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JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES SINCE 1932 `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM



  



New Delhi
 2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

MANGALORE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY COMPANY LIMITED

ªÉĸÁÌA

(A Government of Karnataka undertaking)

A TRIBUTE TO BRAVE HEART
05TH DECEMBER
CISF proudly remembers the supreme
sacrifice of this brave-heart. On this day,
he laid down his life at the altar of duty
while fighting with criminals. His courage
and bravery would remain an abiding
source of inspiration for the force. The
HC/GD RAJ
force will remain eternally indebted to
KISHOR PRASAD
CCL KARGALI him for his noblest deed.
05-12-2017
MESCOM
Corporate Office, “MESCOM BHAVANA”, Bejai, Mangaluru - 575 004
Ph: 0824-2885795 CIN: U40109 KA 2002 SGC 030425
No.File No.MESCOM/PROC/PURC/176/2022-PROC Date: 02.12.2022
TENDER NOTIFICATION (Through e-Procurement Portal Only)
MESCOM invites tender for Manufacture & Supply of following material
Tender No Name of the Material Quantity
proposed for Procurement
MESCOM/2022-23/IND899 1,50,0 00 Nos
MESCOM/2022-23/IND900 1.1 KV Pin Insulator Shells 1,50,000 Nos
The interested eligible bidders may log on to:
www.eproc.karnataka.gov.in on or after 05.12.2022.
Sd/- Superintending Engineer (Ele.) (Proc.), Corporate Office
For Power Related Complaints & Assistance Call Toll Free Number 1912

KERALA STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION

Transport Bhavan , Fort P.O, Thiruvananthapuram–695023
E-TENDER NOTICE Classifieds
Name of Item Qty Last Date of Bid submission
06.00 PM PERSONAL
295/80.R.22.5 Tubeless Tyre 2100 Nos.
07.12.2022 I, Shivin Kumar S/o Om
Portable Angle Grinder 100 Nos. 06.00 PM PrakashOjhaR/o-19C,Vrindavan
Garden, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad
Bench Drilling Machine 14 Nos. 14.12.2022
havechangedmynametoShivin
For the detailed tender document visit: sd/- Kumar Ojha.
www.etenders.kerala.gov.in, Chairman & Managing Director 0070815986-1
www.keralartc.com/tenders/purchase, e-mail : sr@kerala.gov.in 03.12.2022
I, Raj Bala D/O Mange Ram, W/O
Sudhir R/o House No. 286, Block
No. 5, Ravidas Nagar, Adampur,
DIRECTORATE OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT, Hisar, Haryana- 125052. have
changed my name and shall
MADHYA PRADESH hereafter be Known as Rajni
NARMADA ROAD, NEAR RAMPUR PETROL PUMP, JABALPUR-482001 Verma
Phone No.- 0761-2660524 0070815974-1
e-mail: spiu.dsdmp@gmail.com, web site:- mpskills.gov.in I, Mohammad Saleem Mir S/O
No. DSD /Machine/ 2022-23/4436 /Jabalpur, Date- 01/12/2022 Bashir Ahmad Mir, R/o 262,
INVITATION FOR BIDS Awoora, Kupwara, Jammu and
Kashmir- 193224, have changed
The Director, Skill Development, Narmada Road, Near Rampur petrol pump, my name and shall hereafter
Jabalpur M.P. invites Online bids (Two bid system) from Manufacturers or be Known as Ahmed Bashir.
Authorized dealers for supply of Machines Industrial Training Institute Shivpuri 0070815982-1
of Madhya Pradesh as below:
I, Mohammad Imran Khan s/o
S.No. Description Earnest Money Deposit Bid Document Price Md Julfekar Khan r/o vill&po-
01 Machines INR 3,00,000/- INR 1000/- + Bara Majhlipatti Ghazipur Uttar
(Rs. Three Lacs only) Processing Fees Pradesh 232325 has changed
my name to Md Imran Khan for
2. Kindly go through https://www.mptenders.gov.in for online e-tenders as all future porposes.
per key dates as follows:- 0070815971-1
S.No. Particulars Date & Time I Aditya Som S/O, Manoj Rana
1. Online-Bid Document Purchasing End Date 27/12/2022. 14:00 Hrs R/o B-69, Kaushambi
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh,
2. Pre bid Meeting at Directorate of Skill Development, 09/12/2022, 11:00 Hrs
201010 have changed my name
Jabalpur to Aditya Rana for all purposes.
3. Bid Closing For Submission On Online Bids 27/12/2022, 16:00 Hrs 0040643738-1
4. Submission Of Hard Copy Of Earnest Money (Only 27/12/2022, 16:30 Hrs
I, Gaurav Sachdeva S/O Narayan
Original Bank Guarantee) (Envelope-B-EMD) Dass Sachdeva, R/o 98, Desh
5. Online Opening Of The Technical Bids (Envelope-A) 27/12/2022.17:00 Hrs CHHATTISGARH TOURISM BOARD Bandhu Apartment, Kalkaji,
2nd Floor, Udyog Bhawan, Ring Road-1, Telibandha, Raipur (C.G.) 492 006 Delhi- 110019, have changed
Tender document and other details are available at the websites Tel.: 0771-4224600/11/22 Fax: 0771-4066425 my name and shall hereafter
https://www.mptenders.gov.in and www.mpskills.gov.in E-mall: visitcg@gmall.com be Known as Gaurav Sachdev.
3. Cost of Tender {(Rs. 1000/-+Processing fee) Non refundable} is to be paid REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RIP) 0070815973-1
online only on http:\\www.mptenders.gov.in 5th Dec 2022 I, Akanksha Singh W/o Ashish
4. Only original hard copy of the EMD (Bank Guarantee/FDR- for 1 Year) must Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) invites proposal for Selection of Agency for conduct- Kumar R/o 234Gyankhand -1,
be received at the office of the undersigned latest by 4:30 PM on 27.12.2022 ing Techno-Commercial feasibility & Preparation of Detailed Project Report for imple- Indirapuram,
and tender will be opened ONLINE on the same day i.e. 27.12.2022 at 5:00 mentation of Ropeway Project at Kudargarh in Surajpur district & at Chitrakote in Bastar Ghaziabad,declare that my
PM. District of Chhattisgarh : name is wrongly written
asAkansha Singh in my 10 th
5. All Corrigendum/Amendments/Changes if any will only be issued and made Bid publish date Pre-bid Meeting Bid due date Bid document Fees
Marksheet, PassingCertificate.
available only on https://www.mptenders.gov.in 5th Dec 2022 19th Dec 2022 at 4th Jan 2023 (for each location) My actual & correct name
IYûSXû³ff ÀfZ ¶f¨f³fZ IYe °fe³f ¶ff°fZÔ ¶fWbX°f ªføYSXe, MXeIYf Sd/- 1400 Hours Upto1500 Hours Rs.5000 + GST isAkanksha Singh for all future
»f¦f½ff³ff, ¸ffÀIY ´fWX³f³ff AüSX A´f³ff³ff Qû ¦fªf QcSXeÜ Director Bidders who wish to participate in this bidding process can download RFP documents purpose.
Skill Development, Madhya Pradesh online from the website https://eproc.cgstate.gov.in/ or official website https://chhat- 0040643708-1
G-20019/22 Jabalpur tisgarhtourism.in. Any revision, clarification, addendum, corrigendum, time extension
I Sajjan Kumar Goel S/O, Late
etc. to the above tender will be published on these websites only.
Om Prakash Goel R/o 3rd D 12
Person Contact: Mr. Vijay Parmar, (Head Planning) +91-9098195737, 0771-4224619 Nehru Nagar Ghaziabad And
sd/- Date Of Birth 5 August 1963
Managing Director have changed my name to
3431 Chhattisgarh Tourism Board Sajan Kumar Goel for all
dk;kZy; v/kh{k.k vfHk;Urk purposes.

cqyUn'kgj o`Rr] yks0fu0fo0] cqyUn'kgj 0040643735-1

bZ&izksD;ksjesUV fufonk lwpuk ªÉĸÁÌA

MANGALORE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY COMPANY LIMITED

I S. Vinit S/o Sharvan R/o House
No.102,F-BLock,Mangol
i=kad%& 7581@96 ,e@bZ&fufonk@cq0o`Rr@2022&23 fnukad%&26-11-2022 MESCOM
(A Government of Karnataka undertaking) Puri,Delhi-110083,have change
1- egkefge jkT;iky mRrj izns'k dh vksj ls fuEufyf[kr dk;ksZ gsrq vkWuykbu fufonk;sa http://etender.up.nic.in Corporate Office, “MESCOM BHAVANA”, Bejai, Mangaluru - 575 004 my name To Vinit Sharvan for
bZ&VsaMfjax ds ek/;e ls ekxZ dk;Z gsrq yks0fu0fo0 esa ekxZ Js.kh esa iathd`r ^^,@ch@lh** ekxZ Js.kh esa tSlk ykxw gks Ph: 0824-2885795 CIN: U40109 KA 2002 SGC 030425 all future purposes.
vkFkkWjkbZTM jftLVMZ ekxZ esa fcM MkD;wes.V vkWuykbZu fnuakd 07&12&2022 ls fnukad 13&12&2022 rd nksigj 12-00 No: MESCOM/SEE(P)/EE(W)/AEE(W)/2022-23/ 680 Date: 02-12-2022 0040643713-6
cts rd viyksM dh tk ldrh gS rFkk fufonk dh VSDuhdy fcM v/kh{k.k vfHk;Urk cq0o`0 yks0fu0-fo0 cqyUnVfgj }kjk
izkf/kd`r dk;kZy; esa fnuakd fnuakd 13&12&2022 dks 14-00 cts xfBr lfefr ds le{k vkWuykbu [kksyh tk;sxhA TENDER NOTIFICATION (E-Procurement Mode Only) I, Gurdeep Singh S/O Jeet Singh,
R/o 122/66 Sarojini Nagar,
rduhdh fcM esa DokyhQkbZM ik;s x;s Bsdsnkjksa dh QkbZusfuVfy; fcM dh fnuakd vyx ls lwfpr dh tk;sxh A dk;kZy; MESCOM invites tenders on Total Turnkey basis for the following works
Harihar Nath Shastri Nagar,
cUn gksus vFkok vodk’k gksus dh n’kk esa VSDuhdy fcM@R fB³fZd³Vf¹f»f fcM mlh dze esa ,oa le;kuqlkj vxys dk;Z fnol pertaining to Koppa & Karkala divisions vide respective bid enquiry
numbers:- Kanpur Nagar, Uttar Pradesh-
esa [kksyh tk;sxhA
208002, have changed my name
2- dk;Z dk fooj.k%& Sl. Bid Enquiry
Name of the Work and shall hereafter be Known
Ø0 ftyk dk;Z dk uke vuqekfur /kjkgs j Ik.w kZ fufonk izi= dk ewY; o dk;Z lEikfnr lEcfU/kr lEcfU/kr Bd
s ns kj ds No. No. as Gurdeep Singh Bagga.
l0a ykxr /kujkf’k djus th0,l0Vh0 lfgr djkus okys v/kh{k.k e[q ; ith;u dh Construction of new 33kV SC line on DC towers
¼:0 ¼:0 dh vf/k’kklh vfHk;Urk vfHk;Urk J.s kh MESCOM/ 0070815972-1
yk[k e½as yk[k vof/k vfHk;Urk dk irk dk irk using Coyote conductor & Covered conductor for the
e½as dk irk 1 distance of 26.32 kms from existing 110/11kV 2022-23/ EL/
WORK_
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Kammaradi sub-station to 33/11kV Sringeri sub-
INDENT1874
1 gkiqM+ gkWV feDl IykaV }kjk dqpslj pkSiyk 35.25 3.53 03 fufonk 'kqYd 300+ izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=] UP PWD station in Sringeri Sub division of Koppa Division
ls ';keiqj ekxZ dh ch0lh0 ls fo'ks"k ekg 2000 +th0,l0Vh0 yks0fu0fo0] o`r] yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C
ejEer dk dk;Z @18 % 414= 2714.00 gkiqM+ yks0fu0fo0] esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½ Establishing 2x8 MVA, 33/11kV substation at MESCOM/
cqyUnVfgj
2 Bajagoli by drawing 33kV Single Circuit line for a total 2022-23/ SS/
2 gkiqM+ ckcwx< ch0ch0uxj ls eokuk gkiqM 44.29 4.43 03 fufonk 'kqYd 300+ izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=] UP PWD distance of 14.25Rkm from 110/33/11kV Karkala WORK_
fdBkSj ekxZ dh fo'ks"k ejEer dk ekg 2000 +th0,l0Vh0 yks0fu0fo0] o`r] yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C substation in Karkala sub-division of Karkala Division INDENT1878
dk;ZA @18 % 414= 2714.00 gkiqM+ yks0fu0fo0] esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½
cqyUnVfgj The interested eligible bidders may log on to
3 gkiqM+ gkiqM v;knuxj ekxZ ¼lykbZ vM~Ms½ 36.61 3.66 03 fufonk 'kqYd 300+ izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=] UP PWD www.eproc.karnataka.gov.in on or after 05.12.2022.
ls ?kq?kjkyk ekxZ dh fo'ks"k ejEer dk ekg 2000 +th0,l0Vh0 yks0fu0fo0] o`r] yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C
dk;ZA @18 % 414= 2714.00 gkiqM+ yks0fu0fo0] esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½ Sd/- Superintending Engineer (Ele.) (Proc.), Corporate Office
cqyUnVfgj
4 gkiqM+ nks;eh eqjkniqj vkxkiqj ekxZ ls gkiqM 41.63 4.16 03 fufonk 'kqYd 300+ izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=] UP PWD For Power Related Complaints & Assistance Call Toll Free Number 1912
fdBkSj ekxZ dh fo'ks"k ejEer dk ekg 2000 +th0,l0Vh0 yks0fu0fo0] o`r] yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C
dk;ZA @18 % 414= 2714.00 gkiqM+ yks0fu0fo0] esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½
cqyUnVfgj

