DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA
JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES
Pranab Mukherjee
tests Covid positive,
has surgery for clot
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
FORMER PRESIDENT Pranab
Mukherjee was put on ventila-
tor support on Monday after he
underwent surgery to remove a
clot in his brain, sources said.
Hours before the surgery,
Mukherjee, 84, said he had also
tested positive for the novel
coronavirus.
“On a visit to the hospital for
a separate procedure, I have
tested positive for COVID 19 to-
day. I request the people who
came in contact with me in the
last week, to please self isolate
and get tested for COVID-19,”
Mukherjee said in a tweet.
Mukherjee is at the Army’s
Research and Referral (R&R)
Hospital in the capital, and his
condition continues to “remain
critical”, the sources said. The
former President, who was un-
well, had been moved to hospi-
In custody for year, Shah Faesal quits politics,
deletes his tweets, window open for IAS return
Steps down as president of the party that he had founded
BASHAARAT MASOOD
SRINAGAR, AUGUST 10
OVER A YEAR-and-a-half after
he resigned from government
service to join politics, Shah
Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top
theCivilServicesExaminationin
2009, quit politics as well.
and
On Monday, Faesal stepped
down as the President of Jammu
Kashmir People’s
Movement (JKPM), a political
party he founded after resigning
from the government and con-
firmed to The Indian Express he
has quit politics.
Though Faesal resigned from
the civil services in January last
year, his resignation had not
been accepted by the govern-
ment – even after 19 months -
pending investigation into some
BUSINESS AS USUAL
BY UNNY
THE EDITORIAL PAGE
THESECULARISM,
RELIGIONDEBATE: A
WRONGDIAGNOSIS
BY PRATAP BHANU MEHTA
PAGE 8
EXPLAINED
SIMPLY PUT
BREAKING DOWN GST:
SLABS, PAYMENTS,
DISPUTE
PAGE 11
PAGE 1
ANCHOR At heart of Andhra fire, a booming business in Covid care hotels
SREENIVAS JANYALA
HYDERABAD, AUGUST 10
THE 10 Covid-19 patients who
were killed in the fire at
Vijayawada’s Swarna Palace ho-
tel early on Sunday had bought
a daily ‘package’ of Rs 5,000,
which included stay and three
meals, hot drinks, and snacks.
Swarna Palace is one among
43 hotels in Vijayawada — 18
large and 25 small — that have
been leased by private hospitals
to house patients infected by the
novel coronavirus. In
Visakhapatnam, more than 30
big and small hotelshave turned
tal on the advice of doctors, and
had tested positive for Covid-19
before the surgery, they said.
The official Twitter account
of Rashtrapati Bhavan said
President Ram Nath Kovind had
spokentoMukherjee’sdaughter
Sharmistha Mukherjee, and in-
quired about his health. “The
President wished him a speedy
recovery and good health,” the
tweet said.
Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh visited the hospital in the
evening. Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi posted on Twitter,
“Wishing former President Shri
Pranab Mukherjee a speedy re-
covery.”
Mukherjee had undergone a
cardiac procedure in 2014.
Severalseniorleadersinclud-
ing Home Minister Amit Shah
and the Chief Ministers of
Madhya PradeshandKarnataka,
Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BS
Yediyurappa,havetestedpositive
for Covid-19 in recent weeks.
Had resigned from IAS in
January last year
of his social media posts. The
non-acceptance of his resigna-
tion has kept the door open for
his return to the old job.
A senior official in the gov-
ernment, who did notwish tobe
named, said, "The door is open
for him." He will, however, have
towithdrawhisresignationfirst,
another official said. A third offi-
Red flags over checks
& balances: EIA draft
feedback closes today
ESHA ROY
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
GREATER DISCRETION for the
government to decide on strate-
gic projects, allowing promoters
todeclareviolationsthemselves,
and a substantive increase in
number of projects that will es-
cape scrutiny.
These are among the contro-
versial clauses in the Environ-
ment Impact Assessment (EIA)
draft 2020 for which the dead-
linetofileobjectionsandsugges-
tionsbythepublicendsTuesday.
UnionEnvironmentMinister
Prakash Javadekar said Monday
that the objections will be dis-
cussed before the Ministry takes
a call on the final draft. Officials
said the Ministry has received 4-
5 lakh responses, manyof which
are calls to withdraw the notifi-
cation entirely. With feedback
mostly comprising “repeat ob-
jections”, officials said, the
into Covid-19 care centres.
As the infection surges in
Andhra Pradesh and the regular
hospitality industry remains
shuttered, ‘Covid care hotels’
have become a booming busi-
ness here and in neighbouring
Telangana, catering to hundreds
of people who have the re-
sourcesfortreatmentorquaran-
tine in these rooms.
“Many hoteliers are leasing
theirpropertiestoprivatehospi-
tals, and several hotels have
turnedthemselvesintoisolation
centresforpeoplereturningfrom
abroadorfromotherstates,who
arecompulsorilyquarantinedfor
a week or 14 days,’’ a hotelier
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visits former President Pranab Mukherjee at R&R Hospital
in New Delhi on Monday. ANI
cial said he was likely to be
posted in Delhi.
“Shah Faesal had informed
State Executive members that
he is not in a position to con-
tinue with political activities
and wants to be freed from re-
sponsibilities of the organisa-
tion,” said an official release of
the JKPM.
“It was decided to accept his
request so that he can better
continue with his life and con-
tribute whichever way he
chooses,” the release said.
On Sunday night, Faesal had
dropped the tag of President
JKPM from his twitter bio. By
Monday evening, he deleted all
hisearliertweets,manyof which
over the last 18 months were
critical of the government.
With Faesal’s departure, the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
E
E X P L A I NE D
The
roadmap
● ahead
THE NEXT step is for the
Ministry to scrutinise the
feedback. Amendments
and alterations will then
be made before a final
gazetted notification is
issued, possibly in the
next few months.
Ministrywill scrutiniseabout50
main concerns.
Since the notification was is-
suedinMarch,environmentalists
and civil society groups have ac-
cused the Centre of trying to di-
lute existing norms to facilitate
“ease of doing business”. They
have said that the draft provides
an avenue for project promoters
toregulariseviolationsbypaying
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
from Visakhapatnam said.
Swarna Palace had been
leased by Vijayawada’s Ramesh
hospital, which had kept 31
Covid-19 patients in its rooms.
Twenty-one patients were res-
cued by police, firemen, and ho-
tel and hospital staff on Sunday.
“The packages start from Rs
1,500 per day per person, which
includesbreakfastandtwomeals,
hot beverages, and snacks. The
price goes up with the quality of
the hotel, and star hotels charge
Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 per day per
person,” an official of Telangana
Super Speciality Hospitals
Association said. “This is only for
the stay and food,” the official
SINCE 1932
INTERVIEW: SHAH FAESAL
‘A perception was built
that I am anti-national’
NAVEED IQBAL
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
SHAH FAESAL, who resigned as
President of J&K People’s
Movementandquitpolitics,said
Monday that Kashmir faced a
new political reality, and he did
not want to show “quixotic
dreams” to people when he had
no power to change it.
In an interview to The Indian
Express,Faesalalsosaidapercep-
tion had been built he was an
anti-national. “In the last one
year due to some of my prob-
lematic utterances, a perception
was built that I am an anti-na-
TRACKING INDIA’S COVID CURVE
161 CASES:
22,14,074
DAYS SINCE
PANDEMIC
BEGAN TESTS: 2,45,83,558| DOUBLING RATE: 24.17**
KEYSTATES TOTAL
TOWATCH CASES
■ Maharashtra 5,15,332
■ Delhi 1,45,472
■ Tamil Nadu 2,96,901
■ Karnataka 1,78,087
■ Andhra Pradesh 2,27,860
* Compounded Daily Growth Rate over last 7 days
CASE FATALITY RATIO POSITIVITY RATE
7 DAYS EARLIER: 7 DAYS EARLIER:
2.11
NOW:
2.00
Deaths as a ratio of
positive cases (in %);
Positives against
number tested
indicator of progress (in %); indicator of
in averting deaths the spread of disease
DataasonAugust9,releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth,ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbersinclude
datafrompreviousdays.Assuch,trendsbasedondailynumbersareindicative,notdefinitive
Swarna Palace was among 43 hotels in Vijayawada that had
been leased by private hospitals to house patients. PTI
`6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
MONTH AFTER REVOLT IN RAJASTHAN
Cong truce after Pilot
meets Rahul & Priyanka,
Gehlot carries the day
3-member panel
to look into rebel
grievances; Pilot
to work in the
‘interest of party’
MANOJ C G
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
EXACTLY A month after Sachin
Pilot raised a banner of revolt
against Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot in Rajasthan, plunging
the Congress government into
turmoil, the first signs of a pos-
sible rapprochement emerged
Monday.
Pilot met former Congress
president Rahul Gandhi and
AICC general secretary Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra, setting in motion
an exercise to resolve the crisis.
Partly leaders claimed Pilot had
a meeting with Priyanka two
weeks ago as well.
Top Congress leaders told
The Indian Express that at least
4-5 MLAs from the Sachin camp
were in touch with Gehlot, and
one of them, seven-time MLA
BhanwarLalSharma,hasalready
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
tional…duetosomeof mystate-
ments, I let down a lot of people
who had immense goodwill for
me. I want to undo that,” he said.
According to Faesal, he re-
Army to probe as Rajouri families
alised that in politics it was re-
ally hard to tell the truth to pub-
lic. “I did not want to lead
say ‘encounter’ killed 3 labourers
Kashmirisdownthegardenpath
and raise unrealistic expecta- BASHAARAT MASOOD
tions,” he said. & ARUN SHARMA
Avoiding a direct reply to a SRINAGAR, JAMMU, AUGUST 10
question on whether he would
considerreturningtogovernment THREE WEEKS after the Army
service, Faesal said he had a life claimedtohavekilled"unidenti-
aheadofhimandwantedtomove fied" militants in an "encounter”
and “do something productive”. in South Kashmir’s Shopian,
“I don't know what's stored three families in Jammuregion's
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Rajouri have come forward to
IL&FS firm gave loan
RECOVERED: 15,35,743 to Pune businessman
DEATHS: 44,386
and funds to pay it back
SANDEEP SINGH
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
RAISING questions of round-
SURGEIN 7-DAYAVG DOUBLING
trippingthroughamazeof firms,
an influential Pune-based busi-
24HOURS GROWTH* RATE** nessman received over Rs 52
12,248 2.24% 32.11
crore from an IL&FS (Infra-
1,300 0.79% 91.67 structure Leasing & Financial
Services Ltd.) group company
5,994 2.05% 35.15
which he then used to repay his
5,985 4.06% 17.75 initial loan to the very same
10,820 5.30% 13.59 IL&FS company.
That businessman is Sarang
** Calculated over 7-day growth
Kale and two of his companies
figure in the chain of transac-
DAILY IN, DAILY OUT
tions red-flagged in the forensic
DETECTED TODAY
audit conducted by Grant
8.93 62,064 Thornton.
NOW: RECOVERED TODAY: RecordsshowthatonJanuary
9.01 54,859 7,2017,IL&FSTransportationand
Network Ltd (ITNL), an IL&FS
Becoming sick vs
recovering; more Group Company, gave an unse-
recoveries for 14 days cured loan of Rs 52 crore to
may signal the peak Rajasthan Land Holdings Ltd, a
company that had no revenue-
generating business.
said;“hospitalschargeseparately
for treatment, and payment has
to be made in advance.’’
In Hyderabad, 36 hotels, in-
cluding five-stars, have been
converted into Covid care cen-
tres. Director of Public health G
SrinivasRaosaidpatientsrequir-
ing treatment or quarantine can
choose from five star hotels,
three star hotels, and rooms or
living spaces available through
Oyo or similar companies. “For
compulsory isolation we have
identified a few hotels and fixed
their tariffs. Hotels that have
been directly leased by private
hospitals have their own pack-
age rates,’’ Rao said.
New Delhi
Sachin Pilot with his supporters at a meeting with Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra, Ahmed Patel, K C Venugopal on Monday. ANI
Pilot gets an assurance,
can kicked down the road
MANOJ C G
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
THE MONTH-LONG crisis in the
Rajasthan Congress may have
ended today, but the truce ap-
peared fragile and uneasy. And
all indications are that the tus-
sle between Chief Minister
Ashok Gehlot and former
Deputy Chief Minister Sachin
Pilot is far from over.
For the moment, Gehlot has
emerged stronger, having foiled
an attempt to topple his govern-
saytheyouthswerecousins,one
of them reportedly 16 years old,
who had gone to Kashmir for
work andnotbeenin touchwith
them since July 17 night. The
Armysaidithadorderedaprobe
in the matter.
The three families lodged a
missing persons' complaint
about them at the Peeri Police
Post in Rajouri's Kotranka tehsil
This is a subsidiary of Road
Infrastructure Development
Company of RajasthanLtd.(RID-
COR),whichisajointventurebe-
tween the Public Works Depart-
ment of the state government of
Rajasthan and IL&FS.
The same day, records show,
Rajasthan Land Holdings, ex-
tended a short-term loan of Rs
52 crore to Kaleidoscope
Developers Private Ltd— a com-
pany owned by Kale.
KDPL, in turn, gave a loan/ad-
vance of Rs 51.98 crore to
Oceanfront Infra Pvt Limited
(OIPL), another Kale company,
and which had zero revenues
between FY’15 and FY’19. That
very day, OIPL used this money
to repay its outstanding loan to
ITNL.
Financial statements of OIPL
for the year ended March 2017,
filed with the Registrar of
Companies, show that the com-
pany got a loan of Rs 51.98 crore
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Telangana Health Minister
Etela Rajender said that in some
cases,privatehospitals thathave
tied up with hotels have been
chargingexorbitantamountsfor
their“Covid-19packages’’.While
both Telangana and Andhra
Pradesh have capped treatment
costsinprivatehospitals,neither
government has put a ceiling on
tariffs for hotel rooms that ac-
commodate patients.
The pandemic situation in
Andhra Pradesh is currently
among the worst in the country,
and the state has reported a
surge of over 10,000 cases every
day since August 5. The disease
isalsospreadingextremelyfast–
ment and dethrone him. He has
managed to retain the MLAs
who were with him. A master
tactician with years of political
experience, he is firmly in the
saddle for now.
He ejected Pilot from the
state cabinet and got him re-
moved as state Congress presi-
dent. Pilot, sources said, is un-
likely to get these posts back. It
is to be seen how Gehlot consol-
idates his position further in the
coming months.
On the other hand, sources
CONTINUEDONPAGE2
only on Sunday, amidst reports
thatthreeallegedmilitantskilled
by security forces in an en-
counter in Amshipora on July 18
were labourers from Rajouri dis-
trict. They gave the names as
Imtiyaz Ahmad, 20, and Ibrer
Ahmad, 16, of Dharsakri village,
and Mohammed Ibrar, 25, of
Tarkasi village -- both villages in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
THE WORLD
CHINA SENDS JETS
AS U.S. HEALTH CHIEF
VISITS TAIWAN
HONG KONG MEDIA
TYCOON HELD UNDER
SECURITY LAW
PAGE 12
INSIDE
DEATH TOLL IN
KERALA LANDSLIDE
RISES TO 49
RHEA CHAKRABORTY
CITES POLLS, ‘BEING
MADE A SCAPEGOAT’
PAGE 7
as of Monday, the compounded
daily growth rate over the last 7
days was 5.30%, and the dou-
bling time calculated over 7-day
growth was 13.59 days, both
among the worst of all states.
SomehoteliersinVijayawada
have approached the Narayana
and Chaitanya Group of educa-
tional institutions with offers to
lease their colleges and hostels,
andrentthemouttoprivatehos-
pitals for use as Covid facilities.
“At least 5,000 rooms will be
needed in the next one or two
monthsinVijayawadaalone,and
hotelsdonothavethatcapacity,”
a hotelier in the city said. “We
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
 2 THE SECOND PAGE
Sons of Goa
Cong MLA join
BJP: ‘No election Rajouri families
ticket promised’ Kotranka tehsil.
They said the three had left
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
PANAJI, AUGUST 10
THE INDUCTION of Roy and
RiteshNaik—sonsofformerstate
home minister and Congress
leader Ravi Naik — into BJP ranks
continues to raise a political con-
troversy in the state.
Roy Naik faced allegations of
involvement in the drug trade
and was alleged to be linked to
the2008deathofBritishnational
Scarlett Keeling. Moreover, dur-
ingthecourseoftheinvestigation
intoKeeling'sdeath,theBJP,then
in Opposition, had taken on the
Digambar Kamat-led govern-
ment. Then leader of Opposition
Manohar Parrikar had sought a
CBI inquiry in 2010 into the case.
On August 6, Roy and Ritesh
were officially inducted into BJP
ranks with the party's state unit
chief, Sadanand Shet Tanavade,
saying that the allegations lev-
elled by the party back in 2010
were against someone else.
“There are so many Roys,” he
told reporters when asked about
the allegations. “Our party never
made any such allegations
againstRoyRaviNaik,if youhave
the proof, please show me,” he
added.
AfterKeeling’sdeath,ahouse
committee was formed at the
governmentlevelwhichindicted
Roy. But, a police special investi-
gationteam(SIT),whichtookup
the investigation and submitted
a report in 2018, said it did not
find any evidence against Roy.
BJP MP from north Goa,
Shripad Naik, however, said that
even though there were charges
againstRoy,hewasbeinggiven“a
chance”.“Idon’twanttointerfere
in that matter but there was no
evidence, and he (Roy) was not
arrested or punished. Charges
were there. It doesn’t mean he is
guilty.Andifapersondesiresthat
to be a good citizen, he should be
given a chance. Shouldn’t he?”
For now, the two brothers
“haven't been promised any
ticket” he added.
On Monday, the Goa wing of
the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took
to the roads to protest the induc-
tion of the two brothers into the
BJP,callingitthe“CongressJanata
Party”. FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
Covid positivity
rate dips in
Guwahati
ABHISHEK SAHA
GUWAHATI, AUGUST 10
GUWAHATI’SCOVIDtestpositiv-
ity rate (TPR) has reduced man-
ifold even as the state capital re-
mains under complete
lockdown on weekends and
evening curfew, according to
data from the state health de-
partment.
The TPR increased from 16.7
per cent on July 16 to 18 per cent
on July 25, but dipped to 4.5 per
cent on August 8 amid a rise in
testing. Assam Health Minister
Himanta Biswa Sarma said that
this trend needs to be main-
tained for a few more weeks.
Meanwhile, the Assam gov-
ernment on Monday decided to
provide Covid patients prefer-
ring home isolation a pulse
oximeter and first-line support-
ive medicine free of cost. It also
revised guidelines for air trav-
ellers arriving in the state. “Any
air passenger who departs from
Assam within 72 hours of arrival
need not undergo quarantine,”
said an order signed by Samir
Sinha, Assam’s Principal
Secretary, Health and Family
Welfare Department, while
adding certain conditions.
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FROM PAGE ONE
home on July 16, and gonemiss-
ing the next day. Mohammad
Saleem,acousinof IbrarAhmed,
saidtheykeptthinkingthethree
had been put in quarantine as
part of anti-Covid measures as
they came from outside. In
Rajouri, the quarantine is for 21
days,andtheythoughtthesame
must have been enforcedfor the
three. On Saturday, someone
fromKashmircalledtotellthem
about the "unidentified mili-
tants" killed in Amshipora,
Saleem said.
On Monday morning, the
families met the Additional SP,
Rajouri, Liyaqat Ali. Soon after,
photos surfaced on social media
of theslain "militants". The fam-
ilies said they realised then that
the three killed on July 18 were
theirsons.“Werecognisedthem
from the photographs,” one of
the relatives of the three miss-
ing youths, Naseeb Khattana,
told The Indian Express over
phone. “We demand that their
bodies be returned to us and
there should be a probe."
Later, the brother of Srinagar
Deputy Commissioner Shahid
Choudhary, who hails from
Rajouri,postedonFacebookthat
the missing cousins were dis-
tantly related to theirfamilyand
there was little doubt that they
were the three the Army had
killed on July 18. Sharing their
pictures, Zafar Choudhary
wrote, “Three boys killed in
Amshipora (Shopian) were in
distant relation, their families
known to us... I have just spoken
to a member of family; they
have identified them beyond
any doubt...”
In a statement, defence
spokesperson Rajesh Kalia said,
"We have noted socialmedia in-
puts linked to the operation at
Shopian on 18 July 2020. The
three terrorists killed during the
operation have not been identi-
fied and the bodies were buried
based on established protocols...
The Army is investigating the
matter."
TheJ&K Policehad distanced
itself from the pre-dawn opera-
tionatAmshiporavillage,saying
itwasbasedonArmyinputs.The
Army had claimed to have also
recovered two pistols from the
three alleged militants. They
were buried in unmarked
graves, after nobody came for-
ward to claim them.
Imtiyaz's uncle Lal Husain
said, "I last talked to him on July
17 at 7.30 pm. I called him again
on the 18th, at around 8 am, but
hisphonewasswitchedoff."The
only one among shepherd Sabir
Hussain's five children to have
cleared Class 12, Imtiyaz hoped
to earn enough working in the
Valley to fund college, the fam-
ily said.
Hussain, along with his eld-
est son Mohammad Arif, is cur-
rently in a highland pasture at
Ghatiyala.
Ibrar Ahmed was a student
of Class 11 at the government-
run Higher Secondary School at
Peeri village in Kotranka , the
family said. He has two younger
siblings, and also belongs to a
shepherd family. Ibrar's father
works as a labourer in Saudi
Arabia.
Khattana said the three
cousins would go to the Valley
every year for work, and this
time had left for Shopian on July
16, trekking through the moun-
tains.
Imtiyaz's uncle Mohammad
Aslam said many youths head
for the Valley for work during
holidays. This time educational
institutions continue to be shut
and hence they had left last
month, after the Covid restric-
tions were eased a bit. He said
Imtiyaz was the only one with a
mobile phone among the three
and he had called up his mater-
nal uncle Lal Hussain on July 17
evening to say they had reached
EXCLUSIVE
WEB
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Shopian, arranged a room on
rent, as well as purchased ra-
tions and a stove for cooking.
The eldest, Mohammad
Ibrar, 25, had earlier worked as
a labourer in Saudi Arabia for
nearly four years. On returning,
he had built a house in the vil-
lage where he used to live with
his wife and a 15-month-old
son.
A senior Rajouri police offi-
cer confirmed having registered
a missing report, and said they
would probe the same.
The last encounter proved to
befakeintheValleywas10years
ago, when Armymen were ac-
cused of killing three men at
Machil on the Line of Control. A
general court martial had con-
victed five of them, including a
Colonel, dismissed them and
sentencedthemtojail.However,
a military court had suspended
their sentence.
Since March this year, the
J&K Police has not been handing
over bodies of alleged militants
killed in encounters, or even
identifying them or releasing
their pictures.
Shah Faesal quits
JKPM has disintegrated within
18 months of its launch. In
October lastyear,oneof thesen-
iorleadersof thepoliticalorgan-
isation Shehla Rashid Shora had
announcedquittingpolitics,and
on Monday its chairman and
former minister Javed Mustafa
Miralsoresignedfromtheparty.
Faesal continues to be under
house detention, and sources
close to him said he had made
his mind immediately after the
abrogation of Jammu and
Kashmir’s special status. They
said he was under “tremendous
pressure”fromsomequartersto
rejoin the government but he
had not made any future plans
“as of now”.
“Nodoubt,heisundersevere
pressure from certain forcesand
is being asked to return to civil
services,” said a source close to
him. “But it is too early to say
whatheisgoingtodo.Asof now,
he has not decided anything
about his future,” the source
said.
Adoctor-turned-bureaucrat,
Faesal's last position in govern-
ment was as Managing Director
of Jammu and Kashmir Power
Development Corporation
(JKPDC), before he was selected
as an Edward Mason Fellow at
HarvardKennedySchool in June
2018. He was supposed to rejoin
government service a year later.
But six months before his re-
turn, he surprised everyone
when he announced his deci-
sion to resign from IAS on
January 9, 2019, and hinted at
joining politics. In March 2019,
Faesal launched his own party.
He was detainedatDelhi airport
on the intervening night of
August 14-15, 2019, and sent
back to Srinagar and placed un-
der detention. He was booked
under the draconian Public
Safety Act in February this year
which was revoked in June. His
movement, however, continues
to be restricted.
‘... anti-national’
in future and where will I go
(sic). My fundamental interestis
in education, health, poverty al-
leviation, employment genera-
tion and I wish to contribute in
those sectors. This is a new
world and I have many dreams
for Jammu and Kashmir. I wish
to start my life from a clean slate
and do something productive,”
he said.
Faesal said detention proved
to be an “immense learning
phase”.“Irealisedthatattheend
of the day you are all alone. It's
yourfamilythatsuffersthemost
while ironically those for whom
you seem to be standing up are
drawing a sadistic pleasure out
of your misery. Detention gave
me the clarity of mind that I be-
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KOZHIKODE CRASH: KERALA POLICE’S GESTURE TO THANK LOCALS WHO HELPED
FazalPuthiyakath,oneofthefirstcivilianvolunteersatthecrashsite,saidthatapoliceofficialhadvisited
themtothankthemandsalutetheirefforts
THE MOST EXCITING
SMARTPHONES UP
Here’salook atthe
most-exciting
smartphones ontheway
Cong truce after Pilot meets Rahul, Priyanka
reachedJaipur.JhunjhunuMLA
Brijendra Singh Ola is said to
have sent an emissary to
Gehlot. This, party leaders
claimed, may have forced Pilot
to come to the negotiating
table, a claim rubbished by his
camp.
The development comes
days ahead of the Assembly
session which the Gehlot gov-
ernment has convened to
prove his majority. He had
claimed the support of 102
MLAs in the 200-member
House. Sachin has the backing
of 18 Congress MLAs. So far, he
hasnotbeenabletoweanaway
more MLAs from the Gehlot
camp.
Sources said Rahul and
Priyanka met Congress presi-
dent Sonia Gandhi after meet-
ing Pilot and briefed her.
Gandhiislearnttohavespoken
to Gehlot thereafter.
SourcesintheCongresssaid
Pilot gets assurance, can kicked down the road
close to Pilot said that he has
been able to get an assurance
from the leadership that he
could be considered for the
chief minister's job closer to
the Assembly elections due in
December 2023. According to
sources, he could be offered
the post of AICC general secre-
tary in Delhi for now. But
sources close to him said he is
not interested in shifting base
toDelhiandwouldprefertore-
main in Jaipur.
A written commitment to
set up a high-level panel to ad-
dress the issues raised by him
andreiterationof anunwritten
intent to make him chief min-
isteriswhatPilothasmanaged
to extract after a month-long
rebellion. The Pilot camp
claims Gehlot’s conduct and
use of language has not gone
long somewhere else. That I
can't destroy my life for those
who won't even cry for me,” he
said.
ThefirstKashmiritotopCivil
Services in 2009, Faesal said, he
had not been speaking for al-
most a year. “I took my time lest
it (quitting politics) was seen as
a hasty decision. It has been a
year since I spoke last,” he said.
To a question if he saw space
for mainstream politics in J&K,
Faesal said, “I have absolutely no
idea.”
Andhra fire
have to lease hostels and college
buildings and convert them into
temporary hotels and rent them
to hospitals. We have to invest
somemoney,butduetothehigh
demand for hotel rooms from
Covid-19 patients, the invest-
ment can be easily recovered
easily,” he said.
Andhra Pradesh Health
MinisterAKrishna Srinivassaid:
“Covid-19 hotels has become a
lucrative business. Private hos-
pitalsaretakingadvantageof the
fear of patients and exploiting
them in the name of offering
Covid packages and charging
hefty amounts.Inspite of alotof
publicity that the government
has arranged for good facilities
and free treatment at govern-
ment-run Covid care centres
and hospitals, many people pre-
fer private hospitals out of fear.
The hospitals are taking advan-
tage of this.’’
Dr P Srinivas,secretaryof the
Andhra Pradesh Private
Hospitals and Nursing Homes
Association,however, said there
is a shortage of hospital beds for
Covid-19 patients in all private
hospitals in Vijayawada and
other cities – and that “no hos-
EXPRESS EXPLAINED
a committee could be formed
to look into the complaints of
Pilot and the rebel MLAs.
Theparty,sourcessaid,had
been asking Pilot from day one
to “come back” and discuss his
“grievances” with the leader-
ship even when “it was clear”
that he was “in touch with the
BJP”andenjoyingthehospital-
ity of the BJP government in
Haryana”.
Senior leader Ahmed Patel
andAICCgeneralsecretary(or-
ganisation) K C Venugopal,
sourcessaid,hadbeenintouch
with Pilot but he was “erratic”.
“He would speak one day
andthenvanish…Hehasbeen
doing that since the crisis be-
gan. This gave us a feeling that
heisplayingboththeCongress
and the BJP. While we are en-
gaging with him out of com-
pulsion, the BJP is doing it hap-
pilybecausetheyhavenothing
to lose,” a leader said.
down well with the party high
command, and that is a bonus
point for him.
Sources said during Pilot's
two-hour-long meeting with
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka
Gandhi Vadra, there was a
“meeting of minds on gener-
ally what is to be done.” Pilot,
accordingtothesesources,said
he realised that replacing
Gehlot was not immediately
possible and he would have to
wait for some more time.
While sources said there is
an assurance of a change of
guard,Pilotislearnttohaveleft
the timing to the high com-
mand. “If it is too late... then
there is no point doing it. It has
to be a reasonable time, so that
he can leave a mark and move
into elections…there is a real-
isation that it is inevitable,”
pital is overcharging”.
“Hospitals are tying up with
hotels to provide proper isola-
tion facilities and treatment.
Packages or tariffs are decided
by various factors. Hotels incur
a lot of expenditure on sanitis-
ingthepremises2-3timesaday.
They have to pay government
authorities for safe disposal of
PPEkitswornbyvisitingdoctors
andhospitalstaff whostayatthe
hotel, and provide food. These
costs reflect in the package. No
hospital is overcharging,” Dr
Srinivas said.
Officialsof DrSrinivas’sasso-
ciation said corporate and pri-
vatehospitalswereoverflowing.
“Doctors who are getting in-
fected are unable to get a bed
even in the hospitals in which
they work,” a member of the as-
sociation said.
EIA draft
a penalty.
However, Environment
Secretary R K Gupta told The
Indian Express (interview, Page
5): “Wehave detailed the penal-
ties for not having acquired en-
vironmental clearances, includ-
ing EIAs, which is according to
law and proportionate to the of-
fence. Chori ke liye fansi ki sazaa
toh nahin de sakte (We can't
sentence a man to hanging for
committing theft)... Also, there
is no regularisation of the viola-
tion. The penalty, which is being
charged,isfortheperiodthatthe
industryhasfunctionedwithout
a clearance -- the penalty is for
not having obtained the clear-
ance and not for pollution.”
Ravi Aggarwal, Additional
Secretary, Environment
Ministry, said that it is for the
first time that the government
has consolidated all processes,
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
WHAT STUDY FOUND
ABOUT A REPTILE
The Tanystropheus
lived on Earth some
242 million years ago
Sources in the Pilot camp
there will be a couple of more
meetings with the top leader-
ship, including the Gandhis, to
workoutamutuallyacceptable
formula.
“Itwasagoodmeeting.The
party has said that we will re-
solveallthependingissues.The
nitty-gritty is being worked
out,” sources in the Pilot camp
told The Indian Express.
Congress sources said Gehlot,
although not very happy with
therapprochementefforts,isin
the loop.
Sources in the Pilot camp
said the Gandhi family has in a
way taken the step to save the
Gehlot government. They said
the meeting could take place
because not once in the last
month had Pilot attacked the
party or the Gandhi family.
Besides, he always main-
tained that he was not joining
theBJP.“Soallthosefactorsob-
said a senior party leader.
For now, some of the 18
MLAs in Pilot's camp may find
a place in the state cabinet as
and when a reshuffle takes
place. Sources said his loyalists
who were sacked as heads of
the Youth Congress and NSUI
state units could also be reha-
bilitated. The cases against all
the rebels will be dropped too,
sources said.
For the Congress, it has
managedtobuysometimeand
saveitsgovernment.Whilesen-
ior leader Ahmed Patel and
AICC in-charge of organisation
K C Venugopal worked behind
the scenes, the party con-
sciously roped in former presi-
dent Rahul Gandhi to send out
themessagethatheisinvolved
incrisismanagementandisstill
calling the shots.
procedures and amendments
related to clearances on one
platform.
Reacting to criticism from
politicalleaders,includingRahul
Gandhi, Javadekar said: “It’s a
draft,nota finalnotification.The
notification was kept for public
consultation for 150 days be-
cause of Covid. Otherwise, it is
only60daysasperrules.Wewill
consider all the suggestions and
come out with the final draft.
Those who want to protest now
have, during their regime, taken
bigger decisions without any
public consultation.”
TheMinisterwasspeakingat
an event to release a booklet ti-
tled “Best practices of Human-
Elephant Conflict Management
in India”.
One of the main objections
tothenewEIAdrafthasbeenthe
postfactoregularisationof viola-
tions, which is provided for in
Clause 22 on “Dealing in viola-
tion cases’’. Violations can now
be reported by the project pro-
moters themselves or by an ap-
praisal committee, regulatory
body or government authority.
Environmentalists have de-
scribed this move as “problem-
atic” and said that project pro-
moters hardly ever declare
violations that they may have
committed themselves.
The draft states that in case
of a suo motu declaration, and if
it is a case of high polluting load
found detrimental to the envi-
ronment,theprojectwillbeshut
down. But if no degradation is
identified, promoters will be
charged Rs 5,000 per day in
CategoryAprojects,Rs2,000per
day in Category B1 and Rs 1000
per day in Category B2. The fine
will be calculated “for a period
of date of violation to date of ap-
plication’’, says the draft.
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
The significance of
Oxford’s vaccine trials
being conducted
NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY
In today’s episode of the 3 Things podcast,
we take a look at how India will benefit by
Oxford conducting human trials for it
COVID-19 vaccine in the country
viously played on everyone’s
mind and there was reaching
out from both sides,” a leader
close to Pilot said.
Congress sources said the
party may come out with a
statementoncethenitty-gritty
of the compromise formula is
worked out which will include
dropping all cases against
Sachin and some of the MLAs
and a cabinet reshuffle to ac-
commodate MLAs of the Pilot
camp.
While sources in the
Congress made it clear that
Gehlot will continue as the
Chief Minister as of now -- his
replacementwasoneof thede-
mands of Pilot -- it is to be seen
whether the party will accede
to his second demand – a pub-
liccommitmentforachangeof
guardinthelastyearof thegov-
ernment’s tenure. The Gehlot
governmentwillcompletetwo
years in office in December.
In the past, Rahul was criti-
cised for remaining aloof and
not showing eagerness to re-
solve crises, the last major one
being in Madhya Pradesh.
ThecrisisalsosawPriyanka
emerging from behind the
scenes to actively involve her-
selfinpartyaffairsoutsideUttar
Pradesh.Sheremainedintouch
withPilotthroughout,andheld
a meeting with him about a
fortnightago.Thepartyensured
that a photograph of the meet-
ing that Priyanka, Patel and
Venugopal had with Pilot and
his MLAs reached the media.
At a time when there is
much talk about the friction
between the young and the
old in the Congress, the idea
was to show that both were
working together to resolve
the crisis.
In caseof violationsreported
by a government authority or
found by the appraisal commit-
tee or raised during processing
of applicationsbytheregulatory
authority, a separate set of fines
will be levied: Rs 10,000 per day
for Category A projects, Rs 4,000
per day in Category B1 and Rs
2,000 per day in Category B2.
Besides, Category B2 proj-
ects, which have been defined
andlistedforthefirsttime,don’t
require an EIA at all. The draft
states that Category A projects
require an EIA and approval
from the Ministry, while
Category B1 projects require an
EIA and approval from an ap-
praisal committee.
The draft also contains an
“Exemptions list” of 40 types of
projects, which include a num-
ber of new developments, in-
cluding in oil and gas explo-
ration (offshore and onshore),
inland water ways, and coal and
non-coal mineral prospecting.
Moreover, the Ministry has
done away with the process of
screeningatthestatelevelforB1
and B2 projects by defining
them. The draft says that B2
projects can directly apply for
permissions on a Ministry web-
site. Presently, the state where
the project is located would
study it and decide whether it
wouldbeB1orB2dependingon
environmental concerns.
The monitoring of compli-
ance to norms has come under
scrutiny, too. The 2006 notifica-
tion mandates that a project
compliancereportbefiledevery
six months. This has now been
reduced to once a year and, that
too, in the form of self-compli-
ance.
The draft, however, says that
in case of failure to submit the
compliance report, a fine will be
levied. The Ministry has also
now included the provision for
third party assessment of com-
pliance.
Experts, however, point out
that compliance in India has
been poor, citing accidents such
as the LG Polymers gas leak in
Vishakapatnam and the oil gas
blowout in Assam’s Dibrugarh
region in this year alone.
The draft has also eased
norms for the construction in-
dustry, as only large projects, on
plots above 20,000 square me-
ters,willnowneedenvironmen-
tal clearance.
The Ministry’s introduction
of thecategoryof “strategicproj-
ects’’, which has been clubbed
with Defence projects, has also
been a cause of concern -- they
do not require public consulta-
tion, and information need not
to be made public.
“While this was always the
case with Defence projects, the
government can nowcategorise
any project — from roads to
bridges to airports, etc — as a
strategic project. In such cases,
they don’t need to make the
project details public and this
pointstoexcessiveexecutivedis-
cretion,’’ said environmental
lawyer Ritwick Dutta.
IL&FS firm
from KDPL in 2016-17 and re-
paid loans of Rs 40 crore to ITNL.
“Itappearsunusualthateven
after Rajasthan Land Holdings
hadnorevenuegeneratingbusi-
ness and appears to have no ca-
pability to repay loans, ITNL had
extended loans worth of Rs
124.48 crore which was majorly
utilised towards advancing and
repayment of loans and interest
payments of related parties.
Further, it appears that loans
provided by ITNL via Rajasthan
Land Holdings were potentially
utilised by OIPL to repay its ex-
isting loan taken from ITNL,” the
audit report said.
Whencontacted,OPMeena,
Chief Secretary of Rajasthan be-
tweenJuly1,2016andJune2017,
and who was also chairman of
RIDCOR during this period said:
“Iwasanon-executivechairman
andjust presided over theboard
meeting. These transactions did
not come to the board for ap-
proval, so I don’t know.”
Devendra Bhushan Gupta,
who retired as Rajasthan’s Chief
Secretary last month and was
PrincipalSecretary,PWD,didnot
respond to messages and calls.
He was on RIDCOR’s board be-
tweenJuly2016andJuly2,2020.
An IL&FS spokesperson de-
clined to comment; emails and
messagessenttoSarangKaledid
not elicit any response.
Thesequenceof transactions
constitutes what is considered
round-trippingand ever-green-
ing of loans – lenders and bor-
rowersusethisdevicetoprevent
disclosure to regulatory author-
ities, prevent NPA declaration
andevadeactionbyratingagen-
cies.
In effect, ITNL allegedly got
involved in this round tripping
exercise by funding its borrower
through a series of companies.
And in ever-greening by helping
its borrower to repay its previ-
ous loan and not getclassified as
NPA.
Since ITNL is a listed com-
pany, by taking this circuitous
route to fund its borrower, the
company avoided disclosure.
If OIPL had not repaid the
loan,ITNLwouldhavehadtode-
clare NPA and provide for provi-
sioning against it. On the other
hand, by getting funding to re-
pay the loan, OIPL saved on de-
fault and, thereby, action by rat-
ing agencies which could have
hampered its borrowing ability.
Sources said investigating
agencies are looking at explor-
inglinksbetweenKale,hisfirms,
IL&FS and its top management,
that raise concerns of financial
propriety and conflict of inter-
est.

