putting the farmers at risk of what curred after a gift was given to the convert.
they are themselves keen to avoid — being identified with those outside the country who Under the ordinance, “allurement” can also
would want to stir trouble in Punjab once again. mean telling the person sought to be con-
verted that she will have a “better lifestyle” if
sheconverts,orthatshewillincur“divinedis-
Perhaps the most striking
provision of the ordinance is
the one which deals with the
burden of proof. Ordinarily,
when someone makes an
allegation that something
has happened, it is up to her
to prove it. The burden of
proof in criminal cases is on
the prosecution, and the
presumption is that a person
accused of committing an
offence is innocent until
proven guilty. The Uttar
Pradesh ordinance turns this
rule on its head. Every
religious conversion is
presumed to be illegal. The
burden is on the person
carrying out the conversion
to prove that it is not illegal.
The offence of illegal
conversion is also
‘cognisable’ and ‘non-
bailable’, meaning that a
theirs — this amounts to illegal “allurement”
under the ordinance? The essential prereq-
uisiteof acriminallawisthatithastobepre-
cise. A person cannot be put behind bars for
doing something that a penal law does not
clearly and unequivocally prohibit. On this
touchstone, the definition of “allurement”
leaves much to be desired.
There can be no quarrel with the ordi-
nance’s premise that converting somebody
byfraudormisrepresentationiswrong.After
all, no person should be forced to convert to
another religion against her will. In fact,
though the members of the Constituent
Assembly included the right to “propagate”
one’s religion in the chapter on fundamental
rights, they considered it a “rather obvious
doctrine”thatthiswouldnotincludeforcible
conversions. “Forcible conversion is no con-
version”,SardarVallabhbhaiPatelhadsaidin
one of the sub-committees of the assembly,
adding,“wewon’trecogniseit.”However,the
UPordinancegoesbeyondthisprincipleand
does something quite strange.
It says that “reconversion” to a person’s
previous religion is not illegal, even if it is vi-
tiated by fraud, force, allurement, misrepre-
sentation and so on. In other words, if a per-
son converts from Religion A to Religion B of
herownvolition,andisthenforcedtorecon-
vert back to Religion A against her will, this
willnotconstitute“conversion”undertheor-
dinance at all, and falls completely outside
the ambit of the law. Through this peculiar
provision, the law seems to send an unmis-
takable signal to its target audience:Prohibit
illegal conversion to other religions, but look
the other way if a convert is forced to recon-
vert back to ours.
Illegalconversionundertheordinanceat-
tracts a punishment of 1-5 years in prison.
However, if the victim of the illegal conver-
sion is a minor, a member of the Scheduled
Castes or Scheduled Tribes or, strangely, a
convertshermalesubordinates,whowillget
fiveyearsinprisonatthemost.Theordinance
unfairly paints all women with the same
brush — assuming that all women, and not
merely women from historically margin-
alised or economically weak groups, are
gullible, vulnerable and especially suscepti-
ble to illegal conversion.
Perhapsthemoststrikingprovisionof the
ordinanceistheonewhichdealswiththebur-
denofproof.Ordinarily,whensomeonemakes
anallegationthatsomethinghashappened,it
is up to her to prove it. The burden of proof in
criminal cases is on the prosecution, and the
presumptionisthatapersonaccusedof com-
mitting an offence is innocent until proven
guilty. The Uttar Pradesh ordinance turns this
rule on its head. Every religious conversion is
presumed to be illegal. The burden is on the
person carrying out the conversion to prove
thatitisnotillegal.Theoffenceofillegalconver-
sion is also “cognisable” and “non-bailable”,
meaning that a police officer can arrest an ac-
cusedwithoutawarrant,andtheaccusedmay
or may not be released on bail, at the discre-
tionofthecourt.Allthisputsanincrediblechill-
ing effect on the freedom of conscience.
InRevStainislausvStateofMadhyaPradesh
(1977),abenchof fivejudgesof theSupreme
Court held that the fundamental right to
“propagate” religion does not include the
right to convert a person to another religion.
In that case, the court had upheld anti-con-
version statutes enacted by the states of
Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, which imposed
somewhat similar (even if slightly less ex-
treme) restraints on the freedom of con-
science and the right to propagate religion.
In view of the recent ordinance, perhaps
it is now time to revisit that judgment. The
freedom of conscience means nothing if
every act of religious conversion is going to
bepresumedillegalunlessprovenotherwise.
TheUPordinance’sfailuretoprohibitforcible

LET THERE BE NOISE

pleasure or otherwise” if she does not.
Theuseof thewords“orotherwise”inthe
definition of allurement is puzzling. Is it
sought to be thereby conveyed that if a
Bombay High Court is right. Those in public office must learn preacher simply encourages her listeners to
to take criticism, however unpalatable, on the chin convert to another religion by arguing that
police officer can arrest an
accused without a warrant,
and the accused may or may
not be released on bail, at the
discretion of the court.
woman, the punishment is doubled — at 2-
10 years behind bars. In other words, it does
not matter who the woman is. She may be a
highlyeducatedCEOof amultinationalcom-
pany. Yet, if somebody converts her against
herwill,thepunishmentcangoupto10years
reconversion is also deeply disturbing.
The writer is an advocate at the Bombay
High Court and the author of Republic of
Religion: The Rise and Fall of Colonial
Secularism in India (Penguin)

I
NTHISLONGseasonof pricklinessaboutmattersof freespeech,whentweetsless
than280charactersareenoughtotriggerdispleasureandworsefromthemighty
state and mightier judiciary, when slogans land teenagers in jail for sedition,

AFTER THE VACCINE COMES

whengovernmentsrushintopoliceareasof socialmediatheyoughtnottotread,
the Bombay High Court has introduced a welcome dose of sanity. And a useful
thumb rule: Let the young express their opinions, however intemperate; those in public
office in a democracy must chin up to criticism “day in and day out”. A division bench of
the HC made those comments while hearing a plea by a Navi Mumbai resident who was Smart testing and contact tracing will remain key to Covid containment
bookedbytheMumbaiandPalgharpolicefor allegedlymaking offensive remarksagainst
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son. “Will you act against every
person who says something on Twitter?” the court asked the state government. Kirit P Solanki
In doing so, the court has underlined a basic premise of democracy — that the funda-
mental right to free speech available to citizens can, and often will, produce a raucous ca- THELASTNINEmonthshavetestedourcollec- This effectively means that our efforts to have seen some great innovations in this re-
cophony. But this noise is a sign of adult societies that do not shrink from the untidiness tive resilience like no other period in recent manageCOVID-19throughpublicbehavioural spect—forexample,theFeludapapertestthat
human history. A virus, the size of a fraction change coupled with an efficient testing and usesCRISPRtechnology,developedjointlyby
of divergent opinions, which is a defence against authoritarianism. As societies move in-
of human hair, has ensured that countries tracingstrategywillremaincrucial.Asaresult CSIR-IGIBandTataGroup,doesnotrequireex-
creasingly online, where speech is more unfettered than on traditional media, there is across the world are put under varying levels ofPMNarendraModi’scalltoincreaseCOVID- pensive equipment or reagents and has re-
all the more reason why governments must ignore verbal exuberance if it does not cross of lockdown, movement of people and social 19 testing in India in August, we have made ported high levels of accuracy (96 per cent
over into inciting violence. Unfortunately, this view, once a part of the political and judi- interactions have assumed a new meaning, significantprogressinconductingoveramil- sensitivity and 98 per cent specificity). It is
cial common sense in India, appears to be in danger, as institutions grow increasingly businesseshavebeenimpacted,andliveshave lion tests a day. Gujarat quickly ramped up speculatedthatoncelaunchedinthemarket,
touchyaboutcriticism.ThiswasillustratedbythecontemptcaseagainstPrashantBhushan been lost. Everyone across the world is now testingand,asaresult,succeededinbringing it can be scaled up very quickly owing to its
pinningtheirhopeonthearrivalofaclinically downthepositivityratefrom8.84percent(in portability, low price and efficacy.
and the decisions of Attorney-General KK Venugopal, who approved contempt proceed-
proven and safe to administer vaccine. May) to the current weekly figure of 2.1 per In another interesting development, a
ings against stand-up comic Kunal Kamra for mocking the SC’s role in granting bail to This hope is not misplaced — vaccines in- cent. The surveillance system was scaled up team led by scientists from IIT-Gandhinagar
ArnabGoswamiandhasnowgreen-signalledanothercontemptcaseagainstcomicartist, deedarethefastestandmosteffectivemeans bydeployingover5,000teamsandintroduc- detected the genetic presence of the SARS-
Rachita Taneja, who, too, found in the SC’s apparent alacrity to rush to Goswami’s rescue of achieving herd immunity while ensuring However, as the virus tionof “DhanvantariRaths”(mobilevans)for CoV-2 virus in wastewater of Ahmedabad,
an apt theme for satire. Neither the Supreme Court’s nor the Maharashtra CM’s author- minimalsocio-economicloss.Morethan200 continues to surge in both testing and basic health check-up. This was which corresponded with the incidence of
ity is so brittle that it needs to be defended from a joke or a cartoon or a diatribe. vaccine candidates are at different stages of urban and rural settings, we supported with rigorous airport screening of COVID-19inthecityaswell.Thisisaninnova-
progress, with six having received a allpassengerstravellingfromChinaandother tive method of monitoring the presence of a
Free speech is not a favour that the state doles out to the people. It is democracy’s
limited/early approval for restricted use and need to continue to learn, affectedcountries,determinedtracingallcon- virusinacertainareaanddeservestobescaled
touchstone. Talking back to the powerful is a way for the disenfranchised to claim power, evolve and improve our
12undergoingPhase3trials.However,thefact tactsofinfectedpersonsandvirtualtrainingof up in other urban areas across the country so
or to contest a consensus that leaves them out. The anxiety about improper speech evi- remains that there is an over-optimism as far testing and tracing strategies over seven lakh doctors, nurses, and other our policymaking can become more evi-
denttoday belies areluctance of those in power to be held accountable. Lettherebe noise. asthetimelinesof vaccinesbeingavailableto paramedical staff to treat COVID-19 patients. dence-based and data-driven.
and ensure that tests are
As the Bombay HC has emphasised, it is vital to the workings of democracy. alargesectionofourpopulationisconcerned. However,astheviruscontinuestosurgein The fact remains that India and other
Covering a large majority of Indians for vac- accessible to the most bothurbanandruralsettings,weneedtocon- countries will continue to have to test mil-
cineadministrationwithinadrasticallycom- vulnerable communities and tinuetolearn,evolveandimproveourtesting lionsintheweeksandmonthstocome,if we

FIND YOUR SUSEGAD

pressedtimelineisnothinglessthanunprece-
dented. Once a vaccine is clinically approved,
itwillbemonthsbeforewecanguaranteeac-
cess to the requisite doses for all Indians who
Take a step back, kick off the shoes and settle in for a siesta. ought to be vaccinated. Despite having a ro-
bustvaccinationecosystemandatrackrecord
And keep the feni ready for later
rural parts of India. We can
see the costs of not doing so
in Europe where entire
countries have had to go
under a complete lockdown
andtracingstrategiesandensurethattestsare
accessible to the most vulnerable communi-
ties and rural parts of India. We can see the
costs of not doing so in Europe where entire
countries have had to go under a complete
lockdown once again, which could impact
are to keep pace with the spread of the virus.
State governments with support from the
Centre need to work on a revamped and ro-
bust testing and tracing strategy, which can
helpus savelivesand managethis pandemic
more effectively.

G
ofsuccessfullydrivingvaccinationcampaigns, their economic activities as well.
itwillbealongprocessthatwilldemandcol-
once again which could Scalabilityoftestingisonlypossiblewhen The writer, a surgeon, represents
OA FORWARD PARTY leader Vijai Sardesai has an attractive item on his
laboration and support of several stakehold- impact their economic we adopt innovative technologies that offer BJP in Parliament from the Ahmedabad
agenda for the 2022 elections in the state: A compulsory siesta hour. ers in India. activities as well. accuracy as well as cost-effectiveness. We West constituency
Goa’s embrace of the susegad — a laidback appreciation of life — has al-
ways been characterised by its people taking time out to enjoy life’s lit-
tle pleasures, siesta included. Why should it be given up to embrace fre-

DECEMBER 3, 1980, FORTY YEARS AGO

netic pace, especially if it doesn’t compromise on the people’s capacity to perform?
There is truth to the argument Sardesai makes for slowing down and savouring life.
Restanditsrejuvenatingpowerhasnevergottenitsdue.Foryears,organisationshaveglo-
rified the 24/7 work culture, in which an employee’s productivity is measured not by the WHO IS A FOREIGNER? clear that any attempt to detect foreigners PROBE IN LIMBO
quantum of her contribution but by her ability to make herself available round the clock. A DELEGATION OF the sponsors of the on the basis of religion would be opposed. THERE IS NO sign, as yet, of the seven-
This has been particularly true of developing nations, where the assumption of produc- Assam agitation said today that they were member committee of Bihar legislators,
tivity relies heavily on the supposed efficacy of such a culture. So, while countries such willing to participate in the tripartite talks, BHAGALPUR BLINDINGS set up by the government to probe the
but the government should agree that for- TWO OF THE 31-blinded undertrials in blinding of undertrials of Bhagalpur, but
as France have moved to a four-day work week, or some like the Netherlands have re-
eigners will be detected on the basis of the Bhagalpur were produced before the the terms of reference of this body have
duced the average weekly work time to less than 30 hours, most Asian countries hold on Constitution and the laws as they exist. Supreme Court in the afternoon. The court at been set. The committee has been
to a stereotype in which rest is equated with indolence. Since the definition of foreigner was clear once ordered their admission for treatment tasked to give its report on “whether the
WhattheongoingCOVID-19pandemichasdone,though,istoshowthechinkinallour in the Constitution, the government must to the Rajendra Prasad Centre for oph- blindings could have been prevented”
armours.A24/7workcultureoperatesontheimplicitassumptionoftheavailabilityofacare- have no objection to declaring the detec- thalmic sciences at AIIMS. The court also or- and suggest measures to prevent such
taking infrastructure that frees up the employee to devote herself completely to work. But tion principle, the four-member delega- dered the Bihar government to pay Rs 300 incidents in future.
tion of the All Assam Students Union and per one relative accompanying the victim as
as workspaces collapsed into homes, it exposed the tenuous work-life balance that has
helped perpetuate this myth. With no distinction between the two, this has been a year of
the All Assam Sangram Parishad said. It long as they receive treatment at the insti- ANDHRA SETS RECORD
said that the announcement of the detec- tute and payment of Rs 500 each to all the THE 23-MEMBER Andhra cabinet was ex-
relentlessfatigueandastruggletokeeppacewiththeincreaseddemandsofboththework- tion principle was a necessity rather than blinded victims to enable a relative to ac- panded with the induction of 38 ministers,
place and home. It’s time indeed to embrace susegad — take a step back, kick off the shoes a pre-condition for any future talks to be company the patients when they are trav- 16 of them of cabinet rank. This is an Indian
andsettleinforasiesta.Andkeepthefenireadyforwhenwewakeup.Theratracecanwait. successful. The delegation also made it elling to Delhi. record for the largest cabinet.