''IMPORTANT''
39.25 3.93 UP PWD
5 gkiqM+ ykyiqj ls dkBh [ksMk ekxZ dh fo'ks"k
ejEer dk dk;ZA
03
ekg
fufonk 'kqYd 300+
2000 +th0,l0Vh0
izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=]
yks0fu0fo0] o`r] yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY
@18 % 414= 2714.00 gkiqM+ yks0fu0fo0] esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½
cqyUnVfgj
Open E-Tender Notice No.: IZN/
6 gkiqM+ Mh0Mh0th0 jksM fd0eh0 13 ls 220.15 13.00 03 fufonk 'kqYd 300+ izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=] UP PWD Elect/OT/24/2022 Dt. 02-12-2022
yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C E-Tender are invited by Sr. Divisional

Whilst careis taken prior to acceptance of advertising

lkSykuk ls lekuk bdySaMh ok;k Hkkok ekg 2000 +th0,l0Vh0 yks0fu0fo0] o`r]
ykyiqj ekxZ dh fo'ks"k ejEer dk @18 % 414= 2714.00 gkiqM+ yks0fu0fo0] esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½ Electrical Engineer (G)/North Eastern
dk;ZA cqyUnVfgj Railway/Izatnagar for & on behalf
7 gkiqM+ x< vCnqYykiqj Hkxouriqj 36.51 3.65 03 fufonk 'kqYd 300+ izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=] UP PWD of the President of India for the
¼v0ft0ek0½ ekxZ ds fd0eh0&4
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ekg 2000 +th0,l0Vh0
@18 % 414= 2714.00
yks0fu0fo0]
gkiqM+
o`r]
yks0fu0fo0]
cqyUnVfgj
yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C
esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½
following work:-
S.No-1, Description of work: copy,itisnotpossibletoverifyitscontents.TheIndian
Improvement in lighting arrangement of
Express(P)Limitedcannotbeheld responsible forsuch
8 gkiqM+ lykSuh t[kSMk ekxZ ls lykSuh uVks 39.13 3.91 03 fufonk 'kqYd 300+ izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=] UP PWD
dh e<S;k gksdj <ksyiqj ekxZ dh ekg 2000 +th0,l0Vh0 yks0fu0fo0] o`r] yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C under pit, cat walk at Kathgodam,
fo'ks"k ejEer dk dk;ZA @18 % 414= 2714.00 gkiqM+ yks0fu0fo0] esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½ Lalkuan and Ramnagar Railway Stations
cqyUnVfgj washing pit. Details: Approximate
9 gkiqM+ lykjiqj ls ohjflWgiqj ekxZ dh fo'ks"k
ejEer dk dk;ZA
42.42 4.24 03
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fufonk 'kqYd 300+
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izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=]
yks0fu0fo0]
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yks0fu0fo0] esjB
UP PWD
yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C
¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½
tender Value in Rs.: ` 62,85,816.68,
Earnest Money in Rs.: ` 1,25,800/-, Cost contents, nor for any loss or damage incurred as a
of tender paper in Rs.: Nil, Date & time
10 gkiqM+ ckMyh lEidZ ekxZ dh fo'ks"k ejEer
dk dk;ZA
57.73 5.77 03
ekg
fufonk 'kqYd 300+
2000 +th0,l0Vh0
cqyUnVfgj
izkUrh; [k.M] cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=]
yks0fu0fo0] o`r]
UP PWD
yks0fu0fo0] Class A,B,C
of closing E-tender: 30-12-2022 at 15:00
hours. Completion time from the date of
resultoftransactionswithcompanies,associationsor
individuals advertisingin itsnewspapersorPublications.
@18 % 414= 2714.00 gkiqM+ yks0fu0fo0] esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½ issue ofletter ofAcceptance: Fourmonths.
cqyUnVfgj
· Manual offers are not allowed against
11 gkiqM+ ilokMk cyokiqj ¼vkyexhjiqj½ 57.47 5.75 03 fufonk 'kqYd 300+ izkUrh; cqyUnVfgj esjB {ks=] UP PWD
this tender and such manual offer
o`r] yks0fu0fo0 Class A,B,C

We therefore recommend that readers make

ekxZ dh fo'ks"k ejEer dk dk;ZA ekg 2000 +th0,l0Vh0 [k.M]
yks 0fu0fo0] ] esjB ¼ekxZ dk;Z gsrq½ received shall be ignored. · The tender
@18 % 414= 2714.00 yks0fu0fo0]
gkiqM+
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ireps.gov.in . · The tenderer/bidders

necessary inquiries before sending any monies or

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4 leLr iathd`r Bsdsnkjksa dks fiNys 5 o"kksaZ dk VuZ vksoj tks fd lh0,0 ls lR;kfir gks ,oa fiNys 5 o"kksaZ esa lUrks"ktud certificate & must have registered on
:Ik ls fd;s x;s vf/kdre ykxr ds dk;Z dk fooj.k pk.kD; lkW¶Vos;j esa fufonk Mkyus ls iwoZ viyksM djuk gksxkA IREPS Portal · Only registered tenderer/
bZ&fufonk tks http://etender.up.nic.in ij viyksM dh tk;sxh mldk fooj.k yksd fuekZ.k foHkkx m0iz0 ds pk.kD;
lkW¶Vos;j esa miyC/k lkW¶Vos;j ij Hkh fufonk Mkyus dh vfUre frfFk ,oa le; ls viyksM djuk vfuok;Z gksxkA
5 fufonknkrk dks VsaMj izfØ;k es izfrHkkx djus gsrq **izgjh ,Ik** ij 'kklukns'k la[;k 879(1) /23-7-2020 yks0fu0]
bidders can participate in e-tendering.
· All relevant papers must be uploaded entering into any agreements with advertisers or
at the time of participating in e-tendering.
vuqHkkx&7 y[kuÅ fnukad 25-08-2020 ds vuqlkj leLr izi= pk.kD; lkW¶Vos;j¼iksVZy½ds fyad ij viyksM djus gksaxsA
izgjh dk ;w0vkj0 http://wms.uppwd.gov.in/Prahari/ gSA
6 fufonk ls lEcfU/kr fu;e@'krsZa rFkk vU; fooj.k http://etender.up.nic.in ij miyC/k gSaA
Sr. Divisional Electrical Engineer (G)
CPRO/Vidyut-134 Izatnagar
otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner
whatsoever.
About any passenger amenity complaint
v/kh{k.k vfHk;Urk SMS on Mob. No.: 09794845955
UPID-182556 Date 03/12/2022 cqyUn'kgjo`Rr] yks0fu0fo0 Never travel on
roof and foot boards.
www.upgov.nic.in cqyUn'kgjA