3 THE CITY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
NEAR DU’S KHALSA COLLEGE
Head constable dies after
19-yr-old ‘rams patrol van’
JIGNASA SINHA
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
A 50-YEAR-OLD Delhi Police
head constable died and a con-
stable was injured after a speed-
ing Honda City rammed their
patrolling vehicle near Delhi
University’sKhalsaCollegeinthe
early hours of Monday. The
police patrolling vehicle, a
Mahindra Scorpio, toppled sev-
eral times before landing 10-15
feet away.
The accused, Tushar Gupta
(19), a resident of Model Town,
was found to be under the influ-
ence of alcohol, police claimed,
citing his medico-legal report.
He is a B.Com student studying
in Singapore and came to Delhi
in March. On Monday night, he
went to meet his friend, al-
legedly consumed alcohol and
was on his wayback to his house
when he hit the police vehicle at
a traffic signal near North
Campus, police said.
The deceased, head consta-
bleWazirSingh,wasinchargeof
thevehicle andwassittinginthe
passenger seat, while constable
Amit (26) was driving.
“The impact was such that
the police vehicle skidded 10-15
CBI files case against Ambience owner,
HUDA officials over ‘illegal construction’
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
THE CBI has registered a case of
corruption against the owner of
Ambience Mall in Gurgaon, un-
known officials of the Haryana
Urban Development Authority
(HUDA)andothersinconnection
with alleged illegal construction
involving the Ambience Group.
The case has been registered
against Ambience owner Raj
Singh Gehlot, Ambience Ltd,
Ambience Developers and
Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, and un-
known officials of HUDA and
Town and Country Planning
Department in Haryana.
The CBI said the case has
been registered on orders of the
Punjab&HaryanaHighCourtfor
a probe into “alleged illegal con-
struction of commercial build-
ing at approximately 18.98 acre
of land inGurugrambyblatantly
flouting the building by-laws
and statutory provisions in col-
feet away and landed on its roof.
Singh was trapped inside. Amit
rescued him and took him to
Sushruta Trauma Centre but he
diedduringtreatment.Amitalso
sustained injuries,” DCP (North)
Monika Bhardwaj said.
SeniorofficialssaidSinghhad
been working with Delhi Police
for more than 25 years. He lived
with his mother and wife in
Sonepat.Hiselderson,Vinay,isa
Haryana Police constable and
lives in Gurgaon, while his
youngersonisdoingB.Comfrom
Rohtak University.
Singh was transferred to the
PCRunitinMayandwasrecently
EDhasconductedsearchesat
7premises associatedwith
AmbienceGroupthismonth
lusion with others”.
Thedevelopmentcomesafter
theEnforcementDirectorate(ED)
conducted searches at seven
premises associated with the
Ambience Group earlier this
month. The agency said the
searches were conducted at the
officesofAmanHospitalityPvtLtd
(AHPL),anAmbienceGroupcom-
pany, apart from the residential
premisesofitsdirectorsRajSingh
Gehlot, Dayanand Singh, Mohan
appointed as the in charge of
Prakhar, a name given to police
vans meant to curb street crimes
in Delhi. The two personnel
wouldbestationedinNorthDelhi
from 8 pm to 8 am every day.
Amit told The Indian Express:
“We took a U-turn towards the
university area when I saw the
Honda City. Before we could do
anything,itrammedintothevan
from the left. Our vehicle must
have toppled four-five times. I
was scared and didn’t know
what to do. The car landed on its
roof.Wewereinjuredandcould-
n’t move. Singh sir was trapped
in his seat and locals helped me
SinghGehlotandtheirassociates.
Thesearcheswereconducted
in connection with a case of al-
leged siphoning of over Rs 800
croreinbankloans.EDhasalleged
this money was moved through
shellcompaniesfloatedbyGehlot,
where his own staff were direc-
tors. The agency has claimed to
haveseizedRs16lakhincashand
foreign currency equivalent to
around Rs 24 lakh during the
searches at Gehlot’s residence.
The ED case is based on an
FIR registered by the anti-cor-
ruptionbranchof Jammuagainst
AHPLanditsdirectorsinconnec-
tion with alleged loan fraud in
the construction and develop-
ment of the 5-star ‘Leela
AmbienceConventionHotel’sit-
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
ANAND VIHAR SIRIFORT SHADIPUR DWARKA- SECTOR 8
Satisfactory Moderate Satisfactory Satisfactory
67 156 75 57
AQI AQI AQI AQI
PM: 2.5 Pollutant: PM: 2.5 PM: 10 500
0 500 0 500 0 500 0
Ozone
0-50 Good 51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 Very Poor 401-500 Severe
The victim, Wazir Singh;
(left) the mangled remains
of the patrolling vehicle
get him out through the win-
dow. They also pulled me out.”
Vinay, Singh’s son, said,
“Around 3.30 am, my friend
called and told me about the ac-
cident...By the time I got to the
hospital, my father had suc-
cumbed to injuries. Doctors said
he died due to internal bleeding.
We performed the last rites to-
day in Sonepat.”
AcaseunderIPCsections279
(rash driving), 337 (act endan-
gering life) and 304 II (culpable
homicide) has been registered
against Tushar. According to po-
lice,he had been staying in Delhi
due to flight restrictions.
uated at 1, CBD, Maharaj
Surajmal Road Near Yamuna
SportsComplexinDelhi.Sources
said the case was registered on a
complaintfromJ&KBank,which
was part of the consortium of
banks that had granted the loan.
“Investigation under
Prevention of Money
Laundering Act revealed a huge
part of loan amount of more
than Rs 800 Crore for the hotel
project was siphoned off by
AHPL and Gehlot and his associ-
atesthroughawebof companies
owned/controlled by them..The
employees of Ambience Group
and associates of Gehlot were
made the directors/proprietors
of these companies,” the ED had
said in a statement.
New Delhi

4 THE CITY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
If MCDs can’t carry out basic duties, govt
will take over its schools, warns Sisodia
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
DEPUTY CHIEF Minister Manish
Sisodia warned on Monday that
the Delhi government will not
hesitate to take over MCD-run
primary schools if the corpora-
tions fail to perform basic duties
suchas distributionof textbooks
to children.
This comes on a day The
Indian Express reported that
students in 714 schools under
the North Delhi Municipal
Corporation are yet to get text-
books, despite five months hav-
ing passed in the current aca-
demic year. The BJP-led
corporation attributed the delay
to procedural issues.
In a note to the Principal
Hit by lockdown, 1 in
3 supposed to make
transition from MCD
to govt schools yet to
MALLICAJOSHI&
SUKRITABARUAH
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
ONEINthreestudentswhowere
supposed to join class VI in Delhi
government schools this year
have not done so yet, Deputy
Chief Minister Manish Sisodia
said. Government schools ‘re-
opened’ remotely in July. Classes
areconductedonlineandassign-
ments given either through
WhatsApp or text messages.
Several children, however, have
neither joined a single class nor
gotintouchwiththeschoolsince
the lockdown.
“InClassVI,childrenfrommu-
nicipalschoolsjoinDelhigovern-
mentschools.Weareseeingasig-
nificant gap here. Around
30%-35% of the children haven’t
joined. The details of these stu-
dentscometousfromthecorpo-
rations.Inmostcases,eitherasin-
gle phone number is available or
an incomplete address. We have
seen this pattern in at least 7-8
districts,” he said.
In other grades, Sisodia said,
10%-15% of the students had not
joined online classes: “In each
class,5-6studentshavenotbeen
able to join. Efforts are being
made to reach out to them."
In Delhi, municipal corpora-
tions are allowed to run schools
uptillclassV.WhileDelhigovern-
ment also has schools with pri-
mary sections, most of their
schools start from Class VI. Over
the past few years, the transition
between municipal and govern-
mentschoolshasbeensmoothas
details and documents are sent
from one administration to the
other. But coronavirus and the
lockdown this year has brought
unprecedented problems.
According to officials, over 1
lakh children move from munic-
ipalschoolstoDelhigovernment
Court asks Miniso to
pay rent for GK store
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
OBSERVING THAT no case was
made out for suspension of rent
for Japanese designer lifestyle
brand Miniso during the lock-
down,aDelhicourtpulledupthe
firm Monday for non-payment
of rent of their leased property,
sayingithadnodearthof money.
District Judge Raj Kumar
Chauhan directed Miniso Life
Style Pvt Ltd to pay rent to peti-
tioners Uma Sharma, Varun
Prakash and Puneet Prakash for
its premises at South Delhi’s
Greater Kailash. The court di-
rected the firm to pay arrears of
rentforlockdownandpost-lock-
down period — April, May, June
and July — within a week, failing
which the petitioners may take
necessary action under the law.
“The respondent (Miniso Life
Style) is also doing business post
lockdown from tenanted prem-
ises... there is no justified reason
for non-payment of rent during
postlockdownperiod...payment
of rent for the period will be
strictlyasperleaseagreementbe-
Secretary of the Urban
Development Department,
Sisodia raised the matter,
terming it “serious”. The Deputy
CM, who also holds the
Education portfolio, said no one
has the right to “play havoc with
the lives” of young children.
“If, for some reason, the mu-
nicipal corporations are unable
to perform their primary duty,
then steps are to be taken by the
urban development depart-
ment for taking over of schools
by the directorate of education,
Delhi government. Instead of
paying huge grants to the mu-
nicipal corporations which di-
vert the funds provided by the
Delhi government for other pur-
poses, it would be appropriate
in the interest of students and
teachers that the schools are
schools each year. While the
transfer has happened on paper,
what remains highly uneven is
the contacting and induction of
these new students.
“AccordingtodirectionsIhave
beengiven,Ihavedonetheadmis-
sionofeachchildonmycomputer
after collecting their school-leav-
ingcertificates.However,wehave
not reached out to the students.
This is difficult as we don't know
themortheirparentsindividually.
There are 382 children who are
supposedtojoinmyschool.Ihave
givenbooksforthenewacademic
year to parents who had come to
enquire about new admissions
but this is far less than even 100
students.Ithinkwewillonlybein
touch with the rest after school
opensandeveryonecomes,”said
the head of a government school
in Outer Delhi.
The head of a school in East
Delhisaid:“Itisalittleworrisome
since we don’t want these chil-
dren to slip through the net be-
tweenclassVandVI.Usually,new
parentscometotheschoolatthe
timeofadmissionandweupdate
information from them at the
time. This time, the only we way
can contact them is through the
datawehavereceivedfromMCD
schools and UDISE database —
sadly, the info is patchy. Many
numbers are either not listed or
functional. When some parents
had come to the school to en-
quire,wetoldthemtospreadthe
word in the clusters they live in
that new students should come
and collect their books. But only
86of the270newstudentsinour
school have received books.”
Sisodiasaidincaseseniorstu-
dents,whoteachersknow,livein
areaswheretheClassVIstudents
also live, they are being asked to
reach out: “School Management
Committeemembersarealsobe-
ing asked to find out the where-
abouts of these children.”
tweentheparties.Petitionersare
evenentitledtopenalinterestfor
non-payment of rent,” the court
said in its order. It, however, said
the observations in the interim
order were prima facie in nature
and would not prejudice either
partybeforetheArbitralTribunal.
The court also noted that pe-
titionerUmawasaseniorcitizen,
and the rent was the only source
of income for her and her son
who was infected with Covid.
The company told the court
they had sought suspension of
monthly rent for the lockdown
period as they were not able to
use the premises. The court said
the company was not entitled to
seek waiver of rent under the
lawbecausetherewasonlytem-
porary non-use of property.
The court said it even tried to
facilitate the parties to arrive at
a judicial settlement, and with
the persuasion of the court, the
landlords (petitioners) even
agreedtowaivetherentforApril
and May provided the company
pays rent due from June. “...
Matter was even referred to me-
diationwhereitcouldnotbeset-
tled,” it said.
The Indian Express report dated August 10
taken over and run directly by
the directorate of education,"
Sisodia wrote.
There are approximately 3.5
lakh students, mostly from poor
families, at primary schools un-
der the North MCD. The Director
of the press and information de-
partment,NorthMCD,IraSingal,
CLEANUP DRIVE
At Ghazipur landfill, Monday. Praveen Khanna
Complaint filed after AAP accuses
BJP councillor, her kin of bribery
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
THE AAM Aadmi Party Monday
alleged that the BJP councillor
from New Ashok Nagar and her
family were colluding with offi-
cials to extract money from peo-
ple illegally building houses in
the area.
In a purported audio record-
ing between a builder and coun-
cillor Rajni Pandey’s brother-in-
law Nishant Pandey, played by
AAP before the media on
Monday, a man can be heard
saying he has given money to
the brother-in-law as well as a
junior engineer but the con- Positivity rate hanging
Guard dies at around 6% in city
Medical student
jumps to death from in Noida
CORONAVIRUS IN THE CAPITAL
AIIMS hostel roof factory fire
On July 10, another doctor had committed suicide at AIIMS
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
A 22-YEAR-OLD medical stu-
dent allegedly committed sui-
cide at AIIMS by jumping off the
roof of hostel number 19 around
6 pm on Monday. Police said the
deceased, Vikas, was a second-
year MBBS student from
Bengaluru.
According to a senior doctor
from AIIMS as well as the police,
he had been seeking treatment
at the medical institute for de-
pression.
DCP (South district) Atul
Kumar Thakur said, “When we
reached the spot, Vikas was
shifted to AIIMS Trauma Centre
but died during the treatment.”
had told The Indian Express that
though the process to purchase
books was completed in March,
the budget for it had to be ap-
provedaspricesof thebookshad
risen.
Sisodiasaidthatoutof Rs853
crore that the Delhi government
gave to all the three MCDs, the
struction project was stalled.
AAP leader Durgesh Pathak
said, “In 2017, BJP fought the
Delhi MCD polls on the slogan
‘naye chahere naye udan’. The re-
ality is that these new council-
lors are no less corrupt than the
previous ones.”
While councillor Pandey de-
nied that the voice in the audio
is that of her brother-in-law, the
latter has already filed a com-
plaint at the New Ashok Nagar
police station, demanding ac-
tion against the AAP leaders in-
volved in the press briefing, and
that the audio recording be re-
moved from Twitter and other
social media sites.
“We are in the process of reg-
Total Vacant
TOTAL CASES
HOSPITAL BEDS 13,712 10,563
1,46,134 VENTILATORS 1,217 825
According to police, on
Monday, he took an hour-long
break from the ward where he
was seeking treatment, went to
the roof of hostel 19 and jumped
from there. Police said the mat-
ter is being investigated further.
This is the second case of a
doctor committing suicide at AI-
IMS in two months. On July 10,
a 25-year-old psychiatrist com-
mitted suicide by jumping off
the 10th floor of the doctor’s
hostel at AIIMS. The deceased,
Anurag Kumar, was a junior res-
ident doctor and had been seek-
ing treatment for depression,
said a senior doctor.
Another senior doctor said
three patients have also com-
mitted suicide at the hospital in
the last two months.
bulk of the amount — Rs 393.3
crore — went to the North MCD.
ThesouthandeastMCDshaveal-
ready carried out distribution of
books, according to information
obtained from the corporations.
“The money was to be spent
for the salary of teachers and
providing textbooks to school
children. There are several news
reports that neitherthe teachers
have got their salaries nor the
students their textbooks.
Principal Secretary UD, who is
also the director local bodies, is
to ensure that the money pro-
vided by the Delhi government
is utilised by the municipal cor-
porations for the purpose for
which it was given and teachers
are paid salaries in time and stu-
dents are provided textbooks
immediately,” Sisodia said.
istering an FIR against Durgesh
Pathak and AAP. This is being
done to malign our image,” she
said.
BJP spokesperson Ashok
Goel said AAP was making false
allegations to divert people’s at-
tention from its malpractices.
Pathak said: “We demand
thatpoliceregisteranFIRassoon
as possible... If there is a delay in
lodging an FIR, then it would be
clear that the money is going to
the top leadership of the BJP.”
Mayor of East MCD Nirmal
Jain said the issue has come to
his notice and that if any civic
body official is found engaged in
corruption, strict action will be
taken.
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
A FIRE broke out at a pen factory
in Sector 63, Noida, late Sunday
night, killing the security guard
who was on duty at the time.
"We got a call from Sandeep
Kumar, the security guard, com-
plaining about a fire at around
2:30am.Firetenderswererushed
to the spot immediately but the
fire was out of
control.Ittook
around two
hours to
dousethefire.
His body was
found inside.
He was prob-
ably trying to
stop the fire,” Sandeep
said DCP Kumar
(Central
Noida) Harish
Chandra.TheguardlivedinKhora
Colony, Noida, with his wife and
their five-year-old son.
His wife, Priyanka Pandey
(28), said Sandeep was the sole
breadwinner of the family. "I
don't know how I will manage
a house and take care of my son
all by myself... Our son has been
with my parents at Farrukhabad
for the last few days. He does
not know about his father yet,”
she said.
SEVERAL STUDENTS COMPLAIN OF GLITCHES
Teething troubles as
35,000 take online
exam on day 1 in DU
ARANYA SHANKAR
& SUKRITA BARUAH
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
THE FIRST day of Delhi
University’s (DU) online open
book examinations (OBE) for fi-
nal-yearstudentswasmarredby
glitches on Monday, as many
complained of problems in up-
loading answer sheets, difficulty
inaccessingtheexamportal,and
issues with the question paper.
Some students said they
missed the deadline for submit-
ting their answer sheets due to
connectivityorserverissues,and
were unsure of if their submis-
sions would be considered.
Manyvisuallyimpairedstudents
did not write their exams.
“Around 35,000 students sat
for the exam today but it is diffi-
cult to know how many sent
their answers through the por-
tal and how many via email,”
said Sanjeev Singh of DU’s
Computer Centre.
ThisisthefirsttimethatDUis
holdinganonlineOBEduetothe
Covid-19 pandemic. The mock
exams held in three phases ear-
lier had also faced problems.
While multiple petitions were
filed in the Delhi High Court
against the decision to hold the
exams in this format, the HC
gave the go-ahead on August 7.
DU officials said problems
with uploading occurred as stu-
dents uploaded files but didn’t
submit them. “We saw many
casesinwhichstudentsuploaded
their answer sheet on the portal
but they didn’t press the submit
button on time. In some cases, it
could be a problem of network
connectivitybutthewebsitewas
working fine,” said an official.
On the issue of confirmation
emails, the official said, “We got
emails from many students so
the inbox got flooded. The re-
sponse email got stuck in the
queue.Butitwillbesenttothese
students.”
A student at the university’s
CampusLawCentresaidslowin-
ternetresultedinhimsubmitting
his answer sheets half-an-hour
late: “I’m in Rajasthan’s Nagaur
district where we are having
heavy rainfall. I started upload-
ing 16 pages of answers, one by
one,butitkeptfailing.At1.15pm,
I decided to try sending them on
mail,butittookmeoverhalf-an-
Aug 9
Daily cases
1,300
Recoveries
Aug 10 707
Total 10,346* 1,31,657
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
WHILE THE number of Covid-19
cases in Delhi has been fluctuat-
ingoverthelastfewdays,thepos-
itivityratehasremainedthesame
over the last three weeks. As per
the data shared by Delhi govern-
mentofficials,thefigurehasbeen
6% from July 13 to August 9.
However, the number of ac-
tive cases and deaths recorded
duringthesameperiodhasfallen.
BetweenJuly13andAugust9,the
number of active cases came
downfrom11,904to10,729while
deaths dropped from 199 to 107.
“The recovery rate is improv-
ing in Delhi and the number of
deaths have also reduced. Most
patients are recovering under
homeisolationandthosewithse-
veresymptomsaregettingtreat-
ment at hospitals. The city is still
at the top in terms of testing per
million population. In Delhi,
58,963 samples were tested per
million as of the week ending
August 9, higher than the prior
New Delhi
OPEN BOOK EXAM: THE PROCESS
■ Register on the DU portal
to receive your login and
password
■ Link for downloading
question paper will
become visible at the time
of the exam. The link will
also be sent to their mails.
■ Students can download
the paper on their device
or take a printout
■ In case of any trouble
downloading the question
paper, request their
college/department to get
it sent via e-mail or
WhatsApp
■ Take the test on
white A-4 papers, using
separate sheets to answer
each problem
hour to upload the files. I’m very
distressed,Idon’tknowif myan-
swer script will be entertained.”
Studentsof BAProgrammeat
Satyawati College, appearing for
their ‘Technical Writing’ paper,
said they got the question paper
on mail at 11 am, though the
exam was at 3.30 pm. “We got
callsfrompanickedstudentsand
triedtocallnodalofficersineach
collegeanduniversitytofindout
how this happened, but to no
avail. Since there was no clarity,
students attempted the paper.
When they tried to upload their
answers around 1 pm, the por-
tal was closed. Around 3 pm, a
different question paper of the
same subject was emailed to
them. They have had to write
two papers in a sense,” said a
teacher at the college.
Visually challenged students
saidtheywereplaguedbyaslew
of problems, notably lack of ac-
cessible learning material, assis-
tive technology and no scribes.
DeepakKumarGupta,afinal-
year MA English student from
St Stephen’s College, said it is im-
possible for him to write his pa-
pers from his village in Bihar's
Rohtas district. “Ever since the
firstnoticeforOBEwasissuedon
May 15, I have sent countless
emails to my professors, dean of
the department, DU administra-
tive officials and V-C asking that
we be provided accessible learn-
1,225
Deaths
13
Tests
23,787
1,070 20 12,323
4,131 12,04,405
*Total active cases
week’s 53,683,” said a senior of-
ficialfromtheDelhigovernment.
Forthelastfivedays,Delhihas
been recording over 1,000 cases
perday.OnSunday,Delhi’sHealth
Minister Satyendar Jain attrib-
uted the rise in Covid cases to
peoplefromneighbouringstates
getting tested in the capital,
whichhesaidwasalsothereason
behind bed occupancy at hospi-
tals remaining over 3,000.
OnMonday,thecityreported
707 new cases of Covid-19 with
20 more deaths, taking the total
number of confirmed cases to
1,46,134. The death toll mounted
to 4,131.
In the last 24 hours, 1,070
more people have recovered in
the city, taking the total number
of recoveries in Delhi to 1,31,657.
There are 10,346 active cases in
the city, out of which 5,637 are
under home isolation and 3,115
availing treatment in hospitals.
Almost 77% of the beds ear-
markedforCovid-19patientsare
lying vacant at the moment.
Delhi’s recovery rate was
recorded at 90% on Monday.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
■ Students get 3 hours
for the exam and an
additional hour for the
rest of the processes. PWD
students will get a total
of 6 hours
■ Once done, scan the
answer sheets page by
page or question wise
(each file not more than
7mb) and upload it on the
portal or mail it to the
central email address
ing material but there has been
noresponse.Eventhephysicalact
of writing the exam is not possi-
ble as no one in my family or vil-
lage can write well in English... I
needacompetentscribe,”hesaid.
A student of CLC said both ex
andcurrentstudentsweretoap-
pear for the ‘Professional Ethics’
paper,butwhentheyloggedinto
the portal, both question papers
read “old course”. “Since ques-
tions in one were similar to our
‘newcourse’,weattemptedthat.
The exam started at 9.30 am... At
10.45 am, we received three pa-
pers in our email, two for old
coursesandoneforthenewone.
Mostof uswerehalfwaythrough
our exam and didn’t check it...
We don’t know what will hap-
pen now,” said the student.
Students of M.A. History re-
ceived a message on the portal
saying ‘there is no exam sched-
uled for today’. Head of History
Department Sunil Kumar, also
the Nodal officer for OBE, said
students reached him by email
for the question paper finally:
“There was a bit of a panic but
eventually things settled down.
It’s too early to talk about the
OBE...Butthere’snodoubtabout
the challenge in attempting
somethingsoambitiouswithin-
adequate infrastructure...”
Dean Examinations Vinay
Gupta did not respond to calls
and texts.
BRIEFLY
Manfound
dead,murder
casefiled
New Delhi: A 35-year-old
propertydealer,whoisin-
volvedin12cases,includ-
ing murder, was found
deadinhishouseinOuter
Delhi’s Narela, said police
Monday. “He had an in-
jury on his head and was
lying in a pool of blood,”
saidanofficer.DCP(Outer
North) Gaurav Sharma
said, “A case of murder
has been registered.”
Policeraid
gangsterparty
New Delhi: Hours after
his release from jail,
gangster Sunny Nandi
was allegedly found par-
tying with 40 people at a
hotel in Dwarka, said po-
lice Monday. The atten-
dees, members of
Naveen Khatti gang, were
caught. ENS
45malaria,
35dengue
casesinDelhi
New Delhi: Forty-five
cases of malaria and 35 of
dengue have been re-
portedinthenationalcap-
ital this year till August 8,
according to a municipal
report released on
Monday. PTI
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