New Delhi

11
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
THE IDEAS PAGE
A failure to enable
The law promises people with disabilities equality of opportunity and accessibility,
but our practices deny them that
Shashi Tharoor
TODAY, DECEMBER 3, is the annual
InternationalDayof PersonswithDisabilities,
established by the United Nations in 1992 to
“promote the rights and well-being of per-
sonswithdisabilitiesinallspheresof society
anddevelopment,andtoincreaseawareness
of thesituationof personswithdisabilitiesin
everyaspectof political,social,economicand
culturallife”.Itisalsoastarkreminderof how
far we in India need to go in meeting the
needs of the disabled.
ShreelaFlather,aBritishMPof Indianori-
gin, received a Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
award in India a few years ago. Her wheel-
chair-ridden husband had come all the way
from England to accompany her on this spe-
cialoccasion—buthewasunabletogoupon
the stage with her, because there was no
ramp. The organisers offered to lift him up to
the stage but he rightly refused. Even as I
burned with shame that we could not man-
age this basic provision even at such a high-
leveloccasion,Icouldwellimaginewhatoth-
ersinthesamesituationhadtoendureevery
day in India.
Aboutabillionpeopleinternationallylive
withadisability,with80percentof thesebe-
ingresidentsofthedevelopingworld.In2007,
the UN passed the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities. This was a land-
mark step toward treating disabled persons
asfullmembersof society,ratherthanobjects
of pity or charity — or, as was shamefully the
norm for much of our past, fear and ridicule.
India is a state party to the convention,
andtheWorldBankestimatesthattheremay
be well over 40 million Indians living with
disabilities. Most Indians regard them with
disdain or at best indifference to their plight.
Provisionsexistinlaw,butgettingtheau-
thorities anywhere in India to implement
them is another story altogether. The Rights
of PersonswithDisabilitiesActwaspassedin
2016 but our country is still largely devoid of
rampsonitsfootpathsorgovernmentbuild-
ings. The best that can be said is that the pas-
sage of the law may have helped shift the
treatment of disabled persons in society to-
wardsrights-focusedthinking.Butactingisa
different matter.
The present government has sought to
weaken this law’s protections, decriminalis-
ing acts of discrimination against persons
with disabilities in the name of “improving
business sentiment”. This is misguided and
deeply harmful: We cannot erode the well-
being of people with disabilities, thus en-
trenchingthedangerouslynegativeattitudes
of manyinsociety,inthenameof commerce.
It’s attitudes that need to change. I’ve
met Ashla Krishnan in her wheelchair in
Thiruvananthapuram. She tells me I should-
n’t think of her as a quadriplegic, but as a
“person with quadriplegia”. Her paralysis,
she says, does not define her. She can and
does want to contribute to society, like any
other person.
But as with Dr Flather years ago, people
withdisabilitieswantonethingfromus—to
make it possible for them to contribute with
Rama Kant Agnihotri
INVARIOUSPROGRAMMESpreparingteach-
ers for schools, language is one of the most
neglected areas. It was with some difficulty it
found a place in programmes such as Delhi
University’sfour-yearBachelorof Elementary
Education programme and TISS’s Master of
Arts in Education (Elementary) programme.
Even there, it seems in dire straits now.
Onecanindeedarguethatteachersshould
haveasolidunderstandingof philosophyand
aimsof education,history,sociology,psychol-
ogy,politicaleconomyandissuesofmarginal-
isation, gender and disability, among others,
butitshouldnotbedifficulttoseethatallthese
are themselves eventually mediated through
language. And that they demand high levels
ofreadingcomprehensioninboththeteacher
and the taught. Yet, teachers generally arrive
in schools without any understanding of the
nature, structure and acquisition of language.
It is not their fault. That’s the way they them-
selves have been educated, without putting a
question mark on the stereotypes they carry
about language as a part of their mental bag-
gagecreatedduringtheirsocialisation,school-
ing and education.
It should not be difficult to find teachers
whobelieve,amongotherquestionablethings,
thatchildrenlearnlanguagesfromtheirenvi-
ronment largely through imitation and prac-
tice; that dialects are significantly inferior to
languages;thatHindiisournationallanguage;
that Sanskrit is the mother of all languages, at
least of all Indian languages, and that it is the
self-respect. They don’t want helpful
strangers to lift them onto a stage, or into an
office or a restaurant. They want us to install
therampsthatwillpermitthemtoaccedeto
these places themselves.
The law promises them equality of op-
portunity and accessibility. Our practices
deny them what the law promises.
There is some good news. Mainstream
media has increasingly started showing pos-
itive representations of people with disabili-
ties, from Taare Zameen Par to Barfi. Athletes
with disabilities have reached the pinnacles
of sport and done us proud repeatedly, most
recently winning four athletics medals at the
2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. But that
doesn’t mean we can overlook the appalling
treatment that people with disabilities have
longreceived,andcontinuetoreceive,inIndia.
Indianswithdisabilitiesarefarmorelikely
to suffer from poor social and economic de-
velopment. Shockingly, 45 per cent of this
population is illiterate, making it difficult for
themtobuildbetter,morefulfilledlives.This
is compounded by the community’s lack of
politicalrepresentation:Despitethevastpop-
ulation of people with disabilities in India, in
oursevendecadesof independencewehave
had just four parliamentarians and six state
assembly members who suffer from visible
disabilities. This is hardly a surprise when
considering that, unfortunately, several po-
liticalleadershaveevenuseddiscriminatory
language and derogatory comments to talk
about people with disabilities.
Thislackofrepresentation,andthesegen-
eral attitudes, translate directly into policy
that undermines the well-being of people
with disabilities. Last year, for example, the
government inexplicably decided to depart
from convention and render people suffer-
ing from cerebral palsy ineligible for the
Indian Foreign Service. Suggesting that per-
sonswithdisabilitiesareunabletoservetheir
country with loyalty, devotion, and strength
is an insult to them, and to any Indian who
wishes to see their fellow citizens treated
Learning in many tongues
NEPmusttapchildren’sastonishinglinguisticabilityasaclassroomresource
most scientific, expressive and beautiful lan-
guage;thatthescriptusedforHindiisfarmore
scientific than the one used for English or
German;thatsecondorforeignlanguagesare
bestlearntthroughacombinationofteaching
grammatical rules and vocabulary.
Thefaultdoesnotentirelyliewiththepro-
grammesineducation—linguistsmustaccept
a part of the blame. For linguists, irrespective
of whether they belong to the structural tra-
dition extending from Panini to Ferdinand
SaussuretoLeonardBloomfieldortothemore
recenttraditionof generativegrammarintro-
duced by Noam Chomsky, the study of lan-
guage is essentially a formal matter, closer to
mathematics and physics than to society and
education.Itdoesnotmatterwhetheryoube-
lievethateachlanguageisdifferent(traditional
structuralism) or all languages are a manifes-
tationof thesameuniversalgrammarlocated
inthehumanlanguagefaculty(modernstruc-
turalism).In the formercase, your focusis the
set of rules that govern the specific language
underconsideration;inthelatter,yourfocusis
the mental representation of the principles
that govern all languages. There are also not
enough linguists around to take up this chal-
lenge. The departments of linguistics across
the country are either shrinking or have al-
ready been closed down. How can we ensure
highlevelsofcriticalenquirywithouthighlev-
elsofproficiencyinacademicliteracyandhow
is that possible unless future teachers have
some idea of the nature, structure and acqui-
Indians with disabilities are
far more likely to suffer from
poor social and economic
development. Shockingly, 45
per cent of this population is
illiterate, making it difficult
for them to build better,
more fulfilled lives. This is
compounded by the
community’s lack of political
representation: Despite the
vast population of people
with disabilities in India, in
our seven decades of
independence we have had
just four parliamentarians
and six state assembly
members who suffer from
visible disabilities. This is
hardly a surprise,
considering that several
political leaders have even
used discriminatory
language and derogatory
comments to talk about
people with disabilities.
sition of language?
Four-year-oldchildrenarriveinschoolsal-
mostas“linguisticadults”—“almost”because
acquisitionof vocabularyandspecialisedreg-
isters is a life-long exercise. Since teachers are
notequippedtoappreciate“what”isitthatthe
child has cracked, they fail to appreciate the
potentialof thechildasalearner,whocanab-
stract highly complex rules from limited and
highlyimpoverisheddata.Sincethenatureof
“what”isacquiredisnotunderstood,naïveex-
planations such as “through imitation and
practice”aresoughtasjustifiedanswerstothe
question of “how is language acquired”.
Of the four years, a child sleeps at least for
two — she has several other things to negoti-
ateinadditiontoacquiringlanguage.Andno-
tice she acquires not just one but all the lan-
guages that constitute her environment. This
ispossiblebecauseallchildrenaregenetically
endowedwithimmenselinguisticandcogni-
tive potential.
Imagine a Punjabi child growing up in a
familythathastomovetoDelhibecauseapar-
ent has been transferred. Punjabi is the only
tonal language in India, except for those spo-
ken in the Northeast. The new languages this
child may learn are the non-tonal Hindi and
English.PunjabiandHindi,likeallotherIndian
languages (except Khasi), are verb final but
Englishisverb-medial(Mohaneatsanapple).
Notonlythat,Englishhasprepositions(onthe
table) but Hindi and Punjabi have post-posi-
tions (mez par). Hindi and Punjabi mark gen-
C R Sasikumar
equally, regardless of physical condition.
But it’s not only about ramps for wheel-
chairs, text-to-speech facilities for the visu-
allychallengedorsignlanguageexplanations
for the deaf. Some of the most debilitating
disabilitiesare thosethat are notapparentto
the naked eye.
In2017,theMentalHealthcareActrecog-
nised and respected the agency of persons
with mental-health conditions, expanding
the presence of mental-health establish-
ments across the country, restricted the
harmfuluseof electroshocktherapy,clarified
the mental-health responsibilities of state
agencies such as the police, and effectively
decriminalised attempted suicide.
Building on the extraordinary work of
civil society activists like Mithu Alur and
Javed Abidi, India has made some progress
in the right direction. The government has
had some admirable initiatives to improve
thelotof Indianswithdisabilities,suchasthe
ADIPschemeforimprovingaccesstodisabil-
ity aids. The Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan, or
Accessible India Campaign, has aimed to
make public transport, buildings and web-
sites more accessible. But as is too often the
case with this government, between rheto-
ric and reality there falls the long shadow of
poor implementation. Unfortunately, the
Accessible India Campaign has largely re-
mained half-done since the scheme’s incep-
tion in 2015.
Theseattemptsatreformwouldmeanfar
more were each step forward not accompa-
niedbyhalf astepback,aswiththeIFSruling
and the decriminalisation of discrimination.
It is critical that the government work with
civil society and individuals with disabilities
to craft an India where everyone feels wel-
come and treated with respect, regardless of
their disabilities. Only then can we welcome
the next International Day of Persons with
Disabilities without a sense of shame.
The writer is a Congress MP from
Thiruvananthapuram
derintheverb,Englishdoesn’tcareaboutthis.
Except in the case of third person, present
tense, singular, English does not worry much
about number or person either (“She walks”
but “I/ we/ you/ they walk”) — only slight
changes in the auxiliary sometimes. At the
levelof words,Englishmakesonlyoneplural,
HindiandPunjabiwillhavesixformsforevery
noun.ConsiderwhetherlarkeinHindiissingu-
larorplural.Thisisjustaglimpseof theverbal
repertoireof ourPunjabichild.Otherchildren
are no different. A child internalises these
highly rule-governed systems along with so-
cially appropriate usage automatically with-
out any explicit instruction.
ItisunfortunatethatthoughthedraftNEP
2020 talks a lot about “multilingualism”, it
does not recognise that children arrive in
school not with “a language” but with a com-
plexverbalrepertoirethatmaybesimultane-
ouslylocatedinwhatareconstruedasseveral
different languages. A focus on language in
teacher education will go a long way in help-
ing future teachers use this complex verbal
repertoire as a resource — rather than appear
to them as an impediment. Unless we adopt
this perspective, there is no easy way to con-
cretise the slogan of “mother tongue educa-
tion”giventhefactthattheCensusitselfcounts
at least 20,000 of them.
The writer retired from Delhi University
and is currently Professor Emeritus, Vidya
Bhawan Society, Udaipur
WHAT THE OTHERS SAY
“It is hard to believe it is a coincidence that Fakhrizadeh’s assassination took
place as Donald Trump prepares to leave office. It appears to have less to do
with events in Iran than with politics in the US and Israel, where Benjamin
Netanyahu is looking once more to his electoral prospects” — THE GUARDIAN
A safety net
for farmers
Why should Indian agriculture be liberalised when
in most countries governments subsidise it?
Christophe Jaffrelot
and Hemal Thakker
ON SEPTEMBER 27, President Ram Nath
Kovind gave his assent to three contentious
farmbillspassedbyParliament—TheFarmers
(Empowerment and Protection) Agreement
on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act,
2020(FAPAFS),theFarmersProduceTradeand
Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act,
2020 (FPTC) and the Essential Commodities
(Amendment)Act,2020(EC).Thesebillswere
passedbytheRajyaSabhawithavoicevotein
spite of the Opposition asking for a recorded
divisionof thevotes.
Essentially changing the rules around
sale,storageandpricingoffarmproduce,the
bills will permit private buyers to hoard es-
sential commodities for future sales, which
only government-authorised agents could
do earlier, along with changing the rules for
contractfarming.Thebillshavebeentouted
as a watershed moment for Indian agricul-
ture by the Prime Minister, as the govern-
mentclaimsthatthereformswouldremove
theshacklesfromtheagriculturesectorand
free farmers from the stranglehold of mid-
dlemen by creating one market. However,
farmers’ unions and groups have concerns
about two major issues: First, since the
Minimum Support Price (MSP) is not men-
tionedinthebills,theyfearthattheywilllose
the assured option of selling to the APMC
mandis and that this will lead to corporate
exploitation. Second, they apprehend a
process of corporatisation of agriculture in
the absence of regulation, as agribusiness
firms might well be able to dictate both the
marketconditions(includingprices)andthe
terms of contract farming as small farmers
do not have the same bargaining power.
Indian farmers, in particular, worry that
the farm bills may clear the way for giant
Indian companies. When Akali Dal leader
Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from the
NarendraModigovernment,shesaid,citing
afarmerfromPunjab,“Jiocamein,theygave
free phones. When everyone bought those
phonesandgotdependentonthesephones,
the competition was wiped out and Jio
jackeduptheirrates.Thisisexactlywhatthe
corporates are going to do [with agricul-
ture]”. Some farmers’ groups in Punjab
forced the closure of Reliance stores in
protestasMukeshAmbaniexpressedhisin-
terestinagriculture.In2017,hehaddeclared
“Agriculture,educationandhealthcare—all
three are on our roadmap...”
TheAdanigrouphasalsomadesomein-
vestments in the agri-business infrastruc-
turespace.“AtAdani,wewanttobeknown
as the big agri-infrastructure player and
Adani Wilmar to be a big food company in
thecountry,”saidAtulChaturvedi,CEO,agri-
businessattheAdaniGroup,inaninterview.
AdaniAgriLogisticshasinvestedinthegrain
storage-handling-transportation network,
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
RAISE DEMAND
THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Mend
and repair’ (IE, December 2). The gov-
ernment appears to be deriving sadis-
tic pleasure by publicising that the
Indian economy did better than most
economists expected. But the fact is
that the overall granular data shows
that the economy is in a bad shape. The
government needs to address the weak
domestic demand, to fulfill the poten-
tial in the supply side, which was the
primary reason for the broad-based re-
forms over the last few months. The
most worrying part of GDP numbers is
the pro-cyclical deterioration in gov-
ernment spending. Overall, the country
is going towards recession, and the only
way out is to enhance domestic de-
mand, and increase the purchasing
power of consumers.
Rajiv Boolchand Jain, Zirakpur
HIGH-HANDED
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Answering
farmers’ knock’ (IE, December 2). It’s
shocking to know that BJP govern-
ments at Centre and Haryana are try-
ing to give a different colour to the
farmers’ protests by calling the protes-
tors Maoists or Khalistanis. The Centre
has aggravated its original mistake of
rushing through these laws without
wide consultation and political con-
sensus. The trouble is that most farm-
ers are not convinced by the assur-
ances and fear that their precarity will
increase as a result of the changes. The
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
whiletheAdaniWilmarjointventureisalso
looking to expand in food commodities.
The farmers’ suspicion is understand-
able.Notonlybecausebigplayershavealot
of clout, but also because past experiences
have not been rewarding. For instance, the
managementof thecropinsurancescheme
againstnaturaldisasters,introducedin2017,
was handed over to one of Anil Ambani’s
companies, among others. As P Sainath has
reported, the farmers did not profit from it.
Whyshouldagriculturebeliberalisedin
the first place when in most countries gov-
ernments subsidise this sector? In the US,
the agriculturesectorisexpectedtoreceive
$46billioninfederalsubsidiesthisyear.This
accounts for about 40 per cent of the total
farm income and, if not for those subsidies,
the US farm income was poised to decline
in 2020, according to a report by The New
York Times. Similarly, the European Union’s
Common Agricultural Policy spending has
averaged €54 billion annually since 2006.
Without some support from the state,
the smallest of Indian peasants would be
even more vulnerable. According to provi-
sional numbers from the 10th Agriculture
Census 2015–2016, in India, “smallholder
andmarginalfarmers”(thosewithlessthan
two hectares of land) account for 86.2 per
cent of all cultivators — that is, almost 126
millionpeople.Forthem,itisinconceivable
to carry their produce to other states or far-
off places to sell. They will not easily resist
thedeals“proposed”byagribusinessfirms.
Should they disappear in the name of the
modernisationof agriculture,whichmeans
concentration of land and mechanisation?
That could be a good idea if the indus-
trial sector could offer them jobs. But the
share of the secondary sector in total em-
ployment has been stagnant at around 26
per cent (as against 41 per cent for agricul-
ture) and its share in the GDP is declining.
The tertiary sector has not been able to cre-
ate enough jobs either and most migrant
labourersincitiesliveinprecariouscircum-
stances, as the reverse migration due to the
COVID-19 lockdown clearly demonstrated.
Shouldmorepeasantsleavetheirlandtoend
up in cities without proper jobs? Already,
the gap between urban and rural India in
terms of per capita resources is widening.
Itwouldbefarmoreprudenttoincrease
publicinvestmentinagricultureintermsof
infrastructure and in the form of income
support schemes like the Rythu Bandhu in
Telangana or the Krushak Assistance for
Livelihood and Income Augmentation in
Odisha.This,coupledwithensuringthatno
transaction can be done below the MSP,
would help alleviate some rural distress.
But money is not the only problem (or
solution). For making farming sustainable,
the government should draw inspiration
from Andhra Pradesh’s community man-
agedfarmingmodelwhichpromotesagro-
ecological principles with the use of locally
produced, ecologically sustainable inputs,
focusingonsoilhealth,insteadofdepending
on chemical fertilisers. This model is more
resilientaswellasmorebiodiverseinnature
and provides a safety net to farmers.
Jaffrelot is senior research fellow at CERI-
Science Po/CNRS, Paris. Thekker is a food and
agriculture policy analyst and student of
environmental policy at the Paris School of
International Affairs, Sciences Po
IDEAS
ONLINE
ONLY IN THE EXPRESS
● SECURING INDIA’S
COASTLINE:
P J S PANNU
● DROWNINGOUTLEGAL
HISTORY:
KARTIKEYATANNA
www.indianexpress.com
onus is on the government now to win
their confidence. It must reach out to
the farmers and not precipitate a cri-
sis by high-handedness.
Sanjay Chopra, Mohali
LEFT’S SUCCESS
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘The
Triumph and Trial in Bihar’ (IE,
December 1). While the article calls
AIMIM’s entry significant, it com-
pletely ignores the success of the Left
parties, especially CPI(ML), which has
bettered a 30-year record by winning
12 seats. If only the Congress had con-
ceded more seats to RJD, CPI (ML)
would be sharing power now in Bihar!
K Sahasranaman, Mumbai