New Delhi

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022, NEW DELHI, LATECITY, 18 PAGES
Following months of
protests, Iran regime
scraps morality police
VIVIAN YEE
DECEMBER 4
IRANHASabolishedthemorality
police,accordingtoanannounce-
mentbytheattorneygeneralcar-
ried on state media, following
months of protests set off by the
death of a young woman who
was being held by the force for
supposedly violating the coun-
try’s strict Islamic dress laws.
The decision, reported by
state news outlets late Saturday
night, appeared to be a major
victory for feminists who have
soughtforyearstodismantlethe
force and for the protest move-
ment ignited by the death of the
youngwoman,MahsaAmini,22,
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
EXPLAINED: WHO ARE
THE MORALITY POLICE?
PAGE 13
BUSINESS AS USUAL
BY UNNY
Bhupender
Yadav is chief
guest at Express
Adda today
Union
minister
Bhupender
Yadav
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
WITHGLOBALclimateactionre-
maining woefully inadequate
compared to the scale of the
problem, countries are pretty
much on their own in their ef-
forts to secure themselves
against the vagaries of climate
change. But for a country like
India, climate change is as much
a challenge as it is an opportu-
nity — to leapfrog to a prosper-
ous yet low-carbon future,
which requires wholesale trans-
formations in the way we live,
commute, do business, produce
commodities or grow food.
As head of the Ministry of
Environment, Forests and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Tower, wall, drones & a life-size statue:
Doha prays for football’s ailing ‘King’
EXPRESSAT
WORLDCUP
SANDIP G
DOHA, DECEMBER 4
BESIDE THE Khalifa Stadium is
the Torch Tower wrapped in an
LED screen that displays live
scores, faces of goal-scorers and
montages from games. For the
past two days, it has been beam-
ing a tower-sized image of Pele
in a green jersey. On a ticker un-
derneath flashes the message:
“Get Well Soon, the Greatest.”
Outside the Lusail Stadium,a
wallhasbeenpaintedwithPele's
The latest protests began in
E
September. AP file
E X P L A I NE D
●
Forced
into action
THEMOVEmarksthefirstac-
knowledgementfromthe
Iranianregimeof theimpact
of proteststhathaveraged
sincethedeathof a22-year-
oldwomanincustody—
moreso,withtheagitation
spillingoutsideIran,making
itspresencefeltevenatthe
footballWorldCupinDoha.
Porta cabins being used as polling booths during voting for the MCD elections, at Govindpuri
in New Delhi on Sunday. Tashi Tobgyal
Low turnout as Delhi votes in MCD
polls; BJP, AAP express confidence
GAYATHRI MANI
& MALLICA JOSHI
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
THEELECTIONStotheMunicipal
Corporationof Delhiwasheldon
Sunday, with around 50.47 per
cent of those eligible turning out
to vote until 5.30 pm.
TheBJPandtheAAPexpressed
confidence that they would get
the majority of seats, while the
Congress said the low turnout
meant that the people were dis-
appointed in both those parties.
At Cong meet, Kharge’s message to
office-bearers: Step up or step aside
MANOJ C G
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
CHAIRING THE first meeting of
the Congress steering commit-
tee, the party’s new president
Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday
deliveredanuncharacteristically
strong message to the organisa-
tion’s office-bearers: step up or
step aside.
Kharge, who was elected in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Pele’s image displayed on a tower in Doha on Saturday. AP
smiling face. The drones flying
over the Corniche, the seafront
promenade where fans flock,
drew a Brazil shirt with Pele’s
DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA
SHERPAS FROM 40 COUNTRIES GATHER IN UDAIPUR
FirstkeymeetonG20kicksoff,
focusondebt,inflation,slowdown
Leadershipisfindingpathbreakingsolutions:India’spointpersonAmitabhKant
AANCHAL MAGAZINE
UDAIPUR, DECEMBER 4
RISINGGLOBALdebt,lossof em-
ployment,runawayinflationand
theslowdowningrowth—these
are among the challenges facing
the global economy that are set
to be on the centrestage as offi-
cials from 40 countries con-
vergedSundaytokickoff thefirst
Sherpa track under India's G20
presidency of India.
Udaipur was chosen as the
location for the first official G20
event for a “mentally rejuvenat-
ing” and “spirituality invigorat-
ing” experience, officials said, as
discussionsfocuson“lookingbe-
yond the crisis” to build new
The AAP had failed to get a
majority in any of the three cor-
porations (North, East and
South) in 2017, just two years af-
ter it won 67 out of 70 Assembly
seats. A win in the MCD election
would give it greater control of
the city. Since Delhi is a Union
Territory with special powers,
the AAP government does not
have control of the civic bodies,
land, law and order, and police.
Issues such as waste man-
agement, upkeep of small roads,
primary education in corpora-
tion schools, maintenance of
Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Ambika Soni at the meeting. PTI
name and number 10 on the
back. In the stands, when Brazil
took on Cameroon Thursday
night, a 10-feet flag was waved
JOURNALISM OF COURAGE
SINCE 1932
Amitabh Kant at the
meeting in Udaipur. PTI
ways for improving livelihood
and move towards an inclusive,
ambitious, decisive and action-
oriented development strategy.
“There’sahugechallengebe-
fore all of us — the world is in the
midst of a turmoil. We are pass-
markets, and collection of prop-
erty tax come under the MCD's
ambit.
Sinceitfirstcametopowerin
Delhi, the AAP government has
been at loggerheads with the
BJP-led corporation, particularly
regarding funding issues. The
AAP's election pitch this time
was that having the same party
in power at the state govern-
mentandcivicbodieswoulden-
sure greater development.
For the BJP, which has ruled
thecorporationsince2007,aloss
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
with the side of his face in the
backdrop of Brazil’s flag. At the
Flag of Tree enclosure in Souq
Waqif,thereisarushtoclickself-
ies with his life-size wax statue.
EversincePele,battlingcolon
cancerforayear,hasbeenhospi-
talised for respiratory issues in
SaoPaulo,andreportsthathehas
been moved to end-of-life care
begantofilein,thefootballworld
that has converged in Qatar has
been praying that he recovers
soon as well as keeping a close
watch on his health updates.
Adriana, a Brazilian fan, says
whenever she calls home, she
asks about his health, as if he is
her grandfather. “He is the most
popular person in the country,
biggerthanthe president, bigger
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
`7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
At a strong room holding EVMs and VVPAT machines, in
ing through a massive geopoliti-
cal crisis, which is being wit-
PM set to host Ahmedabad on Sunday. Nirmal Harindran FULLCOVERAGE,P7
all-party meet
Set to milk hold over
nessed before all of us in Europe.
We have seen the breakdown of
globalsupplychains,wearesee- on G20 roadmap
dairy co-ops, BJP
ing70countriesof theworldsuf-
fering from global debt, we are New Delhi: Days after India for-
seeing huge crises of climate ac- mally assumed the presidency of
tion and climate finance and on G20, Prime Minister Narendra
top of that, we are seeing chal-
lenges of literacy, health, of vast
segments of population going
Modiissettomeettheheadsofall
majorpoliticalpartiesonMonday
tounderlinethesignificanceofthe
eyes pole position as
below the poverty line,” India’s
G20SherpaAmitabhKantsaidat
the first panel discussion on
presidencyforthecountry,andto
brief them on how his govern-
ment is approaching the “unique
Phase II votes today
‘TransformingLives:Accelerating opportunity”.Sourcessaidtheidea
Implementation of SDGs’. behind the meeting is also to so- AVINASH NAIR DECISION
2022
“And then there's the chal- licitsuggestionsanddiscussstrate- AHMEDABAD, DECEMBER 4
lenge of inflation, the challenge gies for the G20 summit, which
of the slowdown of global India will host next September. THE CASH-RICH milk coopera-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 REPORTONPAGE8 tives in Gujarat are likely to have
asignificantbearingonnearly50 GUJARAT
percentof the93seatsboundfor
the second phase of the state
Assembly polls, which will be
SC panel: Uttarakhand held on Monday. These co-oper-
atives, earlier run by functionar-
PHASE II
93 SEATS
tiger reserve road not
ies aligned with the Congress,
arenowcontrolledbyleadersaf- VOTE TODAY
filiated to the ruling BJP.
for commercial traffic Banas Dairy in Banaskantha VOTERS
learnt.
district,whichisthebiggestmilk
co-operativein Gujarat,and four
other top co-operative dairies —
2.51 CRORE
JAY MAZOOMDAAR An unpaved segment of the inMehsana,Anand,Sabarkantha CANDIDATES
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
UNDERLININGTHAT“conserva-
old Kandi road that once con-
nectedHaridwar andRamnagar,
the Laldhang-Chillarkhal forest
and Panchmahal districts — to-
gether account for 75 per cent of
the total 280 lakh litres of milk
833
2017 TALLY
tion priority of the forest area far road runs along a high-priority procured daily by the GCMMF.
BJP 51
outweighsthecommercialtrans- wildlife corridor between the In October this year, the
port needs of the state govern- Rajaji and the Corbett tiger land- Gujarat Co-operative Milk Congress 39
ment”, the Central Empowered scapes. Upgrading this to an all- MarketingFederation(GCMMF), Independents 3
Committee(CEC)of theSupreme weather blacktop road has been an umbrella body of the state’s
Courthasrecommendedagainst a major poll plank for the BJP dairy cooperative unions, hiked
blacktoppinga 4.7-kmstretch of
a key forest road in the buffer
since the 2017 Assembly polls.
The CEC report, submitted to
the prices of Amul brand of milk
byRs2perlitreforallitsmarkets
minister and Trinamool
Congress (TMC) supremo
zoneof Uttarakhand’sRajajitiger
reserve, The Indian Express has
the Supreme Court last week, is
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
except Gujarat, which drew crit-
icism from West Bengal chief
Mamata Banerjee, who accused
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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 4 EXPRESS NETWORK
Maharashtra BJP leader FROM PAGE ONE WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
says Shivaji was born in First meet on G20 kicks off, focus on debt, inflation, slowdown
Konkan, stirs fresh row
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
MUMBAI, DECEMBER 4
BJP'sMaharashtraunitvice-pres-
ident Prasad Lad stoked a fresh
controversy on Chhatrapati
ShivajiMaharajbysayingthatthe
Maratha warrior king was born
in Konkan, which is incorrect.
Lad made the remark while
addressing people at Konkan
Mohatsav in Mumbai on
Saturday. His remark, the video
clip of which was circulated by
his political rivals on social me-
dia, drew strong reaction from
Opposition parties.
Speaking on the importance
of the Konkan region during his
speech at the function on
Saturday, Lad said, “Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj was born in
Konkan. He spent his childhood
in Raigad.”
Targeting him, the NCP
tweeted, "Instead of teaching
others, Lad should take lessons
in history and the life and works
of Shivaji Maharaj."
BJP's Rajya Sabha MP
Udayanraje Bhosale demanded
immediateactionagainstLad."If
a state like Maharashtra cannot
respect and protect Shivaji
Maharaj's honour, it's both
shocking and strange. All those
whoaredistortinghistoryarein-
sultingShivajiMaharajandhurt-
ing the sentiments of people.
German Foreign Minister’s
two-day visit begins today
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
GERMANY'S FOREIGN Minister
AnnalenaBaerbockwillarriveon
a two-day visit to India on
Monday against the backdrop of
the global consequences of the
Russian war in Ukraine, a
statement from the German em-
bassy said.
During the visit, cooperation
intheenergytransitionawayfrom
oil, coal and gas will also play a
role, a spokesman for the Federal
Foreign Office said on Friday in
Berlin. In this context, Baerbock
will visit projects for renewable
energies and sustainability in the
rural surroundings of New Delhi.
In Baerbock's talks with
External Affairs Minister S
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Such irresponsible persons who
are making adverse comments
on Shivaji Maharaj should be
taughta lesson.Why is no action
beingtaken,”Udayanraje,whois
a direct descendant of Shivaji
Maharaj, said.
"I agree everybody should
exercise caution while com-
menting on Shivaji Maharaj. Lad
in course of his speech must
have made a mistake. But his in-
tention was never to insult
Shivaji Maharaj. It was a case of
wronginformation...,”BJPleader
Praveen Darekar said.
MNSpresidentRajThackeray
too expressed his displeasure at
Lad's remarks. "It would serve
them better if they imbibe the
teachings of Shivaji Maharaj.
Instead, what we are witnessing
is adverse remarks or misrepre-
sentation of facts. Why? It looks
like it's a tactic to divert the pub-
lic's attention from issues like
unemployment, inflation etc,”
he said.
Lad's statement comes at a
time when the BJP is accused of
inaction against Governor
Bhagat Singh Koshyari for mak-
ing adverse remarks on Shivaji
Maharaj.
A week later, state BJP minis-
ter Mangal Prabhat Lodha, at a
functioninSataradistrict,equated
Shivaji Maharaj's Agra escape to
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's
defection from the Shiv Sena.
Jaishankar, India's relationship
with China is likely to be dis-
cussedinadditiontotheRussian
war against Ukraine and its con-
sequences,forexampleintheen-
ergy sector, the statement said.
According to the spokesper-
son,theministerwillalsovisitthe
Election Commission of India.
Meetings are also planned with
representativesofcivilsocietyand
NGOsworkingforwomen'srights.
Thespokespersonaddedthat
the minister will also participate
in a trilateral India forum of the
transatlantic foundation
GermanMarshallFund,whichis
about cooperation in the Indo-
Pacific region. The forum is an
annual meeting of American,
European and Indian experts
from politics, think tanks and
business at different locations.
EXCLUSIVE
WEB
EDUCATION
● ●
growth.Atthismomentof crises,
Indiaistakingoverthepresidency
of G20. Our belief is every crisis is
a good opportunity and leader-
shipisfindingpathbreakingsolu-
tionsinthemidstofcrisis,”hesaid.
The key responsibility of all
Sherpas will be “to look beyond
theimmediate,tolookbeyondall
thecrisis,toseehowwecanshape
a new future, how we can shape
a completely new world”, Kant
said.Thefour-daygathering ofthe
Sherpaswillseeformalmeetings
begin from Monday.
Sherpas are personal repre-
sentatives of leaders of member
countries at such international
summits,withthetermbeingde-
rived from the Nepalese who
serve as guides for mountaineers
in the Himalayas.
Duringitsterm,Indiawillhold
● Uttarakhand tiger reserve road
learnttohavehighlightedthatthe
corridor is extensively used by
long-ranging animals, including
elephants and tigers -- and not
maintaining it as a forest road
would hamper wildlife connec-
tivitythatisalreadythreatenedby
thegrowingtownshipofKotdwar,
andagricultureandhumanhabi-
tation.
Thepanel'skeyrecommenda-
tions include:
■ Only the first and last 3 km
stretches of the 11-km road
should be blacktopped.
■ Allelevatedstructuresandlarge
bridges across streams should be
replaced by causeways to avoid
bringinganenormousamountof
concreteintotheforestandcaus-
ingdisturbancetowildlifeduring
the construction phase.
■ Abanonnighttraffic(7pmto7
am) and a speed limit of
30km/hour should be imposed.
● Low turnout as Delhi votes in MCD polls
wouldspellfurther troubleforits
Delhiunit,whichhasfailedtowin
a single Assembly election since
1998.
The Congress, meanwhile, is
fightingforrelevance.Afterbeing
wipedoutbytheAAPinthe2015
Assemblyelections,theCongress
managedtogetavoteshareof 21
per cent in the 2017 MCD polls,
behind the BJP’s 36 per cent and
● At Cong meet, Kharge’s message to office-bearers: Step up or step aside
Octobertoheadtheparty,madeit
clearthat“organisationalaccount-
ability from top to bottom” was
keyasthepartychartsitswayfor-
ward in the run-up to the 2024
generalelections.
“Those who are incapable of
fulfillingtheirresponsibilities,they
willhavetomakewayfornewcol-
leagues,” he said. “If the Congress
organisationisstrong,accountable
andlivesuptotheexpectationsof
the people, only then will we be
abletowinelections.”
The steering committee,
meanwhile, decided to hold a
three-day plenary session of the
AICCinthesecondhalfofFebruary
in Raipur to ratify Kharge’s elec-
● Set to milk hold over Gujarat dairy co-ops, BJP eyes pole position in Phase II polls
the BJP of allegedly indulging in
“vote bank politics”.
The GCMMF’s managing di-
rectorRSSodhihadthentoldThe
IndianExpressthatthemilksold
outsideGujaratwasalreadysub-