5 GOVT & POLITICS

THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020

RAJASTHAN POWER PLAY

DELHI CONFIDENTIAL BJP focuses on keeping flock
together, its MLAs meet today
LIZMATHEW
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
AMID INDICATIONS that the 18
rebel Congress MLAs in
Rajasthan, led by former Deputy
Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, may
returntothepartyfold,theeffort
in the BJP now is to keep its flock
MINISTER’S PEN PAL together ahead of the Assembly
session on August 14.
THE WAR of letters continues between former Environment WhiletheBJPmoved19MLAs
minister Jairam Ramesh and the incumbent, Prakash to Porbandar over the weekend,
Javadekar. Ramesh has dashed off a third “detailed reply” to allits72MLAsareexpectedtoat-
Javadekar's“detailedletter”,whichtheministerhadsenttothe tenditslegislaturepartymeeting
CongressRajyaSabhamember onJuly 27 on the environmen- in Jaipur on Tuesday.
tal impact assessment (EIA) notification, prompting Ramesh The BJP's national leadership
totweetthatit“lookslikewearebecomingpenpals”.Ramesh is learnt to have cautioned the
sent his first letter to Javadekar on July 25, “strongly object- state leaders to stay united and
ing” to the EIA notification. He followed it up with a second asked former Chief Minister
letter detailing his reasons. In response, Javadekar called VasundharaRaje,whohasmain-
Ramesh’s concerns “misleading” and a “misrepresentation”. tainedadistancefromtheactivi-
In a ministry event to mark the Elephant Day on Monday, ties in Jaipur, to ensure that the
Javadekar took a dig at Ramesh, naming him and saying that
he is always ready to begin an andolan with little else to do.
party's MLAs remain together.
Raje, who has been in the na-
Ramesh’s letter today, as another detailed response, accuses tionalcapitalforthelasttwodays
Javadekar of “misrepresenting the implications and impacts and has held meetings with BJP
of the notification”. chief J P Nadda and general sec-
retary(organisation)BLSantosh,
is learnt to have told the leader-
AYURVEDA IN THE HOUSE ship that the state unit has been
“sidelining her and did not keep
EVENASParliamentpreparestoconveneforMonsoonSession her in the loop”.
inthemiddleof thepandemic,MPshavebeenclamouringfor Party sources said Raje clari-
healthy options in Parliament canteen. In line with such re- fiedtotheBJPleadershipthatshe
quests, the canteen for MPs, managed by the Railways, will didnothaveanyintentiontohurt
nowserve‘kadha’,ortheAyushministry-recommendedcon- the party's interest, but wanted
coction of various herbs and spices that is supposed to boost thestateleadershiptocoordinate
immunity. Each glass is available for Rs 11. with her.
Raje, according to sources
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with state Congress
chief Govind Singh Dotasra (sitting), arrive in Jaipur from
Jaisalmer on Monday along with other Congress MLAs. ANI
SC TO HEAR PLEAS ON ‘MERGER’ TODAY
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court will take up for hearing
on Tuesday petitions regard-
ing “merger” of six Rajasthan
MLAs elected on BSP tickets
with the Congress.
BJP MLA Madan Dilawar has
filed a plea against Rajasthan
High Court’s order refusing to
interfere with the Speaker’s
orderrecognisingthemerger.
TheHCalsorefusedtosuspend
votingrightsof theMLAs.Last
week, the MLAs moved the
Supreme Court, urging it to
transfer to itself Dilawar’s pe-
tition against the merger.
PIL for stay on merger
Jaipur:APIL filedintheHC has
soughtastayonthemergerof
thesixBSPMLAswithCongr-
ess. Filed by lawyer Hemant
NahtaonAugust4,itwastobe
heardbyadivisionbenchMo-
nday,butthehearingcouldn't
take place. It is expected to be
taken up later. ENS
meetingif thetestreportisnega-
tive,” Kataria said.
Partysourcessaidthenational
leadership has asked Raje to en-
surethattheMLAsloyaltoherat-
tend the meeting. According to
sources, Raje, who had sought
meetingswiththetopleadership,
was keen to clarify her stand, fol-
lowing speculation that she was
helping the Gehlot government.
Some state party leaders are
learnt to have complained to the
leadership; Rashtriya Loktantrik
Party (RLP) leader Hanuman
Beniwal, a BJP ally, had publicly
accused her of helping Gehlot.
“Rajemadeitcleartothelead-
ership that she is bound by the
party's ideology. She explained
that she deliberately stayed away
from Jaipur and remained in
Dholpurinordertoavoidmeeting
herownMLAs,whichwouldhave
triggeredspeculationthatshewas
trying to turn them against the
stateleaders,”saidasource.
Raje is learnt to have gifted
Nadda a book on Ram Mandir, a
gesture that some party leaders
haveinterpretedasanattemptto
convince the leadership that she
remains close to the party's ide-
ology and its causes.
The party's national leader-
shipislearnttohavesoughtRaje's
intervention when some of the
MLAsrefusedtogotoPorbandar.
Besides its 72 MLAs in the 200-
member Assembly, the BJP has
the support of 3 RLP members.
Security for Valley
BJP leaders in focus as
many quit amid rise
in militant attacks
BASHAARATMASOOD&
ARUNSHARMA
SRINAGAR,JAMMU,AUGUST10
FOLLOWING A series of militant
attacksonBJPleadersandactivists
in Kashmir in recent days, more
thanadozenworkersandleaders
have publicly announced their
resignation from the party over
thelastoneweek,leadingtopanic
andfearamongitsmembershere,
according to party leaders.
“Everyone is scared,” said
Abdul Rehman Thikrey, BJP’s
Bandipore district president.
“They(BJPactivists)areresigning
out of fear.”
Amongthelatestresignations
was that of Thikrey’s colleague,
BJP’s Bandipore unit general sec-
retaryAvtarKrishan,whoquiton
Sunday.
The same day, Abdul Hamid
Najar,BJP’sOBCwingdistrictpres-
ident in Budgam, was shot at by
suspected militants while out on
morningwalk.Hesuccumbedon
Monday.
On August 6, militants killed
BJP sarpanch Sajad Ahmad
Khanday at Vessu, in Qazigund
areaofKulgamdistrict.Thepolice
saidKhandaylivedatasecuredac-
commodation provided by the
administrationbuthadlefttovisit
home when militants attacked.
A day before, militants had
firedatandwoundedanotherBJP
sarpanch, Arif Ahmad, at Akhran
Rifat, a panch from Panzinara vil-
lageinnorthKashmir,whoisalso
BJPwomen’swingvice-president
for Srinagar district, said. “But
other panches and sarpanches
here don’t have security. Some of
them are from my party, and
some from other parties.”
Over the last 18 months,
panches and sarpanches have
been demanding personal secu-
rity officers (PSO), a demand offi-
cialssayisdifficulttomeet.“Infact,
wehavebeendemandingsecurity
forthelasteightyears,”saidShafiq
Mir, chairman of J&K Panchayat
Conference, an apex organisation
of panchayat leaders from the
Union Territory. Mir said he re-
centlyraisedtheissuebeforethen
LtGovernorGCMurmuatthedis-
trictboardmeetinginPoonch.
Thikreysaid,“Whenour(J&K)
party president Ravinder Raina
visited here (Bandipore), we
raised the (security) issue with
him. He called the I-G and asked
him to provide security to every
vulnerable member.”
Romaisa Rafiq, BJP Mahila
Morcha’s vice-president in
Kashmir,saidtheyhavealsoraised
theissuewithpartyleaderAshok
Koul,BJP’sJ&Kunitgeneralsecre-
tary (organisation).
“Webroughtthemattertothe
notice of J P Nadda (party’s na-
tional president) and sought en-
hanced security cover for our
workers,”KoulwasquotedbyPTI.
While party leaders in Delhi

REAL VIRTUAL TRAINING

close to her, has maintained that
Pilotwouldnothavethenumbers
to pull down the Ashok Gehlot
TO KEEP up with virtual courts, legal services authorities government, and any support to
across states are ramping up trainingof lawyers. From e-filing the Congress rebel camp would
to making online appearances, training sessions have also hurt the BJP. With Pilot nowtalk-
moved to virtual platforms. Between April and June, state le- ing to the Congress leadership,
galaidsocietieshaveheldmore than15,000webinarsfor em- theRajecampisclaimingthather
paneled legal aid lawyers to improve functioning of courts stand has been vindicated.
during the pandemic. However, BJP leaders in
Rajasthan have maintained that
they never sought to pull down
the government. “We have been
Opposition party. We never had
anything to do with it and we
never even wanted to make the
effort to form the government.
Because we did not have,and we
do not have, the numbers,”
Leader of Opposition in the
Assembly, Gulab Chand Kataria,
told The Indian Express.
“WewillseethatallourMLAs
are here tomorrow for the legis-
Court's order on the BSP MLAs
joining the Congress, and for the
developments in the Congress
and its supporting parties. We
willplanouractionaccordingly,”
he said.
Kataria maintained that the
state party unit has always kept
Raje in the loop. “I speak to her
everyday. I spoke to her today
also.Shetoldmethatsheiswait-
Kataria said the MLAs who
were taken to Porbandar would
return by Tuesday afternoon. He
admittedthatthepartyfearedan
attemptbytheCongresstopoach
its MLAs. “We have seen what
Gehlot has done to the BTP
(Bharatiya Tribal Party) MLAs ,
and we know how he has lured
the independent MLAs. So we
hadtotakeprecautions.Don'twe
havetopreparebeforethebattle,”
he said.
village of Qazigund.
Concerned over the attacks,
BJPcentralleaderssaidtheUnion
government will “certainly” ad-
dress the issue “soon”.
“Theleadersobviouslyareun-
der fear, and the three (recent)
killings have really frightened
many of them. There has been a
spurtinthethreatsrecently...it’san
attempttoscareelectedrepresen-
tatives,”aBJPleadersaidinDelhi.
In recent times, militants first
said those who have resigned
were mostly lower-rank mem-
bers, one leader said this could
“create a perception issue”.
Rafiq said, “Workers of parties
such as NC, PDP and the Congress
havedecidedtoremainsilent.They
havelockeduptheiroffices.Thatis
whyonlywearethetargets.”
But BJP’s Budgam president
Aga Mohsin said the blame also
goes to some party leaders. “We
are here for development... Why

BJP-led govt wins maintaining that it's an internal

issue of the Congress, and we
have just been watching as an
laturepartymeeting.Wearecon-
fident that all of us are together.
ButwewillwaitfortheSupreme
ingfortheCovidtestreportasone
ofherhouseholdstafftestedpos-
itive. She will be here for the
Earlier, BTP MLA Rajkumar
Roathadallegedthathewasheld
hostage by the state police.
targeted a senior BJP leader and
his family in Bandipore on July 8,
when Sheikh Waseem Bari, who
shouldwetalkagainstsomeone?”
Panchayat Conference chair-
man Mir accused the BJP of poli-

Manipur trust vote wasamemberofBJPstateexecu- ticking,therebyendangeringlives

‘Longer time for clearance doesn’t

tive committee, his father and ofground-levelleadersandwork-
brother—bothpartymembers— ers. “Panchayat elections were
were killed. While Bari and his held on non-party basis, so all
ESHAROY&JIMMYLEIVON familyhadpoliceprotection—J&K panches and sarpanches were

mean regulations being enforced’

NEWDELHI,AUGUST10
THE BJP-LED coalition govern-
ment in Manipur won the confi-
dence motion moved by Chief
Minister N Biren Singh through a
voicevoteinthemonsoonsession
of the Assembly convened on
Monday.
The one-day session ended
withmuchdramaastheopposi-
tion Congress opposed the
Speaker’sdecisiontoholdavoice
vote.Eightofthe24Congressleg-
islators did not vote, with two
MLAs abstaining and six others
submitting their resignations to
the Speaker.
Okram Henry resigned from
WangkheiseatasdidNgamthang
Haokip and Md Abdul Nasir —
bothwereministersintheOkram
Ibobi Singh cabinet.
Chairman of Manipur
RenewableEnergyDevelopment
Agency G S Haupu Zou, P Brojen
Singh and Oinam Lukhoi Singh
wereamongCongressMLAswho
resigned ahead of the trust vote.
Theresignationsandabstentions
ensured an easy win for the BJP.
As for the ruling side, all 29
members including the Speaker,
18 BJP members, four each from
NPPandNPF,oneeachfromTMC
and LJP, and independent at-
tended the session. The Manipur
Assemblycurrentlyhas53mem-
bers while its total strength is 60.
Former Congress CM Okram
IbobiSinghhaddemandedaspe-
cial session ahead of the Rajya
N Biren Singh, Okram Ibobi
Singh
Sabha election in June after BJP
ally NPP withdrew support from
theNBirenSingh-ledgovernment
andthreeBJPMLAsresigned.Two
CongressMLAs—SagolbandMLA
and Biren’s son-in-law R K Imo
and Wanghkei MLA Henry
Okram,OkramIbobi’snephew—
were sent showcause notices by
the Congress for cross-voting in
favour of the BJP.
Aheadofthetrustvote,only13
Congress MLAs attended a CLP
meeting called by Ibobi Singh on
Sunday. Soon after, seven office-
bearers in the Manipur State
Congress Committee resigned
from their posts.
“In total, 16 MLAs, including
thosewhohavealreadyresigned,
are likely to leave the party. The
BJP’sgameplanistotryandsecure
two-third resignations from the
Congress.Thenextfewweekswill
tellusifthiscanactuallyhappen,”
said a BJP insider.
“This was no time to demand
atrustvoteamidapandemic.The
possibilityofotherMLAsquitting
shows their lack of faith in Ibobi
Singh’sleadership.Shouldhethen
not resign?” said Imo.
SECRETARY, ENVIRONMENT,
Forests and Climate Change,
RAMESHWAR PRASAD GUPTA
speakswithESHAROYaboutthe
rationale behind the EIA draft
2020 notification, and says it
streamlines processes for ease of
doing business while increasing
compliance monitoring and ad-
dressingviolations.Excerptsfrom
the interview:
Whatwastherationalebehind
theEIAdraftfor2020whenit
wasbeingformulated.What
werethekeypointsbeing
lookedat?
The last EIA notification was
14 years ago. A lot has changed
since. In the 2006 notification it-
selftherehavebeensome45-odd
amendments and 200 office
memorandumsissuedsince.The
idea was to consolidate all this so
thatthepeoplewouldnothaveto
search for regulations.
Theissueisnotthenumberof
industries:industrieswillgrowas
thecountrycontinuestodevelop,
this is inevitable if the country
wants to grow. The issue was to
ensurethatwhileindustriescon-
tinue to grow, they must be in
keeping with environmental
norms – to create a balance be-
tweendevelopmentandenviron-
ment.Ipersonallydon’tthinkthe
two are in conflict.
THE EXPRESS
INTERVIEW
WITH
RAMESHWAR
PRASAD GUPTA
SECY, UNION MINISTRY OF
ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS
AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Howwillcompliance-
monitoringbeensured,
especiallyinthelightof recent
incidentssuchastheLG
Polymersaccident?
There needs to be infrastruc-
ture and industrial development
for employment generation. We
started manipulating environ-
ment when we started growing
crops, so that is not an argument
that holds. Yes, we have reduced
theclearanceprocessdownto150
days — it would take six-seven
yearsbefore.Howisthatefficient
andhowdowecompeteinterna-
tionally with the cost and time
overrun that this leads to?
A longer time taken for clear-
ancedoesnotmeanthatenviron-
mental regulations are being en-
forced, nor does expeditious
clearancemeanlaxenvironmen-
talnorms.Onthecontrary,longer
periods lead to corrupt practices.
Our focus is now on monitor-
ing....Intheministrywearefocus-
ingonamulti-prongedapproach.
I accept that in India, monitoring
has been very weak; so this will
be our main focus now.
Oneof thebiggestcriticismsof
EIAhasbeentheex-post-facto
regularisationof violations.
Prior clearance is the norm in
settingupindustries.Wehavede-
tailedpenaltiesfornothavingac-
quiredenvironmentalclearances,
including EIA's, which is accord-
ing to law and proportionate to
the offense. Chori ke liye phaansi
kisazaatohnahidesakte(afterall,
we cannot sentence a person to
hanging for a theft). There are
stringent provisions, including
possible imprisonment.
Also,thereisnoregularisation
of violation. The penalty which is
beingchargedisfortheperiodthat
theindustryhasfunctionedwith-
outaclearance—thepenaltyisfor
nothavingobtainedtheclearance,
andnotforpollution.If theindus-
try is found to be polluting, it will
be shut down. The clearance that
willbegivenwillbefromthedate
of theclearance,notpostfacto.
Criticshaveaccusedthe
governmentof favouringease
of businessforcorporatesin
theEIAnotification,as
opposedtoprotectingthe
environment.
What is wrong with that?
Whatiswrongwitheaseofdoing
business? Why should we make
it difficult to get clearances?
Clearancesshouldbeexpeditious,
butofcoursewithproperscrutiny.
Why have you done away with
the process of screening, by
which states decide which
projects should be in the B2
category with stricter norms,
or the B1 category with more
lenient norms?
We have defined all project
categories in great detail. We re-
alisedwithstatescategorisingB1
andB2(that)therewasnounifor-
mity...Therewastoomuchdiscre-
tion being used by states...
FULL INTERVIEW ON
www.indianexpress.com
Police terminated 12 personnel
for failing to secure Bari’s life —
most BJP activists, including
panches and sarpanches in the
Valley, are without any security.
“Ihavebeenallottedsecurity,”
SC to continue hearing
2009 contempt case
against Prashant Bhushan
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
THE SUPREME Court will con-
tinue to hear the criminal con-
tempt of court case against
AdvocatePrashantBhushanover
remarksmadeinaninterviewto
Tehelka magazine in 2009.
A bench headed by Justice
Arun Mishra said in a brief order
Mondaythat“before reaching to
any finding whether the state-
ment to ‘Corruption’ would per
seamounttoContemptof Court,
the matter is required to be
heard”. The court will now hear
it on August 17.
Meanwhile,SCsourcesmade
some further clarifications on
why an explanation was sought
from the court’s Registry for not
listingawritpetition—filedbyN
Ram,ArunShourieandBhushan
—challengingcertain provisions
Independent,”Mirsaid.“Afterthe
elections,someofthemmayhave
joinedBJPbutthepartyismaking
life difficult for them by claiming
they belong to it.” WITHINPUTS
FROMENS,NEWDELHI
Prashant
Bhushan
of the Contempt of Courts Act,
1971, before the bench headed
by Justice Mishra and instead
listing it before a bench headed
by Justice D Y Chandrachud.
The writ, they pointed out,
wasaccompaniedbyanapplica-
tion seeking stay of proceedings
in the two contempt cases
against Bhushan pending before
Justice Mishra’s bench.
Therefore,itwasnecessaryto
list it before the same bench —
Justice Mishra’s — as a coordi-
nate bench cannot stay the pro-
ceedings of ongoing cases pend-
ing before another bench,
they said.

Two outfits voice concerns on data protection PM reviews flood situation with six CMs,
legislation before joint parliamentary panel stresses need for Covid precautions in rescue
Billyieldedtothe pressureof the definition of sensitive personal sionsof data localisationonlyfor measures” for mitigating the ef- sed early warning system so that
KARISHMA MEHROTRA industryandcanleadtoabuseof data, stating that words such as sensitive data. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE fectsoffloods,thestatementsaid. people in a particular area can be
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10 powers by the government. “behavioural characteristics” It is also learnt to have ex- NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10 PM “Prime Minister directed the provided with timely warning in
Representatives from Luthra and“facialimages”couldputac- pressed concerns about the in- Narendra Officers of concerned Ministries case of any threatening situa-
AT THE meeting of the joint par- and Luthra, it is learnt, recom- tions such as targeted advertise- dependence of the Data WITHFLOODSclaimingover800 Modi and organisations to take action tion...,”thestatementsaid.“Prime
liamentary committee to exam- mended narrowing down the ments and CCTV footage under Protection Authority, pointing livesandaffectingmillionsacross on the suggestions given by the Minister also emphasized that in
ine the data protection Bill, law definitionsof harmandsensitive the gamut of the Bill, leading to out that it would be appointed several states, Prime Minister States...,” the statement added. viewofCOVIDsituation,whileun-
firm Luthra and Luthra on personal data. Citing an exam- increase in compliance burdens. by a committee of Cabinet NarendraModiMondayreviewed nologiesforimprovingforecastand “PrimeMinistersaidthatover dertaking rescue efforts, States
Monday argued that broad def- ple, it is learnt to have argued The Foundation of Data Secretary and Ministry thefloodsituationinthecountry. warning system”, according to a thepastfewyears,ourforecasting mustensurethatpeoplefollowall
initions widen the scope of the that without sufficient guide- Protection Professionals in India Secretaries and not the Chief InavideoconferencewithCMs statementissuedbythePMO. agencieslikeIndiaMeteorological health precautions such as wear-
Bill,limitingthefreedomof busi- lines, denial of credit or loan to islearnttohavestatedinitspres- Justice. of six states, the Prime Minister CMs of Assam, Bihar, Uttar Department and Central Water ingoffacemask,handsanitization
ness tasks, it is learnt. an applicant based on credit entation that the government On Tuesday, the Associated emphasised “on better coordina- Pradesh,MaharashtraandKerala Commission have been making and maintain adequate physical
Another presentation from scoring may be considered a hasyieldedtothepressureof the Chambers of Commerce and tion between all central and state andtheHomeMinisterof Karna- concerted efforts to make better distanceandreliefmaterialsmust
the Foundation of Data ‘harm’ under the Bill. industryindroppingrestrictions Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) agenciestohaveapermanentsys- takagaveupdatesonthefloodsit- andmoreusablefloodforecasts...” include provision for hand wash-
Protection Professionals in India The law firm, it is learnt, also for transfer of personal data out- is to make a presentation before tem for forecasting of floods and uation, rescue efforts and sug- “He mentioned that investm- ing/sanitizing and face masks for
is learnt to have stated that the raised concerns regarding the side India and retaining provi- the committee. extensive use of innovative tech- gested“short-termandlong-term ent should be increased in locali- theaffectedpeople,”itadded.

New Delhi
 6 EXPRESS NETWORK
With Bengal
help, Centre
plans return of
Indians stuck in
Bangladesh
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
KOLKATA, NEW DELHI, AUG 10
THE WEST Bengal government is
workingoutmodalitiesforthere-
turnofmorethan2,600Indiancit-
izensstuckinBangladeshthrough
itsborders,aftertheCentresenta
secondletterrequestingthesame.
However, the state wants the
Centre to facilitate screening of
those seeking to return.
The 2,680 Indians, of whom
2,399 are residents of Bengal, are
mostly labourers stuck in the
neighbouring country since the
startof theCovid-19lockdownin
March. The Centre had asked
Bengal a few weeks ago to let
them enter through two of its six
land border points with
Bangladesh.
In a letter to Chief Secretary
Rajiva Sinha, the Additional
Secretary, Ministry of External
Affairs, Vikram Doraiswami said,
“Our Mission in Dhaka has once
again reported that 2,399 people
are seeking to return to West
BengalfromBangladeshthrough
the Petrapole-Benapole inte-
gratedcheckpostandfurther281
citizens are seeking to do so
through the Phulbari-
Banglabandha land border.”
A senior West Bengal
Secretariatofficialconfirmedthat
they were working out the for-
malities,adding,“TheCentremust
ensure screening is carried out
before they return...”\
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Purvanchal
Vitran Nigam Limited
(PuVVNL) (A subsidiary
of UP Power Corporation limited)
Purvanchal Vidyut Bhavan,
Vidyut Nagar, P.O.- D.L.W,
Varanasi - 221004 Website:
http://www.etender. up.nic.in
Tender Date Extension The date
of submission & opening of e-
tender no., EAV-09/2020-21 is
here by extended up to
26.08.2020 (15:00 PM) &
27.08.2010 (15:00
respectively. Further details can
be seen at
www.etender.up.nic.in. Other
terms and conditions shall remain
same. Sd/- (Rajesh Kumar)
Superintending Engineer (MM-I)
“SAVE ELECTRICITY IN THE
INTEREST OF THE NATION”
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Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran
Nigam Limited, Vidyut
Nagar, P.O.- DLW
Varanasi-221004 E-
Tender Notice E-tenders are
invited for the following materials.
The tenderer will be accepted up to
at 15.00 hrs. Please visit website
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download and for any other
corrections/ amendments/
modifications/ extensions till the
date of submission of bids. SI. No.:
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Material: Single Phase 2 wire (5-
30 Amp.) Electronic Energy Meter
with Box. Qty.: 2,00,000 Nos.
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THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
This Kharif season, PMFBY sees sharp Policymakers should
look at Asiatic lions
fall in farmers covered, sums insured
as resource, not asset:
Gujarat top forest officer
(Rs 6,012.23 crore and 7.70 lh) Gujarat govt
HARIKISHAN SHARMA & COVERAGE UNDER PMFBY & WBCIS DURING KHARIF and Uttar Pradesh (Rs 5,431.78
HARISH DAMODARAN
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
crore and 10.69 lh).
A major factor behind states
suspends GOPAL KATESHIYA
the number, the more manage-
able they are. They are not elu-
pulling out is said to be the cost PMFBY, cites RAJKOT, AUGUST 10 sive like tigers. They live in
THE PRADHAN Mantri Fasal they incur on premium subsidy. prides so their density per
Bima Yojana (PMFBY) has seen Under both PMFBY and WBCIS, high premiums POLICY-MAKERS should start square kilometre would be
a sharp drop in the number of farmers pay premium rates looking at Asiatic lions as a “re- more”. He said that with lions
farmers covered and sums in- amounting to just 2% of the sum source” which local communi- extending their home range be-
sured in the current kharif crop- insured on kharif crops, and EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE ties can “earn money from” and yond forests, there was need for
ping season. This comes even as 1.5% in rabi and 5% for annual GANDHINAGAR, AUGUST 10 not an asset, Gujarat’s Chief change in the conservation pol-
many states – Andhra Pradesh, horticultural crops. Wildlife Warden, Shyamal icy and move beyond reliance
Telangana, Jharkhand, Gujarat The gap between these and CITING HIGH insurance premi- Tikadar, said Monday, adding on tolerance of communities.
and Madhya Pradesh – have ex- the higher actuarial premiums, ums of companies under the thataround80percentof Asiatic “...the lions will not be here
ited or not signed up for the based on statistical risk assess- PradhanMantriFasalBimaYojana lions were not “wild per se” as for a very long time if the com-
Narendra Modi government’s ment, payable to insurance (PMFBY),theGujaratgovernment they had been micro-chipped. munity starts losing patience...
flagship crop insurance scheme, companies is to be met by gov- onMondaysuspendeditsimple- He also warned that the current We have been encashing on
with more than half the season ernment subsidy on a 50:50 mentationforayearandlaunched conservation strategy of relying their compassion, but how long
gone by. 2018 2019 2020# Centre-State sharing formula. In the Mukhya Mantri Kisan Sahay on tolerance of communities can we do that? ...all who are
As on Monday, only 1.12 Total Farmers* 217.80 202.53 114.05 2019-20, gross premiums Yojana, as a stopgap. was like “sitting on a time viewing this, would they like to
crore farmers had enrolled un- Total Applications* 319.87 404.06 278.26 (kharif plus rabi) totalled Rs “ThePMFBYhasbeenabless- bomb”. open their door and see a pride
der PMFBY and another 2.45 27,298.87 crore, out of which ing for farmers... However, this Tikadar, also the Principal of lions in front of their
Sum Insured** 123484.42 132959.50 67926.12
lakh under the Weather Based farmers paid Rs 3,786.72 crore, year, the insurance companies Chief Conservator of Forest house?...” said Tikadar.
Crop Insurance Scheme (WB- Total Premium** 17201.07 19549.28 12131.75 while the rest came from the havequotedveryhighpremiums, (PCCF), was speaking at a webi- Tikadar proposed that treat-
CIS) during this kharif, as Area Insured*** 2.93 3.09 1.75 Centre (Rs 11,275.92 crore) and which will entail a burden of nar on conservation of Asiatic li- ing lions as a resource can help
against 1.87 crore and 15.23 state governments (Rs Rs 5,700 crore on both the state onsorganisedbytheCentralZoo in long-term conservation. “A
*In lakh; **Rs crore; ***Crore hectares; #As on Aug 10.
lakh, respectively, in 2019. 12,236.24 crore). and the Centre,” said Chief Authority on World Lion Day. human being and a large pred-
The total number of applica- The second reason for Minister Vijay Rupani. “What has happened is an ator like the lion cannot coex-
tions – a farmer may avail of in- farmer enrolment falling, the “...thefarmerswillcontinueto intensive management prac- ist unless and until we human
surance on more than one crop as the deadline for farmers to seemingly followed suit; nei- official said, had to do with crop beprotected.SoIamannouncing tice, which has been happening beings start earning money out
or for multiple holdings – under apply for insuring their crop ther has issued the notifications insurance being made optional the Mukhya Mantri Kisan Sahay just because we consider this of it. So, we need to rethink
the two schemes have also was July 31 (kharif sowings are for their implementation this with effect from this kharif sea- Yojana (MMKSY), which will be particular species to be very conservation in that aspect... if
fallen from 3.81 crore and 23.46 almost over by then). Although season. AP chose not to join son. Till 2019-20 rabi, all farm- limited to this year,” Rupani vulnerable and very very im- we start earning money out of
lakh in kharif 2019 to 2.75 crore banks are given another 15 days from the 2019-20 rabi season, ers taking seasonal agricultural added. The biggest difference in portant... wild lions per se are it, maybe some people would
and 3.07 lakh in the ongoing to complete uploading of data while West Bengal and Bihar operations/Kisan Credit Card bothschemesisthat MMKSYwill no more wild... Almost 70 to 80 be interested in saving the
season. There have been simi- on our national crop insurance discontinued from kharif 2019 loans from banks were covered cover all 56 lakh farmers in the per cent of lions are micro- species,” said the chief wildlife
lar declines in the aggregate portal, the total insured farmers and kharif 2018, respectively. compulsorily under state, unlike the PMFBY — which chipped as on date... the fewer warden.
sum insured (maximum this time will at best be 70 per Punjab never participated in PMFBY/WBCIS, with their pre- covers 15-17 lakh farmers every
amount insurance companies cent of last year,” said an official. PMFBY right from its launch in mium contributions automati- year on an average. Rupani said
would pay in the event of crop
damage), area covered and
He gave two reasons for the
lower numbers. The first was
kharif 2016.
The states that registered
cally deducted. But now, even
so-called loanee farmers can
under PMFBY, the state used to
pay premiums between Rs 1,700
Cop accused in TN custody
gross premiums compared to
the last two kharif
seasons (see chart).
the decision by the Telangana
and Jharkhand governments to
opt out of the Centre’s crop in-
highest coverage under PMFBY
and WBCIS this season are
Maharashtra (Rs 21,219.52 crore
opt out by submitting declara-
tions to the banks sanctioning
the short-term crop loans a
and 1,800 crore and the Centre
used to pay a similar amount.
MMKSY comes amid allega-
deaths case dies of Covid-19
“The figures surance schemes from this of sum insured and 53.08 lakh week before the enrolment cut- tionsfromfarmers’bodiesandthe todial deaths case in progress,
won’t increase much, kharif. Gujarat and MP have also hectares area), Rajasthan (Rs off date. Opposition Congress of wide- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Paldurai tested positive for coro-
20,167.71 crore and “Since the schemes have be- spread corruption in PMFBY. CHENNAI, AUGUST 10 navirus on July 24 and was
72.07 lh), come voluntary, many farmers Rupani refused to comment on shiftedtotheGovernmentRajaji
Chhattisgarh (Rs chose not to avail of them, these allegations. He said premi- ONE OF the policemen accused Hospital (GRH) in Madurai.
8,064.90 crore and which reflects in the numbers,” umscollected forthecurrentyear inthecustodialdeathsof afather Doctors at the hospital said he
20.56 lh), Haryana the official added. for insurance under PMFBY will and son at a village in Tamil washighlydiabetic,whichmade
be returned. Nadu’sThoothukudidistrictdied his condition worse.
Calling the scheme of Covid-19 on Monday, officials On Saturday, his wife
a move to hide corrup- said. Special sub-inspector MangaiyaarThilagarmrequested
tioninPMFBY Thehead Paldurai (54) was one of the 10 Madurai city police to shift him
offarmers’bodyGujarat policemen arrested in connec- to a private hospital at her ex-
Ekta Manch, Sagar tion with the alleged custodial pense as his health condition
Rabari, said the com- torture of P Jeyaraj and his son continued to deteriorate.
pensation under the BennicksattheSathankulampo- However, he died on Monday
“so-callednewscheme” lice station in June. He was in re- morning at GRH. A magisterial
is not enough to even mand custody at Madurai probe will be ordered into the
cover the per hectare Central Prison. death of Paldurai as he was a re-
sowing costs. WithaCBIprobeintothecus- mand prisoner.
Vidyut
GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH Rajnath launches
Information & Public Relations Department Atmanirbhar
AMENDMENT TO TENDER NOTICE
Bharat week for
No.003110/Advt.II/2020, Dt. 10-08-2020
Amendment to this Office Tender Notice No.003110/Advt.II/2020, Dt. defence sector
28-07-2020 for the published advertisement on 29-07-2020 to engage New Delhi: Defence
the services of eligible agency (s). Amended as : Date of issue of Tender Minister on Monday
schedule (RFP) has been extended upto 18-08-2020 upto 1 PM. Sealed launched several initia-
tenders should reach this office on or before 5.00 PM on 18-08-2020 and tives for modernisation
andupgradationoffacil-
opening of Technical Bid at 3.00 PM on 19-08-2020. For revised details
can be viewed in the website : www.apeprocurement.gov.in or contact ities,andnewinfrastruc-
Sri P. Kiran Kumar, Joint Director (Advertisements) 9121215223. turecreationbyDefence
Public Sector
Sd/- T. Vijay Kumar Reddy, Commissioner
PM) IYF¹FFÊÕX¹F IYF¹FÊ´FFÕX³F Ad·F¹Fa°FF, DIPR No.704/CL/ADVT/1/1/2020-21, Dt.10/08/2020 Undertakings (DPSUs)
and the Ordnance
website
JFSaX¦F ªFÕX ÀFaÀFF²F³F ÀFa·FF¦F, d¶FÕXFÀF´FbSX (LX.¦F.) Factory Board.
“These upgradation,
d³Fd½FQF d³FSXÀ°FeIYSX¯F AFQZ¾F modernisation,newset-
ups will give tremen-
dous benefit in terms of
AFQZ¾F IiY¸FFaIY ....../½F.ÕZX.dÕX./2020-21 d¶FÕXFÀF´FbSX, dQ³FFaIY.... reducing dependency
on foreign resources for
d³Fd½FQF ÀFc¨F³FF IiY. 06/½F.ÕZX.dÕX./2020-21 dQ³FFaIY production as well as
further maintenance,
16.06.2020 d³Fd½FQF dÀFÀMX¸F IiY. 65127 (´Fi±F¸F AF¸FaÂF¯F) upgradation and life-
A¸FÈ°F d¸F¾F³F IZY °FWX°F JFSaX¦F ªFÕXF¾F¹F ÀFZ d¶FÕXFÀF´FbSX ¾FWXSX IYû ´FZ¹FªFÕX time support, all
throughsafeandsound,
CX´FÕX¶²F IYSXF³FZ WZX°Fb JFSaX¦F QFa¹Fe °FMX ³FWXSX IZY AFSX.OXe. 0 ÀFZ 1800 indigenous hands,”
REGISTRATION/RENEWAL OF SUPPLIERS/FIRMS ¸Fe. ´FSX IiYFÀF IY¸F WZXOX SmX¦¹FbÕZXMXSX °F±FF JabMXF§FFMX ªFÕXF¾F¹F IZY QFa¹Fe °FMX Singh said.
Healsolaunchedthe
IN 19 BRTF OF PROJECT DANTAK ³FWXSX IZY ¨F`³F IiY. 55 ´FSX ÀIZY´F d½F¹FSX IYF d³F¸FFʯF IYF¹FÊÜ SXFd¾F ÷Y´F¹FZ Atmanirbhar Bharat
FOR THE YEAR 2020-21 CAT ‘A’/‘B’ ITEMS.
Applications are invited from eligible enlisted suppliers of BRO and 215.18 ÕXFJ IYû EIYÕX d³Fd½FQFIYFSX WXû³FZ IZY IYFSX¯F d³FSXÀ°F dIY¹FF weekandsaid“allactiv-
ities organised for the
enlisted/un enlisted suppliers working with other Govt, departments ªFF°FF W`XÜ week will promote in-
meeting eligibility criteria for issue of enquiry documents for
digenous defence pro-
procurement of stores. d½FÄFF´F³F IiY. ªFe 81691, dQ³FFaIY 18.06.2020 duction”.
Applications are invited for Registration/Renewal of Suppliers/
He added that by
Firms for the year 2020-21. interested firms are requested to apply ÀFWXe/- manufacturing more
in following category alongwith the under mentioned documents
Hardware, Electrical, Sanitary, Stationary/Computer Stationary,
IYF¹FÊ´FFÕX³F Ad·F¹Fa°FF products domestically,
Constructional Store, Tentage & Tarpaulin, Cat 'A' Spares, JFSaX¦F ªFÕX ÀFaÀFF²F³F ÀFa·FF¦F, the country can save a
largepartof itsfinances,
Tyre/Tube, Battery & Misc Stores/Items. Enlisted Firms/Suppliers
have to deposit Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand only) as
82886 d¶FÕXFÀF´FbSX (LX.¦F.) which can be used to
Standing Security Deposit in the form of Bank Guarantee Bond or promote the nearly
F.D.R through any Nationalized Bank in favour of Chief Engineer 7,000 medium and
(Project) Dantak. small enterprises re-
a) Form No. 03 Registration form. lated to the defence in-
b) Dealership Certificate (if any) dustry. ENS
c) Copy of Trade License.
d) Income Tax Pan Card.
e) Income Tax Return Verification Form.
f) IGST Registration.
g) Copy of Registration in Registration of Firm.
h) Details of Partnership deed if any.
j) Photograph of Proprietorship.
k) Signature of Proprietorship.
I) Mandate form from respective Bank
m) Certificate that only original firm and no sister firms are
applying for the registration process.
n) AD Code (Authorized Dealer Code) which is issued by
Bank.
o) IEC Code (Import/Export Code).
p) LUT or Bond Paper.
q) HSN Code (Harmonic System) it is part No of item when
supplied.
All above details to be handed over to Board of Officer on or before
31 Aug 2020 at HQ 19 BRTF, Phuentsholing (Bhutan) for
consideration of enlistment.
Sd/xxxx
(Prateek Narula)
Lt. Col
OC, 1055 Fd Wksp (GREF)
Presiding Officer
davp 10901/11/0011/2021
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
‘Fight was long
and bitter’:
Ajit Pawar’s son
Parth welcomes
Ram temple
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, AUGUST 10
DEPUTY CHIEF Minister Ajit
Pawar'ssonParthhaswelcomed
the commencement of the con-
struction of the Ram temple in
Ayodhya, terming it as the “rein-
stallation”of theHindufaith and
the end of a long bitter battle.
In a statement, Parth said,
“Finally, Ram, who embodied
the faith and culture identity of
India, will be now in peace. The
fight was bitter and long.”
The undated one-page state-
ment, posted by him on Twitter
on August 5, welcomed the
ground breaking ceremony in
Ayodhya as a “historic day when
we will witness the reinstalla-
tion of the Hindu faith”.
He said there was “a senti-
ment attached to Babri Masjid”,
and “however flawed or weak or
irrational the arguments”, it was
time to “respectthosewho lost”.
“Ram Lala being given his
due in Ayodhya in modern India
also reminds us of Ramrajya...
And in Ramrajya, Ram was wor-
shippedbecauseeverylivingbe-
ing, let alone human, were
treated with dignity and re-
spect," Parth said.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar's
grandnephew, Parth was de-
featedfromMavalbyShivSena's
Shrirang Barne in his debut Lok
Sabha election last year. There
has been no reaction from the
NCPleadershiptothestatement.
In SC, Rhea cites Bihar polls, says
being made ‘political scapegoat’
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
ACTOR RHEA Chakraborty sub-
mittedbeforetheSupremeCourt
on Monday that Bihar Police has
no jurisdiction in the Sushant
Singh Rajput death case, and had
usurped it “under political pres-
sure”.ShealsocalledBiharPolice’s
move to seek a CBI probe in the
matter “illegal and bad in law”.
“Thejurisdictionliesonlywith
the jurisdictional court in
Maharashtra, notwithstanding
the FIR registration or transfer to
CBI,”shestatedinanadditionalaf-
fidavit filed in Supreme Court,
which is hearing her petition
seeking transfer of the case in
Patna to Mumbai.
The actor, who is facing an
abetment to suicide FIR filed by
Rajput'sfatherinPatna,statedthat
shehas“noobjectionif thisCourt
refersthemattertoCBI”.Buteven
then, she stated, “the jurisdiction
willbewiththecourtsatMumbai,
and not at Patna”.
Her affidavit stated,
“Admittedly,thecaseregisteredby
BiharPolicewastransferredtoCBI
forreasonsof‘a)sensitivityandb)
inter-stateramifications’.Thecon-
cept of sensitivity is alien to crim-
inal jurisprudence. There is not
even a whisper of any material to
support the theory of inter-state
ramifications. The offence, if at all
asalleged,iscompletelywithinthe
jurisdictionofMumbaievenasper
theEnforcementDirectorate.”The
TheEDMondayquestioned
actorRheaChakraborty, her
brotherand father.The
agencyis believedtohave
quizzedheroninvestments
madebyRajputandfunds
transfersfromhisaccountto
hers. Ganesh Shirshekar
EDinvestigationisinMumbai,and
Chakraborty was questioned by
EDlastweekandonMonday.
Shecontendedthatthereason
BiharPolicesoughtaprobebyCBI
is“known”:“astherulingpartyin
Bihar and Centre is the same and
thesaidpartyisinminorityinthe
state of Maharashtra”.
She stated that Rajput came
fromBihar,andhisdeathisbeing
usedaheadof theelectionsinthe
state. She claimed that the Bihar
CMis“reportedtoberesponsible
forregistrationoftheFIRinPatna”.
Chakraborty pointed out that
two more actors — Ashutosh
Bhakre and Sameer Sharma —
also allegedly died by suicide in
thelast30days,“andyet(thereis)
no whisper about the same in
power corridors”.
Urgingthecourttoprotecther
from being made a “scapegoat of
political agendas”, she said,
“Investigationintofinancialscams
ofthousandsofcroresbyED&CBI
neverseethelight of theday,and
at the drop of a hat cases get reg-
istered even without jurisdiction
in the foundational case.”
Chakraborty also accused media
channels of “convicting” her be-
fore it was even established that
there was foul play in his death.
In its affidavit, Mumbai Police
accusedCBIof“indecenthaste”in
taking over the probe and said it
should have waited for the top
court’sdecisiononChakraborty’s
petition seeking transfer of the
case to Mumbai.
BiharPoliceonitsparthasac-
cused Mumbai Police of “ob-
structing” the probe and “siding”
withChakraborty.Rajput'sfather
K K Singh has also alleged that
Maharashtra “conducted an eye-
wash”inthenameof inquiryand
said it is “trying to shield”
Chakraborty.
TheSupremeCourthadtaken
up Chakraborty's petition for
transfer of the case on August 5
and asked all parties to file their
affidavits, saying “whether there
is any criminality in the situation
is the matter to be investigated”.
The court will now hear the
matter on Tuesday.
--WITHENSMUMBAIINPUTS
EXPRESS NETWORK 7
NDA allies slam
Raut article;
Sushant’s family
threatens to sue
SANTOSH SINGH
PATNA, AUGUST 10
A DAY after Shiv Sena leader
Sanjay Raut in an article pub-
lished in the Sena mouthpiece
Saamna, had erroneously writ-
ten that Sushant Singh Rajput’s
father K K Singh had remarried,
and claimed that this had led to
a strained relationship with the
actor, the NDA alliance partners
joined the actor’s family in criti-
cising the Rajya Sabha member
for his “uncharitable” remarks.
BJP spokesperson Nikhil
Anand said, “Shiv Sena seems to
havetakentheCBIprobeintothe
Sushant case as a matter of pres-
tige between the Maharashtra
andBihargovernment,whilewe
all only want to know the truth.”
JD(U) chief spokesperson
Sanjay Singh said, “He did not
crosscheck even basic facts and
went on to hurt the family in
mourning.” The LJP took out a
protest march in Patna against
Raut's statements.
Meanwhile, Rajput’s cousin
and BJP MLA from Chhatapur,
Niraj Kumar Singh Bablu said,
“Sanjay Raut must apologise,
else I am going to file a defama-
tion suit against him.”
Will NDMA
override UGC
guidelines on
exams, asks SC
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
THE SUPREME Court Monday
sought to know if provisions of
the National Disaster
Management Act, 2005 will
override the University Grants
Commission’s (UGC) guidelines
on conduct of exams.
A bench of Justices M R Shah,
Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash
Reddy on Monday heard peti-
tions challenging the UGC’s di-
rection to all universities on July
6 to hold their final exams by
September-end.
“Will the National Disaster
Management Act have an over-
ridingeffect on UGC guidelines,”
Justice Shah asked Solicitor
General Tushar Mehta, who ap-
peared for the UGC.
Mehta questioned the deci-
sions of Delhi and Maharashtra
governmentstocancelfinalyear
exams of state universities amid
the pandemic, saying they were
against the rules. The Solicitor
Generalsaidthatif examsarenot
conducted, students cannot get
adegree,anditisnotintheinter-
estof studentstonothaveexams.
“How can states cancel ex-
amswhenUGCisempoweredto
confer degree,” he said, adding
students must continue to pre-
pare for the exams.
Mehta sought to respond to
the affidavits filed by
Maharashtra and Delhi after
which the bench adjourned the
matter to August 14.
Classes, exams
will be held: Govt
to House panel
RITIKA CHOPRA &
LIZ MATHEW
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
THE EDUCATION Ministry ruled
out the possibility of declaring
2020-21 as a “zero academic
year” due to the Covid outbreak
during a meeting Monday of the
Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Human Resource
Development, sources told The
Indian Express.
Responding to queries from
MPsaboutuniversityadmissions,
exams and classes, Higher
Education Secretary Amit Khare
is learnt to have informed that
first-year students are likely to
joininNovember-Decemberand
thattherewillbefacilitiestocon-
ductexaminationsandclassesfor
thosecurrentlyenrolled.Inazero
year,therearenoacademicactiv-
ities, including lessons or exams.
Monday's meeting was
called to discuss digital educa-
tion initiatives in the wake of the
shutdown imposed by the pan-
demic. Apart from Khare, School
Education Secretary Anita
Karwal and UGC chairman D P
Singhwereamongthosewhoat-
tended the meeting with the
panelheadedbyBJP Rajya Sabha
MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe.
According to sources, the
panel was informed about a sur-
veyof CBSE-affiliatedschools,in-
cluding Navodaya Vidyalayas
and Kendriya Vidyalayas, which
shows that 60 per cent of stu-
dents, from Standard 1-12, had
access to online classes. Another
30 per cent had limited access,
which meant they were access-
ing it on community radio and
TV channels, and the remaining
10%werenotabletoattendatall.
“A more exhaustive nation-
wide survey of all schools is un-
derway and will be presented
later. The matter of reopening of
schools and universities was not
discussed. It's evident to every-
one that no one has any visibil-
ity of when the pandemic will
end," an MP said.
All education institutions
have been closed since mid-
March in a bid to control virus
transmission, with educational
institutions shut until at least
August-end. "After the meeting,
some officers indicated that
whenever schools reopen, the
government would want stu-
dents of Class 11 and 12 to join
first," said another MP.
During the meeting, school
officials informed members of
the initiatives adopted by states
to help students access online
classes. The members are learnt
tohavesuggestedthatschoolsbe
asked to use variousmedia, such
as community radio and district
newspapers, for teaching. The
MPs also suggested the creation
of a question bank based on
which students can be tested.