12 THE WORLD
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
TOPOFTHE
WORLD
Wong escorted onto
prison. AP
HONG KONG
ActivistJoshua
Wongjailedfor
over13months
forprotest
JOSHUAWONG,24,oneof
HongKong’smostpromi-
nent democracy activists,
was jailed on Wednesday
for more than 13 months
over an anti-government
rally in 2019, the toughest
andmosthigh-profilesen-
tence for an opposition
figure this year. Wong’s
sentence comes as critics
say the Beijing-backed
government is intensify-
ing a crackdown on Hong
Kong’s opposition and
chipping away at wide-
rangingfreedoms.Wong’s
colleagues Agnes Chow,
23,andIvanLam,26,were
jailed for a total of 10 and
seven months, respec-
tivelyonchargeslinkedto
protests. REUTERS
PUERTO RICO
Massive
telescope
collapses
AMASSIVEradiotelescope
at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo
Observatory — one of the
world’slargest—collapsed
on Tuesday after sustain-
ing severe damage since
August, officials said, fol-
lowing 57 years of astro-
nomical discoveries. The
deteriorating telescope’s
900-tonne instrument
platform, suspended by
cables 450 feet above a
1,000-foot-wide bowl-
shaped reflector dish, fell
on Tuesday, the US
National Science
Foundation said. The tele-
scope gained fame after
scenes in the 1995 James
BondfilmGoldenEyewere
shot there. REUTERS
AFRICA
UN,Ethiopia
signdealforaid
accesstoTigray
IN A breakthrough a
month after deadly con-
flict cut off Ethiopia’s
Tigray region from the
world, the UN said it and
theEthiopiangovernment
havesignedadealtoallow
“unimpeded”humanitar-
ian access, at least for ar-
eas under federal govern-
ment control after the
prime minister’s declara-
tion of victory over the
weekend. This will allow
the first food, medicines
and other aid into the re-
gion of 6 million people
that has seen rising
hungerduringthefighting
between the federal and
Tigray governments. AP
PAGE IS ALSO KNOWN FOR ROLES IN THE ‘X-MEN’ MOVIES AND ‘INCEPTION’, AMONG OTHERS
Elliot Page, Oscar-nominated Juno star, says he’s transgender
MAYA SALAM
DECEMBER 2
ELLIOT PAGE, the Oscar-nomi-
nated star of “Juno,” announced
Tuesday that he is transgender.
“Hi friends, I want to share
with you that I am trans, my pro-
nounsarehe/theyandmynameis
Elliot,” Page, who as Ellen Page
starred in several critically ac-
claimed films, wrote in a state-
ment that he posted on Twitter
and Instagram. “I feel lucky to be
writingthis.Tobehere.Tohavear-
rived at this place in my life.”
Page, a 33-year-old Canadian
actorandproducer,isalsoknown
Afghangovt,Talibanreachbreakthrough
dealevenasfightingshowsnolet-up
Firstwrittenpactbetweenthe2partiesin19yrsof warlaysoutwayforwardformoresubstantivetalks
HAMID SHALIZI &
ABDUL QADIR SEDIQI
KABUL, DECEMBER 2
AFGHAN GOVERNMENT and
Taliban representatives said on
Wednesday they had reached a
preliminarydealtopressonwith
peace talks, their first written
agreementin19yearsof warand
welcomed by the United States
as a chance to halt the violence.
The agreement lays out the
way forward for discussion but
isconsideredabreakthroughbe-
cause it will allow negotiators to
move on to more substantive is-
sues, including talks on a cease-
fire, even as Taliban attacks on
Afghan government forces have
continued unabated.
“The procedure including its
preamble of the negotiation has
been finalised and from now on,
the negotiation will begin on the
The feudbetweenPrimeMinisterBenjaminNetanyahu’s
Likudpartyand DefenceMinisterBennyGantz’s Blueand
Whitehas ledtoasuccessfulvotetodissolveParliament. Reuters
Israeli lawmakers take
step towards another
national election
ILAN BEN ZION
JERUSALEM, DECEMBER 2
ISRAEL TOOK a major step to-
wardplungingintoitsfourth na-
tional election in under two
yearsonWednesdayaslawmak-
ers — supported by Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
main coalition partner — passed
a preliminary proposal to dis-
solve parliament.
The 61-54 vote came just
seven months after the coalition
took office following three in-
conclusive elections in just over
a year. Netanyahu’s Likud party
and Defense Minister Benny
Gantz’sBlueandWhitesaidthey
were seeking national unity to
confront the coronavirus crisis.
But since then, the rivals have
been locked in infighting.
The vote gave only prelimi-
nary approval to ending the al-
lianceandforcinganewelection
early next year. The legislation
now heads to a committee be-
fore parliament as a whole takes
up final approval, perhaps as
soon as next week. In the mean-
time, Gantz and Netanyahu are
expected to continue negotia-
tions in a last-ditch attempt to
preserve their troubled alliance.
By joining the opposition in
Wednesday’svote,Gantz’sparty
voiced its dissatisfaction with
Netanyahu,accusinghimof put-
ting his own personal interests
ahead of those of the country.
Netanyahu is on trial for a se-
ries of corruption charges, and
Gantzaccusestheprimeminister
for roles in the movies “X-Men:
The Last Stand,” “X-Men: Days of
Future Past” and “Inception,” as
well as the recent Netflix series
“Umbrella Academy.” Page de-
buted as a director last year with
the documentary “There’s
Something in the Water.”
“I can’t begin to express how
remarkable it feels to finally love
who I am enough to pursue my
authenticself,”Page,whomarried
choreographer Emma Portner in
2018, went on.
“I love that I am trans. And I
lovethatIamqueer.Andthemore
I hold myself close and fully em-
bracewhoIam,themoreIdream,
themoremyheartgrowsandthe
The agreementcomesaftermonthsof talksinDoha,
encouragedbytheUS,despitetheongoingviolence. Reuters file
agenda,” Nader Nadery, a mem-
ber of the Afghan government’s
negotiating team, told Reuters.
The Taliban spokesman con-
firmedtheagreementonTwitter.
“A joint working committee
was tasked to prepare the draft
topics for the agenda (of peace
Byjoiningthe
oppositioninthevoteto
dissolveParliament,
Gantz’s partyvoicedits
dissatisfaction with
Netanyahu,accusing
himof puttinghisown
personal interestsahead
of those of thecountry
of hindering key governmental
work, including the passage of a
national budget, in hopes of
stalling or overturning the legal
proceedings against him. Gantz
and other critics believe
Netanyahuisultimatelyhopingto
seeafriendlierparliamentelected
next year that will give him im-
munity from prosecution.
Netanyahu was scheduled to
speak to reporters later
Wednesday evening.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid,
whose Yesh Atid party spon-
soredthebilltotriggernewelec-
tions, accused the government
of grossmishandlingof thecoro-
navirus crisis and its economic
fallout. He said the one thing all
citizens share is “the feeling that
theylostcontrolovertheirlives.”
The government still has not
yet passed a budget for 2020, a
result of the deep divisions pro-
duced by its power-sharing
agreement. The lack of budget
hascausedseverehardshipsand
cutbacks for Israelis during the
pandemic. AP
moreIthrive.Toallthetranspeo-
ple who deal with harassment,
self-loathing,abuse,andthethreat
of violence every day: I see you, I
love you, and I will do everything
I can to change this world for the
talks),” a joint statement from
both sides said.
The agreement comes after
monthsof talksinDoha,thecap-
ital of Qatar, encouraged by the
United States, despite the ongo-
ing violence.
A car bombing in the central
Iran’s President opposes Bill
that would boost enrichment
NASSER KARIMI
TEHRAN, DECEMBER 2
IRAN’S PRESIDENT Hassan
Rouhani on Wednesday ex-
pressedhisoppositiontoaBillap-
proved by Parliament the previ-
ous day to suspend UN
inspections and boost uranium
enrichment, saying it would be
“harmful” to diplomatic efforts
aimed at restoring the 2015 nu-
cleardealandeasingUSsanctions.
The tug-of-war over the Bill,
TEARFUL VIGIL IN GERMANY
Residentsandpoliticiansweptandhuggedastheylayflowersandcandlesinthewesterncityof
Trier onWednesdaytocommemoratefivepeople,includinga baby,killedbyadrunkmanwho
ploughedaspeedingcarintoapedestrian area.Prosecutorshavesaidthesuspect,a 51-year-old
local,haddrunka significantamountof alcoholbeforeracingthroughthecitycentreforabout
1kmand drivingintopedestriansinwhatauthoritiessaidwasa deliberateact. Reuters
Chinese probe drills Moon’s surface
KJM VARMA
BEIJING, DECEMBER 2
CHINA’SCHANG’E-5probedrilled
the lunar surface and collected
samplesonWednesdayinthefirst
such effort in over 40 years and
began preparations to bring the
precious soil to earth, the coun-
try’s space authority said.
The Chang’e-5 probe has col-
lected Moon samples after land-
ingonTuesday,theChinaNational
Elliot Page is a
33-year-old
Canadian actor
and producer
better.”
Portner voiced support and
loveforPageonInstagram.“Trans,
queerandnonbinarypeoplearea
gift to this world,” Portner wrote.
“Elliot’sexistenceisagiftinandof
province of Ghaznikilled at least
30 security force members on
Sunday, officials said. No group
claimed responsibility.
A ceasefire remainsthe most
urgent demand of international
capitals and Kabul, even as the
Taliban refused one during the
preliminary stages of talks.
“(Theagreement)isastepfor-
ward towards beginning the ne-
gotiations on the main issues, in-
cluding a comprehensive
ceasefireasthekeydemandofthe
Afghanpeople,”AfghanPresident
AshrafGhani’sspokesman,Sediq
Sediqqi, said on Twitter, quoting
the Afghan leader.
US Special Representative for
Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay
KhalilzadsaidonTwitterthatthe
twosideshadagreedona“three-
page agreement codifing rules
and procedures for their negoti-
ationsonapoliticalroadmapand
a comprehensive ceasefire”.
Hassan
Rouhani
which gained momentum after
the killing of a prominent Iranian
nuclear scientist last month, re-
flectstherivalrybetweenRouhani,
arelativemoderate,andhard-line
lawmakerswhodominateparlia-
mentandfavoramoreconfronta-
tionalapproachtotheWest.
Imagetakenfromvideo
animationatBeijing
AerospaceControlCentre
SpaceAdministration(CNSA)an-
nounced on Wednesday.
itself. Shine on sweet E.”
Pagecame out publiclyas gay
in 2014.
“I am tired of hiding, and I am
tiredoflyingbyomission,”hean-
nounced at a Human Rights
Campaign conference in Las
Vegas.“Isufferedforyearsbecause
I was scared to be out. My spirit
suffered, my mental health suf-
fered and my relationships suf-
fered. And I’m standing here to-
day, with all of you, on the other
side of all that pain.”
In September 2019, at the
Toronto International Film
Festival, Page addressed the
progress of LGBTQ people in
Hollywood — “There’s just so far
The three-page document
has not yet been made public.
“This agreement demon-
strates that the negotiating par-
ties can agree on tough issues,”
Khalilzad said.
TheTalibanwereoustedfrom
power in 2001 by U.S.-led forces
for refusing to hand over Osama
binLaden,thearchitectoftheSept.
11 attacks on the United States. A
U.S.-backedgovernmenthasheld
power in Afghanistan since then,
althoughtheTalibanhavecontrol
overwideareasof thecountry.
Under a February deal, for-
eign forces are to leave
Afghanistan by May 2021 in ex-
change for counter-terrorism
guarantees from the Taliban.
US President Donald Trump
has looked to hasten the with-
drawal, despite criticism, saying
hewantedtoseeallAmericansol-
diers home by Christmas to end
America’slongestwar. REUTERS
The Bill would suspend UN
inspections and require the gov-
ernment to resume enriching
uranium to 20% if European na-
tions fail to provide relief from
crippling US sanctions on the
country’s oil and banking sec-
tors. That level falls short of the
threshold needed for nuclear
weapons but is higher than that
required for civilian purposes.
AtaCabinetmeeting,Rouhani
said he “does not agree with that
and considers it harmful for the
trendofdiplomaticactivities”. AP
The unmanned probe landed
in the area called Oceanus
Procellarum, also known as the
Ocean of Storms, on the near side
oftheMoonandstartedrollingout
its solar panel wings and unlock-
ingsomeofthepayloadson-board
toprepareforsamplecollection.
Thelanderfirstdrilleda2-me-
tre-deephole,diggingoutsoil,on
Wednesday.Next,itwilluseitsro-
boticarmstoscoopupmoresam-
ples from the lunar surface for
backup, media reported. PTI
to go,” he said — and whether he
ever felt typecast.
“You would never ask a het-
erosexual actress that, as being
typecast as straight,” Page said.
“Why would I not want to play
thoseroles?Quitefrankly,Iwould
be thrilled if it’s every role I ever
played again.”
In a statement Tuesday, Nick
Adams, director of transgender
mediaatGLAAD,saidofPage:“He
will now be an inspiration to
countless trans and nonbinary
people.Alltransgenderpeoplede-
serve the chance to be ourselves
andtobeacceptedforwhoweare.
We celebrate the remarkable
Elliot Page today.” NYT
New Delhi
US court blocks two
H-1B regulations
proposed by Trump
PTI & AP
WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 2
IN A huge relief to tens of thou-
sands of Indian professionals
and top American IT firms, a US
court has blocked two H-1B reg-
ulations proposed by the Trump
administration to restrict the
ability of American companies
to hire foreign employees.
The H-1B visa is a non-im-
migrant visa that allows
American companies to em-
ploy foreign workers in special-
ity occupations that require
theoretical or technical expert-
ise. The US issues up to 85,000
H-1B visas each year. Usually,
they’re issued for three years
and renewable. Most of the
nearly 600,000 H-1B visa hold-
ers are from India and China.
In his 23-page order on
Tuesday,USDistrictJudgeJeffrey
White of Northern District of
CaliforniablockedtheTrumpad-
ministration’s recent policy that
required employers to pay for-
eign workers on H-1B visas sig-
nificantly higher wages.
Healsosetasideanotherpol-
icy that narrowed the eligibility
of H-1B valued by US tech firms
and other employers.
As a result of the ruling, the
Department of Homeland
Security rules on occupations
and other issues that were to
comeintoeffectfromDecember
7, stand invalid. The Department
of Labour rule on wages, which
took effect on October 8, is also
now no longer valid.
TheUSissuesupto85,000H-
1B visas each year in sectors in-
cluding technology, engineering
andmedicine.Usually,they’reis-
sued for three years and renew-
able. Most of the nearly 600,000
H-1B visa holders in the US are
from India and China.
The H-1B rules announced
weeks before the election were
partof PresidentDonaldTrump’s
wider agenda to curb nearly all
formsof immigration.InJune,he
issuedanordertemporarilysus-
pending the H-1B programme
until the end of the year.
The US Chamber of
Commerce and universities in-
cludingtheCaliforniaInstituteof
Technology sued in California,
arguing there wasn’t adequate
notice or time for the public to
comment on the changes. They
also said the rules, particularly
Barr acknowledges
Justice Dept found no
significant voter fraud
KATIE BENNER &
MICHAEL S SCHMIDT
WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 2
US ATTORNEY General William
Barr acknowledged on Tuesday
that the Justice Department has
uncovered no voting fraud “on a
scale that could have effected a
differentoutcomeintheelection,”
astrikingrepudiationofPresident
Donald Trump’s groundless
claims that he was defrauded.
The statement from Barr af-
firmingJoeBiden’swinservedas
a particularly harsh blow to
Trump’s efforts to overturn the
results of the election. Barr has
advanced Trump’s political
agenda perhaps more than any
other Cabinet member, bringing
the Justice Department as close
totheWhiteHouseasithasbeen
since Watergate.
His comments cameasother
Republicans separated them-
selves on Tuesday from Trump’s
charged complaints about the
election. A Georgia elections of-
ficial angrily denounced the vi-
olentthreatsandharassmentdi-
rected at elections workers and
urged the president to “stop in-
spiring peopletocommitpoten-
tial acts of violence.”
Barr had been mostly silent
since the election, but some
Republicans privately pushed
him to publicly rebut Trump, ac-
cording to a person told of those
conversations. His comments
may have been prompted by
Trump’s increasingly specious
election claims; the president
suggested on Sunday that the
Justice Department and the FBI
may have played a role in an
election fraud.
Barr took particular aim at a
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
The H-1B rules announced
weeks before the election
were part of Trump’s wider
agenda to curb nearly all
forms of immigration.
TRUMP THREATENS
DEFENCE VETO OVER
PROTECTIONS TO
SOCIAL MEDIA FIRMS
US PRESIDENT Donald
Trump is threatening to veto
a defense policy bill unless it
ends protections for internet
companies that shield them
frombeingheldliableforma-
terialpostedbytheirusers.On
TwitterTuesdaynight,Trump
tookaimatSection230ofthe
1996 Communications
Decency Act, which protects
companies that can host tril-
lions of messages from being
sued by anyone who feels
wronged by something
someone else has posted.
Trump has long claimed that
social media companies are
biased against conservative
voices. Since losing the elec-
tion,Trumphasfloodedsocial
media with unsubstantiated
claims of voter fraud. Twitter
hastaggedmanysuchTrump
tweetswiththeadvisory,“This
claim about election fraud is
disputed.” AP
related to requiring a prevailing
wage for visa-holders, would
have a drastic impact on new
hires and “sever the employ-
ment relationship of hundreds
of thousandsof existingemploy-
ees in the United States”.
The judge agreed that the
federal government didn’t make
a case for implementing the
rules under the Administrative
Procedure Act, which makes
agenciesaccountabletothepub-
lic by requiring a detailed
process forenacting regulations.
The US Attorney Gerneral’s
statement is a striking
repudiation of Trump’s
claims that he lost the
E
election due to fraud
E X P L A I NE D
Oneof
Trump’s
● closestallies
THE LATEST rejection of
Trump’s claims of election
fraud have come from one of
his closest allies. Attorney
General Barr had, before the
election, echoed Trump in
saying that mail-in ballots
could lead to massive fraud.
This had caused considerable
concern among those who
feared that the Justice
Department, which Barr
heads, may give official sanc-
tion to Trump’s claims after
the election. Barr’s rejection
of the claims, therefore, is one
of the biggest setbacks to
Trump’s already waning ef-
forts to bring credibility to his
repeated assertions of wide-
spread voter fraud.
widelydiscreditedconspiracythe-
ory promoted by the president’s
legal team involving machines
manufactured by Dominion
Voting Systems, a company that
sellsvotinghardware. NYT
 E EXPLAINED
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

13
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
@ieExplained
#ExpressExplained
If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that you would like
explained, please write to explained@indianexpress.com

SIMPLY PUT QUESTION &ANSWER

CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD

Rehab could help 2.4 bn, lower

back pain biggest concern: Study Consent for Contempt
What is the law on contempt of courts, and why is the consent of the Attorney General required to
In India, the initiate contempt proceedings? Under what circumstances is the AG’s consent not needed?
greatest need
for rehab is due
to fractures (90 allegedly making derogatory comments
million people), APURVA VISHWANATH against the Supreme Court. Last week, he
according to the NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2 turned down a request to initiate contempt
study published proceedings against author Shefali Vaidya as
in The Lancet ATTORNEY GENERAL for India K K the tweets were made over a year ago. The
journal. Abhinav Venugopal on Tuesday granted consent to law has a limitation period of one year for
Saha/Express Archive initiate criminal contempt of court proceed- bringing in action against an individual.
ings against comic illustrator Rachita Taneja The complainant can, however, sepa-
for allegedly scandalising the judiciary rately bring the issue to the notice of the
A STUDY published in The Lancet on of the growing and ageing of popula- through her tweets and illustrations. court andurge thecourt to take suo motu (on
Tuesday has underlined the impor- tions. Some conditions such as short- Alawstudenthadbroughtthetweetsand itsownmotion)cognizance.If thecourtdoes
tance of rehabilitation, which the au- sightednessinchildrenhaveincreased illustration by Taneja — made in the context takesuomotucognizance,asitdidinthecase
thorssayhasnotbeenadequatelypri- inprevalence.Thefindingsofthestudy of the Supreme Court’s decision to grant bail of Prashant Bhushan, the consent of the sen-
oritised by countries around the do not, however, mean that 2.41 bil- to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab ior-most law officer is not required.
world. Among the findings of the lion people have immediate need for Goswami who was arrested for allegedly Article 129 of the Constitution gives the
study (Global Estimates of the Need for rehabilitation therapies at any one abetting a suicide — to the notice of the AG. Supreme Court the power to initiate con-
Rehabilitation Based on the Global time, the researchers have said. Attorney General K K Venugopal with President Ram Nath Kovind. Express Archive tempt cases on its own, independent of the
Burden of Disease Study 2019): Dr Somnath Chatterji from the What is the procedure for bringing a motion brought before it by the AG or with
■ One in three people worldwide WorldHealthOrganisation,oneof the criminal contempt of court case against the consent of the AG.
(2.41 billion people) could benefit authors of the study, said: “Rehabi- an individual? Attorney General is required under the law. because the AG declined to grant consent. “The Supreme Court shall be a court of
from rehabilitation (such as physical litationservicesareoftenseenasafall- The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, lays The objective behind requiring the con- The three-judge Bench headed by Justice record and shall have all the powers of such
and occupational therapy or speech backstrategywhenpreventiveorcur- down the law on contempt of court. Section sent of the Attorney General before taking Arun Mishra reiterated this position in the a court including the power to punish for
and language therapy) at some point ative interventions have failed, or as a 15 of the legislation describes the procedure cognizance of a complaint is to save the time Prashant Bhushan case. “As far as the suo contempt of itself,” Article 129 states.
in their illness or injury. disability-specificserviceneededonly on how a case for contempt of court can be of thecourt.Judicialtimeissquanderedif friv- motu petitions are concerned, there is no re-
■ Lower back pain is associated by a minority of the population. Our initiated. olous petitions are made and the court is the quirementfor taking consentof anybody,in- What happens after the AG has granted
with the highest need for rehabilita- findingsturnthatthinkingonitshead, In the case of the Supreme Court, the firstforumforbringingthemin.TheAG’scon- cluding the learned Attorney General be- consent?
tion therapies in 160 out aswe showthatrehabili- AttorneyGeneralortheSolicitorGeneral,and sent is meant to be a safeguard against frivo- cause the Court is exercising its inherent Oncetheconsentof theAttorneyGeneral
of 204countries—or568 tation therapies are in the case of High Courts, the Advocate lous petitions, as it is deemed that the AG, as powers to issue a notice for contempt. It is is given in writing, a notice under The
million people world- needed by 2.41 billion General, may bring in a motion before the anofficerof thecourt,willindependentlyas- equallywellsettled,thatoncetheCourttakes Contempt of Courts Act is served personally
wide. Almost a tenth (52 people worldwide at courtforinitiatingacaseofcriminalcontempt. certainwhetherthecomplaintisindeedvalid. cognizance,thematterispurelybetweenthe on the person against whom the proceed-
million) are in the US. some point during their However, if the motion is brought by any Court and the contemnor. The only require- ings are sought to be initiated by the court.
■ In India, the great- injury or illness. As peo- other person, the consent in writing of the Is the AG’s consent mandatory for all ment is that the procedure followed is re- If the court decides not to serve the notice
est need for rehab is due ple are living longer, but Attorney General or the Advocate General is contempt of court cases? quired to be just and fair and in accordance personally, the law requires the court to
to fractures (90 million PAPER often with disability, we required. The AG’s consent is mandatory when a with the principles of natural justice,” the record the reasons for it.

CLIP
people). In China, it is for believe rehabilitation The motion or reference made for initi- privatecitizen wants to initiate a case of con- court had said. If the court is satisfied that the alleged
hearing loss (95 million). services require urgent ating the case will have to specify the con- tempt of court against a person. Before such AG Venugopal had repeatedly objected contemnorislikelytoabscondorevadejudi-
■ China (460 mil- attention from political temptof whichthepersonchargedisalleged apleacanbefiled,theAttorneyGeneralmust tothecourt’sinitiationof contemptproceed- cial proceedings, it can order attachment of
lion), India (411 million), NEW RESEARCH leaderstogivepeoplethe to be guilty. sign off on the complaint, determining if it ings against Bhushan during the course of property of a value that it deems reasonable.
the US (149 million), best chance of living a requires the attention of the court at all. the hearing. Oncethenoticeisserved,theallegedcon-
Indonesia (76 million) healthy life.” But why does the Attorney General have However, when the court itself initiates a temnor may file an affidavit in support of his
and Brazil (70 million) top the list of Theresearchersselected25health to grant consent? contemptof courtcase,asitdidinthecaseof And what happens if the AG denies defence, explaining the nature and circum-
countries in terms of number of peo- conditions based on those with the The procedure in cases of criminal con- PrashantBhushanrecently,theAG’sconsent consent? stances of her remarks. The case is required
ple in need of rehabilitation services. highest number of associated years temptofcourt,whichmeansthepublicationof isnotrequired.Thisisbecausethecourtisex- If theAGdeniesconsent,thematterallbut under the Act to be heard by a Bench of at
■ The countries with the greatest lived with disability. They excluded materialthatscandalisesorlowersthedignity ercising its inherent powers under the ends. In August, AG Venugopal had refused least two judges. The court then takes into
need in terms of rate per 1,000 people conditions for which rehabilitation is ofthecourtorprejudicesorinterfereswiththe Constitutiontopunishforcontemptandsuch tograntconsenttoinitiatecriminalcontempt account any evidence available to check the
areSlovenia(515),Bulgaria(511),Czech not essential and added others where proceedings of the court, the consent of the Constitutional powers cannot be restricted proceedings against actor Swara Bhasker for affidavit, and pass appropriate orders.
Republic(502),NewZealand(494),and rehabilitation is considered a key in-

In UK, examining world’s first ‘foul air death’