sidised and that the hike was to
bring its prices on par with the
state home to Amul and to cover
the freight costs. The GCMMF
comprises of 18 district cooper-
ative milk producers unions,
which are made up of the mem-
bers of the village dairy co-oper-
atives in each district.
Increased income of dairy
farmers, who are members of
thevillage“doodhmandlis(milk
co-operatives)”, from selling
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
BEHIND THE ART: DORA MAAR AU CHAT, 1941, BY PABLO PICASSO
WhatisthesignificanceofPicasso'sDoraMaarauChatwhichiscurrentlythesixthhighest-sellingpainting
bytheartist?
STUDYING IN THE
NETHERLANDS
‘Studying MSc in
Netherlands made
me self-reliant’
FULL REPORTS ON
over 200 meetings across 32 dif-
ferent workstreams in 50 cities,
involving ministers, government
officials and civil society mem-
bers, leading up to the final sum-
mit in New Delhi in September
2023.Thetimingofthesummitis
seen as crucial, coming ahead of
the general elections in 2024.
The Sherpa track, which will
settheagendafortheG20leaders
next September, will engage on
topics from 13 working groups
rangingfromenergy,tradeandin-
vestment,development,employ-
ment,tourism,agriculture,digital
economy, health, education, cul-
ture, environment and anti-cor-
ruption. The issue notes were
sharedwithmembercountries20
daysagoandwillnowbetakenup
for discussion, including points
from the two new groups —
■ Movement of commercial
heavyvehiclesthroughthisforest
roadshouldbediscouragedsince
an alternative road (NH-74) is
available between Kotdwar and
Haridwar.
In March 2019, The Indian
Express reported that the
Uttarakhand government had
transferred two segments of the
forest road to the state's Public
Works Department without ob-
taining clearance from the
National Board for Wildlife
(NBWL)inviolationoftheWildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972.
Subsequently, the CEC filed
two reports and the Supreme
Court asked the state in July 2019
to withdraw the land transfer or-
ders, stop road work, and ap-
proachtheEnvironmentministry
for statutory wildlife clearance.
InDecember2019,theNBWL
clearedtheroadonthecondition
the AAP’s 28 per cent.
Smaller parties such as BSP,
JD(U) and AIMIM are also ex-
pected to play a role in the final
seat tally.
Delhihashistoricallyseenlow
turnouts at municipal polls. In
2007, only around 45 per cent of
thoseeligibleturneduptovote.In
2012 and 2017, this increased to
around 54 per cent. The turnout
tion,chartoutthefuturecourseof
actionanddeliberateonthestrat-
egytofacetheLokSabhaelections
andkeyAssemblypollsnextyear.
Thecommitteealsodecidedto
organise a two-month campaign
fromJanuary26,withacentralrole
forAICCgeneralsecretaryPriyanka
Gandhi Vadra, as a follow-up to
Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Aspartof thecampaign,Priyanka
will lead “women marches” in
everystate,withseparatewomen
manifestosforeachstate.
After taking over as Congress
president,Khargehadconverted
the Congress Working
Committee into a Steering
Committee.
milk is perceived to influence
voters in the rural belts in
Gujarat. In the last five years, the
GCMMF has increased the milk
procurement price by 18-20 per
cent.Currently,amilkproducing
farmer earns Rs 37 for one litre
of cow milk sold to the GCMMF,
while his income is between Rs
50-55 for buffalo milk a litre.
Dominating Gujarat’s dairy
co-operatives, the BJP has been
looking to tap into its significant
support base among dairy farm-
ers to edge out the principal
Opposition Congress and claim
a commanding position in the
second phase of the polls. The
new entrant in the fray, the Aam
PUZZLES AND CROSSWORDS
Disaster, Risk and Resilience
Group and Startup20
Engagement Group -- brought to
the forefront by India under its
presidency, officials said.
With the presidency shifting
from a developed country to an
emergingeconomy,Indiaseesthis
asanopportunitytoshareitswork
doneinsectorsof digitaltransfor-
mation and sustainable develop-
ment goals, especially in areas of
health,educationandwomen-led
development,anofficialsaid.
Work done in the sphere of
digital public infrastructure, in-
cluding vaccination and India's
Covid efforts under the CoWIN
platform, will also be discussed
with representatives of other
countries, the official said.
ThepresidencysteerstheG20
agenda for one year till the final
that a 705-m long and 8-m high
underpasswouldbeprovidedfor
elephantsandotherwildlifeinthe
4.7-km central stretch of the 11-
km road.
With the state government
pursuingthematter,theNBWLin
June2021modifiedthatcondition
toa400-mlongand6-mhighun-
derpass.
UnderaSupremeCourtorder
passed in 2015, the CEC has the
liberty to approach the court if it
was not satisfied with any deci-
sion of the NBWL. While the CEC
was examining the NBWL’s rec-
ommendation on the Laidhang-
Chillarkhal forest road, a petition
wasfiledseekingtheapexcourt's
direction to quash the NBWL
clearance.
The CEC's latest report was
submitted after holding discus-
sions with various stakeholders
and conducting site visits.
for the 2020 Assembly polls was
62.59 per cent.
Votes will be counted on
December 7.
Sunday'selectionwasinitially
expected to beheld in April-May,
and was delayed after the Centre
reunified the civic body, which
had been trifurcated in 2012, by
passing a law in Parliament ear-
lier this year.
In his stern message to the
party’s office-bearers, Kharge
asked office-bearers to reflect if
they were touring the states
which they are in charge of for
at least 10 days a month.
He asked: “Have you visited
everydistrict,helddiscussionswith
the leaders, understood the local
problems...Haveeverydistrictand
block Congress committees been
constituted... Is the organisation
taking up people’s issues in tune
withthegroundreality...Havenew
faces been given more and more
opportunitiesinblockanddistrict
levels...Inhowmanyunits,district
and block committees have not
been changed in five years... How
Aadmi Party (AAP), is virtually
non-existentinthestate’sco-op-
erative sector.
“The Kaira District
Cooperative Milk Producers'
Union headquartered at Anand
is jointly run by the BJP and the
Congress leaders. While the
chairman Ramsinh Parmar is
now with the BJP, the vice-chair-
man Rajendrasinh Parmar is
with the Congress. The rest 17
unions are controlled by the BJP.
Over two decades ago, all these
unions were controlled by lead-
ers aligned to the Congress
party," said a GCMMF source.
RamsinhParmarwasamong
the Congress leaders who quit
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
ENJOY DAILY
CROSSWORDS AND
SUDOKU FROM THE
INDIAN EXPRESS
summit next September. India
tookoverfromIndonesiaatatime
ofgeopoliticalturmoilanduncer-
tainty over the post-pandemic
economicturnaroundandthewar
in Ukraine. After India, Brazil will
takeoverthepresidency,followed
by South Africa in 2025. The G20
comprisestwoparalleltracks:the
Finance track, led by Finance
Ministers and Central Bank
Governors,andtheSherpatrack.
India’sG20presidencytheme
isof‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam’—
‘One Earth One Family One
Future’, as well as the vision of an
‘all of government’ approach. In
thefirsteventoftheSherpatrack,
two rounds of informal discus-
sions will also be held as “chai pe
charcha”, a term made famous
during the BJP’s election cam-
paign of 2014.
● Iran
in September. The unrest has
amounted to one of the biggest
challengesindecadestoIran’ssys-
tem of authoritarian clerical rule
and the decision to scrap the
morality police was the govern-
ment’s first major concession to
theprotesters.Themoralitypolice
“was abolished by the same au-
thorities who installed it,” the
statement by Attorney General
MohammadJavadMontazerisaid,
according to state media reports.
Buthewentontosuggestthatthe
judiciary would still enforce re-
strictionson“socialbehaviour.”
He also indicated that the au-
thoritieswerereviewingthehead
scarf regulations. But it was not
clear whether the authorities
planned to relax the hijab law,
whichremainedinforce.
Theprimaryroleofthemoral-
ity police was to enforce the laws
related to Iran’s conservative
Islamic dress code, imposed after
the 1979 Islamic Revolution and
recently invigorated by the coun-
try’snewultraconservativepresi-
dent. The dress code for women
becameanideologicalpillarofthe
rulingclericalestablishment.
The restrictions require
women to cover their bodies in
long, loose clothing and their hair
withahijab.Despitemassprotests,
long black robes and chadors, a
black head-covering that reaches
downthechest,becamethenorm
forwomen. NYT
manyagitationshavebeenheldat
theblock,districtandstatelevelin
linewiththedirectionsoftheAICC
on local, regional and national is-
sues?” Kharge also wanted to
know whether the general in-
charges had a roadmap for agita-
tions on people’s issues to be held
inthenext30to90days.“Instates
where Assembly elections will be
held from now to 2024... what is
the schedule of activities till elec-
tions?Ourresponsibilitieswillnot
becompleteifyou,yoursecretaries,
state Congress presidents, MLAs
andMPsdon’tprepareablueprint
on these and other important is-
sues,andimplementthemonthe
ground,”hesaid.
the party with the then Leader
of Opposition Shankersinh
Vaghela in 2017. He subse-
quentlyjoinedtheBJP,whichhas
given ticket in this election to his
son Yogendra Parmar from
Thasra in Kheda district. In ad-
joining Anand, Rajendrasinh
Parmar is himself contesting the
election as a Congress candidate
from the Borsad constituency.
"Inthecooperativestructure,we
(the Congress and the BJP) as
board members are working to-
gether for the farmers. But
Assembly elections are a differ-
entballgame.We (Congress)are
sure to win in Anand district,"
claimed Rajendrasinh.
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Limiting family size to
be a part of Uttarakhand
UCC recommendations
NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY
On 3 Things, we talk about the suggestions
by the Uttarakhand government's panel on
UCC and how one of the suggestions may
reflect RSS policy of population control
Doha prays for Pele
than anyone else. He is like a fa-
ther,grandfather,brothertoallof
us. When I heard that he was on
life support, I felt like crying.
Hopefully, he will soon recover,
and see us win the World Cup,”
she says.
They don’t call him by his
name in Brazil. It’s always “he",
"him”orthe"King".OnMonday’s
round-of-16 game against South
Korea, she expects more tributes
to pour in. “You can expect more
faces with his flags, more jerseys
with his name. I have been trying
to get one, but I couldn’t, and we
will be cheering louder. This one
forthegreatest,”shesays.
There is a genuine belief that
Brazil could win the World Cup,
their sixth. The team, even with-
outthetalismanicNeymar,exudes
flairanddepth.Thedefeatagainst
Cameroon, but with a second
stringside,wasanaberration,they
feel.“Weplayedwell,butcouldnot
scoreagoal.Now,wehavetowin,
and win it for Pele. That would be
theperfectgift,”saysAdriana.
Before leaving for Qatar, the
team had a video meeting with
Pele among other legendary
“Selecao” like Ronaldo and
Ronaldinho. Pele wished them
goodluckandtheteampromised
to reclaim the title they won ex-
actlytwodecadesago.“It’sausual
thing, and I heard that they did it
thistimeaswell.Hewasweak,but
cheerful,” says Luciano Fontes of
the media outlet “Zero Fora”. He
saysanarmyofreportershadbeen
deputed to Pele's house and hos-
pital to track developments. “You
know everyone wants to see his
healthreportfirst,everyonewants
to talk to his daughter first. I have
only one prayer, nothing should
happen to him before the end of
theWorldCup.Iwishhegetstosee
thatsixthstaronourcrest,”Fontes
adds. Two days before Brazil’s
openeragainstSerbia,Peleposted
a picture of himself after winning
the1970WorldCup.Themessage
underneath read: “The last time I
wore the shirt of the Brazilian
team, we inaugurated the three
starsabovethecrest.Nowwehave
five. I can’t wait to add the sixth
star.”
Whenever a Brazilian foot-
● Express Adda
Climate Change, Bhupender
Yadavisresponsibleforcoordinat-
ingandsteeringallclimateaction
in the country, from policy-mak-
ing to implementation. Yadav is
thechiefguestattheExpressAdda
on Monday.
The Union Minister returned
recently from the annual climate
change meeting at Sharm el-
Sheikh in Egypt, where he led the
Indiannegotiatingdelegation.This
was the second climate meeting
for Yadav, and both have been
eventful from the Indian stand-
point. In Glasgow last year, Yadav
gotareferencetothe“phase-out”
ofcoalchangedto“phase-down”,
while in Sharm el-Sheikh, he ar-
guedforaphase-downofallfossil
fuels,notjustcoal.
But more than international
negotiations, it would be the cli-
mate action at home that would
Apart from Anand and
Kheda,whichhavesevenandsix
Assembly seats respectively,
Banaskantha (9 seats), Patan (4
seats), Mehsana (7 seats),
Sabarkantha(4seats),Aravalli(3
seats), and Panchmahal (5 seats)
have sizeable number of con-
stituencies that are influenced
by the milk cooperatives. All
these districts are heading to
polls on December 5. The dairy
cooperatives in Ahmedabad,
Vadodara and Gandhinagar,
which are also bound for polls in
the second phase, are relatively
smaller as these districts are
more urban, although a number
of Assembly seats in this region
balleroramemberofthesupport
staff turns up for a press confer-
ence, the first question would in-
variably be on Pele. Coach Tite,
with his characteristic wit, said:
“He is our biggest extraterrestrial
representative. We all want to
wish him good luck and a fast re-
covery.”Lastyear,Pelehadpublicly
appreciated Tite’s work with
Brazil, called him reliable and ap-
preciated the team’s style of play
underhim.
On Sunday, Tite recalled their
first meeting. “He is the only per-
son in front of whom I started to
tremble when I met him. It was
2018andtheytoldmetogotoPele
and give him a hug. I got up and I
wasshaking,myhandwassweat-
ing, my pulse was racing. I was
thinking, 'I will have the opportu-
nitytothankthemanforanentire
generation'. I thanked him,” he
said.
Not just Brazilians, players
from other countries too wished
for Pele's recovery. France striker
KylianMbappetweeted:“Prayfor
the King.” England captain Harry
Kaneofferedhissupportatapress
conference ahead of his team's
last-16 tie against Senegal: “We
send our best wishes to him and
obviouslyallhisfamilyaswell.He
is an inspiration amongst our
gameandanincrediblefootballer
and incredible person. We wish
himwell.”
Inasense,it’sadistractionthat
Brazil did not want. But Luciano
believes that it could only inspire
them to add the sixth star to their
crest.TheappealofPele,football’s
firstglobalstar,isuniversal.Heap-
pears on the stamps of nearly 60
countries. Wherever he has
played,thereissomememorabilia
treasuredinthegallery.
In Qatar, he is still remem-
bered fondly for an exhibition
gamein1973againstlocalclubAl
Ahli.Somesaythatwastheexact
moment the country fell in love
with football. The same would
ring true for several other coun-
tries without a deep footballing
culture.Andtheworldnowholds
itsbreathinhope,clutchingonto
the rosary beads, that the
GreatestrecoversandBrazilwins
another World Cup.
put Yadav’s effectiveness to test.
HeisafirmbelieverintheMission
LiFE,orLifestyleforEnvironment,
that Prime Minister Narendra
Modiconsiderscentraltoclimate
action. At the core of this idea is
the fact that a consumptive
lifestyle, as practised in rich and
developed countries, is at odds
with any effective climate action.
Therefore,itwasessentialtoadopt
lifestyles that were more in har-
mony with nature.
At the Express Adda, Yadav
willbeinconversationwithAnant
Goenka,ExecutiveDirector,Indian
Express Group, and Amitabh
Sinha, Resident Editor of The
Indian Express in Pune.
TheExpressAddaisaseriesof
informal interactions organised
by The Indian Express Group and
features those at the centre of
change.
also fall in rural areas.
The political influence of the
milk cooperatives could be
gauged from the point that in
JunethisyeartheCentreevenal-
lowed two of them, Banas Dairy
and Dudhsagar Dairy, to set up
new"SainikSchools"atPalanpur
and Mehsana, respectively.
Banas Dairy chairman and
former BJP minister Shankar
Chaudhary is contesting on the
saffron party’s ticket from
Tharad seat in Banaskantha.
Banas Dairy has an annual rev-
enue of Rs 15,200 crore and in
June 2022 it distributed Rs 1,650
crore profit among the dairy
farmers in north Gujarat.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022 THE CITY 5
AQI 0F 407 RECORDED ON SUNDAY Retrospective of Adoor films begins today
Air quality turns ‘severe’, ban on New Delhi: A retrospective of
films directed by renowned di-
rector Adoor Gopalakrishnan
ture films in Malayalam, his
2001-documentary on the clas-
sical art form, Koodiyattam, and
Adoor Gopalakrishnan, 81,
who lives in Thiruvananthapu-
ram, will attend the special