Naveen reviews Covid measures Kerala landslide: Toll rises to 49,

CHAUDHARY DEVI LAL UNIVERSITY, SIRSA
(Established by the State Legislature Act 9 of 2003)
"B" Grade Accredited by NAAC

in Ganjam, applauds sarpanches search ops to focus on riverbank

AISHWARYA MOHANTY
GANJAM, AUGUST 10
ODISHA CHIEF Minister Naveen
Patnaik on Monday interacted
with sarpanches of all villages in
his home district of Ganjam to
review Covid-19 management
measures.
Thedistricthasaccountedfor
the highest number of Covid-19
cases as well as deaths in the
state. However, the number of
daily cases is on a decline.
During the interaction via
video-conference, Patnaik em-
phasised that “Ganjam is at the
forefront of the fight against co-
rona” and applauded the
sarpanches for their efforts.
On April 30, the first four
buses from Surat arrived in
Ganjam carrying 220 migrant
workers, and 28 tested positive.
With 59 cases on May 7,
Ganjam was already accounting
forthemaximumcaseloadinthe
state. On June 22, the number of
casescrossed1,000.Bytheendof
July it was more than 10,000. In
the last 10 days, the district has
recordednearly3,000cases.With
13,088casesasofMonday,andac-
counting for 28% of the cases in
Odisha, Ganjam was ahead of
Khordha (6,663 cases), which in-
cludesstatecapitalBhubaneswar.
The district has also reported 137
of the 286 deaths in Odisha.
DistrictCollectorVijayKulange
said,“Wemanaged4lakhmigrant
workers who returned... But the
spread has been contained with
door-to-door surveillance and
ramped-uptesting.Recoveryrate
is on the rise while active cases
have started to decline. A month
ago,60samplesofevery100were
testing positive, now it is 15.”
While testing has been
ramped up, recoveries have also
shotup,fromapproximately500
in June to 2,000 in July and 9,611
by the second week of August.
According to Dr Narayan
Mishra, a member of the Covid
taskforceinthedistrict,“Newhos-
pitalsinGanjamhavebeenmade
Covid hospitals, but they did not
treat any critical patients. Energy
was directed to the capital city.
Cases here increased due to de-
plorableconditionofhealthcare.”
FULLREPORTON
www.indianexpress.com
VISHNU VARMA
KOCHI, AUGUST 10
THE DEATH toll in the landslide
at a tea plantation in Rajamala in
Kerala's Idukki district rose to 49
on Monday afternoon with six
bodies, mostly of children, being
retrievedfromtheriverbankad-
jacent to the site.
Twelve people have been
rescued so far, and 21 are yet to
be found, according to the tea
plantation firm.
On the night of August 6, a
landslide, precipitated by heavy
downpour, buried rows of resi-
dential quarters or 'layams' of
plantation workers at
Nyamakad estate near Munnar.
More than 80 people are be-
lieved to have been living in
those quarters at the time.
A top official overseeing
searchandrescueeffortstoldThe
Indian Express that the opera-
tions would be focused more on
areas near the river bank as
chances of victims having been
washed away with the debris
during the landslide were high.
“Till Sunday, we focused our
search efforts at the site of the
landslide, where we got around
14bodies.Therewerealotofhuge
boulders, so we have been blast-
ing them to go deeper. But once
we discovered bodies from the
river bank, we formed 10 units of
10 personnel each to scan those
areas,”saidPremKrishnan,Sub-
Collector of Devikulam that en-
compasses Pettimudi division
where the landslide occurred.
“Wehavenotfoundanybod-
ies from the landslide site for
many hours. That means that ei-
ther the bodies could be buried
very deep, or they could have
been washed away.”
Therelief operationssuffered
a brief setback after a Kerala Fire
and Rescue Services staffer from
Alappuzha tested positive for
Covid-19. “We sent the entire
team back... As a precautionary
measure, we plan to subject
some rescue personnel to rapid
antigen tests. We have banned
entry of the public at the site,”
said Krishnan.
LEGAL NOTICE
My Client : Partha Sarathi Chowdhury,
s/o Lt Manindra Chandra Chowdhury, r/o
CDLU Sirsa offers online admission to the following programmes as
per the details below:
In University Teaching Departments:
B.A. LLB 5 year Integrated
Programme:
In University College:-
BBA (Hospital Administration): B.Com.
(Honors) B.Com. (Honors-Tax
Procedure and Practice)
B.Sc: (Textile and Fashion Design)
B.Sc. (Food Science and Technology)
B.A. Journalism & Mass Communication
Counseling Schedule:-
Submission of Online Application Form:
10th August to 23rd August 2020
1st Counseling 24.08.2020
Fee Deposit upto 25.08.2020
2nd Counseling 27.08.2020
Fee Deposit upto 28.08.2020
3rd Counseling 29.08.2020
Fee Deposit upto 31.08.2020
Special Counseling 31.08.2020
Fee Deposit 31.08.2020
Commencement of Classes w.e.f
01.09.2020
Note: If the date of the last admis-
sion is extended by the UGC, seats
may be filled as per HBI rules.
Subject to amendments as per guide-
lines issued by the UGC/DGHE
Haryana.
Registration for Admission
for the Academic Programme
begins w.e.f. 12.08.2020.
MBA (General 2 years): MBA
(Hons. 2 years): M.Com.
M.P.Ed.
M.A:-
Economics, Public Administration,
Geography, English History &
Arch., Journalism & Mass
Communication, Hindi, Punjabi,
Sanskrit, M.P.A. Music Vocal/ Inst.
L.L.M.: LLB 3 years (professional)
M.Sc.:-
Biotech, Energy & Env. Sc., Food
Sc. & Tech., Botany Zoology,
Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics
MCA (2 years), M.Tech. CSE
2.5 years weekend
programme, M.Tech. CSE 2
years
Lateral Entry:-
M.A. (Hons.) Economics
5 years Integrated Programme
(Lateral Entry in 4th Year/7th
semester)
M.Sc. Mathematics (Hons.)
5 year (Lateral Entry in 4th
year/7th semester)

Kerala gold smuggling

3585, Mallard Way, Antioch, CA 94509,
USA. Detailed HBI available on cdlu.ac.in/cdlu.digitaluniversity.ac.in
Please take note that my client has, Admission Notice Academic-1/2020 82184
REGISTRAR

case: NIA team in UAE

w.e.f 27.6.2020, cancelled and revoked,
all Power of Attorneys &/or all authority
letters &/or documents to that effect, that

to question key accused

DEEPTIMAN TIWARY
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
A TWO-MEMBER team of the
NIAhasreachedUAEandstarted
investigationintotheoffshoreleg
oftheKeralagoldsmugglingcase.
The NIA team, led by an SP-
rank officer, reached UAE on
Sunday night and engaged with
theauthoritiesthere,sharingde-
tails of the case, sources said.
The team is there to question
Faisal Fareed, a key accused in
the case who was detained by
UAE authorities after the
Customs department appre-
hended a consignment of 30 kg
goldatThiruvananthapuramair-
port from a diplomatic baggage
from UAE last month.
Sources said the NIA team
will also question a few of his as-
sociates detained by UAE au-
he may have ever executed, in favour
of his brothers Durjoy Chowdhury (r/o
4864 Crestone Needle Way, Antioch, CA
thorities. The team will also 94509, USA) &/or Goutam Chowdhuri &/
probe financial networks, in- or latter's wife Subinita Chowdhuri (both
cluding hawala channels, that r/o 11022 Georgetown Pike Great Falls,
Virginia – 22066, USA), be it in their
Fareedmayhavesetupbetween individual or joint name/s. Any action
UAE and India to ensure smooth taken for or on behalf of my client, by any
runningof thesmugglingracket, of the said Attorney/s, w.e.f 27.6.2020,
the sources said. shall be illegal, unlawful, invalid & also
“The team has just reached punishable in law.
there and the two countries have Anindita Bose, Advocate
shareddetailsofthecase.UAEau- Judges’ Court, Alipore.
thorities too have given some in-
formation. All aspects of the case Government of India
arebeinginvestigatedandallnec- Ministry of Science and Technology
essaryinterrogationswillbedone Department of Science & technology
there,” a senior NIA official said.
Department of Science and Technology proposes to fill up
Notably, NIA has approached the
Interpol to issue a Blue Notice three vacancies in the post of Staff Car Driver Grade I, two
againstFareedandislikelytomove vacancies in the post of Staff Car Driver Grade II and two
forhisextraditioninduecourse. vacancies in the post of Staff Car Driver (Ordinary Grade)
NIA has invoked terror in Level 5, Level 4 and Level 2 respectively on
charges in the case and suspects DEPUTATION basis. Please visit this Department’s
the network to be funding terror website: www.dst.gov.in for details of vacancy circular.
activities. The agency has ar- (B.K.P Angam)
rested 12 people in connection Under Secretary to the Govt. of India
with the case. davp 36101/11/0006/2021 Tel. No. 26590204

Top Maoist, wife

held in Gadchiroli
VIVEK DESHPANDE
NAGPUR, AUGUST 10

POLICE ON Monday arrested the last of the four divi-

sional committee members of the CPI (Maoist) in
Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, virtually rendering the
Naxal movement rudderless there.
Yashwant alias Dayaram Anklu Goga, 35, divi-
sional committee ( DVC) member from Tipagad area
CRISIL graded A** (National) and A*** (State) Business School
of north Gadchiroli divisional committee of CPI
(Maoist),wasarrestedfromWadgaonvillagewithhis INVITATION FOR FACULTY POSITIONS ON CONTRACT
wife and Tipagad dalam member Sharda alias MDI Murshidabad, the 2nd campus of MDI Gurgaon invites applications
SumitraPituramNaitam,32,accordingtoapressnote from Indian nationals, who are exceptionally bright and motivated, with an
issued by Gadchiroli police. established record of independent, high quality research and commitment
Considered to one of the fiercest commanders in to teaching, for the following faculty positions on contract basis:-
Gadchiroli, Goga carried a reward of Rs 16 lakh. “He Position Area Remuneration
was involved in 78 different serious crimes including Assistant (i) Marketing (ii) Supply Chain Consolidated Rs.
18 murders, 10 arson incidents and about 35 police Professor (on (iii) Finance (iv) Strategic 1,18,755 p.m. (minimum)
contract)
ambushes,” said Gadchiroli SP Shailesh Balkawde.
“He was supposed to be an expert in setting up Please visit www.mdim.ac.in for details. Apply online at MDI-M web
ambushes and was the mastermind of the May 1, portal www.mdim.ac.in under the link “Careers with us”.
2019,Jambhulkhedablast,whichkilled15policeper- The last date for online submission is 26-Aug-2020.
Registrar
sonnel,” added Balkawde.

New Delhi
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

8
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

WORDLY WISE
Eating is an agricultural act.
— WENDELL BERRY

A wrong diagnosis
FOUNDED BY
§

§
RAMNATH GOENKA
Inpost-mortemof secularism,wearehand wringing
BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL
overreligion,missingtherealcrisis

AFTER THE HARVEST Pratap Bhanu Mehta

New Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is welcome. But cold PROBINGQUESTIONSAREbeingaskedabout was an impossible position to hold, because have the commanding heights of maybe half
the failures of secularism to get to the roots of thereformsofthemodernstaterequireinter- a dozen universities; but most universities
chains and agro-processing are no panacea India’scurrentcrisis.Onecharacteristicallyin- veninginreligion,toliberateindividualsfrom were vernacularised in the Seventies. V D

A
trospectivepieceinthisveinwasbyYogendra
FTER HAVING ISSUED ordinances removing stockholding restrictions on ma- Yadav, ‘Secularism gave up language of reli-
jor foodstuffs and dismantling the monopoly of regulated mandis in the trad- gion.Ayodhyabhoomipujanisaresultofthat’
ing of farm produce, the Narendra Modi government has launched a new (The Print, August 5). Yogendra and I agree
Agriculture Infrastructure Fund. A financing facility for setting up warehous- aboutseveralthings:Theplutocracyoftheold
ing,coldchain,processingandotherpost-harvestmanagementinfrastructure,itprovidesan order,thereductiveintellectualapproachesof
theLeftthatdisabledanyseriousunderstand-
interest subvention of 3 per cent on loans of up to Rs 2 crore for a maximum seven-year pe-
ingof Indianculture.Secularismbecamesyn-
riod. The borrowers are mainly to be farmer producer organisations and primary agricul- onymouswiththepoliticsofopportunism,set-
tural cooperative societies, with a targeted disbursement of Rs 1 lakh crore over the current tingupadynamicofcompetitivevictimisation.
andnextthreefiscals.Inordertomakeitattractiveforbanks,theloanswouldalsohavegov- ButYogendraalsowrites,“Secularismwas
ernment-backed credit coverage against defaults. All in all, a good scheme at least on paper. defeatedbecauseitdisavowedourlanguages,
Noonecandoubttheneedforinvestmentsinproduceshelflifeextensionandvalueaddition. becauseitfailedtoconnectwiththelanguage
of traditions, because it refused to learn or
Also, there can be nothing better than this infrastructure coming up closer to farms and es-
speak the language of our religions.
tablished farmer-owned institutions, thereby complementing the recent reforms that es- Specifically,secularismwasdefeatedbecause
sentially aim at improving producers’ realisations and their share in the consumer’s rupee. itchosetomockHinduisminsteadofdevelop-
Butthere’saneedtotemperexpectations.Tostartwith,organisationssuchastheNational inganewinterpretationofHinduismsuitable
Horticultural Board are already providing credit-linked subsidy on capital investments in forourtimes.”Thisisafashionableclaimwith
pre-coolingunits,controlled/modifiedatmospherecoldstores,reefervans,ripening/curing surface plausibility. But, on reflection, this
claim is historically problematic, philosophi-
chambersandothersuchpost-harvestinfrastructure.Thereisnodearthtodayofcoldstores
cally dubious and culturally dangerous.
in potatoes, just as a lot of storage capacity, including low-cost scientifically-built on-farm The Indian republic was born in the
structures,hasbeen createdfor onions under the Rashtriya KrishiVikas Yojana. So whyone shadowoftheviolentcatastropheofPartition.
more scheme, is a natural question to ask. If at all, it would make sense to merge all existing Virtually every nationalist leader outside of
schemes with the new fund so as to better leverage government money. the Marxist Left was crafting an idiom of pol-
iticsthatwassuffusedwithreligiouslanguage.
Secondly,coldchainsandagro-processingcannotbeapanacea.Morethanthree-fourths
of India’ssugarcanecropis“processed”bymills.Organiseddairies,likewise,handlenearlya They were creatively trying to craft a distinct
quarteroftheofficially-estimatedmilkproduction.Manyhaveeveninstalledbulkcoolersal-
Indian modernity within an Indian vocabu-
lary, trying to transcend tradition without
lowing milk to be chilled “at source” in the village collection centres itself. But all that hasn’t making tradition despicable. But as Gandhi
solved the problem of cane payment arrears or stopped the current crash in milk procure- recognised, that project was, in one sense, a
ment prices. The same goes for onions and potatoes. Being able to store certainly enables failure: It did not prevent India’s communal-
farmers to harvest their crop, say, in March and make staggered sales till November to take isation. Gandhi’s example could exercise a
residual moral force. But whenever religious
advantage of higher off-season rates. But again, it has not ended price volatility that ulti-
themes were brought into politics, whether
matelybenefitsneitherproducersnorconsumers.Thefocusofpolicymakersduringthefirst
inthequotidianpoliciesthatwereenactedaf-
40yearsafterIndependencewasraisingfarmproduction.Inthesubsequenttwodecades,they ter Congress governments were elected in
started paying more attention to agro-processing. The next revolution, especially in today’s 1935,orinthelargerideologicalprojectorid-
age of surplus, should be in crop planning and information dissemination to help farmers iom, they generated conflict. So the idea that
taking religion seriously as a political matter
betteraligntheirproductiondecisions—whattogrowandhowmuch—tomarketdemand.
will solve the communal problem is a histor-
ically dubious proposition. Modern religious
politics is born in the crucible of democracy
Let us grant, as Yogendra and
I always have, the political
opportunism behind secular
political parties. Let us grant
that some communal bigots
abound in any large religious
community, Hindus or
Muslims. Let us grant that the
Left played fast and loose
with historical narratives.
Does this really license what
we are witnessing today: The
saturation and legitimation of
venomous anti-Muslim
prejudice? These causes that
oppressive and hierarchical religious hierar-
chies.Sometimesthisinterventionwasasym-
metricallyappliedtosomegroupsmorethan
others.Butdotheseinfirmitiesexplainthele-
gitimisingof awhole-scalemajoritarianism?
The current contest is hardly over tradi-
tional forms of religiosity; most Hindus have
madetheirideologicalpeacewithmodernity
andpreservedreligiosity.Thecurrentcontest
isovernationalismthathascolonisedbothre-
ligionandsecularism.Whogetstobeamem-
ber of this political community, do its domi-
nant narratives have space for its diverse
histories? It is not primarily about the pieties
of religion. Let us not beat around the bush
over what defines the current moment. It is
largelyaboutmarginalisingMuslimsfromthe
Indian narrative.
Letusgrant,asYogendraandIalwayshave,
thepoliticalopportunismbehindsecularpo-
liticalparties.Letusgrantthatsomecommu-
nal bigots abound in any large religious com-
munity, Hindus or Muslims. Let us grant that
the Left played fast and loose with historical
narratives. Does this really license what we
arewitnessingtoday:Thesaturationandlegit-
imationofvenomousanti-Muslimprejudice?
These causes that Yogendra cites, are not
causes. They are, to use Edmund Burke’s
phrase,pretexts.Pretextsforprejudiceacross
the religious-non religious binary.
Totakereligionseriouslyistopreservethe
conditionsof religiousfreedomforall,letting
each person discover the law of their own
Being.Itrembleatthethoughtof apoliticised
publicspheretakingreligionseriously.Itusu-
ally means someone else gets to define who
youare,itusuallymeanscreatingauthoritative
versions of religion that benchmark good or
badbelievers,itmeanssanitisingreligioushis-
toriesof theirpastssothattheybecomecom-
fortingnarrativesforpeople,anditmeansin-
strumentalisingreligiontopoliticalpurposes.
We do not need another version of what it
Mahajanwasprobablymorewidelyreadasa
textbook than JNU historians. Doordarshan
could rightly telecast Ramayana and
Mahabharata, Delhi University’s obtuseness
over including them in its syllabus notwith-
standing. In short, the cultural prestige and
importance of the Left in shaping Indian cul-
ture has been hugely exaggerated. They
played conformist academic politics. But the
ideathatHindushavebeenculturallymargin-
alisedisatropethatfeedsintotheconvenient
victimologyof someHindus,morethanitde-
scribes a reality.
YogendraisrightthatinNorthIndiathere
is apeculiar politics of resentmentgenerated
over the status of Hindi. But there is an impli-
cation here that secularists somehow dis-
avowedIndianlanguages.Thisisoddbecause
it seems to map secularism onto English.
Every Indian language crafted a new vernac-
ular version of secularism. The Hindi sphere
had, for example, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar,
Dharamvir Bharati, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi,
Kunwar Narain and others. They constituted
the sphere of religiously engaged but mod-
ernistpubliccriticism.Theywerenotsidelined
byEnglishbutbytheHindiwallahs.Theactive
secular, culturally nuanced Hindi public
sphere was bowdlerised by the new genera-
tionofvernacularnewspaperowners.Thecri-
sis is internal to Hindi and again feeds on the
convenient trope the BJP uses that somehow
a small cabal of metropolitan intellectuals is
to blame for India’s woes.
In a post-mortem of secularism, we are
hand wringing over religion, not because we
lostthekeythere,butbecausethereseemsto
belightthere.Thedeeperquestionisnotthese
ideological debates; after all, differences are
inevitableandcanbemanaged.Itisthegrow-
ing tolerance for prejudice and the unleash-
ing of a ferocious darkness. Let us name the
beast for what it is and not hide behind the
pieties of secularism or religion. Recovering

FIRE AND PANDEMIC and nationalism, not theology.