Bosnia and Herzegovina (493). tervention as part of an overall man-
The number of those who could agement plan.
benefit from rehabilitation services — The prevalence of rehabilitation
suchasphysicalandoccupationalther- need was nearly equal between men
apyorspeechandlanguagetherapy—at andwomen(1.19billionmen,1.22bil-
least once in the course of their illness lion women), but women experi- lution levels were monitored at the time. includes ensuring our right to breathe clean
or injury has increased 63% since 1990, enced more years lived with disabil- ANURADHA MASCARENHAS Issues such as steps taken to reduce air pol- air. Toxic air causes 7 million premature
up from 1.48 billion to 2.41 billion peo- ity than men (146 million YLD to 163 PUNE, DECEMBER 2 lution,andinformationprovided tothepub- deaths every year worldwide, and kills
ple,thestudysays. million YLD). lic about the levels, the dangers, and ways to 500,000 children under 5years old. Clean air
This increase is mostly on account ANURADHA MASCARENHAS AN IMPORTANT inquest is underway in reduce exposure, will also be taken up. is a human right, and it’s time governments
London to determine whether air pollution A report by the acclaimed expert Prof did something about it,” Prof Kumar said.
caused or contributed to the death in Stephen Holgate had said that air pollution Dr Sundeep Salvi, founder of Pulmocare
INDIA ACTIVE CASES 428,644 February 2013 of a nine-year-old child, Ella levels near Ella’s home “consistently” ex- ResearchandEducationFoundation,saidthe
Adoo Kissi-Debrah, who lived with her ceeded lawful EU limits over the three years ongoingproceedingsintheUKcouldhavefar-
mother near a busy road in London. prior to her death. The inquest will look at reachingimplicationsforIndiancourts,asthe
500,000 Ella’s death could become possibly the potential failings by the authorities to take levelsofairpollutioninIndiaareseveraltimes
firstintheworldtobelegallycertifiedashav- adequate steps to reduce pollution and pro- higher than what is found in the UK.
ing been caused by “air pollution”. vide the public with information about the
risks of air pollution,and theextent to which Killer air pollution
428,644 Illness and death they contributed to Ella’s death. According to the World Health
438,667 For three years before she died, Ella Adoo (Above) Massive Organisation(WHO),ambientairpollutionca-
450,000 Kissi-Debrah had suffered seizures, and had Significance of case air pollution in uses4.2milliondeathseveryyearglobally.An-
made 27 visits to hospital after having prob- If thecampaignbythefamilyissuccessful Delhi Express other 3.8 million deaths are caused by ho-
lems breathing. She lived less than 30 metres — Ella’s mother Rosamund, an important Archive; (left) nine- useholdexposuretodirtycookstovesandfuels.
fromtheSouthCircular,abusyandcongested voice in the clean air movement, has set up year-old Ella Adoo Ninety-onepercentoftheworld’spopulation
LAST 10 DAYS arterialroadinLewishaminsoutheastLondon. The Ella Roberta Family Foundation to help Kissi-Debrah, lives in places where the air quality is worse
Nov 22 Dec 1 In 2014, an inquest focused on medical improve the lives of children suffering from who died in 2013. than is recommended by WHO guidelines.
400,000 care provided to the child found she died of asthma — Ella will become the first person in Ella Roberta Family Dr Maria Neira, Director of WHO’s
acuterespiratoryfailureasaresultof asevere the United Kingdom, and possibly in the Foundation Departmentof Environment,ClimateChange
Note: The Dec 1 figure in this graph is based on the government update on Dec 2 asthmaattack.InDecember2019,herfamily world, to have air pollution recorded as the and Health, said in a statement: “Air pollu-
wassuccessfulintheirapplicationtotheHigh cause of death. tionisasilentkiller,andmorethan90%of the
Courttoreopentheinquestinthelightof new Apartfromsettingthislegalprecedent,the Indian Express that the inquest in Ella’s death world’s children breathe toxic air every day.
INDIA TOTAL CASES WORLD TOTAL CASES evidence regarding air pollution levels. hearingcouldalsodeterminewhetherArticle could ultimately end up saving the lives of This inquiry into the premature death of Ella
9,499,413 64,054,194 2 of the European Convention on Human millions of children around the world, in- Kissi-Debrah at 9 years old shines the spot-
The second inquest Rights is engaged — in terms of arguable fail- cluding in India. “By confirming that the air lightontheunhealthylevelsof pollutionthat
Source:MinistryofHealth&Family Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity, The full inquest that began on Monday ures by the UK authorities — such that Ella pollution in Ella’s London neighbourhood most of our young ones are exposed to. The
Welfare,updatedat11pmonDec2 updatedat11pmonDec2 will continue for approximately 10 days, and should have been afforded a ‘right to life’. causedtheasthmaattacksthatkilledher,this inquestcouldcreateanimportantlegalprece-
will consider whether air pollution caused Prof (Dr) Arvind Kumar, Founder Trustee inquest would make clear that a govern- dent, and strengthen the case that everyone
or contributed to Ella’s death, and how pol- of Lung Care Foundation (India), told The ment’s obligation to protect our right to life has the human right to breathe clean air.”

The importance of Suvendu Adhikari — to the TMC and to the BJP

ATRI MITRA &
RAVIK BHATTACHARYA
KOLKATA, DECEMBER 2
ADAYaftertheTrinamoolCongressclaimed
“all issues with Suvendu Adhikari had been
“sorted out”, the powerful MLA from
Nandigram is learnt to have messaged a
senior party leader on Wednesday, saying
his grievances remained unresolved, and
he was still unable to work with them.
While the suspense continues over
Suvendu’splans—whetherhewouldstaywith
theTrinamoolorcrossovertotheBJPaheadof
Assemblyelectionsthataredueinthenextfew
months — the buzz that his resignation from
the Mamata Banerjee cabinet has generated
underlines his enormous importance in the
politicsof hispartyandof thestate.
A powerful family
Crossing the Rupnarayan river at
KolaghatinWestBengal’sPurbaMedinipur
district, it soon becomes clear that this is
Adhikari country.
Posters and banners — with Suvendu’s
picture sans the TMC symbol, put up by a
newlyformedgroupcalledDada’rAnugami
or Brother’s Followers — are everywhere,
and roadside chatter attests to the impor-
tance and popularity of the area’s preemi-
nent political family.
Over the last two decades, the
Adhikaris have dominated the politics of
the district, repeatedly winning Lok Sabha
and Vidhan Sabha seats in the area, and
building a solid base for the TMC there and
beyond in the state.
Family patriarch Sisir Adhikari, 79, who
is now in his third term in Lok Sabha, also
won Assembly elections in the state thrice,
and was a minister in Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh’s government.
Sisir’s son Suvendu, 49,showedhis abil-
ity for political organisation early, first en-
tering the West Bengal Assembly in 2006,
and then winning the Tamluk Lok Sabha
seat in 2009 and again in 2014. In 2016, he
quit Parliament to become an important
minister in Mamata’s government.
Suvendu’s younger brother Dibyendu
Adhikari, 43, won Assembly elections in
2009, 2011, and 2016 before winning the
Lok Sabha by-election for the seat vacated
by Suvendu. Dibyendu was re-elected MP
from Tamluk in 2019.
A third brother, Soumendu Adhikari, is
currentlychairmanof theKanthiMunicipal
Corporation.
Nandigram and after
Suvendu’s rise began after Mamata’s
Nandigrammovementin PurbaMedinipur
in 2007, which he closely coordinated on
the ground. The Nandigram agitation
played a powerful role in ending the Left
Front’s 34-year-rule in the Assembly elec-
tion of 2011. Mamata was impressed, and
over the years that followed, she gave re-
spect and importance to Suvendu and his
family, and rewarded them for their dedi-
Suvendu
Adhikari (left)
with Mamata
Banerjee and his
father, TMC Lok
Sabha member
Sisir Adhikari
(with mic), in
Chandipur,
Purba
Medinipur, in
2016. Express
Archive/Partha Paul
cation to the Trinamool Congress.
Suvendu rapidly strengthened the or-
ganisation of the party and increased his
own clout beyond Purba Medinipur. He
came to have significant influence in the
three districts of Jangalmahal — Bankura,
Purulia, and Paschim Medinipur — apart
from his home turf of Purba Medinipur.
These four districts together have nine Lok
Sabha and 63 Assembly seats, and Suvendu
is believed to be in a position to influence
election outcomes in 20-30 of them.
MamataentrustedSuvenduwiththere-
sponsibility of being the TMC’s observer in
many parts of the state, primarily in
Jangalmahal, Malda, and Murshidabad. He
is influential in the party’s organisation in
South Bengal, especially in the Haldia port
area, and among the trade unions in the
Haldia industrial area.
Points of friction
His strong political base in Purba
Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur meant
Suvendu was not dependent on Mamata’s
popularityandcharismaforvotesinthesame
way that many other TMC leaders were.
When Mukul Roy was number 2 in the
TMC,hetriedtocurbSuvendu’sinfluenceby
putting his loyalists in organisational posts
in Purba and Paschim Medinipur. After
Mukul — who switched to the BJP in 2017 —
Suvendu had friction with Abhishek
Banerjee, Mamata’s nephew, whom the
Chief Minister promoted. As a young mass
leaderwithprovencapabilities,Suvenduex-
pectedtoberecognisedasthemostinfluen-
tialpersoninthepartyafterMamataherself.
Abhishek’s rise to a position where he has
cometovirtuallyrunthepartywiththehelp
of political analyst Prashant Kishor, was in-
terpreted by Suvendu — whom the TMC
leadership has always treated as a leader of
justPurbaMedinipur—assignalthathispo-
litical ambitions would not be realised. He
hasinrecentmonthsalsofacedaseriesofat-
tacksfrompartyleaderssuchasstateUrban
Development Minister Firhad Hakim and
Chief Whip in Lok Sabha Kalyan Banerjee.
By dissociating himself from the TMC
especially over the past four months,
Suvendu has sought to demonstrate his in-
dividual influence and popularity outside
the party banner. His resignation from the
ministry was a statement of intent to his
party — as also a signal to the BJP that he
was available for negotiations.
Should Suvendu ultimately leave, many
others could follow. There are at least two
ministersandanumberofMLAswhoaresit-
ting on the fence — and some of them have
publiclyexpressedtheirunhappiness.Some
in the TMC believe the party’s cadre base
couldsplitdownthemiddle,withalargesec-
tion shifting its loyalty from Didi to “Dada”.
There are others, however, who are not
convinced that Mamata is quite that vul-
nerable — for all of his organisational
strength and popularity, Suvendu cannot
actuallymatchup to theChief Minister, and
thesituation could change rapidly once she
begins to campaign, this section believes.