construction and demolition kicks in

will be held in Delhi to mark
50 years of the release of his de-
but feature, Swayamvaram
(One’s Own Choice). Beginning
Monday, six of the director’s fea-
a documentary by Girish
Kasaravalli on Adoor will be
screened at the India
International Centre over the
next three weeks.
screening of Swayamvaram at 6
pm on Monday.
The festival has been curated
byjournalistandfilmhistorian,V
K Cherian. ENS

November 6 and 14 respectively

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE after the air quality improved.
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4 AQI LAST WEEK The Delhi transport depart-
ment had imposed restrictions

407
WITH DELHI’S air quality turn- on BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel

370
368
369
ing ‘severe’ again on Sunday, the four-wheelers on November 7,

365

352
333
Commission for Air Quality andthenrevokedthemwhenair
Management (CAQM) has in- quality improved.
voked stage three of the Graded According to an update is-
Response Action Plan (GRAP), sued by the SAFAR forecasting

28-Nov
29-Nov
30-Nov
1-Dec
2-Dec
3-Dec
4-Dec
which includes a ban on con- system on Sunday, a drop in
struction and demolition activi- minimum temperature is likely
ties in the National Capital tohelpwiththeaccumulationof
Region. 0 50 100 200 300 400 500 pollutants. With the dip in min-
Projects including those of imum temperature, the likeli-

VeryPoor
Good

Moderate
Satisfactory

hospitals, railways, metro, fly-
overs and highways are ex-
empted from the construction
ban. Under stage-3 of the GRAP,
stategovernmentsmayalsocon-
sider imposing restrictions on
BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel
four-wheelers.Miningandasso-
ciated activities in theNCRare to
stop, and industrial units in ar-
eas that do not have PNG supply
will be allowed to operate for
only five days a week.
The transport departments
of the NCR states and the Delhi
Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) deteriorated on Sunday from
370 on Saturday. Gajendra Yadav
Metro Rail Corporation are also
required to intensify public
transportservices,alongwithin-
troducingdifferentialratestoen-
courage off-peak travel, accord-
ing to the GRAP measures.
The stage-3 or the ‘severe’
category of GRAP is supposed to
set in three days ahead of the air
quality hitting the ‘severe’ (AQI
of 401 to 450) category, as per
forecasts.
Delhi’sairqualityindex(AQI)
on Sunday was 407, having de-
terioratedfrom 370 on Saturday.
In the NCR, the air quality in
GreaterNoidawasalsointhe‘se-
vere’category,withanAQIof 410
on Sunday. According to the or-
der issued by the CAQM, the AQI
Severe
Poor
hood of fog in the morning is
higher and this can lead to a de-
terioration in the air quality, ac-
cording to the update.
The Air Quality Early
has deteriorated on account of Warning System for Delhi in its
calm winds and stable atmos- update on Sunday had not fore-
pheric conditions. casted a deterioration into the
After a deterioration in air ‘severe’ category. On Sunday, the
quality towards the end of forecast said the AQI is likely to
October and early in November, remain in the upper end of the
stage-3of theGRAPwasinvoked ‘very poor’ category. It is likely to
on October 29 while stage-4 set remain in the ‘very poor’ cate-
in from November 3. But these gory on Monday and Tuesday as
two steps were revoked on well.

In Faridabad, interfaith couple among nine

booked under Haryana’s anti-conversion law
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
GURGAON, DECEMBER 4
FARIDABADPOLICEhavebooked
nine people, including an inter-
faith couple, under Haryana's
anti-conversion law. Police said
the FIR was registered Friday,
making it one of the first such
cases in the state.
In March, the Haryana
Assembly had passed the
Haryana Prevention of Unlawful
Conversionof ReligionBill,2022,
withthegovernmentstatingthat
it was aimed at preventing reli-
giousconversions"throughforce,
undue influence or allurement".
On Thursday, the Cabinet ac-
corded approval for implement-
ing the Haryana Prevention of
Unlawful Conversion of Religion
Act 2022.
Inthecurrentcase,thefather
of a 22-year-old Hindu woman
had filed a police complaint al-
leging his daughter had recently
married a man from another
community and that she had al-
legedlybeenforciblyandillegally
convertedbyhimandhisfamily.
In the police complaint, the
woman's father alleged, "I am a
follower of the Hindu religion.
Mydaughterhasbeenluredbya
Muslim man. One year ago, the
man, his brother and his parents
had come to our house with a
marriageproposalformydaugh-
ter. I had refused and explained
to them that we are Hindus and
will not allow her to marry a
Muslim.Theyleftsayingthatour
permission was not required."
He further alleged, "I ex-
plained this to my daughter and
she did not say anything at the
time. On October 28 at 9.30 am, I
dropped her off near a bank
Police said the FIR was
registered Friday,
making it one of the
first such cases in
the state
wheresheworks,buthalfanhour
later, I got a phone call from her
office that she had not reported
for work. Her phone was
switchedoff.Thesameevening,I
learnt that she had converted…
and married the Muslim man.
They also applied for police pro-
tectionandIgotanoticefromthe
districtcourtregardingthesame."
He saidhe filedapolicecom-
plaint on November 8.
Speaking to The Indian
Express, the father alleged: "My
daughterhasbeenforcefullycon-
verted.Herconversionandmar-
riage are invalid since the pre-
scribed procedure as per provi-
sions of the Haryana Prevention
of Unlawful Conversion of
Religion Act 2022 has not been
followed… All the accused
should be arrested and action
should be taken as per provision
of the law. I do not know where
mydaughteris.If sheisguilty,she
shouldalsofaceactionasperthe
law… a message must go out so
that other Hindu daughters are
not illegally converted."
A police officer said, "No ar-
resthasbeenmade.Theaccused
are absconding. The couple had
applied for police protection af-
ter marriage and protection was
grantedforthreedays.Underthe
law, a person must file an appli-
cation at the SDM office regard-
ing changing of religion, and a
notice period is given for raising
objectionsandnotifyingthefam-
ilies.Thecomplainanthasalleged
that due procedure was not fol-
lowed in this case."
Faridabad Police spokesper-
son Sube Singh said a case was
registered against the interfaith
couple, the man's brother, his
parents, the Qazi who solem-
nised the marriage, two wit-
nesses and a notary public.
The FIR has been registered
under sections 12 (1) and 12 (5)
of The Haryana Prevention of
Unlawful Conversion of Religion
Act2022,saidpolice,addingthat
conviction under these provi-
sionscarriesimprisonmentof up
to five years and a fine of Rs 2
lakh.

MCD polls: With over

50k personnel, body
cams & drones, police
maintain tight vigil

Police on duty at a polling booth on Sunday. Tashi Tobgyal

candidate. “Our staff interacted

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
WITH MORE than 50,000 per-
sonnel,14,000home guardsand
170companiesof CentralArmed
PoliceForcedeployedacrossdis-
tricts, Delhi Police maintained a
tight vigil as the city came out to
vote in the MCD elections on
Sunday.
Police said additional secu-
ritycoverwasprovidedatcritical
booths and sensitive areas.
Home guards from Uttar
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana
were also deployed.
Personnel were also
equippedwithdozensof drones,
CCTVs and body cameras to
maintain security. Senior police
officers said polling duties were
smoothandnomajorincidentof
violence or disruption was
recorded. “We used 60-70
drones in districts to maintain
law and order. The district police
were asked to take footage and
examine it at the same time to
ensure there were no problems
in the area. Drones cover a large
area and can be easily moni-
tored.Foraclosevigil,bodycam-
eras were given to staff at booths
and sensitive areas. They are
wornonshirtsandrecordevery-
thing…,” said an officer.
Police said teams were also
deployed to check with voters if
they were being “pushed” or
forced to vote for a particular
with voters to keep a check on
this,” said a police officer.
All area SHOs and ACPs held
Aman Committee (peace com-
mittee) meetings to talk to polit-
icalandreligiousleadersandask
them to maintain peace and re-
port any sort of violence to the
police.
Meanwhile, staff also lent a Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
hand to the elderly and differ-
ently abled voters. “We had vot- cordially invites you to a Public Lecture
ers who were aged above 85,
some even 90 and 100 years old. on
The staff was quick to help and Aurangzeb:
escort them to the booths. Staff
helped people in wheelchairs The Emperor of Counter-Reformation
and even carried people who
By
needed help,” said police.
In North Delhi’s Bara Hindu
Rao area, 106-year-old Shanti
Bala Vaidya was escorted to the
booth by two women consta-
bles.In Rohini, 86-year-oldKanti
Deviwasassistedbyherrelatives
and the police at the booth. Shri M.J. Akbar
The Author of
Special teams were also de- Gandhi’s Hinduism: the Struggle Against Jinnah’s Islam
ployedtokeeptrackof electronic and
Doolally Sahib and the Black Zamindar
voting machines (EVM) and
counting centres. All senior dis- Tuesday, 6 December 2022 at 3:00pm
trict officials were instructed to Venue:
stay at their offices after polling Seminar Room, Library Building
ended and SHOs were prepared Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
to attend to any calls related to Google Meet Link: https://meet.google.com/oad-mvyj-tzh
clashes, violence, gang fights or All are Welcome
any communal incident. Those wishing to have their names added to the email list may please write to us:-
DCP Sanjay Sain said that in ccs2nmml@gmail.com Occasional Papers:
Northeast Delhi, they initiated http://nehrumemorial.nic.in/publication
Video Links of Lectures:
preventiveactionagainstatleast https://www.youtube.com/user/nehrumemoriallibrary
900 people since the start of the davp 09142/12/0042/2223
election process.

New Delhi
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

6 THE CITY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022 ANANDVIHAR SHADIPUR SIRIFORT IHBAS S K Y WA T C H
Severe Severe Very Poor Very Poor
FORECAST: December 5
MainlyclearskyMist/
shallowfoginthemorning
433 422 393 337
AQI AQI AQI AQI
0 PM 2.5 500 0 PM 2.5 500 0 PM 2.5 500 0 PM 2.5 500
MAX: 26 MIN: 8
0-50 Good 51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 Very Poor 401-500 Severe 1.0°C above normal 1.0°C belownormal

MCD POLLS: 50.47% VOTER TURNOUT RECORDED

Sanitation, toilets: What women voted for

From a first-time voter to an 80-year-old, around 33 lakh women came out to vote on Sunday