ThelessoninthewakeofPartitionwasthat
toavoidviolence,youneedtolowerthestakes
ofpoliticsbykeepingreligionoutofit.Thean-
Fire accidents in COVID-care facilities in Ahmedabad and imating impulse of Indian secularism was to
Vijayawada follow a dismal pattern. There must be safety audits produce peace by trying not to make religion
Yogendra cites, are not causes.
They are, to use Edmund
Burke’s phrase, pretexts.
Pretexts for prejudice across
the religious-non religious
means to be a good Hindu. Who can be pre-
sumptuous enough to define or benchmark
that? What we need is a genuine commit-
the project will not mean a return to religion,
butaconfidenceinthepromiseofanewfree-
domstruggletosalvageindividualdignityand
menttofreedom,withallitsrisks,self-doubts rights, not continually play out resentments
andfashioningandrefashioningof identities. against the Other.
There was a kind of reductive cultural

A
a matter of public contestation. And a lot of crudeness in a lot of Left engagement with The writer is contributing editor,
T LEAST 10 COVID patients were asphyxiated when a makeshift hospital in our compromises were a result of that. This binary. Indianculture.Butletusgetreal.TheLeftmay The Indian Express
VijayawadacaughtfireonSunday.Morethan20otherpatientsandsixmed-
ical personnel were reportedly present in the hotel-turned COVID-care fa-
cility when a short circuit in the building’s air-conditioning unit flared into

MANDATE BETRAYED
ablaze.AndhraPradesh’shealthministerAKKrishnaSrinivashasblamedRameshHospital,
which had rented the hotel, for failing to check if the temporary facility adhered to fire
safety norms. He has accused private hospitals of taking “advantage of people’s fears of
the virus and their reluctance to take treatment at government hospitals by charging ex-
orbitantfeesinthenameof goodtreatment”.Hehasapoint.ButtheVijayawadablazealso Draft EIA notification dilutes environmental protections, is in denial of ecological crises
frames the failure of the state in not using the lockdown period to mobilise amenities for
COVIDpatients.It’sevidentthatsafetyconcernsweregivenshortshriftinthescramblefor
standby arrangements, after Andhra Pradesh’s COVID caseload began to increase. Shibani Ghosh
It is no rocket science that, with their breathing capacity compromised by the viral at-
tack,COVIDpatientsareparticularlyvulnerabletoanyincidentthataffectstheiroxygenin- THEDRAFTENVIRONMENTALimpactassess- Second, the proposed mechanism to deal procedural environmental rights. The public
take — exposure to smoke that contains carbon monoxide could have fatal consequences ment (EIA) notification 2020 proposed by the withviolationsisillegalandworrying.Thepri- consultation processes currently in force un-
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate marygoaloftheEIANotification2006istopre- der the EIA Notification 2006 are already un-
for them. Some countries have issued fire safety guidelines in the aftermath of the pan-
Change has met with massive opposition. As vent, or take adequate precautionary meas- satisfactory, but the draft notification curtails
demic.Butit’sunfortunatethatinIndia,whereinnumerablebuildingsaretinderboxes—the the(hard-won)extendedpublicconsultation ures to mitigate, adverse impacts of projects theirscopefurther.Italsoreducesaccesstorel-
countryaccountsfornearlyafifthof theseriousfireaccidentsintheworldaccordingtothe period draws to a close on August 11, the by requiring a clearance before evantinformationforproject-affectedpersons.
Global Disease Burden Study 2017 — no special measure or awareness campaign was ini- Ministrysaysithasreceivedthousandsofrep- construction/operations commence. But the For instance, before a public hearing, the proj-
tiatedtoobviatefirehazardsduringthehealthcrisis.AccidentsinCOVID-carefacilitieshave resentations and appeals. This is not surpris- proposednotificationallowsthegovernment ectproponentneedstosubmitthedraftEIAre-
followedaplaybookmadefamiliarbypastinstancesof firesinhotels,coachingcentres,cin- ing.Thestakesfortheenvironment—andpeo- The proposed regularisation tograntanexpostfactoenvironmentalclear- port only in English and not in regional lan-
emahallsandhospitals—authoritiesreactingtoolatetoviolationsof safetyprotocols.Last
ple — are staggeringly high. There is a crying mechanism is based on a ancetoprojectsthathavecommencedillegally guages.Eventhisreportwillbemadeaccessible
needtooverhaultheenvironmentalclearance similar amnesty scheme withoutaclearance.Theproposedregularisa- for electronic inspection only on a written re-
week,forinstance,ablazesweptthroughanAhmedabadhospitalsuffocatingatleasteight system. But the Ministry’s proposal perpetu- tionmechanismisbasedonasimilaramnesty quest,atanotifiedplaceandduringofficehours.
COVID patients to death — the hospital, reportedly, did not have a fire safety certificate. ates the faults and weaknesses of the current which the Ministry schemewhichtheMinistryintroducedin2017. Fifth, there is no effort to put in place
Similarly,intheFIRlodgedaftertheVijayawadatragedy,thearea’sMandalRevenueOfficer EIANotification2006,dilutesitfurtherinsome introduced in 2017. The The scheme’s legality was approved by the processesthatwillimprovethequalityofdeci-
is reported to have alleged that the staff of both the hospital and hotel knew about the fire respects, and fails to acknowledge the grave scheme’s legality was Madras High Court on the government’s as- sionmaking,particularlyoftheexpertappraisal
hazards in the makeshift facility, and yet did not bother to conduct repairs. ecologicalcrisesthatthecountryisfacing.Idis- sustained by the Madras surancethatthiswasaone-timemeasure.The committees which perform the critical func-
AfterthetragediesinAhmedabadandVijayawada,thechiefministersof Gujarat,Andhra cuss here five reasons for saying so. wholesale adoption of this “one-time meas- tionofindependentevaluationofprojects.The
First,thedraftnotificationislegallyunten- High Court on the ure”intotheregulatoryschemewithnocut-off draftnotificationreducesthetimeforappraisal
Pradesh,Telangana,OdishaandUttarPradeshhaveaskedfiresafetypersonneltoconduct government’s assurance that
able as it does not conform to its parent Act — date and the systematic grant of ex post facto from60daysunderthe2006notificationto45
safetyauditsof COVID-carefacilities.Otherstatesshouldfollowsuit.Buttheripplescaused the Environment (Protection) Act 1986. The this was a one-time measure. clearances flies in the face of the precedence days. It also curtails the discretion of the com-
by fire accidents in the country usually do not take long to die down. It’s high time, there- Act requires the Centre to take measures to established by Supreme Court verdicts and is mitteesbydisallowingthemfromseekingfresh
The wholesale adoption of
fore, that measures are taken to root out the culture of cutting corners on safety. protect and improve the environment. By re- againsttheassurancegiventotheHighCourt. studies, and sets a high bar for seeking addi-
ducingtheambitandstringencyofthescrutiny this 'one-time measure' into Third, there is no mention of climate tionalstudiesfromtheprojectproponents.
of impact assessment, the proposed regula- the regulatory scheme with changeandrelatedconsideration.AsIndiaisa Ihavehighlightedsomeofthereasonswhy
tory processes will prove severely detrimen- no cut-off date, and the highlyvulnerablecountry,itshouldbethegov- thisdraftnotificationmustbewithdrawn.The

YOU HAVE MAIL taltotheenvironment.Forinstance,maximum

scrutiny is now reserved for fewer projects.
Severalcategoriesofprojectscaninsteadapply
for an “environment permission” — a simple
The postman, an archaeological relic in the digital age, is back application, no environment impact assess-
to save democracy from the pandemic ment required. These projects include inland
systematic grant of ex post
facto clearances flies in the
face of the precedents
established by Supreme
Court verdicts and is against
ernment’s priority to ensure that regulatory
approvals do not make parts of the country
morevulnerableoradverselyimpacttheadap-
environmentministryneedstobeclearabout
itsrole—itsmandateistocreateandsustaina
regulatoryframeworkthatpreventstheplun-
tive capabilities of communities. Also, deci- derofournaturalresources,notactivelyaccel-
sions that will lock-in carbon-intensive infra- erate the pace of environmental devastation.
structure in the long term need to be

B
waterways and hydroelectric power genera- scrutinised,particularlyinlightofIndia’scom- Ghosh is fellow, Centre for Policy Research,
ECAUSEPOLLINGBOOTHScouldbecomesuper-spreaders,thepresidentialelec- tion of up to 25 MW capacity, which can po- the assurance given to the mitmentsundertheParisAgreementprocess. and Advocate-on-Record,
tion in the US could see an unprecedented volume of postal ballots. Politically, tentially destroy riverine and hill ecology. High Court. Fourth, the draft notification undermines Supreme Court
the role of postmen is now so important that President Donald Trump, who is
trailinginopinionpolls,hintsdarklythatheavypollingthroughmailboxeswould
causecorruption.Butwhat’sremarkableisthatdespitetheendlessdebateoverthevirtues
of traditionalversuselectronicvoting,despitethefactthatSiliconValleyenjoysthetrustof AUGUST 11, 1980, FORTY YEARS AGO
billions worldwide, Americans still trust bits of paper delivered by human hands.
This is because instinctively, we know that it is much easier to hack a digital network MANIPUR STIR ASSAM TALKS Parliament would be implemented in letter
than a human network, made of disparate people, with diverse political inclinations and THE STUDENT SPONSORS of the agitation on THE ALL ASSAM Students Union has decided and spirit. AASU made it clear that it would
the “foreigners” issue in Manipur decided to to send a six-member delegation to partici- notdiscussthemainissueofforeignnationals
beliefs, spread across a diverse nation. In the US postal system, there is no room for Putin
resume their six-month-old agitation from pate in the preliminary round of talks set to but the Parishad said they had decided not to
orGuccifer2.0,andnopossibilityof amaninthemiddleattack.Anelectiondominatedby August with a call for “Manipur bandh’’ on begin on August 11. Meanwhile, the North- participate in the talks in view of the govern-
postal ballots is guaranteed diddle-free, by human diversity alone. Of course, Indians ap- August 15, Independence Day. There will be EasternstatesGovernorLPSinghurgedAASU ment’s failure to implement the agreement.
preciatethehumanfrailtiesof thepostalsystem.Booksandexpensivemagazinesubscrip- no agitation on August 13, which is being ob- and Gana Sangram Parishad representatives
tionsvanishinthemail,andtheircontentssurfaceinsecond-handbookshops.Onamfood served as “Patriots Day”. A decision to this ef- nottomakewithdrawalof “repressivemeas- US HIJACK
parcels are delivered stuffed with newspapers, like the one in your hands, their scrump- fectwastakenatanemergencymeetingofthe ures” by the government a precondition for EVENTSINIRANmaywarrantnewinitiatives
tious contents having vanished into the maw of faceless and heartless postmasters. All-Manipur Students’ Union and the All- starting negotiation. The Governor told rep- by the US to secure the release of the 52
Manipur Students Co-ordinating Committee resentativeswhomethimhereatRajBhavan American hostages, Secretary of State
Butthepostalsystem,ahumannetwork,isimmunetohacking,thenemesisof democ-
after “ brief” talks between representatives of that the “two issues cannot be connected”. EdmundMuskiesaid.Hesaidtheinitiativeba-
racy after the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandals. It is old-fashioned analog. Ever the students and the government ended in Singh explained the government stand to sically involved contacts developed over the
since email arrived, the world’s postal services have faced irrelevance. And yet, postmen “failure”,aspokesmanofthestudents’organ- themandassuredthemthattheUnionHome past months — “diplomatic, non-diplomatic
sometimes spring a surprise. As they do now in the US, as defenders of democracy. isation said. Minister’s assurances on the floor of the — through our allies.”