New Delhi

14 ECONOMY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
SINCE APRIL 2020
RetailinvestorsshunequityMF
route,gofordirectstockpicking
SANDEEPSINGH
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
THE SHARP 23 per cent fall in
Indian markets in March that
opened opportunity for stock
picking saw a clear shift in the
way retail investors participated
instockmarkets.Ifequitymutual
funds (MFs) were the preferred
route for retail investors over the
last few years, investors have
shiftedheavilytowardsdirecteq-
uity investment in the months
since April 2020.
According to data compiled
by global financial services com-
pany Jefferies, while the net in-
flow in equity mutual funds
dropped significantly from $3.7
billion in the quarter ended
March 2020 to (-)$1.9 billion in
the quarter ended September
2020,therehasbeenanexponen-
tial rise in net retail flows into
stock markets. Data shows that
net retail flow into domestic eq-
uities rose over 5 times from $1.2
billion in the quarter ended
March to $6.8 billion in the quar-
AMID INDO-CHINA TENSION
‘Ant may consider
Paytm stake sale’
ADITISHAH&
ANIRBANSEN
HONGKONG/NEWDELHI,DEC2
CHINESE FINTECH giant Ant
Groupisconsideringsellingits30
percentstakeinlocaldigitalpay-
ment processor Paytm amid ten-
sions between India and China,
and a toughening competitive
landscape, people with direct
knowledge of the matter said.
Financial details of the possi-
ble transaction have not been
firmed up and Ant, the Alibaba-
backed payments-to-consumer
credit behemoth, has not
launchedaformalsaleprocessyet,
four people said. Paytm, which is
also backed by SoftBank Group
Corpamongothers,wasvaluedat
about $16 billion during its latest
private fundraising round a year
ago. At that valuation, Ant’s stake
BRIEFLY
MPCstarts
deliberationon
policyrate
Mumbai: The Monetary
Policy Committee (MPC) of
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
beganitsthree-daydeliber-
ation on Wednesday, amid
expectationsthatthecentral
bank will maintain status
quoonthebenchmarklend-
ing rates in view of high re-
tailinflation.TheRBIwillan-
nounce its monetary policy
review on December 4.
PMtoaddress
FICCIAGMon
December12
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi will share
his thoughts and vision for
the industry’s role in creat-
ing an ‘Inspired India’ at
FICCI’s93rdAnnualGeneral
Meeting on December 12,
the chamber said Wedne-
sday. Modi will virtually in-
augurate and address the
AGM,whichwillbeheldvir-
tuallyon11,12and14Dece-
mber and is based on the
theme ‘Inspired India’. PTI
Salesforceto
acquireSlackin
$27.7bndeal
Bengaluru: Salesforce.com
Inc hasagreedtobuywork-
place messaging app Slack
Technologies Inc in a $27.7
billion deal, the biggest by
the cloud-computing giant
asitbetsonanlongerrunfor
remote working. REUTERS
SENSEX: 44,618.04 ▼ 37.40 NIFTY: 13,113.75 ▲ 4.70 NIKKEI: 26,800.98 ▲ 13.44 HANG SENG: 26,532.58 ▼ 35.10 FTSE: 6,398.56 ▲ 13.83 DAX: 13,342.48 ▼ 39.82
RUSH TOWARDS EQUITIES
Jan-Mar
2020
Netretailflows 1.2
inequitymarket
Netinflowin 3.7
equityMFs
Source: Jefferies; Figures in US$ billion
ter ended September.
So, in the quarter ended
September, while investors
pulled out a net of $1.9 billion
fromequityMFs,theypumpedin
a net of $6.8 billion by way of di-
rectstockpicking.Thisislinewith
therushofretailinvestorsintodo-
mesticstockmarketsoverthelast
eight months after the Sensex
and Nifty crashed by around 23
per cent in March, following the
threatof Covid-19vaccineandits
impact on the global economy.
It is important to note that
prior to the Covid-19 outbreak,
mutual fund was the preferred
mode of investment for retail in-
vestors. In the six years between
April 2014 and March 2020, net
in the Indian firm is worth about
$4.8 billion. Both Ant and Paytm
said that the information was in-
correct. A Paytm spokesman said
“there has been no discussion
withanyof ourmajorsharehold-
ersever,noranyplans,aboutsell-
ing their stake.”
Ant’spossibleexitfromPaytm
would mark another reversal for
the Chinese company hot on the
heels of the dramatic suspension
of its $37 billion stock listing last
month, which would have been
the world’s largest. It also would
be a step back from its ambitions
of be a global payments leader.
The main trigger for Ant to
consider the divestment of its
stake in Paytm is the worsening
diplomatic relations between
India and China in the past few
months,saidthepeople,whode-
clinedtobenamedasthedeliber-
ationsareconfidential. REUTERS
LOAN RESTRUCTURING
As industries seek Premium phone demand rising Thoothukudi copper
relief, SC notes govt’s despite Covid, says Qualcomm plant: No immediate
‘economic capacity’
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,DECEMBER2
EVENASaclutchofindustries,in-
cluding the real estate sector,
clung to their plea for more sub-
stantive loan relief from banks in
the wake of the pandemic, the
Supreme Court on Wednesday
seemedtoacknowledgethestand
of the government,ReserveBank
of India(RBI)andbanksthatthey
were hard-pressed and would
rather tread the prudent path.
“The government has to arra-
nge its affairs (on the basis of) its
economiccapacity,”JusticeAshok
Bhushan remarked, as senior ad-
vocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for
realtors’ body CREDAI, insisted,
“the government has done noth-
‘Biden won’t make immediate moves on ‘No link between Covid shot and
China trade deal; stimulus to be priority’ adverse reaction in volunteer’
REUTERS
BENGALURU,DECEMBER2
JOE BIDEN will neither immedi-
ately cancel the Phase 1 trade
agreementthatPresidentDonald
TrumpstruckwithChinanortake
stepstoremovetariffsonChinese
exports, the New York Times on
Wednesday quoted the US presi-
dent-elect as saying.
In an interview with Times
columnistThomasFriedmanthat
gavecluestohowthenewadmin-
istration will proceed on foreign
policy, Biden said his top priority
Apr-June Jul-Sept
2020 2020
3.7 6.8
0.9 -1.9
inflowintoequityMFsamounted
to Rs 5.74 lakh crore.
However, over the last eight
months, there has been a big rise
in retail investors going for direct
stock picking and there has been
a significant jump in investor ac-
counts. While the investor ac-
counts with Central Depository
Services Limited (CDSL) stood at
2.12 crore at the end of March, it
jumpedby66lakh,or31percent,
injusteightmonthsto2.78crore
investor accounts by the end of
November 2020. So, the average
addition by CDSL over the last
eight months has been 8.25 lakh
investor accounts per month.
As a result, there is a trend of
retailinvestorsbypassingMFsfor
AMID COVID-19
‘India Inc to sustain recovery
in Q3 on strong festive season’
The corporate sector, which inched to normalcy from the
second quarter, is likely to sustain improvement in Q3
riding on strong festive demand, an Icra Ratings report said
Why is it important: Among consumer-oriented sectors, although large-ticket discretionary
purchases continue to remain on the back-burner due to risk aversion and general uncertainty, the
demand in several other sectors have bounced back over the past few months
SC relief for Vedanta
ing,buthasreliedupontheRBIcir-
cular (on debt restructuring)”.
“Eligible borrowers’ accounts
shouldcontinuetobeclassifiedas
‘standard”, Sibal said, adding that
the Kamath Committee was set
up to by RBI regulate parameters
between the borrowers and
lenders, and “it has nothing to do
with the Covid-19 disaster.” The
three-member Bench adjourned
thecasetoThursday,whenitwill
also hear the Solicitor General.
Senior advocate Ravindra
Srivastava,arguingforanotherin-
dustry group, said it was “arbi-
trary” on the part of the Centre to
classify borrowers as “small and
big”,asitextendedcompoundin-
terest relief for loans up to Rs 2
crore only for the six-month
moratorium period. FE
US President-electJoeBiden
was getting a generous stimulus
package through Congress, even
before he takes power.
This week Reuters reported
that Trump was eyeing more
steps to box Biden into hardline
equity investment. Mutual fund
insiders say that they have been
just monitoring this trend and
have been mostly selling to
honour redemption request
placed by investors.
There are many who have
raised concerns over the trend.
“Till the time the market is rally-
ing and investors are making
money,theywillnotdifferentiate
between good or bad quality
stock. However, if there is an ad-
verse market movement, many
investors may get caught off-
guard,” said the CIO with a lead-
ing mutual fund.
DatasourcedfromBSEshows
thatwhiledomesticinstitutional
investors (DIIs) sold equity hold-
ings worth Rs 20,900 crore be-
tween July and September, the
trendpickedupoverthelasttwo
monthsandsinceOctober1,they
havesoldequityholdingswortha
net of Rs 66,701 crore.
Since April 1, the benchmark
Sensex has risen by over 50 per
centandtherallyhasbeendriven
by FPI investments and direct in-
vestmentsbydomesticinvestors.
34.9%
Aggregaterevenue
growthseenbythe
analysed
companiesinQ2
fromQ1levels
6.5%
Fallinaggregate
revenuegrowth
forcompaniesin
Q2FY21ona
year-on-yearbasis
NANDAGOPALRAJAN
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
THE DEMAND for premium de-
vices is still there despite the
Covid-19 pandemic and was in
somewaysgoingup,seniorexec-
utives at Qualcomm said on the
sidelinesof theSnapdragonTech
Summit.Qualcomm, the leading
mobilechipmaker,announcedits
latest Snapdragon 888 aimed at
premiumsmartphonesatthevir-
tual summit.
Alex Katouzian, senior vice
presidentandgeneralmanager—
Mobile, Compute
Infrastructure at Qualcomm
and
Technologies, Inc told indianex-
press.comthatgeographicalloca-
tionsareactually“lookingforthe
next premium tier solution”.
“Therearealotofareaswhere
subsidiesonphonesstillexistand
peopleactuallytendtowardsthe
positionsonBeijing,backedbythe
anti-ChinasentimentinCongress
thathasoftenunnervedfinancial
markets in the past four years.
“I’mnotgoingtomakeanyim-
mediatemoves,andthesameap-
pliestothetariffs.I’mnotgoingto
prejudicemyoptions,”President-
elect Biden told Friedman.
Biden said he would pursue
policiestargetingChina’s“abusive
practices,”suchas“stealingintel-
lectual property, dumping prod-
ucts, illegal subsidies to corpora-
tions”andforcing“techtransfers”
from US companies to Chinese
counterparts.
While the net retail inflow into
the Indian equities amounted to
over $10.5 billion (around Rs
77,000 crore) between April and
September, FPIs (foreign portfo-
lio investors) invested a net over
$10billion(Rs76,375)intoIndian
equities in the same period. DIIs
were net sellers in this period as
they reduced their holdings
worth Rs 7,978 crore in the six-
month period.
If that transpired between
AprilandSeptember,thetrendof
FPI inflow and DII outflow has
only gained further momentum
over the last couple of months,
when the markets have staged a
sharp rally in line with news of
vaccine announcement by four
manufacturersaroundtheworld.
WhileFPIsinvestedanetofRs
92,567 between October 1 and
December 2, 2020, the DIIs have
sold equity holdings worth
Rs 66,701 crore.
Market participants say that
direct stock picking by retail in-
vestorsisontheriseandtheCDSL
added 17 lakh new investor ac-
countsinOctoberandNovember.
RURALTOLEAD
RECOVERY:
Therecoveryindemandisexpected
tocontinuetoberural-led,
whileurbanIndiawould
graduallycatchup
FACTORSSUPPORTING
RURALDEMAND:
■ Normalmonsoon
■ Healthycropoutputs
■ RiseinMNREGAallocations
■ MSMEguaranteeloans
RISKOFANOTHER
PANDEMICWAVE:
Asecondorthirdwaveofpandemic,
however,canreversetherecoveryin
theabsenceofavaccinesofar
587 Companiesinthe
corporatesector
(excludingfinancialsector
entities)whosefinancial
resultswereanalysed
Source: Icra Ratings/PTI
Snapdragon 888 processor
premium tier of the market,” he
said, adding that the popularity
of the premium tier is strong in
marketsliketheUS,intheEUand
mostpartsofAsiaincludingIndia.
“We don’t see any deteriora-
tion of that (demand for pre-
mium phones). I don’t think
there’s going to be any pressure
on the premium tier. In fact, I
think the demand has gone up,”
Katouziansaidinreplytoanother
question.
Katouzian,whohasoverthree
US facing
historic crises
again: Yellen
New Delhi: The United
States is facing economic
crises again and it is essen-
tial to move with urgency,
US Treasury Secretary-
nominee Janet Yellen has
said, warning that inaction
willproduceaself-reinforc-
ing downturn causing yet
more devastation. PTI
GOLD
`48,169
Note: Gold, silver rates at Delhi spot market; gold per 10 g, silver per 1 kg; Brent crude as of 2300 IST
BPCL bid process: Three
expressions of interest
received, says Pradhan
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
THEGOVERNMENThasreceived
three bids for the privatisation of
Bharat Petroleum Corporation
Ltd (BPCL), Union Petroleum
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
saidonWednesday.“Ithinkthree
parties have given their expres-
sionofinterests(EoIs)forthebid-
ding process,” the minister said
duringawebinaronthefutureof
theoilandgassectorinIndia,not-
ing that the government was
“committed to offload its share
from some of the state-owned
companies” as it would bring
more competition and profes-
sionalism to these companies.
VedantaResourceshadsaidit
hassubmittedanEoIforthegov-
ernment’s52.98percentstakein
BPCL. Besides Vedanta, two pri-
vate equity funds are reported to
havealsosubmittedbidsforBPCL.
Tuhin Kanta Pandey,
Secretary, Department of
Investment and Public Asset
Management,hadonthelastdate
for bidding said that the transac-
tion advisor for the sale had re-
ceived “multiple expressions of
interest,”buthedidnotrevealthe
identity of the bidders.
The qualifying bidders as as-
Exports fall 9% on lower petro
products, chemical shipments
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,DECEMBER2
EXPORTSDECLINED9.07percent
to $23.43 billion in November
amid a drop in shipments of seg-
ments such as petroleum prod-
ucts, engineering and chemicals,
evenasthetradedeficitnarrowed
to$9.96billionduringthemonth,
asperofficialdatareleasedWedn-
esday. Imports too fell 13.33 per
cent to $33.39 billion last month.
ExportsduringApril-Novem-
ber were $173.49 billion, as agai-
nst$211.17billioninthecorrespo-
ndingperiodayearago,postinga
negativegrowthof17.84percent.
Merchandise imports during the
eightmonthperiodofFY21fellby
33.56 per cent to $215.67 billion.
Meanwhile, at the Board of
Trade meeting Wednesday, ex-
decades of experience in the
semiconductorindustry,saidthe
reuseoflastyear’spremiumtieris
becoming more popular in the
high tier. “I think more and more
peoplewillupgradeintheircycle
as soon as they’re done being in
onetier.Soifyouareinthehigher
tier,thenextphoneyouarelook-
ingforisthepremiumtier;if you
are in mid-tier you are going to
look for high tier,” he explained.
The functionality, Katouzian
said, seems to trickle down into
lower tiers at a much faster rate
than we were used to. “In any-
where between three to nine
months,youaregoingtogetpre-
miumtierfunctionsscaleddown
allthewayintothe400tierofour
product line. So we see growing
functionality and growing needs
for that functionality in all of our
tiers,” he said, reiterating that
Qualcomm did not see any pres-
sure on the premium tier.
PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA
NEWDELHI,DECEMBER2
A PROBE initiated by the Drugs
ControllerGeneralofIndia(DCGI)
into an alleged “serious adverse
event” reportedly suffered by an
OxfordCovid-19vaccinetrialpar-
ticipantinChennaihasfoundthat
it was not related to the shot ad-
ministered to him, sources said.
The DCGI arrived at the con-
clusion based on the recommen-
dationsofanindependentexpert
committeewhichhasalsoopined
thatcompensationshouldnotbe
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
RUPEE OIL SILVER
`73.81 $48.42 `62,496
International market data till 1900 IST
E
havemorebuyingplaces.Ishould
E X P L A I NE D
Key for have more destinations to go for
purchasing(of oil),”hesaidinre-
divestment
● target
sponsetoaquestiononthepossi-
bility of India resuming oil im-
ports from Iran and Venezuela
THE QUALIFYING bidders under a Joe Biden presidency of
as assessed by the trans- the US.
action advisor will be Indiasuspendedcrudeoilim-
asked to place financial ports from Iran in May 2019 and
bid in the second round. has reduced imports from
Public sector undertak- Venezuela, in light of economic
ings are not eligible to par- sanctionsimposedbytheTrump
ticipate in BPCL’s disin- administrationonbothcountries.
vestment process. The Pradhan said that boosting
sale of the government’s the domestic output of crude oil
52.98 per cent stake in and natural gas was a priority for
BPCL is a key part of its the government, which envi-
Rs 2.1 lakh crore disinvest- sionedthatthisgrowthwouldbe
ment target for this fiscal. driven by small and mid-sized
companiesalongwithlargecom-
panies.Henotedthatenergyma-
sessedbythetransactionadvisor jorExxonMobilwasintalkswith
willbeaskedtoplacefinancialbid local companies to invest in
in the second round. Public sec- Indian fields.
tor undertakings are not eligible “Exxon Mobil is in active dis-
toparticipateinBPCL’sdisinvest- cussionwithsomeofourcompa-
mentprocess.Thesaleofthegov- nies to participate in some of our
ernment’s BPCL stake, currently producing fields,” said Pradhan.
valuedataroundRs44,200crore, Exxon Mobil had signed a mem-
isakeypartofitsRs2.1lakhcrore orandum of understanding with
disinvestment target for FY21. state-owned Oil and Natural Gas
Pradhan also said that as an Corporation (ONGC) last year
importerofcrudeoil,Indiawould through which it is set to offer
prefer to be able have more po- technical assistance and expert-
tentialsourcestopurchasecrude ise for the development of
oil. “As a buyer, I would like to ONGC’s offshore blocks.
TRADE DEFICIT NARROWS TO $9.96 BN
40 ■ November2019
35 ■ November2020
30
$12.75billion
25
$9.96billion
20
$38.52billion
$23.43billion
$33.39billion
$25.77billion
15
10
5
0
Exports Imports TradeDeficit
porters suggested to the Centre a commerce and free trade pacts
series of steps, including extend- with nations like the US and UK,
ingfiscalbenefitstoSEZunits,pre- toboostlocalmanufacturingand
sumptive tax for cross-border e- outbound shipments.
to renew the Consent to Operate
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE certificate for the plants on the
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2 grounds that it had failed to ad-
here to norms. Subsequently,
THE SUPREME Court on protests against the plant led to
Wednesdaydeclinedtograntany police firing in which 13 people
immediate interim relief to were killed. Following this, the
Vedanta Ltd to run its copper state government ordered the
smelter plant in Tamil Nadu’s permanent closure of the plant.
Thoothukudiandsaiditwillhear In December 2018, the
in detail its plea challenging the National Green Tribunal (NGT)
state government’s decision to allowed the reopening of the
closetheplantoverallegationsof
environmental pollution.
plant, but this was set aside by
the Supreme Court, which said
A three-judge Bench headed
byJusticeRFNarimanpostedthe
theNGTdidnothavethejurisdic-
tion, more so when an appeal
company’s appeal, which chal-
lenged the Madras High Court
waspendingbeforetheappellate
authority.TheMadrasHighCourt
verdict upholding the Tamil had on August 18, 2020 dis-
Nadugovernment’sdecision,for missedthecompany’spleaseek-
hearing in January 2021. ing permission to reopen the
The State Pollution Control plant which was closed follow-
Board had, in April 2018, refused ing protests over pollution.
paid to the volunteer, they said. logical and psychological symp-
An independent expert panel tomsaftertakingtheshot.Hehas
comprisingadoctoreachfromAI-
IMS,SafdarjungHospital,thePost
sued SII and others and sought
compensation of Rs 5 crore, be-
Graduate Institute of Medical
Education and Research, located
sides seeking a halt to the trial.
SII,however,onSundaycalled
in Chandigarh, Lady Hardinge
Medical College and Maulana
thechargesas“maliciousandmis-
conceived” and said it will seek
AzadMedicalCollegewasconsti- damagesinexcessofRs100crore.
tutedbytheDCGItolookintothe “The expert committee after
claimofa‘’seriousadverseevent’’ due deliberation opined that the
duringtheSerumInstituteofIndia reportedSAEswerenotrelatedto
(SII) trial at a site in Chennai. vaccine/clinical trial. Therefore,
Last week, the 40-year-old the committee recommends a
man who was a volunteer in the compensation not to be paid to
third phase of the vaccine trial, thesubjectorlegalheir/nominee
claimed to have suffered neuro- of the subject,” the panel said.
 RAJIV GANDHI PROUDYOGIKI VISHWAVIDYALAYA
(University of Technology of Madhya Pradesh)
Airport Road, Bhopal – 462033, Ph. No. : 2678868, Tele Fax : 0755-2742006, Website : www.rgpv.ac.in
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020 15
SALUTE THE SOLDIER
No. RGPV/RUSA/2020/4306 Date : 01.12.2020
E- TENDER NOTICE - I
Online Tenders are invited up to 28h December 2020 till 3.00 PM by RGPV, Bhopal from eligible Manufacturers/
Authorized Dealers/Distributors, for the supply of the laboratory Equipments and related items for its various RFN PATI RAM GURUNG, MAHAVIR CHAKRA
departments, worth approximately Rs. 698 Lakhs from grant under RUSA/AICTE/University funds, as per
following details, for its various departments: (POSTHUMOUS) 30 NOV 1971
S. Name of Department Tender Approx Cost Total EMD
No. No. (Rs in lakhs) RFN PATI RAM GURUNG, MAHAVIR CHAKRA
1. Civil Engineering RGPV/RUSA/2020/CIVIL/01 105 Rs. 3,15,000
(POSTHUMOUS) laid down his life fighting
2. Electrical Engineering RGPV/RUSA/2020/EX/02 75 Rs. 2,15,000 during 'OP CACTUS LILLY-1971'.On 30 Nov 1971
3. Electronics & Communication RGPV/RUSA/2020/EC/03 64.5 Rs. 1,93,500 during the battalion attack at Uthali defences on the morning
4. Mechanical Engineering RGPV/RUSA/2020/MECH/04 19 Rs. 57,000 of 30 Nov 1971, as the battalion was assembling at the form-
5. Petrochemical Technology RGPV/RUSA/2020/PETRO/05 105 Rs. 3,15,000 ing up place, it came under intense enemy fire. He systemati-
6. School of Bio Technology RGPV/RUSA/2020/UTD-BT/08 75 Rs. 2,25,000 cally neutralized several of enemy's bunkers and took a brave
7. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences RGPV/RUSA/2020/UTD-SoPS/09 110 Rs. 3,30,000 and dare-devil initiative to dash forward with utter disregard
8. School of Nano Tech RGPV/RUSA/2020/SoNT/10 26 Rs. 78,000
to his personal safety, engaging the interfering post by firing
9. School of Energy & Env. Mgmt RGPV/RUSA/2020/UTD-SoEEM/11 13 Rs. 39,000
10. Central Work Shop RGPV/RUSA/2020/Workshop/12 40 Rs. 1,20,000 his MMG. To further consolidate, he lobbed a grenade into the
11. Energy park repair & RGPV/RUSA/2020/UTD-SoEEM/AMC/13 13 Rs. 39,000 bunker, killing the complete enemy crew manning the MMG
AMC Tech AMC post before he was mortally wounded. In due recognition of
12. Mining, UIT Shahdol RGPV/SHAHDOL/2020/UIT/14 37.5 Rs. 1,12,000 his valorous act, Rfn Pati Ram Gurung was conferred with the
13. RPS-AICTE RGPV/RPS/2020/PJ/15 15 Rs. 45,000
The bids are to be submitted through on-line mode at www.mptenders.gov.in. The cost of the tender document
National Anti Doping Agency award of MAHA VIR CHAKRA (Posthumous).
is Rs. 5000/- each. Eligibility & other details are given on university’s website www.rgpv.ac.in. The tenders will (An autonomous body of the The Nation would also remain indebted to the supreme
be available on the above website and university’s website from 07th December 2020. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India)
M.P. Madhyam/99078/2020 REGISTRAR
sacrifice of the following brave soldiers who also made the
n˘…‰ M…V… EÚ“ n⁄˘Æ˙“, ®……∫EÚ Ω˲ V…∞¸Æ˙“* Hall No. 103-104, First Floor,
supreme sacrifice on 30 Nov 1971 during 'OP CACTUS LILLY':-
Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi- 110003
GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR File No. 1/37/2018/NADA Date: 24th November 2020
OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER TENDER NOTICE
MECHANICAL HOSPITAL AND CENTRAL HEATING DIVISION SRINAGAR National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) invites sealed
(Telefax: 0194-2496089, E-mail ID: xenmhchdk@yahoo.in)
tenders for engagement of courier agency for
GIST OF e-TENDER Rfn MB Pun, VrC Rfn Mk Newar, VrC Rfn IB Tamang Rfn NB Thapa Rfn IB Rana
Transportation of urine & blood samples from various
SHORT TERM CO AND ALL RANKS, 5/1 GORKHA RIFLES
locations in India to any other WADA accredited
NIT No: MHCHD/TS/2020-21/209/e-Tendering Dated: 01.12.2020
laboratories as under:-
For and on behalf of LT. Governor, J&K UT e-tenders are invited from Reputed and
experienced firms for the below mentioned work: (i) Qatar (ii) Belgium (iii) (iv) Dresden (Germany) (v)
Name of Work Est. Cost Cost of Earnest Time of Position of Athens (vi) NDTL New Delhi (vii) Any other WADA
(Rs. T/Doc. Money Completion AAA/Funds accredited Lab where transportation cost is minimal.
in Lacs) (in Rs.) (Rs.) (in Days)
1 2 3 4 5 6
The tender document may be downloaded from our
Rectification of leakages to 20
website www.nadaindia.org or
1.88 200 3800 05 Available as
Lakh Kcal/hr Hot Water intimated by https://eprocure.gov.in/epublish. Interested courier
Generator No. 1 at Govt. intending agencies may submit their sealed tenders in two bids
SMHS Hospital, Srinagar. Department system i.e Technical and Financial bids as per terms &
1. Downloading of Bids: The NIT Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility crite- conditions of the tender documents. The last date of
ria, specifications, Bill of quantities (B.O.Q), Set of terms and conditions of contract receipt of Tender documents is 10/12/2020 at 1600 hrs.
and other details can be seen from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in Account-cum-Administrative Officer
from 01.12.2020 (18.00 hrs)and can be downloaded from 01.12.2020 (18.00 hrs).
2. Uploading: The bidders shall deposit their bids in electronic format on the above National Anti Doping Agency (NADA)
web site from 02.12.2020 (10.00 hrs) to 10.12.2020 (14:00hrs) in two (02) covers. davp 47117/11/0004/2021 Tele: 011-24368274
3. Opening of Bids: The bids received upto due date and time shall be opened on
10.12.2020 at 16.00 hrsor any date convenient to the department in the office of
Executive Engineer, MHCHD, Srinagar.
Sd/-
No: MHCHD/TS/6434-38 Executive Engineer,
Date : 01-12-2020
MHCHD, Srinagar JAMMU AND KASHMIR POLICE SOUTHERN RAILWAY
DISTRICT POLICE HEADQUARTERS JAMMU TENDER NOTICE
Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer,
0191-2561578 (O), 0191-254780 (F) Southern Railway, Divisional Office,
E-Mail: sspjammu@jkpolice.gov.in Salem-636005 invites ONLINE tenders
for the under mentioned works
LOOK OUT NOTICE
Tender Notice Number and date:
As reported by Superintendent of Police, City North, Jammu vide SA-M-08-2020 dated 01.12.2020
communication No. 16959/SPCN dated 27.11.2020, that one un- Name of work: SUPPLY,
identified Male dead body apparently looks like beggar was recov- INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING
ered from below Flyover Bridge opposite M.A. Stadium, Jammu. OF A SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
Accordingly, an Inquest proceeding U/S 174 Cr. PC vide DDR No. 11 FACILITY (NON-HEATER BASED FULLY
dated 25.11.2020 was initiated at PP Nowabad, Jammu and dead AUTOMATIC ORGANIC WASTE COMPOSTER
body was shifted to mortuary room of GMCH, Jammu. (AOWC) WITH MATERIAL RECOVERY
For the identification of unidentified Male dead body below FACILITY) AT COIMBATORE (LOCATION:
description roll is required to be published on daily newspapers for PODANUR) RAILWAY STATION
identification/Public in general, having any clue related to the uniden-
tified dead body, kindly communicate the same on the below men-
TAMIL NADU GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION CORPORATION LTD. Estimate Value: ` 41,27,240/-
Earnest Money: ` 82,600/-
tioned contact/Telephone numbers. NOTICE INVITING TENDERS (E-TENDERING PROCESS) Cost of Tender Form: ` 3,360/-
Description Roll: Sl. No Tender Inviting Authority Specification No. Total Tender Closing date and Time: 23.12.2020
at 14.00 Hrs
Age 45 years 1 CE/MM M.26 1 Web address: http://www.ireps.gov.in
Dress Pyjama and Pullover
For details of works/Procurement/Due date of submission/opening, viewing The cost of tender form and EMD need
Contacts/Telephone Numbers: and downloading of e-tenders, please visit websites: www.tangedco.gov.in, to be done through online payment
1. DPO, Jammu : 0191-2547807, 0191-2561578 www.tenders.tn.gov.in , https://tntenders.gov.in/nicgep/app only. Tenders received without valid
2. SSP Jammu Mail ID: sspjammu@jkpolice.gov.in DIPR/4458/Tender/2020 EMD shall be rejected. Any other
mode of submission of cost of tender
3. PCR Jammu : 0191-2542000
form and EMD will not be accepted.
4. SP City North : 0191-2547038 HARYANA INSTITUTE OF
It is the responsibility of Tenderer(s)/
5. Dy. SP Hqrs. : 0191-2562259 RURAL DEVELOPMENT, NILOKHERI Contractor(s) to obtain Digital Signature
6. PS Nowabad : 0191-2565274 EXPRESSION OF INTEREST certificates for participating e-tendering.
7. Contact No. : 941912-11757/019124-65274 Applications are invited alongwith a Demand Draft of Rs. 500/- Note: It is the responsibility of the
Sd/- tenderers to check any Corrigendum is
For Sr. Superintendent of Police (Non-refundable) in favour of Director, HIRD, Nilokheri as Application issued for any correction; deletion or
DIPJ-7906/20 Jammu Fee for the empanelment of Resource Persons of HIRD, Nilokheri modification uploaded subsequently in
purely on job work basis for imparting On-Campus/Off-Campus the website and the same shall be taken
E-Procur
ocurement
ement Cell Training to the Elected Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, into account while uploading the tender.
OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Functionaries and Officers of the Line Departments. Application along Complete details & tender document
will be available on the e-portal
URBAN DEVELOPMENT & HOUSING DEPAR DEPARTMENT
TMENT with supporting documents such as qualification and experience www.ireps.gov.in
PANCHAYAT JAMTARA,
NAGAR PANCHAYAT JAMTARA, JHARKHAND. should reach Director, HIRD, Nilokheri on or before 26.12.2020, The Senior Divisional Mechanical
e-Procurement Notice (Double Bid) existing empanelled Resource Persons will have to apply a fresh. Engineer, Salem
E-Tender Reference No.- NPJ/SBD/02/2020-21 Weight-age will be given to the existing Resource Persons. Follow us on : twitter.com/GMSRailway
Date:-01/12/2020 For details of Number of Posts, Eligibility Conditions, Selection
Extension of existing Urban Water Criteria, Honorarium and Age visit www.hirdnilokheri.com. 84130/HRY
Supply Scheme in missing areas along
1. Name of the work with repairing of ESR at PHED Campus NOTICE FOR INVITING E-QUOTATIONS
& Pandeydih under Nagar Panchayat The Governor of Haryana is inviting the bids from eligible bidders through online bids in the
Jamtara.
website https://etenders.hry.nic.in for the works detailed in the table.
Rs. 4,16,53,349.00 (Rupees Four Crore
2. Tender Value Sixteen lakhs Fifty Three thousand Sr. Name of Name of Start Date & Time of Tender Fees Earnest Money Website Nodal Officer/
No. Department Work Bid Preparation & & E-Service deposit Contact
Three hundred Fourty Nine only) Online Submission Fees Amount Details
3. Time of Completion 18 Month
Rs. 4,17,000.00 (Rupees Four Lacs 1. Development Inviting the From Rs.5000/-+ Rs. https://etenders. Block
4. Earnest Money Deposit & Panchayat Quotation for 04.12.2020 1180/- 200000/- hry.nic.in Development
Seventeen Thousand only) Fixing the 10;00 Hrs Rs. 6180/- & Panchayat
BID document fees (Non- Rates of Officer,
5. 10,000.00 (Rupees Ten Thousand only) Building Mundlana
Refundable)
Materials.
Date of Publication of Tender
6. 04/12/2020 17:00 hrs
on website Note: Rs. 1180/- for e-Servicing Fees excluding of Tender Fees will be charged as per Govt.
7.
Closing date/Time for receipt
21/12/2020 17:00 hrs Instructions. For further details and e-tendering schedule visit website: https://etenders.hry.nic.in
of Tender on website TERMS & CONDITIONS:
Date & Place of Receiving of
i. The undersigned reserve the right to reject a tender or all the tenders without assigning any
Hard Copy Tender 22/12/2020 (11:00 hrs to 13:00 hrs) at
8. reason.
Fee/EMD/Copy of all uploaded Nagar Panchayat Office Jamtara.
Documents
ii. In case, the day of opening of tenders, happens to be holiday, the tenders will be opened on
Opening date/Time for Technical
the next working day.
9. 22/12/2020 15:00 hrs
Bid of Tender on website iii. The time and place of receipt of tenders and other conditions will remain unchanged.
Name & address of office Office of Executive officer, Nagar iv. The societies shall produce an attested copy of resolution of the cooperative society duly
10. attested from the competent authority of cooperative department for issuance/participation in
Inviting tender Panchayat Jamtara.
Contact no. of Procurement the tenders.
11. +91 99344 34611 (Mr. Ramashrya Das) v. The tender without Earnest Money and Fees will not be opened.
officer
Helpline number of e- +91 94317 27140 (Mr. Manishwar vi. In case of any dispute, the Jurisdiction of Court will be at Gohana, District Sonipat.
12. vii. All material will be arranged by the Contractor/Society itself .:
Procurement cell Hembram)
13 Helpline number of PMC +91 93040 19860 (Mr. Shubham Singh) viii. For other term & conditions, see the Tender Form.
Note: Authority reserves right to cancel tender without assigning any ix. No payment for the carriage of material will be paid to the Supplier/Contractor/Firms. All the
reason thereof. rates should be inclusive of carriage for various sites of Mundlana Block Distt. Sonipat.
Further details can be seen on website http://jharkhandtenders.gov.in Sd/-
Executive Engineer Executive officer
Nagar Panchayat Jamtara Nagar Panchayat Jamtara BD & PO Mundlana
PR.NO.236582 Urban Development and Housing(20-21):D Sonipat
84147/HRY