SUKRITA BARUAH
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4

AS SHE walked towards the LAST-MINUTE

pollingstationonSundaymorn-
ing, Rajni Paswan, a domestic
worker residing in South Delhi’s
Zamrudpur, was still not sure
who she should cast her vote for.
Attheageof 46,shewasgoingto
voteforthefirsttime.Shelooked
towardshersonRahul(20),who
hadhelpedherregistertovote.“I
think whoever comes should do
goodwork,liketheKejriwalgov-
ernment. They really improved
myschoolandmadeitverygood.
Butit’sultimatelyuptohertode-
cide,” he said. “I think I’ll only
make up my mind when I’m in-
side the booth,” she finally said.
Elsewhere, in Batla House,
Hafeez Ahman (34) also helped
his mother Jameela Begum (80)
cast her vote. “The sewage
pipelinesinmylanewerelaidjust
a few days ago. But our roads are
still in a pathetic state and they
keep promising to widen them.
We just want proper disposal of
garbageandroadstobewidened
in our lanes,” Begum said.
Women in different parts of
Delhi expressed different con-
cerns that influenced their votes
in the MCD election.
InMalviyaNagar’sBegumpur
village,housewifeAshaDevi(35)
saidsheisdrivenbyherconcerns
aboutherchildren.“Ihavealotof
expectations from the Kejriwal
party, if they win. Under them,
schools and hospitals have be-
come good. For poor people’s
children, they are very good —
childrenaregettingfreesanitary
napkins,andanEnglish-medium
education. All we want in our lo-
cality is that it be clean and that
we have access to clean water.
Right now, water gets accumu-
lated in the lanes which attracts
mosquitoes and makes the chil-
dren fall sick. I also hope that
whoever comes can think of
somewayforhousewiveslikeus
to work and earn a little during
the time that our children are in
schoolandwearefree,”shesaid.
For Anjali (63), a housewife
fromPanchsheelPark,herexpec-
tation for change is in another di-
rection:“Inthebeginning,every-
one was impressed by the
Kejriwal government and their
modelof governance...Theyhave
donesomegoodworkintheedu-
cation sector but things like the
liquor policy and its minister get-
ting massages in jail is a disap-
pointment. Keeping these issues
inmind,Icastmyvoteforchange.”
Aditi (38), who works in a
private office and is a resident of
Preet Vihar, said she hopes the
Voters queue up to cast their vote for the MCD election at Shri Ram Colony, Sunday. Praveen Khanna
next councillor works towards
more streetlights and better
roads for the benefit of women
travelling alone.
Rani (36), who works as part
of the housekeeping staff in a
Delhi government school in RK
Puram, said that for women in
her locality, accessibility to toi-
lets is the most pressing issue. “I
live in a camp nearby in Sector 9,
RK Puram. There are many is-
sues, especially basic amenities
like water, sewerage and, most
importantly, toilets. There are
common toilets, but they are far
across the road and are in a very
bad condition. Most toilets situ-
ated on main roads are closedby
9-10 pm. Women face problems
due to the lack of toilet facilities,
especially when they are men-
struating... I hope whoever is the
nextcandidatewilladdressthis.”
HimanshiBatra(21),whohad
gone out to vote with her family,
said her primary concern was
safetyissuesinherGovindpurilo-
cality.“Themostpressingissueis
the web of overhead wires in the
lane.I’veseenhowmuchdamage
they can cause; we had a fire this
summer because of a short cir-
cuit. Apart from that, cleanliness
is a problem. And while I’m not
against stray dogs, there are too
many and some are dangerous.”
For many, hyperlocal issues a top concern
Local issues take
centre stage in
several wards
ANAND MOHAN J
& GAYATHRI MANI
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
THE SIGHT of roads dug up,
smell of garbage putrefying on
their streets and endless knocks
at a councillor’s door leading to
bitter disappointment weighed
on the minds of voters who
headed out to cast their vote for
anew,reunifiedMCDonSunday.
Most voters The Indian
Express spoke to listed a series of
hyperlocal aspirations, all cen-
tering around the cleanliness of
their localities. Many also ex-
pressed anger and disappoint-
ment at current incumbents for
not doing enough.
In Shaheen Bagh, a sea of
garbage cutting across the en-
trance of a polling centre re-
mindedvotersofwhattheywere
voting for. Rajda Khan, a 37-year-
old resident, is voting for change
MESSAGE
“Vote for an honest party,
vote for decent and good
people. Do not vote for
those who abuse,
(indulge in) corruption
and hooliganism. Do not
vote for those who litter
Delhi. Vote for those who
work and will make
Delhi shine... Don’t vote
for those who don’t work
and stop working.”
ARVIND KEJRIWAL,
DELHI CHIEF MINISTER
“I have been to several
areas. It is jhadoo (AAP’s
symbol) everywhere.”
MANISH SISODIA,
DELHI DEPUTY CM
“Our key agenda is to
address problems at the
ground level... we will
develop primary schools
into smart ones and
provide flats to slum
dwellers under the
‘Jahan Jhuggi Wahin
Makaan’ scheme. Water
is a major problem in
Delhi; if we come to
power, we will bring the
“Councillors should be people’s
friends... they should be respect-
Delhi Jal Board under the
MCD to resolve water
ful,” he said. scarcity.”
GopalKrishan(61),aresident
of Malviya Nagar, claimed he has RAMESH BIDHURI,
SOUTH DELHI BJP MP
not seen his local councillor for
the last five years and felt embit-
tered that only promises were “I think polling is going
made on the eve of elections. He to be good. In today’s
saidhe“votedforchange”.Sodid political discourse,
Kuldeep Bharadwaj (63), a resi- people make all kinds of
dentofGanpatiBagh,whosaidhe claims about their
has never seen a councillor visit contribution or try to
his area in the last two decades. take credit for work done
Arun Bedi (57), a business- by other people. My only
Most voters flagged cleanliness issues in their localities. Amit Mehra man from Amar Colony, added: desire is for people to
“Whoevercomesnowshouldbe come out in large
a localpersonandshould work.” numbers to vote.”
asshesaid,“Previousofficialshave KumarDas(31)saidheistiredof Ramesh Sharma, a 63-year- Apart from hyperlocal is-
not had success”. She hopes looking at dug up roads in old general store owner in Raj sues, the spate of demolition HARDEEP SINGH PURI,
to see proper his locality Niwas, said despite being an up- drives to clear encroachments UNION MINISTER FOR
garbagedisposal. and longs for scaleVIParea,itstillhaspothole- this year in the capital also HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS
Over 20 km change.Healso filled roads and clogged drains. weighed on people’s minds. For
away, Nisar wants the Healsosaidthestreetswouldget Janaki Devi (55), who turned up “The low voter turnout
Ahmed(55)from AAP’s policies inundated during the monsoon. to cast her vote at a polling sta- only shows the failure of
NortheastDelhi’s which led to a “This time too, we voted hoping tion in Okhla, memories of her both the parties. These
Jafrabad said the
drainsaroundhis CIVICSENSE
MCD POLLS 2022
reduction in
waterandelec-
these issues will be addressed.
Let’s see,” he said.
home and tea stall demolished
in one such drive six months
are not state or central
elections. This is a local
area were over- tricity bills to Prakash Malhotra, a central ago are still fresh. “They did not level municipal
flowingand“pre- bereplicatedin government employee, recalled leave anything behind. My election... The artificial
viouscouncillorshavenotdoneas the MCD as well. “We want that the time when he tried to reach livelihood was destroyed in a wave of AAP has been
much as they should have”. kind of good work to happen in out to the local councillor over day. I came to vote because I am exposed by its own party
Begumpur resident Amit the MCD also,” he said. thefts in the area but to no avail. angry,” Devi said. workers.”

ABHISHEK DUTT,
SENIOR CONGRESS LEADER
VOTER TURNOUT VOTING PERCENTAGE
Total voters Votes polled % polling IN PREVIOUS POLLS
Men 78,93,418 40,26,866 51.02
67.13%
65.60%

62.59%

Women 66,10,879 32,93,497 49.82

60.6%
53%

Others 1,061 214 20.17

Total 1,45,05,358 73,20,577 50.47

HIGHEST VOTING LOWEST VOTING AMONG

2013 Assembly polls
2015 Assembly polls
2017 MCD polls
2019 Lok Sabha polls
2020 Assembly polls

65.74% 33.74%
At a polling booth in Noor Nagar, Sunday. Tashi Tobgyal in ward no. 5
(Bakhtawarpur)
in ward no. 145
(Andrews Ganj) VOTERS
Name not on voter list, *No votes cast by voters at 3 polling stations in ward 31
(Nangal Thakran) due to reported boycott by voters on ground of
Delhi CM Kejriwal, BJP MP
Gambhir came to vote with At a polling station in

says Delhi Cong chief

non-development activities in their areas by political parties) their families. Prem Nath Pandey Preet Vihar. Amit Mehra

athishousewhenwevisited.This
ANKITA UPADHYAY canbeoneof thereasonswhyhis
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4 name is not on the list.”
Later in the day, the State FOR MANY, LOCAL ISSUES A PRESSING CONCERN

In backdrop of 2020 riots, NE Delhi goes out to vote

DELHI CONGRESS chief Anil
Chaudhary was unable to cast
his vote in the MCD election
Sunday after finding out that his
name was not on the voters’ list.
Chaudhary claimed officials
told him his vote had been
shifted from polling station 174
in Dallupura. “... However, they
did not disclose where my vote
has been shifted. I registered a
complaint with the Election
Commission...,” he said.
Speaking to The Indian
Express, he said many Congress
workers could also not vote as
their names were not on the list.
“... Not just our workers, but
common people have also not
been able to vote," he said.
SatishKumar,BLOsupervisor
at the polling centre, told The
Indian Express: “We conducted a
survey to find who lives in the
area and who does not. Anil
Chaudhary might have not been
Election Commission issued a
statement saying “Delhi has
merely adopted the Electoral
Roll prepared by the Election
Commissionof Indiaforthecon-
duct of elections to the
Municipal Corporation of Delhi,
and as such the State Election
Commission, Delhi, has no juris-
diction to make any additions or
deletions therein”. It added that
the matter can be taken up with
the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi.
When The Indian Express con-
tactedtheChief ElectoralOfficer,
Delhi, Ranbir Singh, for a com-
ment, there was no response.
Several voters too claimed
theirnamesweremissing.Gudiya
Devi (45) made rounds of three
poll centres in Mandawali’s E, D
and Cblocks to check if her name
wasonthelist—tonoavail.Ajmal
(32)fromPoorviSchoolBlocksaid
he and his two sisters could not
vote due to the same reason.
ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
FORSOMEresidentsofNortheast
Delhi, the 2020 riots and the re-
sponses to it were on top of their
minds when they voted in the
MCDelectiononSunday.Others,
however, said local issues are a
more pressing concern.
Brijpuri resident Haji Gul
Mohammad (52), a railway em-
ployee at the Old Delhi Railway
Station, rued what he claimed
was a lack of help from the AAP
during the riots and said he
would steadfastly remain be-
hind the Congress despite sev-
eralissuesremainingunresolved
in the locality in the past few
years. “The drains are overflow-
ing and there is garbage every-
where.Thereisgarbageclogging
the drains. Former MLA Hasan
Ahmed (who represented the
Mustafabad constituency) had
done some work, but not much
happened after that,” he added.
Afewotherresidentssaidthe
riots, while still fresh in their
minds, may not have much of an
impactontheelection.HajiAyub
(60), a resident of Mustafabad
and a social worker, said the is-
sues that were significant in the
MCDpollswerethoseof basicfa-
cilities and cleanliness. “A lack of
cleanliness in the area, lack of
clean water, corruption in the
MCD... these are the issues. We
have had a Congress councillor
forsometimenow.ButCongress
councillors say they don't have
much power since they don’t
have a majority in the MCD or
the government. There needs to
be some change now,” he said.
The Mustafabad ward in
NortheastDelhihashadCongress
councillors since at least 2007.
Nearby, Seelampur voted for a
BahujanSamajPartycouncillorin
2017,whileChauhanBangarnear
Jafrabad voted for an AAP coun-
cillor.TheGokulpuriwardhasan
outgoing BJP councillor. There
was heavy security deployed at
somepollingboothsinNortheast
Delhi,includinganMCDprimary
school in Jafrabad.
At a selfie booth in Khajoori Khas, Sunday. Praveen Khanna NisarAhmed(55),whovoted
in Jafrabad, and runs a local iron
sheet business, said the riots in-
flictedmuchpaininthearea,but
itwas unlikelyto have an impact
on the MCD polls. “Humare
bhaiyon ka nuksan hua tha.
Muslims faced severe losses in
the riots... even in the Gokulpuri
market. Lekin uska iss election se
kuchlenadenanahinhain(Itdoes
not have much to do with the
election to a local government).
Maybe in another election it
could have an impact,” he said.
Ahmed too identified lack of
cleanliness as a key issue:
“Cleaning does not happen here.
The area is very dirty, drains are
not being cleaned and are over-
flowing. The previous council-
lors have not done as much as
they should have.”