New Delhi

9
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
THE IDEAS PAGE
Trump or Biden
Beijing and Moscow seem to disagree on their preferred candidate for US president. Delhi must brace for
a measure of unpredictability in America's external orientation
RAJA MANDALA
by C Raja Mohan
CHINAANDRUSSIAtendtoagreeonmostin-
ternational issues these days. Thanks to the
deepening strategic partnership built over
thelasttwodecadesinoppositiontotheUS's
dominance, Moscow and Beijing have had
one of the most stable great power relation-
ships of the 21st century. But Beijing and
Moscow seem to disagree on one important
issue — the US presidential elections set to
take place in the first week of November.
While China’s preference seems to be in
favour of the presumptive nominee of the
Democratic Party, Joe Biden, Russia would
rather have US President Donald Trump re-
tain the White House.
Given the global impact of US policies,
everyoneintheworldhasapreferenceinthe
American presidential race. With the nomi-
nating conventions of the two parties due in
the next few days, picking the winner of the
USelectionsisalreadyaparlourgamearound
the world.
ForIndiatoothestakesintheUSrelation-
shiphavedramaticallyrisenamidstthehuge
downturn in its ties with China. With the
Ladakhcrisisshowingnosignsof aquickres-
olution, what happens between the US and
Chinaisof greatpolicyrelevance.Newstrains
intheUS-RussiarelationsandaSino-USrap-
prochementunderBidenwillcertainlycom-
plicateIndia’sgreatpowerrelations.ForChina
and Russia, the preferred outcome is more
than an academic exercise. Both their bilat-
eral relations with the US are caught in
American domestic political turbulence.
Unlike most countries that simply learn to
live with the outcome, Beijing and Moscow
are accused of trying to influence it.
In a statement late last week on foreign
interference in the American presidential
elections, the US counter-intelligence chief,
William Evanina, said that China was trying
to undermine Donald Trump’s re-election
campaign and Russia was targeting his
Democratic rival and former Vice President,
Joe Biden. It is no secret that Beijing is out-
raged by the Trump administration’s mas-
sive economic, political and ideological of-
fensive against China in recent months. And
Moscow has struggled to overcome the
deeply-held conviction among the
Democrats that Russian interference was in-
strumental in Trump’s surprising victory in
the 2016 elections.
That brings us to a strange political dy-
namic in Washington today. Trump has to
denytheDemocraticParty’schargethatheis
a“Russianpuppet”.AndBidenhastofendoff
Republicanaccusationsthatheis“ChinaJoe”
or a shill for Beijing’s interests. And thereby
hangs a tale.
The Democrats have never accepted the
verdict of 2016 and have sought to oust
Trump using allegations of his Russian con-
nection. The Trump campaign argues that
Biden is the very symbol of what it sees as
America’sdisastrousengagementwithChina
over the last four decades.
While the world is familiar with Trump’s
Abhinav Kumar
FOR HISTORIANS, AUGUST 5, 2019, will be a
date of great significance. In a historic speech
in Parliament, Home Minister Amit Shah an-
nounced a series of far-reaching changes re-
gardingJammu&Kashmir.Inonefellswoop,
the Centre swept aside all the constitutional,
political and administrative arrangements
that had defined the relationship of the erst-
whileprincelystatewiththeUnionofIndia.In
anOpEdpublishedinthesecolumnsamonth
beforethisannouncement,Ihadmadeacase
for the abrogation of Article 370.
The biggest concern for us was the possi-
ble public reaction on the streets of Srinagar
andelsewhereintheValley.Thememoriesof
theviolentprotestof 2016summerwereup-
permost in our minds. It is a tribute to the
planning and execution by our authorities,
especially the leadership of all the security
forces, that a year has gone by and we have
had zero civilian casualties in large-scale di-
rect clashes. The couple of civilian deaths
have been in isolated mishaps. The streets of
Srinagar have largely stayed free of stone-
pelters, and more importantly, hospital
wardshavenotoverflowedwithpeoplewith
pellet injuries.
A word of appreciation is also required
for the rank and file of Jammu & Kashmir
Police and their senior leadership. There
were many apprehensions about how they
would react to these changes. They have laid
torestallsuchmisgivingsbytheirexemplary
conduct and dedication to ensuring peace in
policies,thecurrentglobalinterestisfocused
on what Biden might do if he wins the White
HouseinNovember.Theprospectsof Biden’s
victory appear high at the moment. The
DemocraticParty’selectionplatformcarefully
navigates the minefield created by Trump’s
full-blown attacks on China. Democrats say
theydon’twanta“newColdWar”withChina,
butpromisetobetoughwithBeijingontrade
and human rights issues. At the same time,
theyalsounderlinetheimportanceofsustain-
ing a productive engagement with China on
global issues such as climate change. China,
then, is right to calculate that a Biden victory
might create political room to arrest the cur-
rent escalation of bilateral tensions with the
US and explore accommodation on the full
range of contentious issues.
Russiahastheoppositeproblem.Moscow
has no reason to be happy with Trump, who
has imposed quite a range of new sanctions
on Russia; but they know Biden’s win will
makeitevenharderforthemuch-neededre-
set in bilateral relations. Democrats accuse
Trumpof treatingVladimirPutinasa“strate-
gicpartner”and“weakening”theAtlantical-
liance with Europe. They promise to change
that by joining “our European partners in
standing up to a revanchist Russia”. The
party’s platform does talk about engaging
Russians on nuclear arms control, but the
colour of its Russia brush is dark.
But, beneath theposturingof Trumpand
Biden,therearebigissuesinplay.Inbothpar-
ties,thereisaseriousquestioningof themany
traditionalprinciplesof USforeignpolicy.On
theRepublicanside,Trumphimself hasbeen
the principal disruptor. He has trashed
America’slong-standingalliances,challenged
the conventional wisdom on the virtues of
economic globalisation, and underlined the
futility of America’s endless wars, especially
in the Middle East.
While Democrats are united in their in-
tense hatred for Trump, many of Trump’s
themes find resonance among Democrats.
While the Democratic Party’s foreign policy
establishmentwouldliketogobacktothefa-
miliar internationalist activism, progressive
factionsinthepartyopposeWashington’sap-
370 myth gone, now reality
Kashmir’sfutureistiedtoIndia’s,itisforallofustodecidewhatthatwillbe
the Valley. Not a week goes by when they do
not reaffirm their commitment to the na-
tional cause in another episode of success
againstmilitantsandbythestirringinstances
of supreme sacrifice by their officers and
jawans. Along with the Indian Army and the
central forces, the role of JKP has been criti-
cal in ensuring the peace post August 2019.
The check on cross-border infiltration
and the prevention of large-scale terror
strikes havebeen major achievements. Post-
August 5, there has been constant pressure
on Pak-based outfits by the ISI to do some-
thing,preferablysomethingbigandspectac-
ular. The counter-insurgency grid in the
Valley remains robust, and the last few
months have seen many successful opera-
tions against hardcore militants. With every
passing day, the desperation of the militants
and their backers in Pakistan to do some-
thing to avenge the abrogation of Article 370
is bound to grow.
Whiletheremovalof Article370isanec-
essary condition for achieving the full inte-
grationof J&Kwiththerestof India,itisbyno
meansasufficientcondition.Todosorequires
dismantling the ecosystem that sustained
this militancy for three decades. The most
critical element in this ecosystem is the
mosque-madrasa network that has radi-
calised generations of Kashmiri youth and
given a jihadi character to the separatist
movement. Many of these mosques host
hard-line preachers from UP and Bihar, who
Democrats say they don’t
want a 'new Cold War' with
China, but promise to be
tough with Beijing on trade
and human rights issues. At
the same time, they also
underline the importance of
sustaining a productive
engagement with China on
global issues such as climate
change. China, then, is right
to calculate that a Biden’s
victory might create political
room to arrest the current
escalation of bilateral
tensions with the US and
explore accommodation on
the full range of
contentious issues.
have spread a strand of jihadi Islam that was
not a part of the cultural fabric of the Valley.
Perhapsthegovernmentcouldconsidertak-
ingoverthesemadrasasandconvertingthem
into Kendriya Vidyalayas. This would hit the
jihadivirusatitsverysource,improveaccess
to education in the Valley and provide jobs.
Another important source of separatist
sentiment has been the irrational fear of mi-
gration and dominance by outsiders. The re-
cent changes in domicile laws sparked a
wave of anxiety. However, as the experience
of other Indian states suggests, these fears
are largely baseless. No state of India has ex-
perienced a significant change in its demog-
raphyorculture.Writinginthesepagesafew
days ago, a prominent Kashmiri politician
talkedaboutlisteningtotheValleyandspoke
of fears of demographic change through the
use of the domicile law. The hypocrisy of his
assertion is simply breathtaking. It is the
Valley that carried out ethnic cleansing of
Kashmiri Pandits. It is the Valley which has
consistentlyadoptedpoliciestopromotede-
mographicchanges in Jammu and Ladakh to
ensure perpetual Kashmiri domination of
the politics and society of J&K. The shoe in-
deed pinches a lot in the other foot.
The civil society in Kashmir needs to un-
dergo a serious transformation too. For too
long they have fed themselves a narrative of
victimhood, laced with a generous dose of
xenophobiatowardstherestofIndia.Therab-
idlyanti-Indianelementsmustbeidentified,
C R Sasikumar
petiteforcostlyinterventionistwars.Radical
sectionsof theDemocratswanttocutUSde-
fence spending.
ManyDemocratsopposefreetradeagree-
ments that hurt American workers. They
want tough labour and environmental stan-
dardsintradeagreements.WhileTrumpde-
emphasisedtheimportanceof humanrights
in the conduct of American foreign policy,
Democrats want to put them at the heart of
America’s international engagement. It
would be reasonable to expect that a diverse
range of groups associated with the
Democratic Party will be mobilising
Washington’s power to bear upon targets
around the world.
India has dealt with this American script
aspartof itsexpandingengagementwiththe
USoverthelastthreedecades.Today,thereis
bipartisansupportfromtheRepublicansand
Democrats for a strong partnership with
India. There are many strands — economic,
politicalandsecurity—thatprovidestability
to India-US relations.
Four years ago, there was no dearth of
sceptics whoinsistedthatIndia-USrelations
would nosedive under Trump. Delhi, how-
ever, found ways to elevate the US partner-
ship to higher levels in the Trump years.
Thisdoesnotmean,IndiacantakeaBiden
administration for granted. To be sure, Delhi
is familiar with Biden, who served as Vice
President for eight years under Barack
Obama,andmanyof hispotentialchoicesfor
top policy positions.
Unlike Beijing and Moscow, Delhi has no
incentive to pick sides between Trump and
Biden.Itcandealproductivelywithboth.But
Delhi is conscious of the current unprece-
dentedchurninUSdomesticpoliticsandthe
breakdown of the internal consensus on for-
eign and economic policies. India should,
therefore, be prepared for a measure of un-
predictability in America’s external orienta-
tion in the coming years.
The writer is director, Institute of South Asian
Studies, National University of Singapore and
contributing editor on international affairs
for The Indian Express
isolated and prosecuted to the full extent of
the law. Teachers, doctors, lawyers and civil
servants who preach secession while draw-
ing a salary from the public exchequer must
not be allowed to carry on playing this dou-
blegame.Alimitedpurgeoftheworstoffend-
ersfromthepublicpayrollisimperativeif the
pro-India sentiment is to gather hold in the
Valley.ThemediainSrinagarisethnicallyho-
mogeneous to an extent that would be un-
thinkable anywhere else in the country. This
has seriously distorted the narrative. Some
corrective measures need to be taken, espe-
cially by national media platforms.
On the governance side, the panchayat
experiment, restarted in 2018, deserves the
fullest support. There is no substitute for
grass roots delivery if we are to build a cred-
ible pro-India narrative. The calibrated
restoration of communication facilities is
alsoworthconsidering.Incaseanyareaturns
restive, restrictions can be reimposed.
TillAugust5,2019,Article370wasseenas
a non-negotiable foundation stone of any
credibleKashmir policy.Thatmythhas been
conclusivelyexploded.In69yearsof itsexis-
tence,allArticle370haddonewastoencour-
age a dangerous fantasy in Kashmir. For bet-
ter or for worse, Kashmir’s future is tied to
India. It is up to all of us to decide by our col-
lectiveactions,whatthatfutureisgoingtobe.
The writer is a serving IPS officer.
Views are personal
WHAT THE OTHERS SAY
“In the next few months, China should make the world, especially the
Americans, feel the absurdity of playing the China card in election campaigns
which is turning US national interests into partisan gains.”
Tax and the crisis
Centre’s reliance on indirect tax revenue, pro-rich
policy, has deprived government of resources
during COVID crisis
Christophe Jaffrelot
and Utsav Shah
The taxation policy of the Indian govern-
ment has been problematic on two
grounds. Not only has it been pro-rich
(and anti-poor), but it has deprived the
state of important fiscal resources — both
particularly damaging in the context of
the COVID crisis.
After abolishing the wealth tax in 2016,
which was replaced by a 2 per cent sur-
charge on super-rich individuals (taxable
income of over Rs 10 crore), the Narendra
Modi government rolled back the increase
insurchargein2019.Moreimportantly,cor-
poratetaxeswereslashedfrom30percent
to 22 per cent to attract foreign investors
and induce Indian companies to invest.
Inparallel,therelianceonindirecttaxes
has risen — a trend that started in the mid-
dle of the UPA years. As the Modi govern-
ment has increasingly relied on hiking
cessesandsurcharges,theshareof indirect
taxes has increased by up to 50 per cent of
thegrosstaxrevenueinFY2019,asopposed
to 43 per cent in FY2011. The combined
share of customs and excise duties and
value-added tax reached an all-time high
of 10.5 per cent of GDP, with the previous
high of 10.1 per cent in 1987-88. This high
was following a three-year-long steady in-
crease in customs or excise duty on com-
monlyusedgoods,suchaspetroleumprod-
ucts, metals and sugar, automobiles and
consumer durables. This is also when the
servicetaxwashikedsteadilyto18percent
(underGST)from12.4percentin2014.This
istroublingbecauseindirecttaxesoftenpe-
nalise the poor and the middle class more
than the rich. Another example is the im-
positionof freshcessessuchastheSwachh
Bharat cess and Krishi Kalyan cess in addi-
tion to GST. The permanent nature of these
cesses has been widely opposed by the
states and criticised by the CAG, who has
pointedoutthelackof transparencyandin-
completereportinginaccountsontheutil-
isation of amounts collected under cesses.
Whileindirecttaxationisanti-poor,cuts
in corporate tax that have resulted in a rev-
enue loss of Rs 1.5 lakh crore have con-
tributed to making the state poor. The tim-
ing of these tax cuts was puzzling as direct
tax collections have shrunk by over 3.5 per
centwithameagreincreaseinindirecttaxes
fortheperiodApril-Februaryof2019-20.As
indirect taxes have not made up for theloss
in direct taxes, the fiscal deficit jumped be-
yond 4.5 per cent of GDP in 2019-20. This is
one of the reasons why public spending on
education and health has stagnated.
Cuts in corporate taxes, increased indi-
recttaxrevenues,decreasedcapitalexpen-
ditureandpracticallynochangeinrevenue
expenditureonhealthandeducationshow
that India’s taxation policy is more busi-
ness-friendlythanpro-poor,atatimewhen
a supply-side oriented approach to the
economy is counter-cyclical: What India
needs is more demand.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
PAST AND PRESENT
THISREFERSTOtheeditorial,‘Adeaf ear
to Tagore’ (IE, August 10). It is troubling
that historical traditions are being un-
dermined at a time the country seems
to be reinvigorating some of its past
practices. The decision to cancel the
BasantaUtsavandPoushMelaatVisva-
Bharatihastobeseeninthelightof ma-
joritarian nationalism. The tradition is
symbolic of Tagore's emphasis on “uni-
versal humanism” and developing na-
tional self- consciousness. We must re-
memberthatwehavetostayunitedbut
this unity is not meant to be against our
own people.
Divya Singla, Patiala
ECONOMIC REALITIES
This refers to the article 'The new con-
sumer', (IE, August 10). There seems to
be a consensus among epidemiologists
andpublichealthexpertsthatthecoro-
navirus it is here to stay and humanity
will be living with the pandemic well
into 2021 and beyond. The post-COVID
consumption pattern would have to
factorinthisnewreality.Theolderways
of doing business will no longer be sus-
tainable.Theannualsojournof influen-
tial leaders from across the world at
Davos could be advanced to deliberate
on the great reset of the global econ-
omy. There is a call, as well as a press-
ingneed,foranewBrettonWoods-type
globalconsensusontheeconomyinor-
der to rejig the global order by aligning
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
— GLOBAL TIMES, CHINA
Facedwithincreasedexpendituresdue
to the ongoing health emergency, states
were forced to open liquor stores in May,
onlyoutof theirdesperateneedtoearntax
revenues from alcohol. This happened at
thecostofrelaxingthelockdownandweak-
ening social distancing measures. The
Centre made a similar move by increasing
thedutyonfuelbyarecordRs10perlitreon
petrol when global crude prices have been
falling — another move that was neither
pro-poor nor favourable for demand but
speaks of the government’s increased de-
pendency on indirect tax-based revenues.
To address the issue, a group of income
tax officers suggested higher taxes on the
super-rich, alongside a COVID relief cess of
4 per cent for all those earning above Rs 10
lakh. However, the report was rejected by
the Centre and some of the officers were
punished for their audacity.
But near-term solutions might need
such measures at a time of crisis and after
the number of super-rich has increased
tremendously. Last year, the IIFL Wealth
Hurun India Rich List showed that the for-
tune of the 953 richest Indian families was
morethan26percentof thecountry’sGDP.
This means that a tax rate of 4 per cent on
them would give the government the
equivalent of 1 per cent of GDP – the
amountof thefirstandsecondCOVIDrelief
packages.
Successful examples from Europe,
where high tax rates on the wealthy have
playedakeyroleinensuringastrongsocial
securitynetforthepoor,shouldencourage
India to consider the rationale for a wealth
tax.Highertaxesonthesuper-richcouldbe
used for cash transfers and a fiscal stimu-
lus, that, in India, at 1 per cent of GDP each,
have been negligible so far. Though India
surpassed its comparable neighbours on
the lockdown stringency measures, it has
stillnotreleasedsignificantrelief measures
tocompensatefortheeconomicdisruption
caused by the lockdown. Countries like
Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam, de-
spite having less stringent measures, have
announcedasubstantialshareof theirGDP
towards economic relief.
Sofar,thegovernmenthasnotfullyused
its fiscal instruments. Deferring tax pay-
ments,with continuedlate feesandpenal-
tiesonfillingextensionsandslashingcorpo-
rate taxes is not the appropriate approach
towards reviving the economy. With the
Centre's fiscal deficit reaching nearly 5 per
cent of the GDP, and tax revenues likely to
remain subdued over the next two years,
thegovernmentneedstodomore.Awealth
tax, a COVID-19 cess on the super-rich and
a surcharge on the super-rich for their in-
come from listed equity shares are critical
for mitigating the current situation. Such
measures would also play a key role in re-
ducingbothincomeandsocialinequalities.
COVID-19 may be a blessing in disguise if it
allows India to reform its tax system in or-
der to make it work towards inclusive
growth and sustainable development
rather than targeting only investment-led
economicgrowth.Afterall,India’stax-GDP
ratio was only 10.9 per cent in 2019, as
against the OECD average of 34 per cent.
Jaffrelot is senior research fellow at CERI-
Sciences Po/CNRS, Paris and professor of
Indian Politics and Sociology at King’s India
Institute. Shah is a student of International
Economic Policy at Sciences Po
IDEAS
ONLINE
ONLY IN THE EXPRESS
● THE DIGITAL
EQUALISER:
MOHAMMAD IRSHAD
● THEPASTINTHE
PRESENT:
JYOTI PUNWANI
www.indianexpress.com
it with the new realities.
Sudip Kumar Dey, Kolkata
BEIRUT LESSONS
This refers to the editorial, ‘Beirut in
the dark’ (IE, August 10). The ammo-
nium nitrate explosion tragedy in
Beirut was avoidable. It also has les-
sons for India where chemicals, even
the most toxic of them, are used in
both the formal and informal sectors.
A few fundamental steps to prevent a
chemical catastrophe that need to be
taken include, “identification of the
most explosive chemicals still in use,
putting in a place a protocol for han-
dling them and disseminating this
protocol widely.
S S Paul, Nadia
 10 CLASSIFIEDS & TENDERS
Classifieds
PERSONAL
No.3002108Y HAV-RAVINDRA
KUMAR CHAPRANA, my wife’s
name-KAVITA BABRA & DOB 15-
June-1984 was entered in my
army documents. Actually my
wife’s name is KAVITA & DOB is
05-July-1983. Kindly change the
same and know the correct
Name & DOB in future. Add-
Village & P.O.-Phaphunda,
Dist.- Meerut PIN-245206
0040544310-1
I Amit Kumar S/O, Harish Kumar
R/o H.no-c133, G.no- 03,
Wazirabad Village, Post-
burari, Delhi - 110084 have
changed my name to Amit Laur
for all future purposes.
0040544286-1
I,VIJAY PRAKASH SAXENA S/O-
GURU PRAKASH R/O-94,
THOMPSON-ROAD, NEAR-
SHIVAJI PARK,NEW DELHI-002,
have changed my name to
VIJAY PRAKASH.
0040544347-1
I,Siraj Khan S/o-Shri.Gaufur
Khan R/o-S-136/47,
J.J.Colony,Swami Nagar,
Malviya Nagar,New Delhi-
110017,inform that Saroj Khan
and Siraj Khan both name are
same person. 0040544347-7
I,Shakuntla Devi,w/o
Purshottam Sharma,R/o-B-
307,Sea Show Apartment, Plot
No.14,Sec-19B, Dwarka,New
Delhi-110075,have changed my
name to Shakuntla Sharma.
0040544343-2
I,Raju S/o ram chandra R/o-K-
42,civil zone subroto park,new
Delhi-110010,have changed my
name,from Raju to Raju
Dhomne vide-affidavit Dated-
10/08/2020,before NCT-Delhi.
0040544304-9
I,Rajendra Prasad
Kasturia,S/o,Veer Bhan
Kasturia,R/o-CU-17,Vishakha-
Enclave,Pitampura,Delhi-
110034,That Rajendra Prasad
Kasturia And Rajinder Prasad
Kasturia Both Are same and
one Person. 0040544304-8
I,NAVIN KUMAR GUPTA S/O
SHYAM KUMAR GUPTA R/O
FLATNO.149/150,III-FLOOR,PKT-
3,SECTOR-22,ROHINI,DELHI-
110086.CHANGEDMY NAMETO
NAVEEN KUMAR GUPTA.
0040544347-5
I,Mohd Shariq Beig s/o Shahid
Beg R/o.G-20, Madanpur
Khadar Extn.Phase-3,Sarita
Vihar, New-Delhi,have
changed my name to Shariq
Beg Permanently.
0040544343-3
I,Deepak Tomer Service No.-
6947915Y Rank L/NK, Unit-2
Corps OMC C/o 56APO,inform
that I,have changed my wife’s
name from,Babli to Babli Devi
and correct D/o 01/08/1981
instead of 01/08/1986.In
future,and in my service record
my wife’s name will be known
as Babli Devi and D/o-
01/08/1981. 0040544347-9
I, Vimal Chaudhary W/o Avnish
Kumar R/o G-174, Nanakpura,
South Moti Bagh, Delhi-110021,
have changed my name to
Vimleshwari Singh
0070710891-1
I, Valaparambil Johan Thomas
Alias Valaparampil John
Thomas S/o Geevarughese
Yohannan R/o A-31, Takshasila
Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai,
Maharashtra-400094, have
changed my name to
Valaparampil John Thomas.
0070710894-1
I, Usha Kataria W/o Mukesh
Kumar Kataria R/o House No
2718 Block - F Sector-9 Omaxe
City Sonipat Haryana-131001
have changed my name to
Rachna Kataria. 0070710882-1
I, Teenu Duhoon D/o Rampal
Singh R/o D-41, Street No-13,
West karawal Nagar, Delhi-
110094, have changed my name
to Tannu Duhoon
0070710872-1
I, Tarun Mavi S/o Rajvir
R/o.H.No.107, Tella
Shahabajapur, Loni, Ghaziabad
have changed my name to
Kapil Mavi,for all purposes.
0040544304-7
I, Sitaram Hardeniya S/o Shiv
Dayal Sharma R/o Vad Vali Thai
Ke Paas, Syaroli, Sawai
Madhopur, Rajasthan-322219,
have changed my name to
Pankaj Sharma 0070710858-1
I, Shweta Raheja,D/o Laxman
Kumar Raheja,W/o Saurav
Arya,R/o.Flat.No.802, Tower-A-
1,Parsvnath-Exotica,NR Hottel
IBIS Sector-53,Gurgaon
(Haryana),have changed my
name to Shweta Arya.
0040544304-5
I, Sanjeev Kumar Vohra S/o Late
Sh. Kamlesh Kumar Vohra R/o
HNo-776, Sector-11,
Vasundhara Ghaziabad, UP-
201012, have changed my name
to Sanjeev Vohra
0070710862-1
I, Shamim Hadra S/o Ghulam
Panjatan R/o 66-A Rashid
Market Extension Delhi-110051
have changed my name to
Shameem Haider
0040544347-2
I, Vivek Rawat S/o Rishal Singh
Rawat R/o 1524, Lodhi road
Complex, Delhi-110003, have
changed my name to Vivek
Sharma 0070710859-1
I, Arun Kumar S/o Ishwar Singh
R/o House No-75, D-Block,
Maksudabad Colony,
Najafgarh, Delhi-110043, have
changed my name to Arun Nain
0070710866-1
I, Ravneet Kaur W/o Vibhu
Thakur R/o House No-24, Guru
Harkishan Nagar, Basti Guzan,
Jalandhar, Punjab-144001, have
changed my name to Ravneet
Thakur 0070710893-1
I, Ravinder Singh S/o Ranjeet
Singh R/o H-131, H-Block, DLF,
Sector-10, Faridabad, Haryana-
121006, have changed my name
to Robin 0070710888-1
I, Ram Kishore Sharma S/o
Rameshwar Dayal Sharma R/o
Mohalla Bhakshi, Tilhar,
Shahjahanpur, UP-242307, have
changed my name to Akhand
Pratap Sharma
0070710863-1
I, Rahish Ahmed S/o Shafiullah
R/O 676 B, New No. E 88 2 nd
Floor Tihar Village New Delhi-
110018have changed my name
to Rahis Ahmed for future all
purposes. 0040544292-1
I, N Vasudevan Pillai S/o-Late.
Kuttan Narayanan Pillai
R/o.Flat.No.16-D, Pocket-
1,Aastha Apartment, MIG-Flat,
Kondli, East Delhi-110096,have
changed my name to
NARAYANAN VASUDEVAN
PILLAI, amend accordingly.
0040544311-1
I, Manoj Kumar S/o Late Sh.
Rattan Singh R/o 1/5637, Street
No-11, Balbir Nagar Extn.,
Shahdara, Delhi-110032, have
changed my minor son’s name
from Arjun aged 8 years to Yash
forever 0070710874-1
I, Kiran W/o Mohan Lal R/o
1713/B-2, Bitna Colony, Pinjore,
Panchkula, Haryana-134102,
have changed my name to
Kiran Dhiman 0070710868-1
I, Jhalman Lohat S/o Mohinder
Pal R/o VPO Chhokran, PS and
Tehsil Phillaur, Jalandhar,
Punjab-144029, have changed
my name to Jhalman Ram
0070710879-1
I, Hitesh Uppal S/o Subhash
Uppal R/o M-37, B/1, F.F.,
Rajouri Garden, N.Delhi-27
have changed my name to
Hitesh Sabharwal.
0040544347-3
I, Charanjeet Singh S/o Late
S.Lal Singh R/o H-60,
G.S.Apaprtment, Sector-
13,Rohini Delhi-
110085,changed my name to
Charanjeet Singh Chhatwal.
0040544343-1
I, Bala Datt Joshi S/o Late Shri
Mandev Joshi R/o B-579/5,
Rajveer colony, Gharoli
Extension, Delhi-96, Do hereby
solemnly affirm that, On my
10th & 12th class certificate my
name metioned as Bala Datt,
But my correct name is Bala
Datt Joshi, And Bala Datt & Bala
Datt Joshi both are same
person. 0040544272-1
I, Bablu Tudu S/o Chhotka Tudu
R/o 15B/3, Kaligang Mean Road
15C Busstand, Arra, Tetikhala,
Burdwan Arrah, Bardhaman,
WB-713212, have changed my
name to Bablu Kundu
0070710860-1
I, Aaditya Bais S/o Diwakar
Singh Bais R/o Behind Police
Thana, Raigarh, Tehsil
Sardarpur, Raigarh, Dhar, MP-
454116, have changed my name
to Aaditya Singh Bais
0070710877-1
I, DHARAMVIR, S/O OM
SINGH,R/o-C-601,OM SATYAM
APARTMENT SEC-4,PLOT.NO.13,
PHASE-1,DWARKA, DELHI-
110078,changed my name to
DHARAMVIR MALIK.
0040544347-6
I hitherto known as Amit S/o
Sh.Ram Dayal R/o.L-117,
Gali.No.3, Mahipal Pur Exten.,
Delhi-110037 have changed my
name to Amit Kumar.
0040544304-4
I hitherto Known as Rajender
Kumar S/O Sh. Jugmohan
employed as Jr. Clerk in
Hindustan Prefab Limited,
Jangpura, New Delhi-110014.
Residing at H.No 275-S/3/150
Sudhar Camp, Kalkaji, New
Delhi-110019 has Change my
Name and Shall hereafter be
Know as Rajender Kumar
Dhawan S/O Sh. Jagmohan
Dhawan , both name are same
for all future purpose.
0040544296-1
I Yajur Yuvraj Chopra S/O Pankaj
Chopra R/O-859, Sector-
37,Faridabad Hariyana-
121003,have changed my name
to Yajur Chopra.
0040544304-6
I Ved Ram alias Ved Prakash S/O
Ram Chandra R/O-RZ-219 Gali
No-17,Alaknanda, Tuglakabad-
Extn, Delhi-110019,have
changed my name to Ved
Prakash.
0040544347-4
I Sheela Aggarwal W/o Ajmal
Ajdani R/o G-256, Shiv Durga
Vihar, Lakkarpur, Faridabad,
Haryana -121009 have changed
my name from Nila Aggarwal to
Sheela Aggarwal for all
purposes. 0040544299-1
I Umesh Kumar S/O, Dwarka
Nath Marwaha R/o 17, 17/a, Flat
403, Om Vihar, Phase-4, Uttam
Nagar, D.k. Mohan Garden,
Delhi-110059 have changed my
name to Umesh Marwaha
0040544306-1
I,hitherto known as ANIL
KUMAR MISHRA,son of,Late
Ram Sunder Mishra,Residing at
,H.No-921,L-Block,Mangol Puri,
Delhi-110083,have changed my
name and shall hereafter be
known as MANISH KUMAR.
0040544343-4
I Savleen Chadha R/o 186-C
pocket-B mayur vihar phase- ll
Delhi - 110091 have changed my
name to Savleen Dhanjal
0040544290-1
I Sanjeev kumar S/O Devender
Kumar R/O-A-397 Shastri-
Nagar Delhi-110052 have
changed my name to Sanjeev
Kumar Gupta. 0040544304-1
I Sanjay kumar Gupta S/O Sita
Ram Prasad R/O-T-401, 2nd-
floor Baljeet-Nagar Delhi-
110008, changed my name to
Sanjay Gupta. 0040544304-2
I Riya D/O, Sunil Kansal R/o Hd
29 Upper Ground Floor
Pitampura Saraswati Vihar
Anandvas Shakurpur 110034
have changed my name to Riya
Kansal 0040544288-1
I Pradeep Kumar R/o RZH-280
Street No-9 Raj Nagar-II Palam
Colony New Delhi-110077 have
changed my minor son’s name
from Viaan Yadav to Viaan Rao
for all purposes.
0040544322-1
I Neha D/O, Mr Ashok Kumar R/o
R-139, St. No.-6, East Vinod
Nagar Delhi-91 have changed
my name to Nakshatra for all
purposes. 0040544307-1
I Neetu Gupta W/O, Sunil Kansal
R/o Hd 29 Upper Ground Floor
Pitampura Saraswati Vihar
Anandvas Shakurpur North
West Delhi 110034 have
changed my name to Neetu
Kansal 0040544284-1
I Madhulika D/O, Jatinder Kumar
Takiar R/o A 701 Gulistan
Residency Plot 1 B Sector 13
Dwarka New Delhi 110078 have
changed my name to
Madhulika Takiar
0040544282-1
I Kusum Rani W/O Anil Kumar
Jian R/O-D-11/24, Sector-
8,Rohini Delhi-110085,have
changed my name to Kusum
Jain. 0040544304-3
LOST & FOUND
Lost my original Allotment
Letter, Possession Letter &
Building Plan of my Property
No.UU-9, Vishakha Enclave,
Pitampura, Delhi-110034.
Finder may Contact-Dhanesh
Bhatia at above noted address.
0040544298-1
I Jyoti Rani D/o Harpal Singh R/o
Shubhanchal Girls Hostel,Vikas
Sadan,Opp. Ina colony,new
delhi -23. has lost original
degree certificates &
marksheet of (1.) B.com, Roll
No.- C0622246 & Enrol No.-
M0507362 (Ist year & IInd year)
marksheet & degree
certificate, (2.) B.lib. &
information science, Roll No.
9918014 & Enrol No.- M0507362,
(3.) M.LIB. Information science,
Roll No.-0910259004 & Enroll
No.- 0910200049, (4.)M.PHIL,
Roll No. 1010360001, Enroll No.-
0910200049 & other
certificates. 0040544305-1
I Riya Tomar D/o Mahender
Kumar Tomer R/o T14B Sai
Vatika Apartment Sec-62
Faridabad 121004. I had lost my
documents in the market when
I was going to photostate of my
documents (12th marksheet)
certificate no- 0885708. Roll no.
2616835. If found please
contact : 9873101877
0040544303-1
I Pavitra Chauhan W/o Vijay
Kumar R/o Village Madanpur
khadar, New Delhi have lost
original marksheet & passing
certificates of High school,
Senior Secondary &
Graduation. If found contact:
7042050687 0040544277-1
I, Deepak S/o Satish kumar R/o-
D-578/A, Gali.No-3,Ashok-
Nagar, Mandoli Delhi-
110053,Have lost my original
marksheet of 10th Class
Roll.No-8164059, year-2019
CBSE, finder contact-
8851270933 0040544293-1
I, Sharad s/o navel kishor,
1/5466C BALBIR NAGAR EXTN
SHADRA-110032 LOST MY
PROPERTY DOCUMENTS
DEMAND-LETAR POSSESSION-
LATAR POSSESLOH PH-
9871343146. 0040544304-10
PUBLIC NOTICE
It is hereby informed to Public in large that
my clients (1) SH. GAGAN KUMAR S/o
SH. OM PRAKASH & (2) DIMPLE
SALHOTRA W/O GAGAN KUMAR both
R/o A-1/209B, Second Floor Keshav
Puram Delhi-110035, we are Selling our
Property bearing No.A-1/209B, Second
Floor Keshav Puram Delhi-110035 Area
measuring 40 Sq. Mtrs. to Mrs. GEETA
CHHABRA W/o Mr. LALIT KUMAR
CHHABRA, if any legal heirs having
claim/objection in the above said property
should Contact my client on Ph.
No.9810298148, and file written objection
to the undersigned with documentary
proof, if any, within 15 days from the date
of this notice.
PARKASH CHAND (Advt.)
Enrl.No.D-9065/2019.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Be it known that my clients SMT. SARBATI
DEVI W/O LATE SH. PRABHU DAYAL
R/O J-453 & 454, SHAKUR PUR, NORTH
WEST DELHI, DELHI-110034. has
disowned and severe all her relationship
with her daughter namely GEETA D/O
LATE SH. PRABHU DAYAL, and debarred
her from their moveable and immoveable
properties/assets acquired or to be
acquired because of their misbehavior &
conduct and their nature is being
disobedient. Any person dealing and
relation with her in any manner- shall be at
their own risk, cost & consequences and
my clients shall not be responsible for any
act and deed of the aforesaid.
Sd/-
SURENDER KUMAR (ADVT)
Enrl. No D/152/88
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
PUBLIC NOTICE
I, Rachna Sethi W/o Sh. Raman
Sethi R/o 2nd Floor, F-2/19,
Sector-7, Rohini, Delhi. I have
my industry at:1628, HSIIDC,
SAHARANPUR SMART CITY LIMITED
Rai, Sonipat, Haryana, I have
lost some of signed letter heads
and valuable documents of my
property / firm M/s Pooja
Polymers, on dated: 30/07/2020,
with in the ‘Rai’ industrial area,
PUBLIC NOTICE NIT No: SSCL/2020-21/590 Date:08.08.2020
which are still not found, It is hereby informed to Public in large that
my client SMT. GEETA CHHABRA W/o
Notice Inviting Tender
whoever recover them please
contact me at my above said
SH. LALIT KUMAR CHHABRA both R/o C-
SSCL invites two stage online bids for "Appointment of
5/77 GROUND FLOOR KESHAV PURAM
address or call me Delhi-110035, is Purchasing Property Implementation Agency for Supply, Installation and Management
at:9811521012-3. bearing No.A-1/209B, Second Floor
Rachna sethi Keshav Puram Delhi-110035 Area of Digital Outdoor Full LED Display Panels in Saharanpur City"
Prop. M/s Pooja Polymers measuring 40 Sq. Mtrs. from Mr. GAGAN
KUMAR & Mrs. DIMPLE SALHOTRA part Costing Rs 3,88,00,000 (Three Crore eighty eight lakhs only) by
of property No. A-1/209B Second Floor
Keshav Puram Delhi-110035, Anyone
24.08.2020.
PUBLIC NOTICE having claim/objection in the above said For further details & updates, please please visit
property should Contact my client on Ph.
To whomsoever it may concern, that my client Shri No.8130157000, and file written objection https://etender.up.nic.in
Hari Narain Bakshi S/o Late Shri Uttamchand
Bakshi aged about 80 years R/o 123, Pashchim
to the undersigned with documentary ACEO
proof, if any, within 15 days from the date
Vihar Extension, New Delhi-110063, has severed
all his relation and connection with his younger son
of this notice Saharanpur Smart City Limited
Mr. Naresh Bakshi and his wife Mrs. Asha Bakshi, PARKASH CHAND (Advt.)
Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh
both of whom as of now are residing at 123, Enrl.No.D-9065/2019.
Pashchim Vihar Extension, New Delhi-110063.
That my client has further disowned and debarred
his above named son and daughter-in-law from all
his immoveable and movable properties, assets,
PUBLIC NOTICE
IYF¹FFÊÕX¹F ÀFa¹FböY ÀFa¨FFÕXIY E½Fa A²FeÃFIY
and estate as they havebecome disobedient,
dishonest and unfaithful towards my client and This is to inform to public at large that Smt.
have been harassing and defaming him. My client
Bharti Devi W/o Sh. Satish Singh R/o Plot
has no concern with them henceforth and shall not
No. 238, Agar Nagar, Prem Nagar-III, Kirari
be responsible in respect of any of their liabilities,
OXFG. ·Fe¸FSXF½F A¸¶FZOXIYSX À¸FÈd°F d¨FdIY°ÀFFÕX¹F, SXF¹F´FbSX (LX.¦F.)
dealings, acts, transactions, proceedings etc. If Suleman Nagar, Nithari, North West Delhi-
anybody deals with them, the same shall be on 110086 had severed all relationship from
his/her/their risk, consequence and & peril and my his son Manoj Patel, his wife Geeta and
client shall not be responsible for them in any their children i.e. Vicky, Bittoo and Sunny
manner whatsoever.
Sd/-
VIJAY KUAMR WADHWA
and disowned and debarred them from all
her moveable and immovable properties
IiY¸FFaIY/OXFG.·Fe.A.d¨F./IiY¹F 12748 SXF¹F´FbSX dQ³FFaIY -07/8/2020
Advocate as they have become disobedient and they
kkBÊ-´Fiû¢¹FcSX¸FZÔMX dÀFÀMX¸F d³Fd½FQF AF¸FaÂF¯F ÀFc¨F³FFll
are out of control of my above client and
Enrl. No. D-343A/2000
my client has nothing to do with them. My
Chamber No. 1002, Lawyers’ Chamber Block
District Courts Rohini, client shall not be responsible for their
Rohini, Delhi-110083 acts, deeds. If any person deals with them
Mobile No. 9818376231
then he will be doing that at their own risk,
cost and consequences. OXFG. ·Fe¸FSXF½F A¸¶FZOXIYSX À¸FÈd°F d¨FdIY°ÀFFÕX¹F, SXF¹F´FbSX IZY dÕXE
Sd/- CHANDER SHEKHAR (Advocate)
PUBLIC NOTICE E. No. 1723/13
Off: M-181-182, Meer Vihar,
NON EDL Aü¿Fd²F¹FûÔ E½Fa ÀFF¸Fd¦Fi¹FFG IiY¹F IYSX³FZ WZX°Fb AFG³F ÕXFBʳF d³Fd½FQF
Be it known to public at large that my
client Shri Rajinder Kumar Narula S/o
Madan Pur Dabas, Delhi- 110081
IiY¸FFaIY 66729 AF¸FadÂF°F IYe ¦FBÊ W`XÜ BÀFIYF d½FÀ°FÈ°F d½F½FSX¯F ½FZ¶FÀFFBMX
Shri M.L. Narula R/o House No.- C-
95, Second Floor, Kirti Nagar, New https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in ´FSX dÀFÀMX¸F MZX¯OXSX IiY¸FFaIY
Delhi-110015, has lost the original sale
deed of his property bearing Old 66729 ¸FZÔ QZJF ªFF ÀFIY°FF W`XÜ
Municipal No. WZ-296-D & New
Muncipal No.- C-1336, Sundershan
Park, New Delhi-110015 near Kirti
Nagar Metro Station. If anyone finds
Bid Start Date 2020-08-07 17:30:00
the sale deed then return the same to
my client. The public at large is further Last Date & time of submission
infurmed not to miscuse the sale deed
of the property of my client and if of Tender Form through 2020-08-25 12:00:00
anyone try to do then he/she will do so
at his/her own risk. Online at Website
VINEET SHARMA
Sd/-
https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in
ADVOCATE
ENROLMENT NO. D/479/1996® Physical FDR submission 2020-08-25 12:30:00
OFFICE AT:- F-12/31,
OPPOSITE B.S.E.S. OFFICE, End Date
KRISHANA NAGAR, DELHI-110051
MOBILE NOS. # 98101-39465
& 89202-73907
Date & time of Prequalification/ 2020-08-25 13:00:00
Technical bid opening
PUBLIC NOTICE WXÀ°FF/-
This General Public is hereby informed that my ÀFa¹FböY ÀFa¨FFÕXIY E½Fa A²FeÃFIY
client’s SHRI ASHOK KUMAR SINGHAL
(AADHAR NO. 886288282912) S/O SHRI OXFG. ·Fe¸FSXF½F A¸¶FZOXIYSX À¸FÈd°F d¨FdIY°ÀFFÕX¹F
RAJINDER KUMAR AND SMT. LATA
SINGHAL (AADHAR NO. 962388922473) W/O 82889 SXF¹F´FbSX (LX.¦F.)
SH. ASHOK KUMAR SINGHAL BOTH R/O T-
3606, RAJA PARK, SHAKUR BASTI, DELHI-
110034, have disowned and served all
relations from their of our elder son MR.
AKSHAY KUMAR and his wife MRS. ODISHA STATE MEDICAL
PRIYANKA AGGARWAL debarred from their
all their moveable and immoveable
properties/assets and their personal life forever
CORPORATION LTD.
due to their bad behaviour and bad intensions (A Govt. of Odisha Undertaking)
and they are not obedient of my clients. CAD-38 (ASSURING QUALITY, SAVING LIVES)
My client’s shall not be responsible of any act
Phone No: (0674) 2380608, Website: www.osmcl.nic.in,
done by them. Anybody deals with them at
his/her own risk and responsible. E-mail: proc.osmcl.od@nic.in
SANJEEV JAIN (Advt)
Enrl. No. D/226/1991. Notification No. 10286 Dated 09.08.2020
j3 4hRLY(10) SHORT TENDER CALL NOTICE
Sealed tenders in prescribed format are invited by the Odisha
PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE
My CLIENT VINOD SEHRAWAT S/O “All Concerned are hereby informed through this State medical Corporation Ltd (OSMCL) from intended bidders for
SH. SHAKTI SEHRAWAT R/O H.NO.
609, ISHWAR COLONY, BAWANA,
public notice that my client Sh. Shribhagwan
Agarwal Age about 62 S/O Late Sh. Lala Gaya
supply of “Rapid Antigen Detection Kits for SARS CoV-2
DELHI-110039 HEREBY SEVERE ALL Parsad Agarwal ji and his Wife Smt. Madu Agarwal
Age about 53 R/O Flat No.- C-503, Mayurdhwaj
(COVID-19)” to the Central Drugs Store, OSMCL, Bhubaneswar
RELATIONS AND DEBAR HIS SON
as detailed in the enclosure “Annexure-A” which can be
YASH SEHRAWAT AND HIS WIFE
Apartment, Chacha Nehru Hospital, Geeta Colony,
Delhi-110031 has disowned and debarred their
NIKITA SEHRAWAT FROM HIS ENTIRE son namely Sumit Agarwal age about 30 Years downloaded from the “Tenders” section of OSMCL’s official
MOVEABLE/IMMOVABLE PROPERTY, and his Wife namely Smt. Neha Agarwal @ Neha
DUE TO THEIR INDIFFERENT AND Chauhan age about 28 Years D/o Shubhash website, i.e. http://osmcl.nic.in free of cost.
HOSTILE BEHAVIOR. MY CLIENT
Chauhan R/o Agra, U.P. alongwith their two
The technical bid and financial bid must be enclosed in two
SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
Children’s namely Rishabh age about 5 Years and
THEIR ANY ACTS & DEEDS.
Jiya age about 9 Years from all their movable and
separate sealed envelopes titled “Technical bid for Rapid Antigen
immovable property and cancelled all their
Sd/- relations in future as they do not give respect to my
clients and misbehaved and disobeyed with my
Detection Kits for SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19)” and “Financial bid for
SIDHANT ANTIL
Advocate
clients. My clients shall not be held responsible for Rapid Antigen Detection Kits for SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19)”
any of their acts, deed and things in whatever in
EnrI. No. D/2223/2013 any manner and if anyone deals with them shall be (Format-B). These two envelopes must then be placed in the third
Mob. No. 9911083232 deal as per his/her own risk, cost and
consequences. sealed envelope titled “Rapid Antigen Detection Kits for SARS
Sd/-
GOPAL KUMAR GUPTA CoV-2 (COVID-19)” which must be addressed to “MANAGING
PUBLIC NOTICE ADVOCATE
DIRECTOR, Odisha State medical Corporation Ltd. (OSMCL),
Notice is hereby inform to general public F-143 NETA JI APARTMENTS, SECTOR 23
that my client Shri Surya Prakash and DWARKA, NEW DELHI-110075
Convent Square, Bhubaneswar - 751007, ODISHA”. The sealed
Smt Prabha R/o H. No. -101, Gali No 4,
Shivam Colony, Part 2, Ismailpur bids should reach to the above mentioned address of Speed
Faridabad, Amarnagar, Faridabad post/Registered post/Courier only on or before 14th Aug,
Haryana - 121003 have severed all his
relation with his son Shri Deepak 2020 upto 05:00 PM.
Chauhan due to the bad behavior, My
clients debars/disowns them from his all No bid will be entertained after expiry of the prescribed date and
movable and immovable properties with time. The bids will be opened on 17th Aug, 2020 at 11:00 AM in
immediate effects. If any person deals
with Shri Deepak Chauhan in any manner the Tender of OSMCL, Bhubaneswar.
whatsoever, then they will be doing that at
their own risk responsibility. Note:
Sd/- AKHIL REXWAL (Advocate)
All further notifications, corrigendum or oddendums (if any)
Enrl. No:- D/5021/2017
Office:- J 009, Ayush Enclave, Near related to this tender shall be floated in OSMCL website.
Mohan Estate Metro New Delhi-110044
Contact - 9540737777 Bidders are advised to follow the websites timely during
tender process.
PUBLIC NOTICE Sd/-
My client Smt. Shanti W/o Late Sh. GM, Operaiton (Equipment)
Jagdish Prasad R/o A-316, Gali No.16,
Shyam Colony, Budh Vihar, Phase-2,
OSMCL, Bhubaneswar
Delhi-110086, have debarred her step OIPR-10112/11/0019/2021
daughter in law Poonam Sharma W/o Late
Sh. Vinod Kumar Sharma and her
daughters i.e. step grand daughters Jyoti
(married) & Arti, from her moveable and
immovable properties, and have severed
all relations from them due to their
misconduct, bad behaviour and bad
intentions. Any person dealing with them
shall be doing so at his/her/their own risk,
SR. NAME OF NAME OF WORK NOTICE TENDER OPENING DATE AMOUNT/EMD WEBSITE OF THE NODAL OFFICER/CON-
NO. BOARD/ CLOSING DATE (APPROX.) IN BOARD CORP./AUTH TACT DETAILS/EMAIL
cost and responsibilities. My Client will not
CORP./AUTH (TIME) RUPEES
be liable and responsible for the same.
Sd/- 1. ANNUAL SWEEPING & CLEANING OF 11.08.2020 27.95 https://etenders.hry.nic.in 0124-2290326
SANJEEV JAIN (ADVT) HSIIDC METALLED ROADS & BERMS INCLUD- 25.08.2020 LACS (ia.manesar@hsiidc.org.in)
Enrl. No D/226/1991 ING DISPOSAL OF GARBAGE/SOLID
WASTE IN RESIDENTIAL SECTOR-1
AT IMT, MANESAR.
PUBLIC NOTICE
2. HSIIDC CONSTRUCTION OF BITUMINOUS 11.08.2020 440.77 https://etenders.hry.nic.in 0124-2290326
This is for the information of
General Public that my clients ROADS WITH DLP & MAINTENANCE OF 01.09.2020 LACS (ia.manesar@hsiidc.org.in)
36 MONTHS THEREAFTER AT PHASE-V
Sh. Surender Kumar S/o Late
Budh Dev Arya and Smt. Veena
(PART), HSIIDC IMT MANESAR.
Arya W/o Surender Kumar, 3. HSIIDC ANNUAL CLEANING OF METALLED 13.08.2020 29.92 https://etenders.hry.nic.in 0124-2290326
both residents of C-37, Tagore ROADS & BERMS INCLUDING DIS- 27.08.2020 LACS (ia.manesar@hsiidc.org.in)
POSAL OF SOLID WASTE IN SECTOR-
Garden Extn. New Delhi-27,
have disowned their son Sh. 16, 17 & 4B AT IE BAHADUGARH.
Neeraj Arya and both of them
82186/HRY FOR FURTHER INFORMATION KINDLY VISIT: www.haryanaeprocurement.gov.in or www.etenders.hry.nic.in
have severed all their relation
and connection from him.
Anybody dealing with him shall
be doing so at his/her own risk.
Sunil Lalwani (Advocate)
Ch.No.252, Civil Side,
Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi-54
PUBLIC NOTICE
MY CLIENTS SH. SATYA PRAKASH
JAIN S/O SH. SURFI DEVI JAIN AND
HIS WIFE SMT. BEENA JAIN R/O E-
1/119, SECOND FLOOR, SECTOR-16,
ROHINI, DELHI AND THEIR FAMILY
MEMBERS, DO HEREBY DISOWN/
DEBAR THEIR SON SH. SAURABH
JAIN FROM THEIR ALL MOVABLE-
IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES AND
SEVER THEIR RELATIONS FROM HIM
DUE TO HIS MISCONDUCT. MY ''IMPORTANT''
CLIENTS AND HIS FAMILY WILL NOT
BE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS ANY
ACTS. Whilst care is taken prior to
Sd/-
IRSHAD AHMAD acceptance of advertising
Advocate copy, it is not possible to verify
Enrl. No. D-340/2002
Ch. No. G-311, 3rd Floor its contents. The Indian
Karkardooma Courts, Delhi
Express (P) Limited cannot be
held responsible for such
contents, nor for any loss or
damage incurred as a result of
transactions with companies,
associations or individuals
advertising in its newspapers
or Publications. We therefore
recommend that readers
make necessary inquiries
before sending any monies or
entering into any agreements
with advertisers or otherwise
acting on an advertisement in
any manner whatsoever.
New Delhi
 E EXPLAINED
11
Breaking down GST: slabs, payments, dispute
The Centre and the states are in a tussle over delayed compensation payments under GST. What led to this, how much is due, and what is being done about it?
AANCHALMAGAZINE
NEWDELHI,AUGUST10
THEGOODSandServicesTax(GST),rolledout
inJuly2017,markedamajorshiftfromthetra-
ditional production-linked tax to a consump-
tion-based tax. The new regime subsumed
state levies such as VAT, sales tax, octroi/entry
taxtogetherwithcentralleviessuchascentral
excise and service tax. States gave up some of
theirtaxationrightsinlieuof theCentrepass-
ingontheirrevenueshareunderGSTandalso
compensating them for potential revenue
losses in the first five years.
The tussle between the Centre and the
states,whichhasescalatedinrecentweeks,in-
volvesthepassingonofthisshare,andthepay-
ments under the compensation cess head.
WhatdoesGSTinclude?
GST includes a tax levied by the Centre on
theintra-statesupplyofgoodsand/orservices
called Central GST (CGST), and a correspon-
ding tax levied by states/UTs called the State
GST (SGST/UTGST) on these goods and serv-
ices.CGSTandSGSTareleviedsimultaneously
on every purchase of goods and services, ex-
cept exempted ones. The consumer pays an
overallrateunderoneofthemajortaxslabs—
5%, 12%, 18% and 28% — out of which half ac-
cruestotheCentreandhalf tothestatewhere
consumption happens.
Integrated GST (IGST) is the GST levied on
inter-state transactions and exports/imports
CORONAVIRUS DASHBOARD
C VID-19 VACCINE TRACKER
WHO urges countries again
to join its COVAX platform
THE WORLD Health Organization
(WHO) has renewed its invite to
countries to join its COVAX facility, an
international alliance aimed at accel-
erating the development and manu-
facture of novel coronavirus vaccines,
and ensuring equitable access to all.
The COVAX facility, launched in the
lastweekof April,isstitchingtogether
agreements with developers and
manufacturers of vaccine candidates
it thinks are most likely to
succeed.
The facility is trying to
raise funds to support the
rapiddevelopmentof prom-
ising candidates, and the
quickexpansionofmanufac-
turing capacities, so that the
vaccines once approved, could be pro-
duced on mass scale. According to its
initial estimates, $18.1 billion was re-
quiredtocoverthecostsofresearchand
development,manufacturing,andde-
liveryofvaccinestodifferentcountries.
Thefacilityaimstoprocureatleasttwo
billiondosesofanovelcoronavirusvac-
cinebytheendofnextyear,fordeploy-
ment and distribution mainly in the
INDIA ACTIVE CASES
650000
600000
550000
565,103
LAST 10 DAYS
500000
July 31
450000
Note: The August 9 figure in this graph is based on government update on August 10
INDIA TOTAL CASES
2,215,074
Source: MinistryofHealth&Family
Welfare,updatedat11pmonAugust10
Who is media mogul Jimmy Lai, and why his arrest in Hong Kong matters
NEHA BANKA
KOLKATA, AUGUST 10
ONMONDAY,policeinHongKongtookJimmy
Lai, founder of media company Next Digital
that owns the pro-democracy Apple Daily,
handcuffedfromhishome,thefirsthigh-pro-
file arrest under the territory’s sweeping new
nationalsecuritylaw.Soonafterward,200po-
lice officers raided the offices of Apple Daily.
Lai and his politics
Media mogul Lai, 71, was born in
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
ofgoodsandservices.IGSTisacombinationof
SGST and CGST and is first levied and admin-
istered by the Centre, which then distributes
it between the consuming state and itself.
In addition, a compensation cess — rang-
ing from 1-200% — is levied on sin and luxury
goods like cigarettes, pan masala and certain
categoriesof automobiles,overandabovethe
topmost slab of 28%.
Howdoesallthiswork?
Take spoons and forks, for which the GST
is12%.Aconsumerwillpay12%onthepriceof
the spoons and forks if she buys from a man-
ufacturer in the same state (intra-state trans-
action). Then, 6% will be the Centre’s share as
CGST and 6% the state’s share as SGST.
Forawholesale(B2B)transaction,theGST
allowsthesellertoclaiminputtaxcredit(ITC)
bysettingoffthetaxliabilityagainstthetaxal-
ready paid. For example, a manufacturer in
Andhra Pradesh sells spoons and forks to a
shop in Andhra Pradesh (intra-state transac-
tion).Theshop-ownerpays12%tothemanu-
facturer.Whenacustomerbuysthesefromhis
shop, she pays 12% GST on the final price. The
shop-owner then takes ITC for the 12% he has
alreadypaidanddeposits12%GSTwiththeau-
thorities,removingthecascadingeffectoftax-
ation. In the whole transaction, GST of 12% is
in effect applied only once after availing ITC.
However,if thespoonsandforksareman-
ufactured in Andhra Pradesh and sold to a
shop-owner in Maharashtra, the inter-state
transaction attracts 12% IGST (6% CGST, 6%
low and middle income countries.
Thelatestannouncementdoesnot
say how many countries had already
joined the initiative. But in a July 15
statement, the WHO had said that 75
countries had submitted their expres-
sions of interest in joining the COVAX
facility, and had shown willingness to
helpraisetherequisitefunds.Thecoun-
trieswho jointheinitiativearealso as-
sured supply of vaccines whenever
they become successful. The
countries will get assured
suppliestoprotectatleast20
percentoftheirpopulations.
The WHO has been say-
ing the COVAX facility, by
backing multiple vaccine
candidates, would ensure
thatitwouldhaveaccesstowhichever
vaccine candidate is finally approved
for use.
At the same time, countries which
donothavetheresourcesoftheUnited
States to get into individual bilateral
agreements with multiple vaccine de-
velopers for securing supplies in ad-
vance,canstillhopetogetaccesstothe
vaccines by joining this facility.
634,945
634,945
Aug 9
WORLD TOTAL CASES
19,919,559
Source:JohnsHopkinsUniversity,
updatedat11pmonAugust10
Guangzhou, China, and travelled to Hong
Kongasaboyasastowawayonafishingboat.
He has British citizenship, has long been a
vocal critic of the government in Beijing and
a supporter of the pro-democracy move-
ment in the territory. He is also one of Hong
Kong’s richest men, and the founder of the
successful clothing brand Giordano.
The communist party’s brutal crackdown
on the 1989 pro-democracy protests at
TiananmenSquareinfluencedandshapedLai’s
political views, according to a profile by the
BBC. Publications owned by him have always
been critical of China’s authoritarian politics,
SIMPLY PUT QUESTION &ANSWER
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chairs the GST Council meeting through
videoconferencing on June 12. PTI
SGST). The IGST is levied and collected by the
Centre, and the division with the consuming
state happens later.
Now, if a consumer buys from the shop in
Maharashtra, she pays 12% GST (6% CGST, 6%
Maharashtra GST). The shop-owner has al-
readypaidIGSTontheinput.SinceGSTisades-
tination-basedtax,thestateshareinIGSTfrom
thetransactionshouldaccruetotheconsump-
tionstate,Maharashtra,andnottheexporting
state, Andhra Pradesh. Therefore, the shop-
owner can make use of the IGST as a credit to
pay for the CGST and Maharashtra GST.
The final apportionment of the IGST thus
happens between the consuming state
How Munnar landslide happened
A massive landslide last week crushed a settlement of 83 tea estate workers in Munnar in Idukki, Kerala. So far, 49 bodies have been recovered,
12 persons have been rescued and many are still missing. SHAJU PHILIP looks at what happened, and why the area is prone to landslides
EARLIER
HOW IT HAPPENED
THE LANDSLIDE happened at 10:45 pm
on August 6 at Pettimudi, a hamlet in
Rajamala ward under Munnar village
panchayat in Kerala’s Idukki district.
Workers of Kanan Devan Hills
Plantations Company (P) Ltd were living
in Pettimudi. Rajamala includes
Eravikulam National Park, and the
landslide was triggered from a shola
forest region in the national park. Rocks,
slurry and sludge crashed down a
distance of around 1½ km to a patch of
valley in Pettimudi, crushing the single-
room houses of estate workers that stood
in two rows, face to face.
THE VICTIMS
OFFICIALS SAID 83 people were living in
30 single-room, sheet-roofed quarters,
provided by the estate. 12 of them were
rescued by residents of another
settlement. So far, 49 bodies have been
recovered in laborious rescue operations.
Local people said more are missing as
many had come as guests from other
areas. Only a handful of residents, who
were away, have survived. The victims
included 31 persons of one extended
family who lived in adjacent quarters,
and six temporary staff at the Eravikulam
National Park. Nineteen schoolchildren
have either died or are still missing.
censorship, and the suppression of freedoms.
Beijing, which sees Lai as a troublemaker
and a “traitor”, was incensed after he met
with United States Vice-President Mike
Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
last year. He was arrested twice earlier in
February and April for participating in unau-
thorised pro-democracy protests.
Attack on media
Thearrestof Lai,histwosons,andfourex-
ecutivesof NextDigital,includingitschief ex-
ecutive Cheung Kin-hung, is seen as an ex-
ample of exactly the kind of attack on Hong
(Maharashtra)andtheCentre,aftersettingoff
the credit from the IGST payment made ear-
lier in the exporting state.
Howarestatescompensated?
As per the GST (Compensation to States)
Act,2017,statesareguaranteedcompensation
for revenue loss on account of implementa-
tion of GST for a transition period of five years
(2017-2022). The compensation is calculated
based on the difference between the current
states’GSTrevenueandtheprotectedrevenue
afterestimatinganannualised14%growthrate
from the base year of 2015-16.
The high rate of 14%, which has got com-
FACT CHECK, GROUND REALITY
Government of Kerala
VULNERABLE AREA
AREA OF
LANDSLIDE
THE LOCATION where the landslide
was triggered, according to the Kerala
Geology Department, has a 40° slope,
and any slope above 20° is vulnerable
to slipping during heavy rain. The soil
has a high content of sand, which
absorbs more water, takes a loose
form, and is at risk of slipping down.
An analysis of landslides in Idukki
by the State Disaster Management
Authority has shown that high-
intensity rainfall saturates the soil on
the slopes. Soil with higher clay
Jimmy Lai is taken into custody. Reuters
@ieExplained
#ExpressExplained
If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that you would like
explained, please write to explained@indianexpress.com
pounded since 2015-16, has been seen as
delinkedfromeconomicrealities.Whilechair-
ing the first few meetings of the GST Council,
then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had pro-
posed a revenue growth rate of 10.6% (the av-
erage all-India growth rate in the three years
preceding 2015-16). Council meeting records
show the suggestion of 14% revenue growth
was accepted “in the spirit of compromise”.
How did compensation become an issue?
Compensation payments to states started
getting delayedsinceOctober lastyearasGST
revenues started to slow down. The Covid-19
pandemichaswidenedthegap,withGSTrev-
enuesdeclining41%intheApril-Junequarter.
While the 14% growth rate in tax revenue
hasbeencompoundedoverthebaseyear2015-
16,collectionshaveremainedaroundthesame
level for two years. As a result, the states’
monthly protected revenue, which was Rs
49,020 crore for 2018-19 and Rs 55,882 crore
for 2019-20, has risen to Rs 63,706 crore in
2020-21.Intheongoingfinancialyear,theSGST
revenueforJulyhasbeenRs40,256crore,while
monthlyprotectedrevenueisRs63,706crore,
leavingagapofRs23,450crore(takingintoac-
count settlement of IGST). For April-July, only
Rs21,940crorehasbeencollectedascompen-
sation cess, including Rs 7,265 crore in July.
The Centre on July 27 released Rs 13,806
crore to the states for March 2020, wrapping
upthefullpayoutforFY20atRs1.65lakhcrore.
Compensation remains pending for the four
months of this financial year (April to July).
MONDAY, AUGUST 10
Arabian Sea
KERALA
Idukki
Thiruvananthapuram
content has high water retention
capacity and low drainage capacity,
leading to high water pressure in the
slope material.
Human interventions such as
heavy loading on the slopes caused by
buildings on cut-and-fill ground,
without adequate protective
measures on the uphill and downhill
sides, have made the area particularly
vulnerable. Frequent slides have
resulted in blockage of river channels
and changed the river’s course.
Kong’s free media that pro-democracy pro-
testers and many western countries have
been fearing. Soon after Lai’s arrest, the jun-
ior British Foreign Office minister Nigel
AdamspostedonTwitter:“Deeplyconcerned
by arrest of Jimmy Lai & 6 others in
#HongKong.Mediafreedommustbeupheld.
More evidence the National security law be-
ing used as pretext to silence opposition.”
National security law
The national security law, the details of
the 66 articles of which were kept secret un-
til it came into effect on June 30, gives China
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Howisthedisputenowplaced?
Fresh tensions have resulted after senior
Finance Ministry officials are learnt to have
reportedtheCentre’sinabilitytocompensate
statesinthenearfuture,whichwasfollowed
by the AttorneyGeneralof India’s legalopin-
ion that the Centre does not have an obliga-
tion to pay for a revenue shortfall. The AG is
learnttohavesuggestedthattheGSTCouncil
can recommend to the Centre that it allow
the states “to borrow on the strength of the
futurereceiptsfromthecompensationfund”
and that the Centre will have to take the “fi-
nal decision in the matter”.
States such as Punjab, Kerala, Bihar are not
infavourofbeingaskedtoborrowtobridgethe
revenue gap, that will be then repaid from the
compensation cess fund. They are of the view
that receipts in the compensation fund are
likelytobetoolowtomeettherevenueshort-
fall,letalonebeusedforrepayingstatesforbor-
rowing. They have suggested raising tax rates
or cess rates, or bringing in more items under
the 28% slab and the compensation cess. The
rest of the revenue gap, Punjab has suggested,
can be bridged through market borrowing by
theCentrethatcanthencompensatethestates.
On August 1, Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman said the Attorney General’s view
on GST compensation was sought after con-
sultation with the states and a meeting of the
GSTCouncilwouldbeheldnowtodiscussthe
legalopinion.AGSTCouncilmeetingoncom-
pensationwasslatedtobeheldinJulybutwas
not. It is expected to be held shortly.
ANI
WEEK OF HEAVY RAIN
216.35 cm 389.1 cm
Week’s rainfall in In Idukki, July 30 to
Rajamala between August 5 (Normal
August 1 and 7. is 192.7 mm)
TRENDS IN IDUKKI (in mm)
AUGUST 1-3 MODERATE BELOW 66
AUGUST 4 HEAVY UP TO 115
AUGUST 5 HEAVY UP TO 115
AUGUST 6 MODERATE 64.4
AUGUST 7 VERY HEAVY 261
PREVIOUS LANDSLIDES
2019: 59 persons died in Kavalappara,
Malappuram (above). In Puthumala,
Wayanad, another landslide killed 17.
2018: In various landslides in Idukki, 60
died. Elsewhere, a landslide in
Thamarassery, Kozhikode killed 14, and
another in Kurancheri, Thrissur killed 19.
unprecedented power over the lives of the
residents of Hong Kong. It curtails protests
and the freedom of speech, and allows
Beijing to establish a security office in Hong
Kongthatisoutsidethejurisdictionof thelo-
caladministration,andwhichcansendsome
cases for trial to Beijing.
Critics have been particularly concerned
about a clause that says the law will also ap-
ply to non-permanent residents and people
“fromoutside…whoarenotpermanentres-
idents of Hong Kong”. Which means that an
individual’s foreign citizenship will not pro-
tectherfromBeijing’slongarminHongKong.