New Delhi
 16 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020

Classifieds PUBLIC NOTICE

To be known to all that my client MANTA RANI VIJRA
W/O SH. GHANSHYAM DASS R/O LIG FLAT NO. 18-
A, GROUND FLOOR, BLOCK & POCKET BG-1,
SHALIMAR BAGH, DELHI-110088 purchaser of DDA
LIG FLAT NO. 18-A, GROUND FLOOR, BLOCK &
POCKET BG-1, SHALIMAR BAGH, DELHI-110088 has
applied for conversion of the aforesaid flat from lease
hold to free hold in DDA. Original documents i.e.
COURT NOTICE

PERSONAL
Possession Letter and NOC for Electric and Water
Connection have been lost. An FIR vide LR No.
772772/2020 dated 01-12-2020 has lodged in P.S.
Crime Branch Delhi for loss of documents. Any

I,Babita Rana W/O Parvinder I, khushboo D/o darshan Singh person(s) claiming any right, interest, having any
objection or found in possession of original documents,

Singh R/o-RZF-7 Gali No-4
Mahavir Enclave Palam,New
Delhi-110045, have changed
my name to Babita Devi.
0040556647-3
Yadav R/o Rzf/25A, mahaveer may write/contact with above named person at above
address/phone No. 9899319126 within 15 days from
enclave, Gali no-4 Palam New the date of publication of this notice. The person
claiming any right, interest, objections with respect to
Delhi 45 have change my name this property can personally inform or write to Dy.
Director (LAB Housing LIG), D Block, 3rd Floor, Vikas
from khushboo to khushboo Sadan, INA, New Delhi.
KAMAL SINGH (Advocate)
Yadav vide-Affidavit, Date-1-
Enrl. No. D-748/14

I, ANUGRAH, S/o AVADESH
KUMAR MISHRA, ADD-705,
TOWER-B2, RPS SAVANA
SECTOR-88, FARIDABAD
HARYANA 121002, changed my
name to Anugrah Mishra
Permently. 0040556640-8
I Dhirndra Singh S/o Sh.
Virendra Singh R/o A-12,
Second Floor, Gali No.3, Guru
Nanakpura, Laxmi Nagar,
Delhi-110092 have changed my
name to Dhirendra Singh For
all purposes. 0040556596-5
I Ravi Nankani S/o Mahadev
Nankani R/o B-43 Upper
Ground Floor, Part-1, Vishnu
Garden, New Delhi-110018. Do
here by declare that Ravi
Nankani & Ravi is same/one
person. 0040556613-1
I,hitherto known as Divas
Chawla,S/o Late Sh.Kedar
Nath Chawla at,A-
2/501,Parsvnath-Exotica,Golf
Course-Road, Sector-53,
Gurugram-
122011(Hariyana)have
changed my name and shall
hereafter be known as Divas
Bhartiya Chawla.
0040556647-5
I,Sourabh Rajendraprasad
Taparia alias Saurabh
Rajendra Prasad Taparia S/o
Rajendra Prasad Taparia
R/oPune, Maharashtra-412207
have changed my name and
shall hereafter be known as
Saurabh Taparia.
0070722628-1
I,Shivam Pratap Singh
maini,S/o Ajinder Singh
maini,R/o J/2,T.F,sheikh Sarai-
II,malviya Nagar,N.D-17,have
changed my name to Shivam
Pratap Singh. 0040556640-2
I,Shiv Pratap Singh maini,S/o
Ajinder Singh maini, R/o J/2,
T.F, sheikh Sarai-II,malviya
Nagar,N.D-17,have changed
my name to Shiv Pratap Singh.
0040556640-1
I,Rupa Das,D/o Dwijendra Lal
Das, H.No.U-10,11,12, ROCK-
VIEW OFFICERS-ENCLAVE, AIR-
FORCE-STATION, PALAM,NEW
DELHI-110010, have changed
my name to ROOPA RAI W/o-
ABHINEEL RAI. 0040556640-7
I,RAVINDRA PAL SINGH KOHLI
S/O GAIN SINGH KOHLI R/O A-
46,PINK-APARTMENT,BLOCK-
A,PASCHIM-VIHAR,DELHI-
110063.CHANGEDMY NAMETO
RAVINDER PAL SINGH KOHLI.
0040556640-4
I,Pooja w/o Ajay kumar, h.no-
192-B, new-colony, near-
Dussehra ground, Gurgaon,
have changed my name to
krishna Adlakha.
0040556647-7
I,Paramjit Singh R/o-235-C,
Second-Floor Gali.No.9, Padam
Nagar Kishan Ganj Malka Ganj
Delhi-110007, changed my
minor daughter’s name
Sharleen Walia to Sharleen
Kaur. 0040556640-9
I,Nisha Pahwa,W/o Rajeev
Relhan R/o H-33, Lal-Kuan,
Jaitpur, South-Delhi, Delhi-
110044, have changed my
name to Nisha.
0040556647-1
12-2020. 0040556647-11
I, Zakir Hussain s/o Ashraf Ali
R/o 66 B Hauz Rani Malviya
Nagar New Delhi 110017 have
changed my name from, Zakir
Husaain Mansuri to Zakir
Hussain for all Purposes
0040556611-1
I, Yogender Sehgal R/o A-15/E
Nehru Ground N.I.T. Faridabad,
Haryana-121001 have changed
the name of my minor child
aged 3 years from Vritti to Vritti
Sehgal 0070722595-1
I, Suryansh Jain S/o Shriyans
Jain R/o-12-A,Cottage, West-
Patel Nagar,Delhi-110008,have
changed my name to Suryansh
Kumar Jain for,all Purposes.
0040556618-3
I, Sapna D/o-Lt. Ashok Kumar
R/o-T55 Sector-4, DIZ-Area,
Gole Market, New Delhi-01,
have changed my name to
Sapna Malhotra. 0040556618-1
I, Sangita Devi W/o Balwan
Singh Yadav R/o WZ-374,
Shakurpur Village, Delhi
Changed Name to Sangeeta
Devi. 0040556644-2
I, Ravinder Khatta Alias
Ravindra Kumar S/o Prem
Chand R/o RZD-2/39, Gali No.-5.
Mahaveer Enclave Part-1,
Delhi-110045, have changed
my name to Ravindra Khatta
0070722603-1
I, Naresh Kumar S/o,Gulab Rai
Jain R/o-B-69, Shekhar
Apartments,Mayur Vihar-I
Extn., Delhi-91, have changed
my name to Naresh Kumar
Jain. 0040556644-1
I, NARENDRA KITOO MENDAN,
S/O KITTOO MENDAN, R/o,FLAT
NO.2006, TOWER-12, EXOTICA
DREAMVILLE, GH-01/A, SEC-
16C, GREATER-NOIDA WEST,
GAUTAMBUDH-NAGAR,
U.P.201009, changed my name
to NARENDRA MENDAN.
0040556647-9
I, Manjeet Singh R/o-235-C,
Gali.No.9,Padam Nagar Kishan
Ganj Malka Ganj Delhi-110007,
changed my minor daughter’s
name Ishika Walia to Ishika
Kaur. 0040556640-10
I, Mahesh S/o Shri Ram,R/o RZ-I-
30/211 FF, Kh.No-211,Gali.No-
8,West Sagarpur,New Delhi-
110046, have changed my
name to Mahesh Suryavanshi.
0040556647-2
I, Kamlesh W/O Sh. Rajesh R/O
NP-Block, Pitampura, Delhi-
110034, declares that Kamlesh
Mehra W/O Sh. Rajesh Mehra
and Kamlesh W/O Sh. Rajesh is
one and the same person.
0040556589-1
I Anil Kumar S/o Vishwa Nath
R/o 239,Arunodaya Apartment,
vikaspuri, Delhi-18,have
changed my name to Anil
Sharma for future purposes.
0040556604-1
I, HAZI IQUBAL AHMED/IQBAL
AHMED/IKBAL AHAMAD S/O
MOHAMMAD YUSUF R/O H-
576,H-BLOCK,
SHAKURPUR,DELHI-
110034.CHANGED MY NAMETO
MOHAMMAD IQUBAL.
0040556640-6
PUBLIC NOITCE
THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY informed that
the property bearing no. 252, Tarun enclave,
Pitampura, Delhi-110034 is one of the Subject
matter U/o 38 Rule 5 of CPC for attachment before
Judgment in two Civil Suits for recovery of about
Rs. 3 Crore bearing Civil Suit No. CS DJ 560/20
titled as Harinder Singh Bedi Versus M/s Jatin
Enterprises & Smt. Kiran Arora and Civil Suit no.
CS DJ 561/20 titled as Sharvan Dhingra Versus
M/s Jatin Enterprises etc. pending for adjudication
on 9/12/2020 in the court of Shri Devender Kumar
Garg, Ld, ADJ, (North-West) Rohini Courts, Delhi
where in notice to an application for attachment
before Judgment has been issued for 9/12/2020. It
has come to notice that some parties to the suits or
their close relatives are trying to sell/alienate or
purchase the above said property i.e. 252, Tarun
Enclave, Pitampura, Delhi which is illegal. Anybody
doing so shall be doing so at his own cost and risk.
Sd/- S R GOYAL (ADVOCATE)
COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF
OFFICE PD-10/B, PITAMPURA,
DELHI-110088
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public Notice is hereby issued at large that my
said clients Sh. Sukhbir Singh, S/o Late Sh.
Dharam Singh and Smt. Sushila Devi W/O.
Sh. Sukhbir Singh both R/o Vill Khera, Mohalla
:Apriya, Najafgarh, New Delhi-43 disinherit
their son namely Sh.Sanjeev Kumar @ Sunu,
daughter in law Smt. Nirmala Yadav, grand-
daughter Ms.Chavi, due to their disrespectful
behavior and all of them are unfaithful to my
aforesaid clients. Sh.Sanjeev Kumar @ Sonu,
Smt. Nirmala Yadav, and Ms.Chavi have no
right whatsoever to claim any share in my
clients movable or immovable properties
during their lifetime or after their demise. All of
them have no right to represent themselves as
their son, daughter in law and grand-daughter
henceforth. Anybody dealing with them shall
do so at their own risk and responsibility. My
said clients are not having any responsibility
/consent on any illegal acts/misdeeds being
done by Sh.Sanjeev Kumar @ Sonu, Smt.
Nirmala Yadav, Ms.Chavi as my said Clients
discarded all of them from their Family.
Sd/- S.Satyanarayana (Advocate)
Enrl. No. 396/98
Off-S-1/29, Old Mahavir Nagar
New Delhi-110018
8½ffa °f»f, MXf½fSX-4, ´fbd»fÀf ¸fb£¹ff»f¹f, A¸fSX VfWXeQ ´f±f, ¦fû¸f°fe³f¦fSX d½fÀ°ffSX, »fJ³fDY-226002 e-mail:tshq@up.nic.in
Lett. No.: TS-MOD-85/2020
Online Shorterme Re E-Tenders of the following instrument for Forensic Science Laboratory, UP Agara (DNA
SECTION) are invited by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Economic Offences Wing UP, Lucknow:
Name of the
District
1.
Bid documents are available on the website http://etender.up.nic.in, http://eprocure.gov.in and
http://uppolice.gov.in in from 08-12-2020 to 23-12-2020. E-Bids can be upload upto 23.12.2020 at 12:00 noon.
Technical bid will opened on 23-12-2020 at 14.00 Hrs.
All informations regarding Shorterm Re-E-Tender are available on website https://etender.up.nic.in,
https://eprocure.gov.in and https://uppolice.gov.in
UPID NO.157388 DATE- 29.11.2020
PUBLIC NOTICE
“It is hereby notified for General Public that my
clients PARMINDER WADHWA S/O LT.
RAMLAL WADHWA and RAMA WADHWA
W/O PARMINDER WADHWA R/O F-16
VENUS APARTMENTS SECTOR 9, ROHINI,
DELHI-85 have severed all their relations
with their son NIKHIL WADHWA and his wife
EENA WADHWA and his daughters BABY
EZARA WADHWA and HANYA WADHWA
and have debarred them from inheriting any
moveable and immoveable properties of my
clients, due to their misbehavior, unbecoming
acts and neglecting their duties owing towards
my clients. If anybody deals with them, shall
do so at his/her own risk and my clients shall
not be responsible for any act of above named
persons in any manner whatsoever”.
YASHPAL JOLLY (ADVOCATE)
ENROLMENT D-3167/19999
CHAMBER NO 267, WESTERN WING,
TIS HAZARI COURTS, DELHI-110054.
PUBLIC NOTICE
It is for general information that I,
Ajeet Singh S/o Ram Swaroop R/o-
D-592-A, Gali No. 32, Harsh Vihar,
Delhi-110093 declare that name of
my minor son and my minor
daughter has been wrongly written
as Ayush Gautam, Anushka
Gautam in the School Record of
my minor son Ayush Singh (Aged
14Years) and minor daughter
Anushka Singh (Aged 11 Years).
The actual name of my minor son
and my daughter is Ayush Singh &
Anushka Singh which may be
amended accordingly.
UP POLICE TECHNICAL SERVICES HQ, LUCKNOW
Date- November 25, 2020
Re E-Tender Notice
Tender Name of Qty. EMD Tender Cost with Period of
No. Instrument (in Rs.) 18% GST (in Rs. ) Work
Agra TS-MOD- Real Time PCR 01 25,500/- 4,500.00
85/2020 with accessories
Sd/-
(Hira Lal)
Deputy Inspector General of Police,
Economic Offences Wing, Lucknow
www.upgov.nic.in
(Chairman-Purchase Comittee)
PUBLIC NOTICE
Be it Known that My Client SH.
DHARAM PAL S/o SH. MULCHAND
R/o Prajapat Chaupal Ke Pass 192
Village Holmbi Kalan Delhi-110082
hereby Disown/Debar their Son
namely AMIT KUMAR aged 33
years from all their movable &
immovable properties & severe their
relations from them as they are no
more in their control. If anybody
dealing with them, shall be doing at
his/her own risk cost & responsibility.
PARKASH CHAND (Advocate)
EnrI.No.D-9065/2019.
PUBLIC NOTICE
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF MY CLIENT (1) SH.
PUBLIC NOTICE VIJENDER SINGH VERMA S/O SR DALPAT SINGH &
(2) SMT. RAJESHWARI VERMA W/O SH. VIJENDER
Be it known that my client Smt. Rita SINGH VERMA BOTH R/O FLAT NO. B-56, SUNDER
APARTMENT, PLOT NO. 13, SECTOR-14, ROHINI,
Rani Kharbanda W/o Late Shri DELHI —110085, I RENU BALA (ADVOCATE) SERVE
THIS PUBLIC NOTICE THAT HENCEFORTH MY
Kanwal Kharbanda R/o D-6/391/1,
CLIENT HEREBY SEVERE ALL THEIR RELATION
Sector-6, Rohini, Delhi- 110085, has WITH (1) SH. JOGINDER SINGH VERMA (BROTHER
disowned and severed all his
OF VIJENDER SINGH VERMA) & (2) SMT. PINKY
W/O SH. JOGINDER SINGH VERMA BOTH R/O
relations with his Son namely Sahli VILLAGE RAJPUR, TEHSIL GANAUR, DISTT.
SONIPAT, HARYANA AS THEY ARE NOT OBEDIENT
Kharbanda and debarred them from TO MY CLIENT & DUE TO THEIR DISRESPECTFUL
AND OUT OF CONTROL BEHAVIOR. THEY BOTH
his all moveable and immovable HURT SENTIMENTS OF MY CLIENT BY
properties/assets and their personal MISBEHAVING AND THEIR ATTITUDE IS NOT
BEARABLE. ANYONE DEALING WITH THEM WILL
life. Anybody dealing with them in
civil and criminal matter shall be
BE DOING SO AT HIS/HER/THEIR OWN RISKS AND
IN CASE THEY HURT OR MAKE FRAUD WITH
ANYONE OR CAUSE ANY FATAL. INJURY TO
doing at his/her/their own risk, cost ANYONE, MY CLIENT SHALL HAVE NO CONCERN.
and responsibility. RENU BALA (Advocate)
PARKASH CHAND (Advocate)
Enrl. No. D-4533/2014
CH. No. 914, 9th Floor,
Rohini Court Delhi-85
Office of the Superintending Engineer,
RED, Circle, Chitrakoot Dham-Banda.
PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA (PMGSY)
e-Procurement Notice (IInd Call)
Letter NO- 139 /SERED/PMGSY-MAHOBA/Tender/2020-21 Dated- 26.11.2020
1- The Superintending Engineer, RED, Circle, Chitrakoot dham-Banda on behalf of Governor of
Uttar Pradesh invites the item rate bids in electronic tendering system for Renewal of roads
constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in the district of Mahoba for Groups
No. UP4805R, UP4806R, UP4807R, including theirafter maintenance for five years. The
eligible and approved Contractors registered with UP PWD/UP RES, in appropriate class
(A,or B as per limit) or equivalent category in CPWD/ MES/ P&T/ Railways and other State
Govt. and Central Govt. Departments.
2- Date of release of Invitation for Bids through e-procurement 06.12.2020
3- Availability of Bid Documents and mode of submission:
a. The bid document shall be available online from (07.12.2020 to 14.12.2020) and should
be submitted online in http://pmgsytendersup.gov.in
b. The bidder would be required to register in the web-site which is free of cost. For
submission of the bids, the bidder is required to have Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)
from one of the authorized Certifying Authorities.
c. The bidders are required to submit,
(1) Original demand draft towards the cost of bid document,
(2) Original bid security in approved form and
(3) Original affidavit regarding correctness of information furnished with bid document as
per provisions of Clause 4.4 B (ii) of ITB with Superintending Engineer, RED, Circle, Chitrakoot
dham-Banda, on a date not later than a working day after the last date and time for receipt of
bids through e-procurement of the Bid, either by registered post or by hand, failing which the
bids shall be declared non-responsive. Bidder shall write only the bid-id-number (generated
through e-tendering web site on submission of bid on-line) on the envelop containing the
documents mentioned above in para 4-c and the package number for which they have bid.
Bidder SHALL NOT WRITE their own names or name of their firm on this envelop in order to
According to
ensure confidentiality of the bid.
Conditions
d. Last Date/ Time for receipt of bids through e-procurement: 14.12.2020 upto 12:00
Noon and the technical qualification part of the bid shall be opened the same day
from 1:00 PM in the Superintending Engineer, RED, Circle, Chitrakoot dham-Banda
For further details please log on to http://pmgsytendersup.gov.in
Sd/-
UPID-157383 dt. 28.11.2020 Superintending Engineer,
www.upgov.nic.in RED, Circle, Chitrakoot dham-Banda