New Delhi

7 DECISION
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
BATTLEGROUND GUJARAT
Final round today: 93 seats in
north and central regions at stake
CM Bhupendra
Patel, ministers,
and BJP rebels
among 833
leaders in the fray
PARIMAL DABHI
GANDHINAGAR, DECEMBER 4
A TOTAL of 93 seats from the
north and central Gujarat re-
gions will go to the polls on
Monday, which will mark the
second and final phase of the
state Assembly elections. These
regionscomprisebeltswithhigh
concentration of the Other
Backward Classes(OBCs), tribals
and Dalits besides some Patidar-
dominated areas.
These seats are spread across
14 districts of Gujarat, which in-
clude six seats reserved for the
Scheduled Caste (SC) communi-
ties and 13 for the Scheduled
Tribe(ST)communities.Theyac-
count for altogether 2.51 crore
voters, even as 833 candidates,
including 764 males and 69 fe-
males, are in the fray.
In the Gujarat elections this
time, the incumbent BJP is also
facing a challenge from Arvind
Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) besides the principal
OppositionCongress.Thecount-
ing of votes will take place on
December 8.
The Bapunagar constituency
in Ahmedabad city has the max-
imum number of 29 candidates,
while the Idar seat in the
Sabarkantha district has only
three contestants.
In terms of the number of
voters,BapunagarandGhatlodia
arethesmallestandbiggestcon-
stituencies, respectively.
In terms of areas covered by
the second-phase seats,
Ahmedabad city’s Dariapur is
the smallest seat whereas Patan
district’s Radhanpur is the
largest constituency.
In the second phase in the
2017Assemblyelections,theBJP
had bagged 51 seats, with 39
won by the Congress and three
by the Independents.
The prominent candidates in
the fray this time include Chief
Minister Bhupendra Patel
(Ghatlodia),Patidaryouthleader
Hardik Patel (Viramgam), OBC
leader Alpesh Thakor
(Gandhinagar South), Dalit
leaderJigneshMevani(Vadgam),
I Hereby
Declare
GAJENDRASINHPARMAR,44
BJP candidate from Prantij, MoS
Food and Civil Supplies
MOVABLEASSETS
`47.67 lakh
(includes that of his wife)
IMMOVABLEASSETS
`74.20 lakh
(Includes agricultural and
non-agricultural land
parcels)
LIABILITIES&CRIMINAL
CASES: None
MAHESHKUMARPATEL,56
Incumbent MLA and Congress
candidate from Palanpur
MOVABLEASSETS
`10.32 crore
(includes assets of his
wife, and under HUF)
IMMOVABLEASSETS
10.31 crore
(Includes agricultural and
non-agricultural land parcels,
10 commercial shops)
LIABILITIES&CRIMINAL
CASES: None
1. VIRAMGAM
■ Former Congress leader and
Patidar agitation face Hardik
Patel’s first election as a BJP
candidate against sitting
Congress MLA Lakha Bharwad
and AAP’s Amarsinh Thakor.
2. GANDHINAGAR
SOUTH
■ Alpesh Thakor, a prominent
youth leader, is contesting
against Congress
spokesperson
Himanshu Patel.
3. VADGAM
■ Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani
is contesting on a Congress
ticket against the BJP’s
Manilal Vaghela and AAP’s
Kalpesh Sundhiya.
4. PATAN
■ Congress’s Kirit Patel won
the BJP bastion in 2017 and
has been fielded again by the
Congres. The BJP has Rajul
Desai, a former member of the
National Commission for
Women (NCW).
5. UNJHA
■ This was the centre of the
Patidar agitation in 2017 and
the BJP lost the seat to the
Congress that year. BJP has
fielded RSS leader Kirit Patel,
former minister Shankar
Chaudhary (Tharad), Congress
MLA Geniben Thakor (Vav),
health minister Rushikesh Patel
(Visnagar) and tribal leader
Ashwin Kotwal (Khedbrahma),
among others.
SomerebelsfromtheBJP like
Dhavalsinh Zala(Bayad), Madhu
Shrivastav (Waghodia), Dinesh
Patel (Padra), Mavji Desai
(Dhanera) are contesting in this
phase of the elections as
Independents.
In central Gujarat, some no-
tablecontestantsaresittingmin-
isters Manisha Vakil (Vadodara
city), Nimisha Suthar (Morva
Hadaf) and Kuber Dindor
(Santrampur), Leader of
Opposition Sukhram Rathva
(Pavi-Jetpur), Yogesh Patel
(Manjalpur), veteran ex-
Congress tribal leader
Mohansinh Rathvas’s son
Rajendrasinhwhohasjoinedthe
BJP, Ketan Inamdar (Savli), Jetha
Ahir (Shehra), C K Raulji
(Godhra), Pankaj Desai (Nadiad)
and Amit Chavda (Anklav).
Theelectoralpoliticsinnorth
and central Gujarat regions are
ELECTION ANALYSIS
On test in polls: From Narendra Modi again spearheading
BJP campaign to faceless Cong bid to challenger Kejriwal
For the BJP, the polls are a bellwether for next year’s
Assembly elections in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and
Rajasthan, leading up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls
LEENA MISRA
AHMEDABAD, DECEMBER 4
THEGUJARATAssemblyelection
has been defined by the high-
voltage, sustained campaign of
the ruling BJP and the new en-
trant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),
that began with their respective
principal leaders engaging with
the electorate nearly eight
months prior to the polls, and
the perceived absence of such a
campaign by the principal
Opposition Congress, which in-
dicated the stakes placed by
these parties on this election.
With the stage set for second
and final phase of voting on
December 5, for the BJP the
Gujarat polls would be a bell-
wether for the Assembly elec-
tions in Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh and Rajasthan in 2023
leadinguptothe2024LokSabha
polls, says a senior party leader.
FortheAAP,itwillbeatestnot
only of the party as an emerging
thirdforceinnationalpolitics,but
also of its supremo and Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,
who invested as much energy
GUJARAT
KEY CONTESTS
AND BIG NAMES
MOSTVOTERS
4.28lakh+
GHATLODIA SEAT
the Congress Arvind Patel and
the AAP Urvish Patel.
6. JAMALPUR-KHADIA
■ A Congress stronghold, the
seat is one of the Muslim
dominated seats in
Ahmedabad. Sitting Congress
MLA Imran Khedawala is
contesting against BJP’s
Bhushan Bhatt; AIMIM’s
Gujarat president Sabir
Kabliwala; and AAP’s Harun
Nagori.
7. NARODA
■ This seat witnessed
massacres during the 2002
riots. BJP has fielded Payal
Kukrani, the daughter of a
convict in the case. NCP
nominee is Meghraj Dodwani
PM NarendraModiwithhismother Hiraba inGandhinagaron
Sunday, adaybeforethesecondphase of Assemblypolls. Express
and time in the Gujarat polls as
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
and whether Gujaratis accept
him as a challenger and are
wooedbyhisguarantees.TheBJP
hasdismissedKejriwalasan“out-
sider” although the AAP has
found some acceptance in
Gujarat’s migrant melting pot
Surat among Patidars, a domi-
nant community and the main-
stay of the BJP’s formidable base
in the state.
Depending on its vote share,
the Gujarat election will also de-
cide if the AAP can become a na-
tional party, its confidence bol-
stered by its triumph in Punjab
Assembly polls earlier this year,
whose CM Bhagwant Mann has
spent as much time as Kejriwal
on the Gujarat campaign trail.
Theelectionwillalsobeatest
of sorts for youth leaders like
Hardik Patel, who is fighting his
first-ever election, after having
created a churn with the quota
agitation several years ago, that
scaredtheBJPfirstinthe2015lo-
cal body elections and then in
the 2017 Assembly polls. The
election is also a litmus test for
Jignesh Mevani, who rose as a
● HIMACHAL PRADESH
11
10 4 3 8
5
2
1 ■ BJP’s Rajendrasinh Rathva
7 6
15
9 Congress’s Sangramsinh
13 12
14
and the AAP has fielded
Omprakash Tiwari.
8. KHEDBRAHMA
■ The BJP’s Ashvin Kotwal is
contesting against
Congress’s Tushar Chaudhary
9. SANAND
■ Congress turncoat Kanu
Patel is contesting as a BJP
candidate against BJP’s
Ramesh Koli and AAP’s
Kuldeepsinh Vaghela.
10. VAV
■ A Thakor-dominated area
where Congress MLA Geniben
Thakor is up against BJP’s
Swarupji Thakor.
11. THARAD
■ Former Cabinet Minister
Dalit leader after the Una flog-
ging incident and won as an
Independent candidate in 2017
with the Congress’s backing and
is now fighting on a Congress
ticket, as well as for Alpesh
Thakor,theOBCleaderwhowon
as a Congress nominee in 2017,
joined the BJP, lost the by-elec-
tion, and is now fighting on a BJP
ticket from a seat, Gandhinagar
South, he is not familiar with.
In the absence of any domi-
nantHindutvanarrative,thiswill
also be a trial run for an election
based on “mool muddey (basic
issues)” as former leader of op-
position Paresh Dhanani puts it.
Despitebeingheldsocloseto
the coronavirus pandemic that
is still on, the election made only
some references to Covid, with
the BJP claiming about expedit-
ingvaccinationandtheCongress
promising Rs four lakh each for
families of its victims.
BothKejriwalandModibegan
spending more time in Gujarat
sinceMay,withthelatterlaunch-
ing several projects as part of his
constant engagement with the
people of his home state. Modi’s
campaign narrative centred on
2022
Shankar Chaudhary is
contesting against Congress’s
sitting MLA Gulabsinh Rajput.
12. CHHOTA UDEPUR
will face off against
Rathwa in a seat that has
swung between the two.
13. WAGHODIA
■ BJP’s Ashwin Patel is up
against six-term sitting MLA
and rebel BJP leader Madhu
Shrivasatava, who is
contesting as an Independent.
14. PADRA
■ Sitting Congress MLA
Jashpalsinh Padhiyarwill face
off against BJP rebel leader
Dinesh Patel, contesting as an
Independent, and the BJP’s
Chaitanyasinh Zala.
15. GODHRA
■ This is the seat of five-term
sitting MLA CK Raulji who was
part of the panel that
recommended the release of 11
convicts in the 2002 Bilkis
Bano case. He is up against
Congress candidate
Rashmitaben Chauhan
and AAP nominee
Rajeshbhai Patel.
influenced,among other factors,
bythewell-entrencheddairyco-
operatives, especially in
Sabakantha, Banaskantha,
Mehsana, Anand, Panchmahal
and Kheda districts.
The polling will take place at
26,409 polling booths across the
state. Some prominent leaders
who would cast their votes on
Monday include Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Union Home
Minister Amit Shah, CM Patel,
Gujarat Pradesh Congress
Committee (GPCC) president
Jagdish Thakor and ex-Deputy
CM Nitin Patel. PM Modi is then
scheduled to cast his vote in
Ranipareaat8.30am,AmitShah
in Naranpura area at 10.30 am
and the CM in Shilaj at 10 am. In
the elections’ first phase held on
December 1, voting took place
for89seats,whichsawa63.3per
centvoterturnout.Inviewof ap-
athydisplayedbyvotersinurban
seats, the Election Commission
(EC) issued an appeal to urban
voters to come out and vote in
the second phase. In 2017, the
voter turnout in the first phase
was recorded at 68 per cent.
This Assembly election will decide if freebies or declaring
a CM face before polls work in Gujarat. Nirmal Harindran
“double engine sarkar” turned
into the slogan, “Phir ek bar, Modi
sarkar”, towards the end, even as
theBJP’soriginalcampaignslogan
“We built this Gujarat” got rele-
gatedtoabackgroundscoreatthe
party rallies, given the criticism it
faced about being “arrogant and
exclusionary”.
Former education minister
and veteran BJP leader
Bhupendrasinh Chudasama
claims, “AAP has no future (in
Gujarat).”Heharpsonthefamiliar
line about how even leaders like
former CMs, Chimanbhai Patel,
KeshubhaiPatelandShankersinh
Vaghela, could not launch a third
(From left) Jignesh Mevani, Hardik Patel, and Alpesh Thakor in Gandhinagar in 2018. File
Hardik, Alpesh, Jignesh:
Young guns caught in
keen ‘battles of prestige’
Trio played a key role in shaping the 2017 polls narrative,
when they were called Cong’s ‘HAJ’ against BJP's ‘RAM’
PARIMAL DABHI
AHMEDABAD, DECEMBER 4
OF MANY prominent candi-
dates in the fray in the second
phase of the Gujarat polls are
three young faces — Hardik
Patel, Alpesh Thakor and
Jignesh Mevani — who had
played a key role in shaping the
narrative of the 2017 state
Assembly elections. Although
even this time they are consid-
ered “star candidates” of their
parties, the three leaders have
largely remained confined to
their respective constituencies
for what is being called their
“battles of prestige”.
In the 2017 polls, they had
challenged the ruling BJP as
caste leaders, and had been
then dubbed as the principal
Opposition Congress's “HAJ”
(for Hardik-Alpesh-Jignesh)
against the BJP's “RAM”
(Rupani-Amit-Modi). However,
months before the current polls,
Hardik quit the Congress to
switch to the BJP, which Alpesh
had done in 2019, and Jignesh
formally joined the Congress.
Hardik, the face of the
Patidar quota agitation, was the
most vociferous voice against
the BJP in 2017, asking the peo-
ple to vote for the Congress,
which he formally joined ahead
of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Days after falling out with the
Congress on a bitter note in May
this year, Hardik joined the BJP,
which has now fielded him
from Viramgam, his home
town, in Ahmedabad district.
Hardik is however report-
edly facing a stiff challenge in
his constituency since many lo-
front in Gujarat despite rooted in
the state and being “recognised
names even in villages”.
The All India Congress
Committee (AICC)’s Gujarat in-
charge Raghu Sharma claims
that the Congress would form
thegovernment, addingthatthe
party will win 65 of the 89 seats
thatpolledinthefirstphase.Last
time, the BJP had won 48 of
these seats withtherestgoingto
the Congress or its allies.
After the close contest of the
2017 polls, when the Congress
was just 20 seats short of the BJP
whichhadwon99seats,theAICC
leadershipentrustedtherespon-
New Delhi
cal party leaders and workers
are discontent at being ignored
by the party over someone who
took it on earlier. Many of
Hardik's former colleagues in
the Patidar Anamat Andolan
Samiti (PAAS) are now also op-
posing him.
Hardik is pitted against the
incumbent Congress MLA,
Lakha Bharwad, who is consid-
ered a “silent force”. The Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded
Amarsinh Thakor from the seat,
which is dominated by the
Thakor community. Senior BJP
leaders who campaigned for
Hardik include Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
and Assam CM Himant Biswa
Sarma.
During his campaigning,
Hardik has projected himself as
a young candidate whom the
locals can approach like their
son. He has also promised that
he will make all attempts to get
Viramgam declared as a district.
Unlike Hardik, this would be
the third election for Alpesh
Thakor. After emerging as a
young OBC leader against the
Patidar quota stir in 2015-17,
AlpeshjoinedtheCongressinthe
presence of Rahul Gandhi. He
waselectedastheCongressMLA
fromRadhanpurin2017.In2019,
he cross-voted in favour of a BJP
candidate in the Rajya Sabha
election, following which he
joinedtheBJP,whichnominated
himfromthesameconstituency
in the bypoll that he lost to the
Congress's Raghu Desai.
In the current election,
sources said, Alpesh was again
seeking the BJP ticket from
Radhanpur. However, following
strong opposition from the lo-
sibility of the Gujarat election
withRajasthanCMAshokGehlot
andSharma,hisformerminister.
Compared to its 2017 cam-
paign, whenthen Congressvice-
president Rahul Gandhi did 40
meetings in Gujarat besides vis-
iting several temples, the party’s
campaign this time was marked
byGandhi’svirtualabsenceashe
addressedonlyoneelectionrally.
The Congress leaders brush
aside the rows over Narmada
dam activist Medha Patkar join-
ing the Bharat Jodo Yatra, ex-
party MP Madhusudan Mistry’s
“aukat” remark and party presi-
dent Mallikarjun Kharge’s
“Ravan” jibe, attributing them to
the “BJP’s diversionary tactics”.
“Large meetings only give a
perception,theydon’tconvertinto
votes,” says Sharma, adding how
the Congress this time strength-
ened its booth management.
Several poll strategists and even
some BJP leaders feel that al-
though thanks to hishigh-profile
electioneeringKejriwalcouldtake
away some votes of the BJP and
the Congress, but the AAP might
stillnotendupwithreplicatingin
the state, what it did in the Surat
MunicipalCorporationelectionin
2021, when it edged out the
Congress to garner the second
largest vote share after the BJP.
BoththeBJPandtheCongress
saytheAAP lackedaninfluential
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
cal party leaders, he was fielded
from Gandhinagar South,
where he is facing a high-pro-
file Congress candidate
Himanshu Patel. A Congress
spokesperson and Patidar
leader with a strong local base,
Himanshu is posing a tough
challenge to Alpesh.
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah has campaigned for
Alpesh, declaring that it was his
as well as the sitting BJP MLA
Shambhuji Thakor's responsi-
bility to ensure his victory.
The Congress’s prominent
Dalit face Jignesh Mevani also
seems to be facing a tough bat-
tle while seeking re-election
from Vadgam. In 2017, Jignesh
won the seat by defeating the
BJP’s Vijay Chakravarty by over
19,000 votes. The seat domi-
nated by the Muslim commu-
nity is considered a Congress
bastion, but Jignesh is facing
three rival candidates this time,
including the AIMIM’s candi-
date Kalpesh Sundhiya besides
the BJP’s Manilal Vaghela and
the AAP’s Dalpat Bhatia.
Vaghela was the Congress
MLA in 2012 from Vadgam, but
the party shifted him to Idar in
2017 to back the then
Independent candidate Jignesh.
Nursing a grievance, Vaghela
eventually joined the BJP in
April 2022.
During his campaigning,
Jignesh has raised issues such as
price rise, paper leaks in gov-
ernment recruitment exams,
healthcare, and remission of
sentence granted by the BJP
government to 11 men con-
victed of gang rape and multi-
ple murders in the Bilkis Bano
case of 2002.
localfaceandvisiblefootsoldiers.
Unlike 2017, when Modi as
the BJP's star campaigner, did a
few public meetings, ending it
withagrandrideontheseaplane
from the Sabarmati river in
AhmedabadtotheDharoidamin
Sabarkantha, he returned to the
basicsforthe2022,campaigning
like a candidate and wrapping it
up with two roadshows to cover
over 50 km in Ahmedabad city,
which is considered to be the
BJP’s bastion. He also did a road-
show in Surat where the BJP has
been winning all the 12 urban
seats. In both elections, the PM's
appeal has been an emotional
pitch to the Gujaratis to
"strengthen him".
Even as Kejriwal has made a
strong appeal to “Congress vot-
ers” to vote for the AAP, Sharma
saysthepartywillendupin“dis-
appointment and disappear”.
Whatever be the outcome,
the2022electionwillbemarked
byseveralelectoralexperiments.
It will decide if revdis (freebies)
workinGujarat,orannouncinga
CM face before the polls, or
launching a band of young lead-
ers to fight the election on real
issues,orif gettingthePMtolead
from the front works. It would
alsodecideif thegrandoldparty,
out of power in Gujarat for three
decades,canstillremainrelevant
in the state.
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