12 THE WORLD
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
TOPOFTHE
WORLD
Asif Ali Zardari
PAKISTAN
Pakcourtindicts
formerpresident
Zardariin
corruptioncase
AN ANTI-CORRUPTION
court in Pakistan on
Monday indicted former
president Asif Ali Zardari
through video link in a
graft case where he was
accusedofinfluencingau-
thoritiestoreleaseloansto
front companies. As
Zardari could not appear
in the court due to illness,
the indictment was car-
ried out through video
link, which was the first
suchindictmentintheju-
dicial history of the coun-
try. Judge Muhammad
Azam Khan of the ac-
countability court in
Islamabad indicted him
and nine other accused in
theParkLanecase.Zardari
has denied all allegations
related to the case. PTI
NIGER
Gunmenkillsix
Frenchaid
workers,their
driverandguide
GUNMENONmotorcycles
killedsixFrenchaidwork-
ers,aNigerienguideanda
driver in a wildlife park in
Niger on Sunday, officials
said. The group was at-
tacked in a giraffe reserve
just 65 km from the West
African country’s capital
Niamey, the governor of
Tillaberi region, Tidjani
Ibrahim Katiella, told
Reuters.“Theywereinter-
ceptedandkilled,”hesaid.
The six worked for an in-
ternational aid group,
Niger’s Defence Minister
Issoufou Katambé told
Reuters. Officials had ear-
lier described them as
tourists. REUTERS
BRITAIN
Antonio
Banderastests
Covidpositive
HOLLYWOOD STAR
AntonioBanderasrevealed
he has tested positive for
coronavirus on Monday,
his 60th birthday. The
Oscar nominee, who
sharedhisdiagnosisonso-
cial media, said he feels
“relatively good” besides
being more tired than
usual. “I want to make it
public that today, Aug 10, I
am forced to celebrate my
60th birthday in quaran-
tine,havingtestedpositive
for the Covid-19 disease,
causedbythecoronavirus,"
BanderaswroteinSpanish
alongside his childhood
photoonInstagram. PTI
A US CITIZEN WAS SHOT DEAD IN A COURT DURING PROCEEDINGS OF A BLASPHEMY CASE AGAINST HIM
‘Holy warrior’ selfies: Pak teen feted for killing man in court
UMAR FAROOQ &
JIBRAN AHMAD
ISLAMABAD, PESHAWAR,
AUGUST 10
FAISAL KHAN, a 15-year-old
Pakistani, beams for selfies with
lawyers and police. Thousands
hail him in the streets as a “holy
warrior.”
His claim to adulation?
Allegedlygunningdowninopen
court an American accused of
blasphemy,acapitalcrimeinthis
Islamic republic.
Khan is charged with mur-
der, which also carries a death
sentence. But while lawyers line
up to defend him, the attorney
Lebanon’sCabinetresignsover
Beirutexplosionamidpublicfury
PrimeMinisterHassanDiabsayswillrequestearlyelection;protestsbreakoutagainincentralBeirut
MICHAEL GEORGY
BEIRUT, AUGUST 10
LEBANON’S PRIME Minister an-
nounced his government’s res-
ignation on Monday, saying a
huge explosion that devastated
the capital and stirred public
outrage was the result of en-
demic corruption.
The Aug. 4 detonation at a
port warehouse of more than
2,000 tonnes of ammonium ni-
trate killed at least 163 people,
injuredmorethan6,000andde-
stroyed swathes of the
Mediterranean capital, com-
pounding months of political
and economic meltdown.
In a televised address, Prime
Minister Hassan Diab said he
backed calls by ordinary
Lebanese for those responsible
for “this crime” to be put on trial.
Diab made the announce-
ment after the cabinet, formed
in January with the backing of
the powerful Iranian-backed
Hezbollah group and its allies,
met on Monday, with many
ministers wanting to resign, ac-
cording to ministerial and polit-
ical sources.
Diab said on Saturday he
would request early parliamen-
tary elections.
Demonstrations broke out
Belarus leader wins 6th term with 80% votes
Opposition says election was rigged, calls on President Lukashenko to resign
ANDREI MAKHOVSKY
MINSK, AUGUST 10
THEBELARUSIANoppositionac-
cused President Alexander
Lukashenko on Monday of rig-
ging a landslide re-election vic-
tory after bloody clashes be-
tween police and protesters
sparked Western criticism and
talk of new sanctions.
Official results handed
Lukashenko, in power for more
than a quarter of a century, an
80%shareof thevoteinSunday’s
election, while Svetlana
Tikhanouskaya, who emerged
from obscurity to become his
main rival, took just 9.9%.
“Theauthoritiesarenotlisten-
ing to us. The authorities need to
More than 100
held for looting
in Chicago
Chicago:Hundredsof lootersand
vandals descended on down-
town Chicago early Monday fol-
lowing a police shooting on the
city’s South Side, smashing the
windowsofdozensofbusinesses
and making off with merchan-
dise,cashmachinesandanything
else they could carry, police said.
Hours earlier, police shot a
man after he opened fire on offi-
cersSunday—anincidentthatap-
parentlypromptedasocialmedia
posturginglooterstoconvergeon
the area, Police Superintendent
David Brown said.
Over several hours, police
made more than 100 arrests and
13officerswereinjured,including
one who was struck in the head
with a bottle, Brown said. AP
for Tahir Naseem, the US citizen,
has gone into hiding.
Theteen,accordingtoofficials
andwitnesses,gotthroughthree
security checkpoints on his way
into a courtroom in the north-
western Pakistani city of
PeshawaronJuly29,pulledouta
pistol and fired multiple shots
intoNaseem,57,atabailhearing.
Naseemdiedonthe spot, on-
lookersspatteredwithhisblood.
His killing grabbed global
headlines,putafreshspotlighton
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and
drewcriticismfromabroad,even
asmanyinthecountrypraisedthe
shooter.TheUnitedStatesandhu-
man rights groups decried the
killing and urged changes to
Protesters try to remove a concrete slab from a barrier to open a road leading to the
Parliament building in Beirut on Monday. AP
again in central Beirut, with
some protesters hurling rocks
at security forces guarding an
entrance leading to the parlia-
ment building, who responded
with teargas.
Formany ordinary Lebanese,
the explosion was the last straw
inaprotractedcrisisoverthecol-
lapse of the economy, corrup-
tion, waste and dysfunctional
People argue with police during a rally after the Belarusian
presidential election in Minsk late Sunday. AP
thinkaboutpeacefulwaystohand
overpower,”saidTikhanouskaya,
aformerEnglishteacherwhoen-
tered the race after her blogger
More migrants cross Channel
to UK as political tension rises
PETER NICHOLLS
DOVER, AUGUST 10
BRITAIN’S BORDER Force
brought migrants ashore in the
port of Dover on Monday after
picking them up from an inflat-
able boat as they crossed the
Channel, the latest in a surge of
crossings that is causing politi-
cal tensions with France.
Takingadvantage of aspellof
hot weather and calm sea con-
ditions,more than 500 migrants
have made it to British shores
since Thursday, many in over-
loaded rubber dinghies.
A Reuters photographer in
Dover, on England’s south coast,
saw a Border Force boat arrive
People chant slogans in
favour of the person
suspected of killing US
national Tahir Ahmed
Naseem. Reuters
governance,andtheyhavetaken
to the streets demanding root-
and-branch change.
The information and envi-
ronment ministers quit on
Sunday as well as several law-
makers, and the justice minis-
ter followed them out the door
on Monday. Finance Minister
Ghazi Wazni, a key negotiator
with the IMF over a rescue plan
husbandwasjailed.“Ofcoursewe
do not recognise the results.”
Foreign observers have not
judged an election to be free and
A Border Force boat carrying
migrants arrives at Dover
harbour on Monday. Reuters
carrying a group of migrants
wearing life jackets, while a blue
inflatable dinghy was towed in
by a separate vessel.
Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes,
amongtheharshestintheworld.
Closertohome,Khanisahero.
“It’soneof thosecaseswhere
everyone wants to be his
lawyer,” Inamullah Yusufzai,
who represented Khan at his
firstcourthearinglastweek,told
Reuters. Yusufzai said lawyers
from across Pakistan had called
to defend Khan for free, to sup-
port what they see as the justi-
fied killing of a heretic.
The case has not reached the
stage for Khan to enter a plea.
Thousands rallied, calling for
Khan’s release. Delegations of
well-wishers - lawyers, clerics,
localpoliticians-havevisitedthe
Khan family home in Peshawar
to help Lebanon exit a financial
crisis, was set to resign, a source
close to him said.
Lebanon’s President had pre-
viously said explosive material
was stored unsafely for years at
the port. He later said the inves-
tigation would consider
whether the cause was external
interference as well as negli-
gence or an accident. REUTERS
fairinBelarussince1995,andthe
run-uptothevotesawauthorities
jail Lukashenko’s rivals and open
criminal investigations into oth-
ers who voiced opposition.
Germany called for the
European Union to discuss sanc-
tions on Belarus that were lifted
in 2016 to foster better relations.
The streets in the capital and
other cities were quiet after
Sunday night, when riot police
usedforcetodispersethousands
of protesters who had gathered
to denounce what they said was
an electoral farce.
But calls for new protests
spreadthroughsocialmedianet-
works on Monday. Local media
also reported a partial strike at a
steel plant in protest against
Lukashenko. REUTERS
British ministers have called
the surge in crossings “unac-
ceptable” and have called on
France to do more to prevent
boats from setting off from
northern France.
“We have to make this route
completely unviable,” said Chris
Philp, the minister for immigra-
tion compliance, in a statement
on Sunday. “We intend to return
as many migrants who have ar-
rived as possible.”
Pro-migrant charities accuse
thegovernmentof over-reacting
to the crossings for political gain,
whenthenumbersaretinycom-
paredwiththeflowsof migrants
routinely arriving in
Mediterranean countries like
Greece and Italy. REUTERS
to congratulate the family. He
has received messages of sup-
port from the Pakistani Taliban.
AselfieshotbyEliteForcepo-
lice guards in a van escorting
Khantocourtafterhisarrestwas
shared widely on social media.
Wearing all white, the teen grins
broadly. Several officers smile,
one gives a thumbs-up.
A senior police official, who
said the force had looked the
photo, said it was authentic.
Reuterscouldnotindependently
confirm its authenticity.
Anotherselfieshowsacrowd,
some black-clad lawyers, escort-
ing a beaming Khan into court.
The US State Department, in
an unusually blunt statement,
MEANWHILE
THE $1.5-MILLION GOLD COVID MASK
An Israeli jewelry company is working on what it says will be the world’s most expensive
coronavirus mask, a gold, diamond-encrusted face covering with a price tag of $1.5 million.
The 18-karat white gold mask will be decorated with 3,600 white and black diamonds and
fitted with top-rated N99 filters at the request of the buyer, said designer Isaac Levy.
A GOVT IN TROUBLE
SINCE BEFORE BLAST
■ Since last October, there
have been mass protests
demanding the departure
of the entire sectarian-
based leadership over
entrenched corruption and
incompetence in Lebanon
■ But the ruling oligarchy
has held onto power for so
long — since the end of the
civil war in 1990 — that it is
difficult to find a credible
political figure not tainted
by connections to them
■ PM Hassan Diab’s
government was formed
after his predecessor, Saad
Hariri, stepped down in
October in response to the
demonstrations
■ Diab’s government,
which was supported by
Hezbollah and seen as one-
sided, was basically
doomed from the start,
tasked with meeting
demands for reform but
made up of all the factions
that reformers want out
Stephen Easterbrook
McDonald’s sues
ex-CEO, alleging
he covered up
relationships
with employees
DEE-ANN DURBIN
AUGUST 10
MCDONALD’S SAYS it’s suing
Stephen Easterbrook, the CEO it
oustedlastyearoveraninappro-
priate relationship with an em-
ployee, alleging Monday that he
covered up relationships with
three other employees and de-
stroyed evidence.
The company now wants to
reclaim hundreds of thousands
of dollars in compensation paid
to Easterbrook on his departure.
“McDonald’s does not toler-
ate behaviour from employees
that does not reflect our values,”
said McDonald’s President and
CEO Chris Kempczinski, who
was promoted following
Easterbrook’s departure, in a
message to employees Monday.
McDonald’sfiredEasterbrook
last November after he acknowl-
edgedexchangingvideosandtext
messagesinanon-physical,con-
sensualrelationshipwithanem-
ployee.Easterbrooktoldthecom-
pany that there were no other
similar instances. Easterbrook
andhiswifedivorcedin2015,the
same year he became
McDonald’s CEO. AP
said Naseem “had been lured to
Pakistan from his home in
Illinois by individuals who then
used Pakistan’s blasphemy laws
to entrap him.”
It called on Pakistan to re-
form its blasphemy laws and
prosecuting Naseem’s killing.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry
says a special team is investigat-
ing the case and it “will be dealt
withinaccordancewiththelaw.”
ButprosecutingKhanwillbea
bigchallenge.Inblasphemycases
in Pakistan, “an accusation be-
comesadeathsentence,whether
carriedoutbythestateorbymobs
orvigilantes,”OmarWaraich,head
of South Asia for Amnesty
International,said. REUTERS
New Delhi
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen greets the US delegation, led
by Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar (right),
in Taipei on Monday. Reuters
China sends fighter
jets as US health
chief visits Taiwan
YIMOU LEE &
BEN BLANCHARD
TAIPEI, AUGUST 10
CHINESE AIR Force jets briefly
crossed the mid-line of the
Taiwan Strait on Monday and
were tracked by Taiwanese mis-
siles, Taiwan’s government said,
as US health chief Alex Azar vis-
ited the island to offer President
Donald Trump’s support.
Azar arrived in Taiwan on
Sunday, the highest-level US of-
ficial to visit in four decades.
China,whichclaimstheisland
as its own, condemned the visit
which comes after a period of
sharplydeterioratingrelationsbe-
tweenChinaandtheUnitedStates.
China, which had promised
unspecified retaliation to the trip,
flew J-11 and J-10 fighter aircraft
briefly onto Taiwan’s side of the
sensitive and narrow strait that
separates it from its giant neigh-
bour, at around 9 am, shortly be-
fore Azar met Taiwan President
Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s Air Force
said. The aircraft were tracked by
land-basedTaiwaneseanti-aircraft
missilesandwere“drivenout”by
patrolling Taiwanese aircraft, the
Air Force said in a statement re-
leasedbythedefenceministry.
China’s defence ministry did
not immediately comment.
A senior Taiwan official fa-
miliarwiththegovernment’sse-
curity planning said China was
obviously “targeting” Azar’svisit
with a “very risky” move given
the Chinese jets were in range of
Taiwan’s missiles.
The incursion was only the
third time since 2016 that
Taiwan has said Chinese jets had
crossed the strait’s median line.
The Trump administration
HK media tycoon
Jimmy Lai held
under security law
GREG TORODE &
JAMES POMFRET
HONG KONG, AUGUST 10
HONG KONG media tycoon
Jimmy Lai became the highest-
profile person arrested under a
new national security law on
Monday,detainedoversuspected
collusion with foreign forces as
around200policesearchedtheof-
ficesofhisAppleDailynewspaper.
Lai has been one of the most
prominentdemocracyactivistsin
the Chinese-ruledcityandanar-
dent critic of Beijing.
His arrest comes amid
Beijing’s crackdown against pro-
democracy opposition in the city
andfurtherstokesconcernsabout
mediaandotherfreedomsprom-
ised to the former British colony
whenitreturnedtoChinain1997.
Chinaimposedthesweepingnew
security law on Hong Kong on
June 30, drawing condemnation
from Western countries.
Thearrest“bearsouttheworst
fears that Hong Kong’s National
Security Law would be used to
suppress critical pro-democracy
opinion and restrict press free-
dom”, said Steven Butler, the
Committee to Protect Journalists’
Asia programme coordinator.
Ryan Law, chief editor of
Apple Daily, a staunch anti-gov-
ernment and pro-democracy
tabloid that also does investiga-
tive work,told Reuters the paper
would not intimidated.
“Business as usual,” he said.
The security law punishes
anything China considers sub-
version, secession, terrorism
and collusion with foreign
forces with up to life in prison.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
China imposes
sanctions on
US lawmakers
Beijing: China imposed
sanctionson11UScitizens
including legislators on
Mondayinresponsetothe
USimpositionofsanctions
on 11 Hong Kong and
Chineseofficialsaccusedof
curtailing political free-
domsintheformerBritish
colony. Among those tar-
geted were Senators Ted
Cruz, Marco Rubio, Tom
Cotton, Josh Hawley and
Pat Toomey and
Representative Chris
Smith,aswellasindividu-
alsatnon-profitandrights
groups. “In response to
that wrong US behaviour,
China has decided to im-
posesanctionsonindivid-
uals who have behaved
egregiously on Hong
Kong-relatedissues,”gov-
ernmentspokesmanZhao
Lijiansaid.Hedidnotspec-
ify what the sanctions en-
tail. REUTERS
has made strengthening its
support for the democratic is-
land a priority, amid deteriorat-
ing relations between
Washington and Beijing, and
has boosted arms sales.
“It’s a true honour to be here
to convey a message of strong
support and friendship from
President Trump to Taiwan,”
Azar told Tsai in the Presidential
Office, standing in front of two
Taiwanese flags. REUTERS
Jimmy Lai was arrested by
police officers at his home in
Hong Kong on Monday. AP
Jimmy Lai: Tycoon,
activist, publisher
JIMMYLAIwasa12-year-old
whenhewassmuggledinto
HongKongfromthemain-
landonafishingboat.He
workedinatextilefactory,
andbytheageof 25,setup
hisowntextilebusiness.He
saysthe1989crackdownin
TiananmenSquarespurred
himontojournalism.Now
themillionaireownerof me-
diahouseNextDigital,he
publishesmaterialthatis
fiercelycriticalof Beijing.He
hasopenlysupportedthe
pro-democracyprotestsin
HongKongandhascalledon
theUSandotherforeign
powerstobackthestruggle.
Critics say it crushes freedoms,
while supporters say it will
bring stability after prolonged
pro-democracy protests last
year. REUTERS