I,Meenakshi Jain W/o Shri

Sandeep Jain R/o-House.No.C-
198/4D, Gali.no.8/1,Near
Thana-Road, Bhajanpura,
Delhi-110053, Have changed
my Minor sons name From
Yash Jain to Saksham Jain
for,all future purposes.
0040556618-2
I,MANOJ KUMAR S/O SUBE
SINGH R/O HNO.58,
GALINO.5,MAIN MARKET,
SANT-NAGAR, BURARI,DELHI-
110084.CHANGED MY NAME TO
MANOJ KUMAR DESHWAL.
0040556640-5
I, NETRA MENDAN,W/O
NARENDRA MENDAN, R/o-
FLAT.NO.2006, TOWER-12,
EXOTICA DREAMVILLE, GH-
LOST & FOUND
Notice is hereby given that I,
Kamlesh W/O Sh. Rajesh R/O D-
24, Amar Colony, Nangloi, N.D,
have Lost/Misplaced the
Original Sale Papers of my
property D-24, Khasra No.
75/15, Mundka, Amar Colony,
Nangloi. 0040556583-1
I,Rinku R/o-D-31,Vijay
Nagar,Mohan Garden, Uttam
Nagar, West-Delhi, Delhi-
110059,have lost my Original- PUBLIC NOTICE
It is hereby inform that my client Madhu Puri
Examination Certificate of W/o Sh. Sunil Puri R/o B-201, Apex Green
Main Secondary-Examination, Valley, Sector-9, Vaishali, Gaziabad, U.P.
was the owner of Flat no. 55 D/C Siddhartha
year-2019, Roll.Number- Extension, New Delhi sold the said property to
Smt. Usha Goel through registered sale deed.
8729100 issued by CBSE. Further the General power of Attorney Reg. at
Sub Registrar New Delhi vide Reg. no. 2400,
0040556647-10 Book No. 4, Vol. no. 2454 Page no. 170-173,
Possession Letter, allotment letter in respect
of above captioned Property is lost. The lost is

01/A, SEC-16C, GREATER-
NOIDA WEST, GAUTAMBUDH-
NAGAR, U.P.201009, changed
I, chanchal, D/o Rajveer, R/o-R-
139A karan vihar, part-6,kirari
Suleman-Nagar,delhi-86 have
reported vide LR no. 721435/2020 dated
9.11.2020 with Ps Crime Branch Delhi.
I hereby notify that any person/Firm/
Company/ Bank (except mentioned above or
otherwise and/ or objection there of

my name to NETRAVATI lost my original-certificate He/She/They may lodge notify the same to
the undersigned with documentary proof

MENDAN. 0040556647-8
I,Hemlata alias Hemlata
Nemiwal alias Hemlata
Kumawat,W/o Bhanwar Lal
Kumawat,R/o K-29A,Right-
Side 2nd-Floor,Khirki-
Extension,Malviya-Nagar,New
Delhi-110017,have changed
my name to Hemlata
Kumawat,for all purposes.
class-12th year-2017, rollno-
9689852 CBSE-DELHI.
0040556644-10
I have lost my original 10th
CBSE Certificate Passed in the
year 2018 with Roll Number
8255467. If anyone finds it,
please contact Palak Jain D/o
Sunil Jain, House No.11033,
Lane No.3, Doriwalan Karol
within 15 days from the date of publication,
failing which the title shall be determined be
clear and marketable without any defect
encumbrance Flaw and impediment. My client
as well as further owner is free to create/
transfer/ mortgage/ registered any further
document as and when required.
Sd/- Naveen Kumar Tripathi
Advocate
Off. at 219-D/C, Siddhartha Extension,
New Delhi-14
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notified that my client (1) NABI HASAN

0040556647-4
I,Chanda Devi W/o prem
Rai,H.no-249-A, Rama
Market,Munirka PO-JNU, New
Delhi-110067,inform that
gudia Devi & Chanda Devi one
are the same person.
0040556640-3
I,BALWINDER SINGH,S/o
Malkiat Singh,R/o.H.No.55-
D,Masjid Moth Phase-
2,Greater Kailash,New Delhi-
110048,have changed my
minor son’s name from
DAMANJIT SINGH to DAMANJIT
SINGHH KATOR. Hereinafter he
will be known as DAMANJIT
SINGHH KATOR,for all intents
and purposes. 0040556647-6
I, Hira Singh S/o Murali Singh
R/o Village & Post Maltari,
Jiyanpur, Azamgarh, UP-
276138, have changed my
name to Shobhnath Singh
0070722604-1
Bagh, New Delhi- 110005
0040556566-1
PUBLIC NOTICE
PUBLIC NOTICE
This is to inform to public at large that our
Client Harish Nautiyal S/o Late Sada
Nand Nautiyal R/o B-38/578, Street
No.2, Ganesh Nagar-2, Shakarpur,
Delhi-110092 and his wife Smt. Urmila
Nautiyal and other family members as
well as Smt. Shaka Devi Nautiyal mother
of Harish Nautiyal have severed all their
relations with Rakesh Chand S/o Late
Sada Nand Nautiyal (Brother, Brother in
law and Son respectively) R/O B-38/578,
Street No.2, Ganesh Nagar-2,
Shakarpur, Delhi-110092(Ground Floor)
and also severed their relation with Ms.
Aarushi Nautiyal D/o Rakesh Chand R/o
B-38/578, Street No.2, Ganesh Nagar-2,
Shakarpur, Delhi 110092 (Third Floor)
due to her illegal activities and quarrel
some nature with immediate effect any
person dealing with them will be
responsible and accountable and will do
at their own risk, costs and
consequences, our client shall not be
responsible for the same.
Sd/-
URMIL NAUTIYAL & RAJESH JINDAL
(ADVOCATES)
Chamber No. 291 Patiala House
Courts, N Delhi
S/O RAFT HASAN, (2) RAJIYA W/O
MAVI HASAN BOTH R/O KH. NO. 762,
RAJEEV NAGAR, BHALSWA DAIRY,
DELHI-110042, has/have several all
relation from their son ARIF and their
daughter-in-law ASIMA. Due to their
cruel and harassing behavior towards
my above named clients. Now they have
no domestic relations with them and
has/have disowned them from their all
movable 86 immovable properties. Any
person dealing with his/her/him/them will
do at his/her/them own cost & risk and
my client's shall not be responsible for
the same, if any.
VISHAL SINGH (Advocate)
Enrl. No. D-749/2014
PUBLIC NOTICE
Be it known to all that my client Hem Raj
s/o Kanhaiya Lal R/o H.No.-4, First
Floor, Road No.45-A, West Punjabi
Bagh, New Delhi-110026 has disowned/
debarred his son Kulbhushan,
daughter-in-law Seema & grand
daughter Navya Khajotia, all residing at
above said address from his all
moveable & immovable assets/
properties located at anywhere & also
severed all relations with them as they
have become unfaithful & disobedient
towards my client. Any person/s dealing
with them shall be at his/her/their own
risk.
Parvesh Kr. Tyagi (Advocate),
WZ-87A, Village Budhela, Vikaspuri,
New Delhi-110018.

New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
CROSSWORD 4292
ACROSS
1 Two sorts of bacon and game
(10)
8 Accept it’s almost a sin (5)
9 A butcher may use it to cut
credit without permission
(7)
10 A cheese list misplaced and
not brought back (7)
11 Embarrassed after some
hesitation - having got it
wrong (5)
12 Fighting a lawsuit
(6)
14 My site creates an obstruction
(6)
17 Scandinavian version of senor
(5)
19 Variation in tempo may make
things hot (7)
21 For which a damp course is
essential (7)
22 Word commonly used in
various languages (5)
23 Records attempts to provide
curtains (10)
SolutionsCrossword4291:Across:1Stingy,4Salami,9Bourbon,10Mitre,11Iceni,
12Tunisia,13Built-uparea,18Athwart,20Leave,22Cites,23Observe,24Athens,
25Ostler.Down:1Sobeit,2Inure,3Gabriel,5Admen,6Artiste,7Iceman,8
Instruction,14Unhitch,15Atlases,16Marcia,17Meteor,19Arson,21April.
JUMBLED WORDS
CALENDAR 17
OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry & T Lewis
DAY TODAY
ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20)
You will do
extremely well if
you make
improvements in
partnerships your goal now
and over the next seven days.
Your plans will be all the more
successful if you are careful to
involve others from the outset.
Also, if you let associates into a
secret, you’ll probably get some
very good advice indeed.
TAURUS (Apr 21 - May 21)
Don’t be deceived by
what may be a
relatively quiet start
CALVIN & HOBBES by Bill Watterson to the day. Mercury
in an awkward aspect with
Mars will keep you on the go,
especially at work. If you are
prepared for friction in purely
routine affairs, you’ll be able to
turn it to positive advantage.
DOWN
GEMINI (May 22 - June 21)
2 A flying start for a hitchhiker?
It seems likely that
(7)
tempers may fray,
3 Lowered oneself?
and one cause of
(5)
irritation — as far as
4 A trail that leads to the summit
you are concerned — could be
(6)
money. As the days pass the
5 Mother strangely sweet on old
pressures on you to deal with
movie star (3,4)
urgent problems will increase,
6 Nerve shattered? Not at all!
so beware of complacency. If
(5)
you let things slide, others will
7 Early form of rock music
step in and take control.
(6,4)
8 In bar seats, perhaps, they CANCER (June 22 - July 23)
won’t be drinking (10) MARVIN by Tom Armstrong Financial pressures
13 The easiest dance to learn? should take your
(3- 4) attention, even
15 Fellow with an appointment though what is on
and a command (7) the agenda may be no more
16 Pray when on board jets than the need to deal with
(6) ordinary family and domestic
18 Not left any entitlement spending. It’s just a question of
(5) getting everything settled as
20 He keeps on accumulating soon as you can. Just
endless unhappiness concentrate on one thing at a
(5) time — that’s all it takes.
LEO (July 24 - Aug 23)
You still seem to be
in control, even
though it will
frequently feel as if
you’re being driven by your
emotions. The secret is to
realise that what you feel about
DifficultyLevel1s
other people is very much
SOLUTION SUDOKU 4310
BY PETER VIDAL
LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23)
You’re a diplomat,
and your habit of
keeping unpleasant
facts to yourself is
often a help. But, right now,
with Mercury aligned with
your sign, it may be a hindrance
if there is information which
other people are waiting to
hear. You just have to find the
right words.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 23)
For the third day in
succession your
personal ambitions
should take first
place. Other people cannot
reasonably expect you to
settle for second best, although
by the end of the week
conditions will have changed to
the point where compromise
is acceptable.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 - Dec 22)
According to your
solar chart family
relationships have
been taken for
granted too often. It is time you
got on with home
improvements because if you
don’t, nobody else will. If
parents or older relations wish
to force the pace, let them. And
if younger people don’t like it,
you’ll have to put them straight.
CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 20)
There could be a
change of scene very
soon, perhaps
causing you to
abandon your normal
schedule. Ideas and
suggestions that are put to you
by friends will be well worth
pursuing in the short term,
even if you feel that they’re
probably not right for you in
the long run.
AQUARIUS (Jan 21- Feb 19)
You are used to
mysteries but, with
any luck, an
outstanding
question will be cleared up
before long. If you’ve been
pressing ahead with plans in

more to do with you than with secret, now is the time to reveal
Instructions them. That’s an interesting all, before others find out for
Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, thought, and could change your themselves. Make sure you get
therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 entire view about what you’ve your story in first.
SUDOKU 4311

theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe been doing with your life.

The__istheavenuetothe___-Voltaire(3,..,5) PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23) It is time to reveal
eachoftheninehorizontal After all the your deepest
HNSEE ABDERR rowsandineachofthe emotional stress of secrets, although
nineboxes. recent times, you you must be
might now be sure that those you confide in
expecting the roof to cave in. are worthy of your trust.
EKWAA ENOSHT DifficultyLevel
However, as long as you take It is essential that you don’t
the initiative at home, partners put material issues, like
1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; will be quite happy to let you money, ahead of your feelings.
3s=Medium;4s=Hard; run things your way. Mind you, If you do, you will end up
5s=VeryHard;6s= do you really want to take going against everything you
Answer: The ear is the avenue to the heart - Voltaire Genius charge? You’ll soon find out. believe in.
SOLUTION: SHEEN, AWAKE, BARRED, HONEST

OFFICE OF MISSION DIRECTOR, NATIONAL

HEALTH MISSION, UTTARAKHAND
(Uttarakhand Health & Family Welfare Society, Deptt. of MH&FW, Govt. of
Uttarakhand) Danda Lakhond, Sahastradhara Road, Dehradun - 248001
Email: mdnhmuk@gmail.com Phone/ Fax - 0135-2608646

Bid Identification no-NHMUK/IEC/2020-21/64/3175 Dated- 02.12.2020

Government of Uttarakhand
“e” procurement tender Notice
1. Name of Work: To carry out Communication Campaign (publicity assignment) through
outdoor/below the line Media under National Health Mission, Uttarakhand.
2. Date and time of availability of bid document in the portal: 03.12.2020 at 3.00 PM
3. Last Date and Time for receipt of bids in the portal: 17.12.2020 at 2.00 PM
4. Name and Address of the Officer Inviting the Bid: Mission Director, National Health
Mission, Uttarakhand.
5. Details of subsequent addendum/corrigendum/cancellation etc. may be obtained from the
website https://uktenders.gov.in
6. Portal Registration: The bidder intending to participate in the bid is required to register in
the portal using his/her active personal/ official email id as his/her Login id and attach
his/her valid digital signature certificate (DSC) to his/her unique login id.
For any other queries the bidders are asked to contact through Mail-
iecbcchealthuk@gmail.com
Mission Director
National Health Mission
Uttarakhand
1. Name of work Annual Zone for maintenance of track work in
the section of SSE/P.Way/DLI under ADEN/
DLI.
2. Approx. Cost of work Rs. 98,83,033.25/- (Rupees Ninety Eight Lakh
Eighty Three Thousand Thirty Three and paisa
Twenty Five only.)
3. Earenst Money to be Rs. 1,97,700/- (Rupees One Lakh Ninety Seven
deposited Thousand Seven Hundred only.)
4. Cost of tender document Rs. 0/-
5. Date & Time of 29.12.2020 @ 15.00 Hrs.
submission of tender bid
and opening of tender
6. Website particulars where www.ireps.gov.in
complete details of tender
documents can be seen
Delhi Transport Infrastructure Development
Corporation Ltd.
An Enterprises of Govt. of NCT of Delhi.
ISBT Kashmere Gate Delhi- 110006
NOTICE INVITING TENDER
The Executive Engineer, DTIDC invite tenders on behalf of MD, DTIDC
Ltd for the following works through e procurement solution only.
1 NIT No. : 43/2020-21
''IMPORTANT'' Tender ID No. : 2020_DTIDC_197000_1
Whilst care is taken prior to Name of work : Renovation of DTIDC Ltd. office at Kashmere Gate,
acceptance of advertising Delhi
copy, it is not possible to verify SH : Internal Electrification & installations
its contents. The Indian
Estimated Cost : Rs. 11,52,209/-
Express (P) Limited cannot be
held responsible for such Earnest Money : Rs. 23,044/-
contents, nor for any loss or
damage incurred as a result of
Time Allowed : 60 Days
transactions with companies, Last date of receipt : 11.12.2020
associations or individuals of tenders
advertising in its newspapers
or Publications. We therefore
recommend that readers The Tender forms and other detail can be obtained from the website:
make necessary inquiries https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in/
before sending any monies or
Sd/-
entering into any agreements
with advertisers or otherwise Executive Engineer (Elect)
acting on an advertisement in DTIDC Ltd. ISBT
any manner whatsoever. DIP/Shabdarth/0464/20-21 Kashmere Gate, Delhi

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, MECHANICAL HOSPITAL & CENTRAL HEATING DIVISION,
GOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAL, JAMMU
NOTICE INVITING TENDER
(Short Term due to covid-19)
MHDJ/e-NIT - 77 of 2020-21 Dated: 28.11.2020 due: 05.12.2020
On behalf of the President of India, e-tenders in two cover system on turnkey basis are invited from registered/reputed firms
having sufficient relevant experience for the work mentioned below:
Sr. Description of Estimated Earnest Cost of tender document Time of Eligibility
No work Cost Money completion Criterion of Bidder
1 SUPPLY, 23.31 Rs. Rs. 1000.00 in the shape of Challan through J&K 20 days OEM/Authorized
INSTALLATION, Lacs 46700.00 Govt. Treasury indicating Treasury Voucher No. & Dealers/Registered/
TESTING & in the date and also indicating the name of work duly cred- Reputed firms hav-
COMMISSIONING Shape of ited to 0059-PWD (Revenue) and uploading a copy ing sufficient experi-
OF ADDITIONAL CDR/FDR of treasury challan/receipt on e-tendering portal. ence for the Similar
CENTRALISED pledged OR nature of work.
MEDICAL GAS to the The bidder may deposit tender fee in the shape of
PIPELINE Executive e-Challan through Account No.
SYSTEM IN 200 Engineer 0097010100002163 in the name of Executive
BEDDED MHCH Engineer MH&CH GMC&H Jammu.
MATERNITY Divn Name of Bank: J&K Bank Town Hall Jammu
HOSPITAL GMC Branch Code:0097
GANDHI NAGAR Jammu IFSC code: JAKA0TNHALL
JAMMU MICR CODE: 180051025
THE NIT CONSISTING OF Qualifying INFORMATION, ELGIBILITY CRITERIA, BILL OF QUANTITIES (BOQ) SETS OF
TERMS & CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT & OTHER DETAILS CAN BE VIEWED/DOWNLOADED FROM THE WEBSITE
www.jktenders.gov.in.
Sd/-
Executive Engineer (Mech.)
DIP/J-7919/20 Hospital & Central Heating Division, GMCH Jammu
New Delhi