13 ECONOMY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020
TO PREVENT MISUSE BY CORPORATES IN WAKE OF ONE-TIME LOAN RECAST SCHEME
RBI bansroutingoftermloansviacurrentaccounts
Banks without significant exposure to a borrower cannot open their current accounts
GEORGEMATHEW
MUMBAI, AUGUST 10
SIPHONINGOFFfundsfromterm
loans of banks through current
accounts in other banks by cor-
porates and big borrowers is set
tocomedown.Inabidtoprevent
the misuse of bank funds, the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
bannedbanksfromroutingfunds
from term loans taken by bor-
rowers through their current ac-
counts, a common practice
amongborrowerstodivertfunds.
Ithasalsobannedabankfrom
openingcurrentaccountsforcus-
tomers who have availed credit
facilitiesintheformofcashcredit
(CC)oroverdraft(OD)fromother
banks and stipulated that all
transactions should be routed
through the CC or OD account.
This effectively means banks —
mostly PSU banks — which have
SECTOR WATCH
MUTUAL FUNDS
First time in 4 years:
Equity schemes see
net outflow in July
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
MUMBAI,AUGUST10
EQUITY SCHEMES of mutual
funds (MFs) witnessed net
outflows of Rs 2,480 crore in
July for the first time in over
four years, despite a 7.5 per
cent rise in the benchmark
Niftyindexduringthemonth.
As per figures released by
the Association of Mutual
FundsofIndia(Amfi),eightout
of 10 equity-oriented MF cat-
egorieshadseennetoutflows
in July with multi-cap funds
registeringtheworstoutflows
tothetuneof Rs1,033crorein
July.Mid-capfundswitnessed
outflows of Rs 579 crore.
Otherequitycategoriesin-
cluding large cap, large & mid
cap, small cap, value funds,
dividend yield funds and sec-
toral funds also saw negative
netinflowsinJuly.Totalassets
under equity schemes are
now at Rs 7.37 lakh crore.
InvestorsbookedprofitsinJuly
when the market recovered,
said an analyst.
However, debt schemes
saw a huge jump in net inflo-
wsatRs91,392croreasagainst
netinflowsofRs2,862crorein
June.Liquidfundsreceivedin-
flowsofRs14,055croreinJuly
and low duration fund Rs
14,219 crore. Hybrid schemes
saw outflows of over Rs 7,301
crore in July with arbitrage
fundsregisteringnetoutflows
of Rs 3,732 crore, Aggressive
hybrid funds saw outflows of
Rs 2,196 crore in July.
Meanwhile, inflows
through SIPs (systematic in-
vestmentplans)declinedtoRs
BRIEFLY
DutyonChinese
chemical
New Delhi: The DGTR has
recommended provisional
anti-dumping duty on ‘PET
resin’ chemical from China.
CottonAdvisory
Boardabolished
New Delhi: The Textiles Mi-
nistryMondayabolishedthe
Cotton Advisory Board. PTI
RulingonApple
inRussia
Moscow:Russia’scompetiti-
on watchdog said Apple Inc
abused its dominant posi-
tioninthemobileappsmar-
ketviaAppStore. REUTERS
GoAiron‘cash
andcarry’basis
New Delhi: AAI has decided
toputGoAiron‘cashandca-
rrybasis’fromTuesday. PTI
SENSEX: 38,182.08 ▲ 141.51 NIFTY: 11,270.15 ▲ 56.10 NIKKEI: 22,329.94 ▼ 88.21 HANG SENG: 24,377.43 ▼ 154.19 FTSE: 6,051.90 ▲ 19.72 DAX: 12,696.02 ▲ 21.14
E
Enforcing
EXPLAINED
credit
discipline
● borrower has a CC/OD account,
THE RBI said the use of
multiple operating ac-
counts by borrowers, cur-
rent accounts as well as
cash credit (CC) and over-
draft accounts, has been
observedtobepronetovi-
tiatingcreditdiscipline.
given loans will now handle the
current accounts of borrowers
who, in turn, can’t divert money
for other purposes through the
current accounts of other banks,
mainlyprivateandforeignbanks.
“Since term loans are meant
for specific purposes, the funds
shouldberemitteddirectlytothe
supplier of goods and services,”
Despite a 7.5% rise in
the Nifty index in
July, equity mutual
fund schemes
saw an outflow of
`2,480 crore
7,830.66croreinJulyasagainst
Rs 7,917 crore in June.
“Theoutflowsfromequity
arequitenegligibleanditmay
stabiliseoverthenextfewmo-
nths. While we may see the
current trend continuing to
prevailintheshorterterm,the
coursemaybesteadiedonthe
availability of more macro
data in the coming months,”
said Joseph Thomas, head of
research, Emkay Wealth
Management.
Amfi said the total assets
undermanagement(AUM)of
the MF industry stood at Rs
27.11 lakh crore as against Rs
25.48 lakh crore in June.
NS Venkatesh, Chief
Executive,Amfi,said:“Investor
confidence in the markets
continues to be robust, going
by the rising net fresh SIP reg-
istrations and overall mutual
fundaverageAUMsincreasing
since the advent of the pan-
demic. Debt mutual fund
schemes are an attractive
propositionwithbenigninter-
est rate environment leading
tobetteryieldsasalsosuperior
risk management by the debt
fund managers.’’
Thomas said the net in-
flows into debt funds show a
healthyuptickoverallwithan
inflowclosetoRs91,400crore.
Telcos under insolvency can’t sell spectrum, govt tells SC
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,AUGUST10
THECASEofbankrupttelecomop-
erators in the adjusted gross rev-
enue (AGR) case took a new turn
onMondaywhenthegovernment
told the Supreme Court that the
spectrumheldbysuchfirmscan-
not be sold as part of their resolu-
tion plans. This raises uncertainty
about the resolution plans of
RelianceCommunications(RCom)
and Aircel, where the respective
plansareatdifferentstages.
Theissueatstakeisthatifspec-
trum belongs to government and
ICICI Bank sets
floor price at
`351.36 for QIP
Mumbai: Private sector lender
ICICIBankonMondaysetthefloor
price at Rs 351.36 per share for its
proposed share sale to raise up to
Rs 15,000 crore.
Thefloorpriceforthequalified
institutional placement (QIP) of
sharesisatadiscountofover3per
cent to Monday’s close of Rs
363.60 on the BSE. PTI
the RBI said. “Expenses incurred
bytheborrowerfordaytodayop-
erations should be routed
through CC/OD account, if the
else through a current account,”
it said in a notification to banks.
Analysts said the RBI move is to
prevent misuse of funds by pro-
moters and corporates in the
wake of the proposed one-time
loan recast scheme.
In a notification issued last
week, the RBI has directed that
debit (withdrawal) to the CC/OD
account of a borrower can only
be for credit (deposit) to the
CC/OD account of that borrower
with a bank that has 10 per cent
or more of the exposure (loans)
of the banking system to that
borrower. This means the bank
which have given 10 per cent or
more of loans to a borrower or
corporatewillhandlethecurrent
account transactions. “For most
COVID-19 IMPACT
‘Consumer behaviour likely
to be altered permanently’
The pandemic is likely to alter consumer behaviour
permanently and cause lasting structural changes to the
consumer goods and retail industries, Accenture’s
COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Research report said
85% Consumers who are
shopping more
health-consciously and
focusing on limiting food waste
71%
Respondents who feel
quality, safety and
trust are the most considered
brand attributes
75% Respondents who
said they are being
more cost-conscious when
shopping for products
2,500 Number of
consumers
surveyed in India, among
45,000 respondents globally
between March and June
Source: Accenture/PTI
WHYTHISISIMPORTANT: Thedemandforlocalgoodsand
brandsisgrowingasconsumersarehesitanttostepoutoftheir
safetyzonestoresumepreviousconsumptionpatterns
InterGlobe Aviation to raise ‘Balance of payments to be
up to `4,000 cr via share sale very, very strong this year’
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
MUMBAI,AUGUST10
INTERGLOBE AVIATION Ltd,
which runs IndiGo, on Monday
said it will raise up to Rs 4,000
crore ($533 million) through the
sale of shares to institutional in-
vestors to streamline the opera-
tions hit by the COVID-19 pan-
demic.
“The board of directors of
InterGlobeAviationLimitedatits
meeting on August 10, 2020 has
consideredandapprovedtherais-
ing of funds for an aggregate
is given to the telecom operators
on lease can it be put up for mon-
etisation as part of the resolution
plan.Insuchaprocessthegovern-
ment becomes an operational
creditor and the payment of its
dues comes after the dues of the
financial creditors, like banks, are
paidoffandthereforethechances
of the government recovering its
AGRduesthroughtheinsolvency
processisnearnegligible.
A Bench led by Justice Arun
Mishra told Solicitor General
Tushar Mehta that he should
come “prepared on Friday with a
planforrecoveryofduesfromthe
companiesunderinsolvency.And
TikTok carveout: Microsoft faces technical challenges
REUTERS
NEWYORK,AUGUST10
MICROSOFT CORP’S bid to carve
out parts of TikTok from its
ChineseownerByteDancewillbe
a technically complex endeavor
that could test the patience of
PresidentDonaldTrump’sadmin-
istration, according to sources fa-
miliar with the setup.
Trump has given Microsoft
corporates,whileloansaregiven
by public sector banks current
accountsaremanagedbyprivate
banks. This will stop now. PSU
banks which have given credit
and overdraft will now manage
currentaccountsaswell.Usually
current accounts interest rates
are low,” said a source.
The RBI said the use of multi-
ple operating accounts by bor-
rowers, both current accounts as
wellascashcredit(CC)andover-
draftaccounts,hasbeenobserved
tobepronetovitiatingcreditdis-
cipline.“Thechecksandbalances
put in place in the extant frame-
work, for opening of current ac-
counts, are found to be inade-
quate,” it said.
“Whereabank’sexposuretoa
borrower is less than 10 per cent
of the exposure of the banking
system to that borrower, while
creditsarefreelypermitted,deb-
itstotheCC/ODaccountcanonly
90%
Consumers that are
making lasting changes
to how they live, work
and shop, with no going
back to the
pre-pandemic world for
consumer brands
amount not exceeding Rs 4,000
crore through an issue of equity
shares by way of a qualified insti-
tutionsplacement,”thecompany
said in an exchange filing.
IndiGo had reported a quar-
terlylossatRs2,844.3croreduring
Q1 of FY 21 compared to a net
profit of Rs 1,203.1 crore in the
same period a year ago.
“Closure of scheduled opera-
tions till May 24, 2020 and lower
capacity deployment thereafter
on account of COVID-19 signifi-
cantly impacted the quarterly re-
sults,” IndiGo had said in an ex-
change filing recently.
whetherspectrumcanbesoldby
thesetelecomcompanies?What
isthegovernment’sstance?What
is the government’s plan to re-
coverdues from RCom? It seems
the government will get nothing
from the IBC process.” “The gov-
ernmentwillgetzero,”saidJustice
MR Shah, part of the three-judge
Bench, adding under IBC, if the
preference is given to financial
creditors then the government
will not get anything.
The court will next hear the
matteronAugust14.
TheBenchaskedtheSG,“Ifyou
don’tappealquickly,howwillyou
preventspectrumfrombeingsold
‘TikTok can’t continue in this form’
Washington: US Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin,
speaking to CNBC television,
said Monday that Chinese-
ownedshortvideoappTikTok
untilSeptember15toputtogether
ablueprintforanacquisitionthat
safeguardspersonaldataofAmer-
beforcredittotheCC/ODaccount
of thatborrowerwithabankthat
has10percentormoreof theex-
posure of the banking system to
that borrower,” the RBI said.
TheRBIhassaidthecreditbal-
ancesinsuchaccountsshouldnot
beusedasmarginforavailingany
non-fund based credit facilities.
“In case there is more than
one bank having 10 per cent or
moreoftheexposureofthebank-
ing system to that borrower, the
banktowhichthefundsaretobe
remitted may be decided mutu-
ally between the borrower and
the banks,” the RBI said. In the
case of customers who have not
availed CC/OD facility from any
bank,theRBIhassetthreeparam-
eters for opening current ac-
counts. In the case of borrowers
where exposure of the banking
system is Rs 50 crore or more,
banks will be required to put in
place an escrow mechanism.
Of 93L EPFO claims settled so far in FY21, 11.27L filed via UMANG
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,AUGUST10
OVER 93 lakh claims have been
settledbysubscribersoftheEmpl-
oyees’ Provident Fund Organi-
sation(EPFO)inthisfinancialyear
so far, of which 11.27 lakh claims
were filed through the UMANG
mobile application. The claims
filed through the mobile app
recorded a 180 per cent increase
from the 3.97 lakh claims filed
throughitduringthepre-COVID-
19 period of December-March
2020, the Labour Ministry said in
a statement on Monday.
As per EPFO’s internal esti-
mates, over Rs 8,500 crore were
withdrawn by employees under
the COVID-19 advances facility
AP unveils new Industrial Development Policy 2020-23
SREENIVASJANYALA
HYDERABADAUGUST10
THE ANDHRA Pradesh govern-
ment Monday unveiled its new
Industrial Development Policy
2020-23. Industries Minister
Mekapati Goutham Reddy said
thepolicyemphasisesonputting
equal focus on supporting exist-
ing units, along with facilitating
PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA
NEWDELHI,AUGUST10
INDIA’S BALANCE of payments
this year is going to be “very very
strong” on the back of significant
improvementinexportsandafall
in imports, Commerce and
Industry Minister Piyush Goyal
saidonMonday.
He said that “good” green
shoots are visible in the economy
andexportshaveshowna“good”
turnaround.
“WeareinJulyatabout91per
cent export level of July 2019 fig-
off”? The question sprang up be-
cause the National Company Law
Tribunal and the National
CompanyLawAppellateTribunal
haveallowedtherespectivecom-
paniestoputupspectrumaspart
oftheirresolutionplanandthough
thegovernmentdisagreeswithit,
it has delayed in filing an appeal
against such orders in the
SupremeCourt.
OnJuly20duringthecourseof
hearing in the AGR matter, the SC
had sought all records of RCom,
Aircel, and Videocon Telecomm-
unications to ensure that these
companies did not misuse IBC to
escapetheirAGRdues. FE
cannotcontinueinitspresent
formcollectingdataonAmer-
icans on a large scale and the
Treasuryhasthetoolstorem-
edy the situation. REUTERS
icans stored on the short-video
app,andhehasissuedanorderto
ban it if there is no deal by then.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
GOLD RUPEE OIL SILVER
`56,122 `74.90 $45.15 `76,520
Note: Gold, silver rates at spot market in Delhi; gold per 10g, silver per 1 kg; Brent crude as of 1930 IST
International market data till 1900 IST
PM inaugurates Chennai-Port Blair
submarine optical fibre internet link
ENSECONOMICBUREAU
NEWDELHI,AUGUST10
PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi
onMondayinauguratedthe2,313-
km long Chennai-Port Blair sub-
marine optical fibre internet con-
nectivity project, built at a cost of
Rs1,224crore.Theproject,funded PrimeMinisterNarendraModiinauguratesSubmarineOptical
by Universal Service Obligation FibreCableConnectivitybetweenChennaiandAndamanand
Fund (USOF), was started late in NicobarIslandsviavideoconferencing,inNewDelhiMonday. PTI
2018,andaimedtoconnectseven
islands in the Andaman group,
apart from the capital Port Blair, Rangat,LittleAndaman,Kamorta, other seven islands being con-
withhighspeedbroadband. CarNicobarandGreaterNicobar. nectedwillgetspeedsofupto200
“Internet connectivity service To further improve the con- GBPS, Telecom Minister Ravi
has already been started in major nectivityoftheislandstothemain- Shankar Prasad said. The project
chunk of the seven Andaman & land, other projects such as in- was executed by Bharat Sanchar
Nicobarislands.Mobileandfastin- creasing the capacity of Port Blair NigamLimited(BSNL).
ternetconnectivity,forwhichIndia airport,apartfromprocessofmak- Apart from this, the
is world famous, will now also be ing new airports at Car Nicobar, Department of Telecom-
available to these islands,” Modi Campbell Bay and Diglipur was munications(DoT)isalsoworking
said while inaugurating the proj- alsounderway,Modisaidwhilein- on connecting the villages in bor-
ect. The seven islands, apart from auguratingtheproject. der areas of the country, Prasad
capital Port Blair, which will be WhilethecapitalPortBlairwill said,addingthatatenderworthRs
connectedareSwarajDweep(for- be able to get speeds of up to 400 337 crore had already been
merlyHavlockIsland),LongIsland, gigabytes per second (GBPS), the awardedforthework.
Theclaimsfiledthrough
April-May,36.02lakhclaimswere
settled,disbursingRs11,540crore
cedanonlinefacilitytoallowwit-
hdrawal not exceeding the basic
theUMANG mobile app
intotal.Ofthese,15.54lakhclaims wages and dearness allowances
weresettledundertheCOVID-19 for three months or up to 75 per
sawa180%risefromthe advance facility, disbursing cent of the amount standing to a
3.97lakhclaimsfiled Rs 4,580 crore to the subscribers. member’s credit in the EPF ac-
The EPFO had then said that count, whichever is less.
throughitduringthe over 74 per cent of the total Theschemeallowingadvance
pre-COVID-19periodof claimants during the lockdown withdrawal was notified on
period were earning below Rs March 27 and the online facility
December-March2020
15,000.Thehighincomecategory, launched on March 29.
fromtheEPFOtillJuly-end,taking
the total withdrawals to Rs
with wages above Rs 50,000, ac-
counted for 2 per cent of the
claimants, while around 24 per
The existing withdrawal con-
ditions allow subscribers to take
non-refundableadvanceorwith-
27,000-30,000crorebynearly80 cent of the claims were made by drawmoneybeforeretirementfor
lakh subscribers. The high num- memberswithwagesbetweenRs specifiedpurposes,suchasamed-
ber of these withdrawals has 15,000-50,000. The 36.02 lakh ical emergency, marriage, higher
mostly been from low-income claimssettledthisApril-Maywas educationorpurchaseofahouse,
workers,mainlythoseearningbe- a6.7percentrisefrom33.75lakh etc. Also, subscribers who have
low Rs 15,000 a month. claims settled in April-May 2019. been unemployed for more than
Thelastofficiallyreleaseddata In the wake of the pandemic, a month can withdraw up to 75
by EPFO on June 9 stated that in theCentrehadinMarchannoun- per cent of their balance.
new units, ensuring balanced
growth across regions and com-
munities, and reducing upfront
cost and risk of doing business.
Special Chief Secretary for
Industries R Karikal Valaven said
the state is committed todeliver-
ingoneachelementof thepolicy.
It proposes interventions across
The unveiling of Andhra Pradesh’s new Industrial infrastructure,easeofdoingbusi-
Development Policy 2020-23, on Monday. Express photo ness,skilldevelopment,business
enablement,andfiscalincentives.
ures. Imports are still at about 70-
71 per cent level of July 2019. So,
broadly our balance of payments
this year is going to be very very
strong, which is why we feel con-
fidentthatIndianindustrywillsee
opportunitiesforthemselves,will
see opportunities of growth,” he
saidataFicciwebinar.
India’s exports fell for the
fourth straight month in June as
shipments of key segments like
petroleum and textiles declined
butthecountry’stradeturnedsur-
plusforthefirsttimein18yearsas
imports dropped by a steeper
47.59percent.
Front running:
Sebi bans 27
entities from mkts
NewDelhi:Sebihasbarredanum-
berofindividualsandentitiesfrom
the capital market after it un-
earthedamajorcaseof frontrun-
ning by some dealers of Reliance
SecuritiesLtdandtheirconnected
entitiesbyusingtheirprioraccess
to sell and buy orders by Tata
AbsoluteReturnFund.
Of these, three dealers were
found to be connected with 10
otherentitieswhowereprimafa-
cie found to have traded depend-
ingontheimpendingordersofthe
Tatafund. PTI
Microsoftisnegotiatingatran-
sition period that will give it time
to ringfence TikTok technologi-
cally from ByteDance after they
agree to a deal, Reuters reported
on August 2. The clean break that
Trump and lawmakers envision
could take a year or more, some
sources said. TikTok is similar to
ByteDance-owned Douyin and
sharestechnicalresourceswithit
and ByteDance-owned proper-
ties, people in the know said.
New Delhi
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

14 SPORT
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2020

IPL IN UAE GETS GOVT. STAMP

The BCCI has received the central government's formal
approval to conduct this year's Indian Premier League in
the UAE, IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel said on Monday.

How to sell the soul of a football club
Wigan’srelegationwasthefinalblowforateam blightedbyadodgysale,cashcrunchandfinancialmisstep
SRIRAM VEERA
MUMBAI, AUGUST 10
WIGAN ATHLETIC finished 13th in the
English League Championship this season.
They lost just one of their last 15 games.
However,lastweek,fornofaultof theirs,they
were relegated to League One. The decision
was made by an independent arbitration
panel that upheld the English Football
League’s action to dock 12 points from
Wigan’stallybecauseof theclub’sdecisionto
go into “administration”, a financial insol-
vency process where the ownership passes
to a specialised team of accountants. Instead
of 13th,theclubended up 23rd,second from
bottom, after the penalty.
This has been a saga of a dodgy non-
British owner discrediting a legacy English
footballclubfoundedin1932,whichhaspas-
sionate fans and whose academy was con-
sidered a hotbed for local talent. For every
ManchesterCity-likesolidandmutuallyben-
eficial investment in English football, there
are several Wigan-like misadventures.
Barry Worthington, a long-time fan who
runs a podcast centred around the football
club,remembersasombremeetingwiththe
club’s chief executive Jonathan Jackson by
the gates of the DW Stadium, their home
venue. “All he could say was ‘I am sorry, I am
sorry, I had no idea’,” Worthington told The
Indian Express.
Ex-fireman Worthington is 61, Jackson is
in his late 50s. “We were sobbing over foot-
ball,” he says. For the two grown up men, it
wasn’t just melancholic fear of losing some-
thing precious in their lives; they felt duped
by a mysterious series of events.
■■■
On May 29, Stanley Choi, a Hong Kong-
basedownerof International Entertainment
Corporation (IEC) and a high-stakes poker
player who won HK$ 50 million at a tourna-
ment in 2012, announced that he had sold
Wigan for 17 million pounds to Next Leader
Fund (NLF). Dig deeper and there is intrigue.
In May, Choi owned more than 50 per cent
stake in NLF but by end June, it emerged that
another Hong Kong businessman Au Yeung
Wei Kay now held more than 75 per cent
CAST OF CHARACTERS
The key men who were involved in the Wigan saga
STANLEY CHOI: A Hong Kong-based AU YEUNG: The mysterious new
businessman and high-stakes poker owner who suddenly sprung as the
player who sold the club for 17 million biggest shareholder in NLF and whose
pounds to NLF. It seemed initially he first decision as owner was to put the
was the highest shareholder in NLF, club into insolvency process called
but that didn’t prove true. ‘administration’.
GERALD KRASNER: The 71-year-old administrator
sent by the High Court to help find a new owner for the
club and run it until the sale. A man with a dry sense of
humour, who loves his collection of flamboyant suits,
and who once led a consortium that owned Leeds
United club. “If we don’t find a new owner by end of
August, it will be difficult to sell the club,” he warns.
share. On June 24, Yeung took over control Even though the gambling theory didn’t
and his first decision that day was to stop stayaliveforlong,mediareportsclaimedthat
funding the club. Allegations of round-trip- not much was known about the mystery
ping (defined by The Wall Street Journal as a owner Yeung. Some even questioned his ex-
form of barter that involves a company sell- istence as internet trails ran out rather
ing “an unused asset to another company, quickly. Does he really exist?
while at the same time agreeing to buy back
the same or similar assets at about the same ■■■
price”)andinsidertradingflewthickandfast.
“Whopaysthatkindof moneyandgener- “Yeung exists, all right,” says insolvency
ously pays out the money incurred as wages expert Gerald Krasner, 71, the administrator
and losses incurred in running a club in these sent by the High Court. “I spoke to him for
times of pandemic?” says Kieran Maguire, a over an hour recently on a Zoom call. Some
specialist in accountancy of association foot- of the speculations going around are wrong.
ball. “The IEC is a Hong Kong-based, Cayman I have seen his passport. He isn’t a fictional
Islands-registered company and a casino and character,” Krasner tells The Indian Express.
hotel operator. It’s very odd that the IEC share “I work like a surgeon or an undertaker.
pricetripledinJunejustafterthesaleofWigan You can’t invest emotion in this work. We ei-
Athletic.Thenumberofsharesboughtandsold ther bury or save them. Sometimes, I bury
wentfromaround75,000adayto35million! the same person twice,” Krasner says about
For sure, someone has made a huge killing.” his line of work. In the early 2000s, he was
Even as the fans tried to understand the part of a consortium that ultimately bought
‘sale’, more rumours swirled around, this Leeds United that was on the verge of being
time courtesy English Football League (EFL) shut down. This could be his last job, he says.
chairman Rick Parry. In a secretly-shot viral Hiswife,whohadkepthimcalminthishigh-
video by a Wigan fan, Parry, unaware that he pressurejob,diedthreeyearsagoandhefeels
was being filmed, spoke about gambling in- this is probably the time to call it a day.
terests.“There’srumoursthatthereisabetin On the day he took over the Wigan job,
the Philippines on them being relegated be- Krasner found that the treasury was empty.
cause the previous owner has got gambling “Nomoneyatall.Theclubstillhadtoberun.”
interests in the Philippines,” Parry said. He called Caroline Molyneux, the chairper-
For every Manchester City-like
solid and mutually beneficial
investment in English football,
there are several Wigan-like
misadventures.
son of the supporter’s club, for a surreal ex-
perience of her life. He asked the fans to rally
around with funds to run the club while he
hunted foranew owner.The fans dived right
in with crowdfunded fund-raisers and raf-
fles. T-shirts and posters of “Let’s Hang on
Appeal” went for sale.
They have already raised nearly 200,000
pounds and helped run the club since it
plunged into administration.
On July 12, Jack Green, whose father was
a long-time Wigan fan who took his own life
after a battle with depression, decided to cy-
cle from Wembley to DW Stadium. It was an
act of gratitude that raised 4634 pounds. A
week after his father’s death in 2012, he had
received a sympathy card from the team’s
then manager Roberto Martinez. “As an 18-
year old boy who had just lost his dad, this
really meant a lot to me,” Green wrote in his
fundraiser appeal. “Over the past few days, I
have seen countless stories where the club
hashelpedfansinneedordealingwithgrief.”
Krasner’s success in his last job could well
make a huge difference to the lives of thou-
sands of fans. Those like Worthington, who
havelaughedandweptwhilefollowingWigan.
“The night at Wembley when we won the FA
Cup was the best moment of my life,”
Worthingtonsaysofthe2013title.“Beforethe
game started, I looked around, so many of us
were in tears. I couldn’t believe that we, from
Wigan, were there against the might of
Manchester City. And when we won, I was
stunned.Youknow,Ihave children andseven
grandchildren–butthatFACupnightwasthe
happiest day of my life.”
He dreads the possibility of the adminis-
trator failing to find a new owner though he
still hasn’t lost his sense of humour. He asks if
youknowanygoodowners.“Thereareacou-
ple of potential buyers in Hong Kong,” you
deadpan.Worthingtoncackles,“No,no,no,not
them again. Why were they so callous, heart-
less?Iwonderif wewilleverknowthetruth.”
Mandeep 6th player to test
positive; camp on track
MIHIR VASAVDA
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10
DESPITE AN increasing number of players
getting infected and the near-certain post-
ponement of their only scheduled interna-
tional tournament this year, the training
camp of the men’s hockey team is on track
at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI)
National Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
On Monday, SAI said that forward
Mandeep Singh became the sixth India
player to test positive for Covid-19 upon
reaching the Bengaluru campus to report for
the nationalcamp.OnFriday,fiveother play-
ers – captain Manpreet Singh, goalkeeper
KrishanPathak, defenders Varun Kumar and
Surender Kumar, and midfielder Jaskaran
Singh too had contracted the virus.
Mandeep, according to SAI, was asymp-
tomatic.“Heisbeingadministeredtreatment
by doctors along with five players who have
tested positive,” SAI said in a statement,
adding that the 25-year-old was among the
20 playerswhohadundergoneaRT-PCRtest
while entering the facility last week.
The national team players were given a
month-long break from training, which is
scheduled to resume later this month after
the 14-day quarantine period is over. It is
learnt that all the players and coaching staff,
who have returned to the centre last week
after spending the month at their respective
homes, will have to take another Covid-19
test after their quarantine is over.
Apart from men’s team chief coach
GrahamReid,allotherplayersandcoachesof
the men and women’s team had gone home
during the break. Once the players who re-
turned and coaches test negative, they will
be allowed to resume camp as per the
Standard Operating Procedure laid down by
SAI and Hockey India. The training is likely
to be held while maintaining social distanc-
ing, to start with. Gradual relaxations will be
allowed at a later stage.
Asian CT set to be postponed
Buteven thoughthey will spendthenext
fewmonthsatthecampustraining,itislikely
therewillbenointernationalassignmentfor
both teams. The men’s Asian Champions
Trophy, which is to be held from November
17 to 27 in Dhaka, is set to get postponed, ac-
MANDEEP SINGH
cordingto Asian HockeyFederation chief ex-
ecutive Tayyab Ikram.
Ikram said the rising number of cases in
the subcontinent and the travel restrictions
have made it ‘very difficult’ for them to hold
the tournament as scheduled. The women’s
Asian Champions Trophy, which was to be
held in the South Korean city of Donghae
from June 14 to 21, has already been pushed
forward indefinitely.
“We are in touch with all participating
teams and monitoring the situation very
closely. The government rules and regula-
tions are making it very difficult to go for a
certain date. There is a big chance we have
to postpone a little bit,” Ikram told The Indian
Express from Lahore. He added that the post-
poned tournament will be held in Dhaka.
The fate of the Junior Asia Cup, a qualify-
ing event for next year’s Junior World Cup, is
also undecided. The men’s event was to be
held in Dhaka in June, while the women’s
tournament was scheduled for April in
Kakamigahara, Japan.
With the postponement of the Asian
Champions Trophy now imminent, the next
scheduled international competition for the
men’s team is in April 2021 when they re-
sume their FIH Pro League commitments.
The tournament was suspended mid-way
this year due to the pandemic but is set to re-
sumeinEuropenextmonth.Indiawillrejoin
the nine-team competition only in April.
The women’s team, which isn’t a part of
the Pro League, does not have a fixed sched-
ule. Although it is learnt that both teams will
be playing in invitational tournaments and
test matches early next year.

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry & T Lewis

CROSSWORD 4194 DAY TODAY BY PETER VIDAL
ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20) LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23)
It certainly should be Mercury is soon to
a secretive day. In shift its position
fact, it will do you again, meaning that
good to spend a little your golden time for
time in quiet meditation. If this interviews, conferences and
is impossible, you will probably meetings is coming to an end.
find your mind wandering off The deeper indications reveal
into endless day-dreams. that by the end of the week
But, then, perhaps your you will have to impress
imagination holds the answers people with the breadth of
to age-old questions? your knowledge rather than
the depth.
TAURUS (Apr 21 - May 21)
Delicate planetary SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 23)
alignments provide People at work are
a veil which may bound to find you
obscure the stormy more congenial if
CALVIN & HOBBES by Bill Watterson emotions beneath. An you make a
additional social gathering or dramatic switch from
romantic encounter will criticising their weaknesses to
certainly take your mind off praising their strengths. The
more pressing problems. Any funny thing is that one is as
temporary diversion or true as the other, it’s just that,
ACROSS DOWN distraction will cheer you up. with the latter, you will get
1 Erasmus possibly creates 1 Vehicle was blue what you want. Diplomacy
friction (7) (5) GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) always works best.
5 Experienced bell-ringers will 2 Aches from the recoil of a rifle? You seem to have a
know them (5) (8,5) better idea of what SAGITTARIUS(Nov24-Dec22)
8 Speedy help appreciated by a 3 Make the most of what’s been went wrong, and Home and family
forgetful actor (6,7) achieved (7) how to put it right. affairs should take
9 Said by the Frenchman to be 4 Getting up in the morning is Your will to succeed will be priority now and
the same (5) revolting (6) strong, but what you need out over the coming
10 Hastened back with speed to 5 Two kings embracing are not of a work situation varies. two days. Fortunately, there
tell the tale (7) seen so often (5) Today, it looks as if your real are no indications of crisis or
11 Point has need to be put 6 Where the rank and file come priority will be a sense of trauma, just pleasant signs that
differently (6) from? (7,6) community, the feeling that the more you get done now the
12 Plant has point in being 7 A spot of illicit drinking everyone is working towards a happier you’ll be. If you put off
backward (6) (7) common goal. the inevitable then you’ll only
15 After work rushed in so as to
see the entertainer
11 Sketches fashions
(7)
MARVIN by Tom Armstrong CANCER (June 22 - July 23)
delay awkward questions.
Your lunar CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 20)
(7) 13 Conceal a confidential note alignments really Partnersarenot
17 Part of a car to take one’s (7) are splendid today, a alwaysasreliableas
breath away (5) 14 Large groups from Rhodes fact which should you’dlike.There
19 A tribe in grand turmoil show (6) more than compensate for doesseemtobea
fortitude (4,3,4,2) 16 Knowing there’s a conflict over recent disturbances or upsets. veryrealindicationthat
20 New issue is a girl the East (5) You are still in danger, though, someoneisabouttochange
(5) 18 A record number of runners in of letting your feelings run theirmindsordropoutof an
21 It gives backing for actors the field away with you. If you’re too arrangement.If yousensethat
(7) (5) sensitive then you might somethingiswrong,youwould
imagine that someone’s trying dowelltotaketheinitiativeand
Solutions Crossword 4193: Across: 1 Party, 8 Familiar, 9 Start, 10 Riesling, 11
to get at you, even though callahaltrightnow.
Equip, 12 Ego, 16 Bedlam, 17 Doughy, 18 Use, 23 Heaps, 24 Standard, 25 Sides, they’re not.
AQUARIUS (Jan 21- Feb 19)
26 Redeemed, 27 Gnash. Down: 2 Antiques, 3 Terrible, 4 Rating, 5 Tipsy, 6
Mimic, 7 Dregs, 12 Emu, 13 Ode, 14 Sure sign, 15 Shippers, 19 Sorbet, 20 Tsars, LEO (July 24 - Aug 23) Spare a little time
21 Handy, 22 Adieu. Something still for financial affairs,
seems to be very nothing important,
secret, so much so mind you, just the
that even you might inevitable paper-work and
be in the dark. It may be too purchases. That might sound
JUMBLED WORDS DifficultyLevel5s
late to stop one particular tedious, but don’t worry
SOLUTION SUDOKU 4196

course of action, but firm because, on a personal note,

Instructions agreements may be deferred your chart is still looking nicely
Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, for another five days. You volcanic. Expect fireworks
therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 have to wait until you’re soon — in a good way.
SUDOKU 4197

theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe absolutely certain.

Ican’texpect____fromthearmyifIdonotgiveit.-GeorgeC.Marshall(7) PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
nineverticalcolumns,in VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23) Remember, Pisces,
eachoftheninehorizontal The entire situation ultimately you’re in
FOTAO AAOPLY rowsandineachofthe is in a state of flux, control. It is up to
nineboxes. but you may find you to make the
that when people appropriate choices and
change their minds it doesn’t influence the course of events.
BNULT YATTER DifficultyLevel affect what happens. Just carry The only way out of a current
on in your own discreet way impasse may be to quietly
1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; and nobody should bother you. disappear and fade out of
3s=Medium;4s=Hard; And, if someone pours cold the scene. However, if you do
5s=VeryHard;6s= water on your ideas, it doesn’t want out, there is no time to
Answer: I can’t expect loyalty from the army if I do not give it. - George C. Marshall Genius mean that you’re wrong. flap around.
SOLUTION: AFOOT, BLUNT, PAYOLA, TREATY

Vol LXXXVIII No. 235 Regd.No. DL-21046/03-05

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