18 SPORT
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2020
Betting firms advertise during ODI series live stream, experts flag concerns
MIHIR VASAVDA
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 2
TWOONLINEsportsbettinggiantsrandirect
advertising campaigns during the live
streaming of the three-match ODI series in
Australia, allowing users from India to place
bets onlineusing theIndianbankingsystem.
Online sports betting is prohibited in all
states and union territories except Sikkim.
The Advertising Standards Council of India
(ASCI) guidelines state that “advertisements
shall not propagate products, the use of
which is banned under the law”.
The ads of Malta-registered Betway and
Philippines-basedDafabetwereshownduring
the live streaming of the series between India
andAustraliaonSonyLIV,thedigitalarmofthe
tour’sofficialbroadcaster,SonyPicturesNetwork.
SCGsettohave
BRIEFLY
capacitycrowdfor
finalAus-IndT20
Sydney: The third T20 International
between India and Australia is set to
be played in front of a capacity crowd
with the New South Wales (NSW)
Governmentliftingrestrictionsonsta-
diums from December 7. In a world
scarred by the COVID-19 pandemic,
the ODI series between Australia and
Indiasawthereturnof spectatorswith
restrictions. However, NSW Premier
GladysBerejiklianhasannouncedthat
stadiumscanmoveto100percentca-
pacity from December 7. "From
Monday, life will be very different in
NSW," Berejiklian was quoted as say-
ing by 'The Australian'. The opening
T20 will be played at Canberra's
Manuka Oval on Friday followed by
thesecondgameinSydneyonSunday.
AnotherPakplayer
testspositiveinNZ
Wellington:NewZealandgovernment
on Wednesday said that another
member of the visiting Pakistan
cricket team has tested positive for
coronavirus, taking the total number
of confirmed cases to eight. The pos-
itive result was confirmed by New
Zealand's Ministry of Health in its
dailybulletinonCOVID-19pandemic.
The eighth member will now join the
seven previously infected Pakistani
players in quarantine. However,
sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board
had earlier claimed that three more
membersof the54-memberPakistan
squad in New Zealand have tested
positive for COVID-19.
Ezesalvagesapoint
forJamshedpur
Vasco: Stephen Eze salvaged a point
for Jamshedpur FC with an 85th-
minute strike to help his side hold
Hyderabad FC to a 1-1 draw in an
Indian Super League match on
Wednesday. Aridane Santana scored
his second goal of the campaign to
give Hyderabad a 55th-minute lead.
The 'Nizams' remain unbeaten in the
competition while JFC are yet to taste
victory. On Thursday, ATK Mohun
Bagan will hope to make it three
wins in a row when they take on
Odisha FC at the Nehru Stadium in
Fatorda, Margao.
PRESS TRUSTOFINDIA
England analyst conveys coded messages during match
TUSHAR BHADURI
DECEMBER 2
AN INCIDENT during the third South Africa-
England T20I at Cape Town on Tuesday pro-
vided a perspective on who really calls the
shots in cricket’s shortest format.
When the hosts were batting, England
analyst Nathan Leamon was seen hanging a
series of coded messages from the team bal-
cony — in combinations of letters and num-
bers — for the players out in the middle. It
may have prompted some raised eyebrows
and speculation about the legality of the
move, but England seemed to have pushed
the envelope in that regard while exploiting
an existing loophole in the rules.
‘Live information resource’
The incident brought back memories of
the 1999 World Cup when the Proteas ex-
perimented with earpieces for then coach
Bob Woolmer to pass on instructions to
skipper Hansie Cronje and fast bowler Allan
Donald. That move was quickly snuffed out
and any sort of electronic communication
is banned in cricket.
ButitseemsthatEnglandusingamoreba-
sic mode of getting the message through has
not violated rules. Fast bowler Mark Wood,
Vol. LXXXIX No.20 Regd.No. DL-21046/03-05 R.N.I. No.506/57. Printed and Published by R.C. Malhotra on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited and Printed at The Indian Express (P) Limited Press, A-8, Sector-7, Noida - 201301 and Published at The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9 &
10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002. Editorial office: The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9 & 10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: 0120-6651500. Advertising office: The Indian Express (P) Limited, B1/B, Sector - 10, Noida - 201301. Phone: 0120-6651291.
Chairman of the Board: Viveck Goenka, Chief Editor: Raj Kamal Jha, Editor: Unni Rajen Shanker, Editor (Delhi): Rakesh Sinha ** **Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act. Copyright: The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part,
“We have no knowledge about it,” BCCI
treasurer Arun Dhumal told The Indian
Express. “It is not the BCCI who has telecast
rightsandcontroloverAustraliaversusIndian
series. It is Cricket Australia, who has the
rights. As per rule,we can only do anything if
we are hosting any international game or it
falls under our jurisdiction,” Dhumal said.
Butaccordingtolegalexperts,placingabet
online from India would be a violation of the
country’sgamblingandforeignexchangelaws.
“AsperIndianlaw,exceptSikkim,onlinesports
bettingisillegalinallterritories,”saidsportand
gaminglawyerVidushpatSinghania,whowas
the secretary to the Justice Mudgal-led IPL
match-fixing probe committee.
“If abetisplacedonlineorofflineinagam-
blinghouseandtransactionsareenteredinto,
thenbesidesbeingaviolationof thegambling
acts, the international transaction would vi-
India come alive in dead rubber
Pandya, Jadeja and less-heralded bowlers script India’s consolation win; Australia clinch series 2-1
SANDIPG
DECEMBER2
IN THE second ball of the 47th over, Ravindra
Jadejashuffledacrossthestumps,plungedhis
knees,andgentlyliftedalowfulltossfromSean
Abbottoverbackwardsquarelegforafour.An
outrageousstrokethatwasallwristsandplace-
ment. It amused his partner Hardik Pandya,
whoimmediatelywalkeduptoJadejaandhad
a laugh over the stroke, before rehearsing it
himselfandgesturingthathiswristsarenotas
malleable as Jadeja’s. It was the moment that
capturedtheirjoiedevivreandtheircompan-
ionship when batting together, as they forged
an unbeaten 152-run alliance that cemented
thefoundationof a13-runvictoryforIndia.
The spirited win wouldn’t alter the status
of the series, but it gave India some much-
needed succour after the Sydney setbacks. It
wasyetagainavalidationoftheimportanceof
PandyaandJadeja,whoscored92off76and66
off50respectivelytoretrieveIndiafromaboth-
ersomespotof152for5.Bothmightbenotthe
most talented players in the set-up, like Rohit
Sharma or Virat Kohli. but it brooks no argu-
mentthatbothareofutmostimportancetothe
side. Jadeja if can bat as cleverly as he did on
Wednesdaywhenhecouldimproviseasmuch
ashepower-hit,addsanextralayerof menace
to the Indian batting firm. Likewise, if Pandya,
when he fully fit to bowl, can produce efforts
like Sydney spell, India would become an in-
domitableODIforceintheforeseeablefuture.
An explosive batsman who can bowl effi-
cientmedium-pace(sometimes,hedoescrank
upthepacetoo)andathriftyspinnerwhocan
batexplosivelyarepricelesspropositionsacross
formats. They could be sidekicks to the hero,
but their cameos could create blockbusters.
Withoutthem,it’slikeaMartinScorsese-Robert
deNiromoviewithoutJoePesci.
What’smore,theyaresimilartoeachother
inmorewaysthanone.It’sasiftheyarebornto
battogether.Bothhaveastreakofflamboyance.
Pandya flaunts his earrings, tattoos and studs;
Jadejabragsaboutthethoroughbredsinhissta-
ble, stamps his Rajput identity on his celebra-
tions, the sword-dance and all that jazz. They
were times in their career when they seemed
drifting down the Enfant Terrible slope, before
theyquicklyrealisedandrectifiedtheirmistakes.
Beneaththeflashandflippancybreatheastoic
determinationandgrittomaximisetheirgifts,
a desire to keep evolving. A decade ago, Jadeja
wasaproperwhite-ballbit-partplayer,beforehe
refined himself into a fine Test bowler and a
smarter batsman. Pandya, on the other hand,
addedyardsof paceintohismediumpaceand
raisedhispower-hittingbyafewnotches.
Thesearevirtuesthatwouldendeartomost
leaders,theirnonchalanceandinsouciance,the
fundamentaltraitsof PandyaandJadeja.Their
who was not part of the playing XI, said the
team had cleared the move with the match
refereefirst.“Iftheydidn’tthinkthat(itwasfair
and legal), I’m sure they would have said no.
“Maybe this is part of the new way of cricket.
We’re always looking for ways to improve so
maybethisisit.Ithinkit’sgoodforthecaptain
tohave.It’sgreattohavetheinformationthere.
Nathan does a good job. So any little bit can
help,”Woodtoldthemediaafterthegame.
The team management said the coded
messages – one was C3, another 4E – were
not binding on the captain to follow. They
called it “live information resource.”
‘Bit of an experiment’
“It’s a little help, a suggestion and what
match-ups are going on,” vice-captain Jos
Buttlersaidafterthenine-wicketvictorythat
sealed a 3-0 clean-sweep.
“Seriously, analysis has become such a
huge part of the game. (Skipper) Eoin
(Morgan)andNathanworkcloselyonanaly-
sis. It’s just a little bit of an experiment. Eoin
is one of the best captains in the world, a fan-
tastic, instinctive captain, and there’s a nice
balance going on.”
According to the BBC, an England
spokesperson later said that “the captain
may choose to use or ignore as he wishes.
They’re not commands or instructions, and
Ascreengrabof Betway’sad duringthe
secondODI betweenIndiaandAustralia.
olate the Foreign Exchange Management
(CurrentAccountTransaction)Rules,”hesaid.
The websites ask their users for the PAN
detailsandofferthemtheoptiontomakepay-
mentsviathenetbankingfacilityofalmostall
Virat Kohli scored a fluent 63 while Hardik Pandya (92 not out) held India’s innings
together yet again in the third ODI against Australia on Wednesday. AP
match-winning partnership fully embodied
these characteristics. At 152 for 5, most lower-
order batsmen would be stuck in a dilemma,
whethertoplaytheirnaturalgameorsummon
caution.Seldomdotheyblendboth.ButPandya
andJadejastrucktheperfectbalance,andbat-
tedasthoughtheybattingnobility.Evenwhen
Jadeja struggled to farm strike, he was not un-
der any visible strain. He knew he could make
up for the dot balls in the end, which he most
devastatingly accomplished. From 16 off 28
balls,heracedto66off50balls,hislast50con-
sumingonly22balls.
Timing and placement
Mostrevealingwashereliedprimarilyon
timing and placement than power, as is his
wont. There was the odd leg-side thump or
theswipepastpoint, butpace washis closest
ally.Nonemoreinstructivethananuppercut
off Abbott. A slow bouncer, Jadeja waited,
openedhiswristsandliftedtheballoverback-
wardpoint.Hehadbegunthatoverwithasix
ofanothershortball,whereinheswayedfrom
the line of the ball, got under it and launched
it over deep backward square-leg. The
sophistry only reflected his growing stock as
a white-ball batsman. With Jadeja in a de-
structive mood, Pandya was content in rotat-
ingthestrike,forsakingthelureofhismaiden
ODIhundred.Afterthe46thover,hewason75
off 66balls,freshfromhammeringAbbottfor
two boundaries and a six. But then he faced
just10moreballsfor17moreruns.Ingeneral,
itwasamaturedknock,whereinhesustained
a healthy run-rate without embracing risk, a
less praised facet of his game.
Together, they plundered 76 runs off the
England analyst Nathan Leamon hangs
a coded message during the T20 against
South Africa. Sky Sports screengrab
all decision-making takes place on the field.”
Sky Sports said Leamon had a series of
numbers and letters on clipboards on the
team balcony to use them for conveying
messages during the game.
Some like it, some don’t
Former England captain Michael
Atherton said he wasn’t surprised that
Leamon employed this novel tactic of com-
munication,anddoesn’tfindanythingwrong
withit. Atherton said the systemwas trialled
inthePakistanSuperLeagueearlierthisyear,
and he had even discussed it with Leamon.
without prior written permission is prohibited. The Indian Express®
major banks. Dafabet even has the option of
placing bets using bitcoins while Betway has
ICICI Bank’s Unified Payments Interface plat-
form as one of the modes of payment.
When contacted, an ICICI Bank
spokesperson said: “We do not open ac-
counts for online betting, in-line with the
regulations. If we come across any person or
entity misusing the account for such activi-
ties, we immediately report to the regulator
and close the account.”
Betway and Dafabet did not respond to
queriesfromTheIndianExpress.Whenasked
if itwaslegaltoshowadvertisementsofabet-
ting company, SonyLIV refused to comment.
Thematcheswereheldoverthelastsixdays,
with Australia winning the first two to wrap
up the series that ended Wednesday 2-1.
The Government, via the Information
Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines)
last five overs, affording the revamped Indian
bowlingthecushionofa300-plusscore.Apart
from Jadeja and Bumrah, the rest had not ap-
pearedinSydney.ButthetrioofKuldeepYadav,
ShardulThakuranddebutantTNatarajanput
in strong performances to suggest the depth
of India’s bowling stocks. Providing consider-
able relief, Bumrah bowled with hostility and
verve. If the new-ball spell was incisive, those
with the old-ball were fiendish. He brought
India back into the game with the wicket of a
rampagingGlennMaxwell.Withtheequation
reading 35 off 34 balls, Bumrah slipped in a
searing yorker that Maxwell, injudiciously
backing away, missed altogether.
The wicket scripted the final twist of the
match.Natarajan,hitfor19runsinhisprevious
over, delivered a terrific four-run over before
seeingoffAshtonAgar,India’slastimpediment
foravictory.Thakursustainedthepressurewith
anassortmentofknuckleballsandslowbounc-
ers,leavingAustraliawith15runstoscoreoffa
Bumrahover,anequationthatlookednighim-
probable.AndBumrahendedtheirquestwith
the third ball, thus lifting the gloom that had
wrappedthemaftertheSydneysubmission.
Asconcertedaneffortasthishadbeenfrom
the new-look seam trio, Yadav showed signs
of putting a forgettable year behind him. He
was not as guileful as he could be, but he
bowledtightlengthsandkeptalidonscoring
in the middle overs. He bowled flatter and
quicker than usual but didn’t concede too
many boundary balls, as he had been for the
most part of this year. Thus, the dead rubber
gave India signs of better times ahead in the
tour. None brighter than the continuing evo-
lution of Jadeja and Pandya.
“Nathan is the analyst of the Multan
Sultans in the Pakistan Super League — he
said the idea was live signals to the captain,
who was Shan Masood. It was about offer-
ing him information, which he didn’t have
to take. I think they were doing hand signals
in the PSL, whereas here it was slightly dif-
ferent. I am okay with it. It is very different
to Bob Woolmer feeding stuff in real time to
Hansie Cronje in the 1999 World Cup
through an earpiece,” the former opening
batsman was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
Another former England captain, Michael
Vaughan had a slightly different take on the
matter.“Signalssentfromananalystonabal-
conytothecaptainonthepitch!!!!Theworld
hasofficiallygonenuts!!”hepostedonTwitter.
Sign of things to come?
Conventionally, the coaching staff would
send someone with gloves or a bottle of wa-
ter to pass on a message, or just tell some-
thingtoaboundaryfieldertoconvey ittothe
captain. Traditionalists would argue cricket
is quite different from a sport like football,
and the captain is in charge of the team, un-
like the manager or coach in the latter.
But T20 cricket has often been at the cut-
tingedgeof innovationandhastokeepevolv-
ingtostayaheadof othermeansof entertain-
ment. The Big Bash League in Australia is
Following father’s footsteps
SCHUMI JR JOINS HAAS
Mick Schumacher, son of legendary racer
Michael Schumacher, will make his debut
in Formula One next season for the Haas
team, it was announced on Wednesday.
Rules, 2011, has instructed service providers
and website hosts to block access to “certain
websites and content”, which — under sec-
tion 2B — includes anything that “relates or
encouragesmoneylaunderingorgambling”.
Indian bank accounts
However, it is notonly possible for Indian
users to access these websites but they can
also register themselves on it to place bets
online worth lakhs of rupees using Indian
bank accounts.
Bets can be placed on multiple scenarios
– who wins the toss, what will happen on
thefirstballof thematch,methodof firstdis-
missal, performances of individual players,
the outcome of the match and so on. The
minimum deposit is Rs 500 while the max-
imum weekly limit goes up to Rs 27,50,000
and in some cases, there is no upper limit to
SCORECARD
AUSTRALIA VS INDIA
THIRD ODI, CANBERRA
Toss: India, chose to bat
INDIA
S DhawancAgarbAbbott 16(27b,2x4)
S GilllbwAgar 33(29b,3x4,1x6)
V KohlicCareybHazlewood 63(78b,5x4)
S IyercLabuschagnebZampa 19(21b,2x4)
KL RahullbwAgar 5(11b)
H Pandyanotout 92(76b,7x4,1x6)
R Jadejanotout 66(50b,7x41x6)
■ Extras(b1,lb1,w4,nb2) 8
■ Total(50overs) 302/5
■ FoW: 1-26(ShikharDhawan,5.5ov),2-82(Shu-
bmanGill,15.4ov),3-114(ShreyasIyer,22.4ov),4-
123(KLRahul,25.3ov),5-152(ViratKohli,31.6ov)
■ Bowling:JHazlewood10-1-66-1;GMaxwell
5-0-27-0;SAbbott10-0-84-1;CGreen4-0-
27-0;AAgar10-0-44-2;AZampa10-0-45-1;
MHenriques1-0-7-0
AUSTRALIA (TARGET: 303)
M LabuschagnebNatarajan 7(13b,1x4)
A FinchcDhawanbJadeja 75(82b,7x4,3x6)
SSmithcRahulbThakur 7(15b)
M HenriquescDhawanbThakur 22(31b,3x4)
CGreencJadejabYadav 21(27b,1x4,1x6)
A Careyrunout(Kohli/Rahul) 38(42b,4x4)
G MaxwellbBumrah 59(38b,3x4,4x6)
A AgarcYadavbNatarajan 28(28b,2x4)
S AbbottcRahulbThakur 4(9b)
A ZampalbwBumrah 4(7b)
J Hazlewoodnotout 7(7b)
■ Extras (lb6,w9,nb2) 17
■ Total(49.3overs) 289allout
■ FoW:1-25(MarnusLabuschagne,5.1ov),2-56
(StevenSmith,11.2ov),3-117(MoisesHenriques,
22.2ov),4-123(AaronFinch,25.3ov),5-158
(CameronGreen,30.5ov),6-210(AlexCarey,37.4
ov),7-268(GlennMaxwell,44.3ov),8-278(Sean
Abbott,46.6ov),9-278(AshtonAgar,47.1ov),10-
289(AdamZampa,49.3ov)
■Bowling:JBumrah9.3-0-43-2;TNatarajan
10-1-70-2;SThakur10-1-51-3;KYadav10-0-
57-1;RJadeja10-0-62-1
■ Result:Indiawonby13runs
KOHLI FASTEST TO 12,000
Virat Kohli became the fastest
cricketer to score 12,000 ODI runs,
breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s 17-
year-old record.
He touched the figure in his 242nd
innings. In comparison, it took
Tendulkar 300 innings to get there.
Kohliis thesixthplayertoreachthis
milestoneafterPonting,Sanga-
kkara,JayasuriyaandJayawardene.
introducingafewnewrulesforitsupcoming
season, one of which is the option for teams
to substitute one of the players in their first
XIwitheithertheir12thor13thmenafterthe
10thoverof thefirstinnings,inastrategiccall.
When the team, and the captain, is out in
the field, it may come down to the coach’s
decision. Former first-class cricketer and re-
spected voice in the game, Simon Hughes –
well known in his avatar as The Analyst on
Britishtelevision–sawnothingwronginthe
coach making tactical decisions.
“The coach is more important in the
shorterformatsincomparisontoTestcricket
as they plan forensically for various possible
scenarios in the game. It’s almost like the
manager’s job in football. Also, they may no-
tice something from outside which may es-
cape the captain’s attention out in the mid-
dle,” he told The Indian Express.
Did it work?
Whatever one thinks of the move, one
can argue that it hardly made much differ-
ence to the game. Batting first, South Africa
were struggling at 70/3 after 11 overs.
Morgan wouldn’t have needed much exter-
nal guidance at that stage. The next nine
overs went for 121 runs. Whatever Leamon
might have suggested, it didn’t work – if
Morgan had followed that, in the first place.
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
the amount that can be waged.
When contacted, a spokesperson of the
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
said: “ASCI has issued guidelines regarding
ads of online gaming.”
ASCI secretary-general Manisha Kapoor
said their guidelines "cover the content of
advertisements of real-money gaming that
appear on any platform”. She, however,
added that matters relating to the legality of
theirbroadcastis'beyondASCI'sjurisdiction'
since 'gambling is a state subject.'
"This is a matter for state governments to
decide ... ASCI cannot decide which games
are legal and which are not. However, if the
content of any ad is in contravention of the
ASCI Code, ASCI can process such com-
plaints," Kapoor told The Indian Express in
an emailed statement.
(WITHDEVENDRAPANDEY)
Madrid lose
again, in Real
trouble in CL
Real Madrid lost 2-0 to Shakhtar
Donetsk in a Group B clash.
A SHOCK 2-0 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk has
left Real Madrid reeling in third spot of
Group B and staring at an elimination from
the Champions League. Madrid in their
entire history have never conceded nine
goals in five Champions League games and
that has left them third in their group with
seven points – which means that if things
remain the same after their final group
game, they will be playing in the Europa
League for the first time in their history.
THE RAMOS EFFECT
Defensively, this season, Real Madrid
completely fall to pieces when Sergio
Ramos doesn’t play. In the 10 games that
Ramos has appeared for Madrid this
season, they have scored 19 and conceded
10. But in the 6 games that he hasn’t
played, they have conceded 8 and scored
only 4.
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
The lack of goals has stemmed from
multiple factors. Their replacement for
talismanic striker Cristiano Ronaldo was
Eden Hazard, a proven player in the
English Premier League. But Hazard has
missed 35 matches in the last 18 months
and has been injured seven times for
Zidane’s team. Other attacking players like
Marco Asensio have not scored or assisted
in the last 12 games.
POOR LA LIGA FORM
The outlook is pretty bleak in the La Liga
as well. In the 2019-20 La Liga season,
Madrid were trailing games for a grand
total of 185 minutes in the 38 league
games they were a part of. The number of
minutes they have trailed this season has
shot up to 210 minutes despite playing
only 10 games.
ZIDANE ON THE ROPES?
Talks have already started about Zinedine
Zidane’s departure with Spanish papers
reporting that Mauricio Pochettino is now
in line to be the new Real Madrid boss.
Zidane coached Madrid to their last three
Champions League titles and is fresh of a
successful La Liga campaign last season.
LIVERPOOL ADVANCE
Six-time champion Liverpool overcame
injury problems to beat four-time
winner Ajax 1-0 at Anfield, thanks to a
second-half goal from midfielder Curtis
Jones. Two-time winner Porto held
already-qualified Manchester City to a 0-
0 draw at home, although City ensured
the top spot.
Atletico Madrid did not do enough,
drawing 1-1 at home to Bayern Munich
even though the defending champion
fielded a weakened side having already
qualified. Munich rested prolific striker
Robert Lewandowski and standout
goalkeeper Manuel Neuer but still did well
enough to stop the Spanish side winning.
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
Lokomotiv Moskva 1 lost to Salzburg 3,
Shakhtar Donetsk 2 bt Real Madrid 0,
Atletico Madrid 1 drew with Bayern
Munich 1, Porto 0 drew with Manchester
City 0, Olympique Marseille 2 bt
Olympiakos Piraeus 1, Borussia
M'gladbach 2 lost to Internazionale 3,
Liverpool 1 bt Ajax 0, Atalanta 1 drew
with Midtjylland 1
EXPRESS NEWSSERVICE
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