8 GOVT & POLITICS

THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

Seven bypolls today in 5 states; all eyes on PMtobriefleadersonG20

prestige battles in Rampur and Mainpuri
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
BYPOLLS WILL be held in a Lok
Sabha seat and six Assembly
seats in five states on Monday.
WhiletheLokSabhaby-election
will be held in Mainpuri in Uttar
Pradesh, where the Samajwadi
Party is locked in a high-stakes
battle with the BJP to retain the
seat party founder Mulayam
Singh Yadav used to represent,
Assemblybypollswillbeheldfor
theconstituenciesof Katauliand
Rampur(UttarPradesh),Kurhani
(Bihar), Padampur (Odisha),
Sardarshahar (Rajasthan), and
Bhanupratappur(Chhattisgarh).
The results will be declared on
December 8 along with the re-
sultsof theGujaratandHimachal
Pradesh Assembly elections.
A look at the contests:
Lok Sabha bypoll
MAINPURI, Uttar Pradesh
(17 lakh voters)
Why: The seat fell vacant af-
terMulayamSinghYadavdiedin
October.
What: All eyes are on
whethertheSPwillbeabletore-
tain the seat Mulayam won five
times since 1996, including the
2019 Lok Sabha elections. A win
fortheBJPwillbeamassiveblow
for the Opposition party, which
Officers leave for election duty from Etawah on Sunday. PTI
lostAzamgarhafewmonthsago.
Who: The SP has fielded
Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple.
The BJP candidate is Raghuraj
Singh Shakya, a former aide of
Akhilesh’s uncle Shivpal Yadav.
Assembly byelections
BHANUPRATAPPUR,
Chhattisgarh
(1.97 lakh voters)
Why: Congress MLA Manoj
SinghMandavidiedof aheartat-
tack on October 16.
What: While the outcome of
this bypoll will not have any ma-
jor impact on the government, a
victory will bolster the victory in
therun-uptotheAssemblyelec-
tions next year.
Who: Sevencandidatesarein
thefray,butthefightisbeingseen
as a direct contest between the
CongressandtheBJP.TheCongress
hasfieldedMandavi'swifeSavitri
while the BJP nominee is former
MLABrahmanandNetam.
KHATAULI, Uttar Pradesh
(3.14 lakh voters)
Why:BJP’sVikramSinghSaini
lost the seat after his conviction
in the Muzaffarnagar riots case.
What:SainiwonKhataulifor
the second consecutive time in
March, defeating the SP and the
Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) alliance.
The BSP and the Congress have
stayed away from the contest.
Who: The ruling party’s can-
didate is Saini's wife Rajkumari
whiletheRLDhasfieldedMadan
Bhaiya. The mother of Gaurav
Singh,aJatyouthwhowaskilled
along with his cousin Sachin in
Kawal village in August 2013 is
in the fray as an Independent.
KURHANI, Bihar
(3.11 lakh voters )
Why: Rashtriya Janata Dal
(RJD) MLAAnilKumarSahaniwas
disqualifiedfollowinghisconvic-
tion for fraudulently claiming
travellinganddearnessallowance
reimbursements when he was a
member of the Rajya Sabha.
What: This is the first battle
between JD(U) and the BJP since
theybroketiesinAugust.Theby-
poll result will reveal if the RJD
can transfer its votes to its ally.
Who: Thirteen candidates in
the fray but the contest is prima-
rilybetweenJD(U)'sManojSingh
KushwahaandBJP'sKedarGupta.
PADAMPUR, Odisha
(2.57 lakh voters)
Why: Biju Janata Dal (BJD)
MLA Bijaya Ranjan Singh Bariha
died in October.
What: The BJD had not lost a
single by-election in the state
since 2008 till the BJP ended that
streakbywinningtheDhamnagar
bypolllastmonth.TheBJPishop-
ingtoreplicateitssuccess.Odisha
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
campaignedhereforthefirsttime
in three years.
Who: The BJD has fielded
Bijaya’s daughter Barsha Singh
Bariha,a29-year-oldlawyer.The
BJP nominee is Pradip Purohit, a
former MLA. Purohit lost to
Bijaya by 5,734 votes in 2019.
RAMPUR, Uttar Pradesh
(3.8 lakh voters)
Why: Azam Khan was dis-
qualified as MLA after a court
convicted him in a 2019 hate
speech case.
What: The BJP is hoping to
establish its dominance in
Rampur after having won the
Rampur Lok Sabha constituency
in June. For Azam Khan, this is a
fight to hold on to a seat consid-
ered his stronghold.
Who: BJP candidate Akash
Saxena, the son of former party
MLA Shiv Bahadur Saxena, is up
againstKhan'sassociateAsimRaja.
SARDARSHAHAR, Rajasthan
(2.89 lakh voters)
Why: The seat fell vacant af-
ter the death of Bhanwar Lal
Sharma of the Congress.
What: BJP and the Congress
arehopingforsomemomentum
in the run-up to the 2024 polls.
Who: The Congress has
fielded Sharma's son Anil while
the BJP candidate is former MLA
Ashok Kumar Pincha. The RLP
candidate is Lalchand Moond.
—WITHPTIINPUTS
atall-partymeetingtoday
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
DAYS AFTER India formally as-
sumed the presidency of G20,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
will meet heads of all major po-
liticalpartiesonMondayinanat-
tempt to rally domestic political
support, underlining the signifi-
cance of the presidency for the
country, and to brief them on
howhisgovernmentisapproach-
ing the “unique opportunity”.
The Prime Minister is ex-
pected to brief them about the
year-long activities that his gov-
ernment has planned to show-
case New Delhi’s soft power
leading up to the marquee sum-
mit of G20 leaders in New Delhi
in September next year. Sources
said that the idea is also to solicit
suggestions, discuss and finalise
strategies for the G20 summit.
“It is a matter of great privi-
lege and pride that India will be
holding the G20 presidency
from December 1, 2022 to
November 30, 2023 and during
this period about 200 meetings
on 32 sectors at multiple loca-
tions across the length and
breadth of India will be organ-
ised,” Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Pralhad Joshi said in his
invitation to heads of political
India’s G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and other leaders view a
traditional art form, which is made on water, during the G20
Sherpa meeting in Udaipur, on Sunday. PTI
parties having representation in ing on Monday and Tuesday to
Parliament. The meeting is ex- discuss the party’s strategies for
pected to be held at Rashtrapati general election preparations
Bhavan’s Cultural Centre from 5 and promotion of G20 presi-
pm to 6.30 pm on Monday. dencyas amajorachievementof
Thegovernment’saggressive Prime Minister Modi.
hard selling of the presidency “The presidency of G20 is ro-
has already evoked criticism tational and India’s presidency
from the Opposition Congress. was inevitable. Previous presi-
The Congress believes the sum- dents of G20 have been USA, UK,
mit, which will come months Canada, South Korea, France,
ahead of 2024 general elections, Mexico,Russia,Australia,Turkey,
would be used by the ruling China, Germany, Argentina,
party to project Modi as a leader Japan, Saudi Arabia, Italy &
of international stature. Indonesia. None of these coun-
Simultaneously, the BJP has tries staged a high-voltage
called another meeting of its na- drama as is being done around
tionaloffice-bearers,statechiefs, Indiabecomingpresidentof G20
morcha chiefs and state general for a year,” Congress leader
secretaries for a two-day meet- Jairam Ramesh said recently.

In repoll for two DDC seats today, a Tharoor on another

peek into Valley’s shifting politics Kerala tour, rumblings

E
DELHI CONFIDENTIAL moved to the People’s back in state Cong unit
EXPLAINED

BASHAARAT MASOOD
SRINAGAR, DECEMBER 4 Theshrinkingof Conference. But since it is only a
repoll, her election symbol con-

SAJAD LONE’S People’s

Conferenceisseekingvotesforthe
penandinkpot,theelectionsym-
bol of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP). The National
Conference (NC) and the PDP,
meanwhile, are seeking votes for
Independents and campaigning
against their original candidate.
The repoll in two District
DevelopmentCouncil(DDC)seats
in Kashmir, two years after being
THE ABSENTEE declaredvoid,isanindicatorofthe
shifting nature of political al-
THE BJP national leadership roped in many prominent faces liances in the Valley — and of the
for the party’s election campaign in Gujarat. They included confusion it can throw up.
the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, The Drugmulla seat in
Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. However, Karnataka Kupwara and Hajin in Bandipore
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was absent from the cam- are going to polls on Monday.
paign scene. A section of party leaders said the absence of Pollingfortheseatshadbeende-
Bommai – the only BJP Chief Minister from the south – de- clared “null and void” as two of
spite him being a decent Hindi speaker was surprising. They the candidates — Somia Sadaf
said Gujarat has a sizeable number of Kannadigas as well. and Shazia Aslam, both
People from Karnataka started settling down in Gujarat in Independents—hailedoriginally
1920s and an association, Mitra Kuta, which later became fromPakistan-occupiedKashmir.
Karnataka Sangha, was registered in 1932 to mobilise The J&K poll body, in July
Kannada-speakingpeopleinpreservingtheirculturalidentity. 2021, ordered repolling for both
seats. Sadaf and Aslam are mar-
ried to Kashmiri men, who had
FOR THE GUESTS
AS INDIA'S G20 presidency began with the first Sherpa meet-
ing in Udaipur on Sunday, the visiting foreign delegates were
presentedawelcomekitthatincludedanidolof LordGanesha.
Gehlot-Pilot truce on test as yatra enters Rajasthan
The guests were also presented with a millet box. This as-
sumes significance in view of India’s push for spreading
awareness about millets ahead of the International Year of
HAMZA KHAN
JAIPUR, DECEMBER 4
Millets 2023. The welcome kit also included a bag made in
traditional Rajasthani bandhani design. AS RAHUL Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo
Yatra entered Rajasthan on
PORTAL OPTION Sunday evening, it is not only the
delicate “unity” between Chief
THE SUPREME Court’s online RTI portal is fast becoming pop- AshokGehlotandformerDeputy
ular within days of its launch, if the number of applications CMSachinPilotthat isontestbut
filed using the option is anything to go by. Official sources said thatbetweentheirsupporterstoo.
141 applications had been filed through the portal till Ahead of itsentry,hoardings,
December 3. The portal was launched on November 27 to posters and banners have been
make it easier to access information regarding the court. Till put up all along the Yatra route
then, RTI applications could be filed only through post. The in Rajasthan. However, it has
demand for an online option for RTI applicants had been a turned into a case of one-up-
long standing one. The SC e-Committee chaired by Justice D manship. On Saturday, some
Y Chandrachud had been working on it and fast-tracked it af- hoardings of Sachin Pilot, in-
ter he assumed office as Chief Justice of India. stalled by his supporters, were
removedbytheJhalawardistrict
●
theGupkargroup tinues to be the pen and inkpot.
“It has made the campaigning a
SHAJU PHILIP
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Lok Sabha
little easy for me,” says Mir. “Last DECEMBER 4 MP Shashi
THE DDC elections that were conducted for the first time in time,Iaskedthemtovoteforpen Tharoor
2020 tested the strength of the PAGD. While the top parties of andinkpot.Thistime,Iamtelling RUMBLINGS ARE back in Kerala
Kashmir contested under the PAGD banner, the polls sowed them the same.” unit of the Congress over Shashi
the first seeds of discord. There were disagreements between The repoll has caused prob- Tharoorafterheembarkedonan- In Kottayam, Tharoor ad-
its constituents over candidates. The People’s Conference left, lemsforthePDPandtheNational otherlegofstatetouronSaturday. dressed the K M Chandy
accusing its partners of fielding proxies against the joint can- Conference as their joint candi- A section of Congress leaders Foundation function, where ed-
didates. This essentially limited the alliance to the National date is now a rival. “She inKottayamandPathanamthitta ucationalist Prof Cyriac Thomas
Conference and PDP. All is not well in the alliance and differ- (Shabnum) is no longer one of districts has kept away from described Tharoor as future CM
ences between the two parties have surfaced. us,” says Sayeed. “We couldn't Tharoor functions, alleging that of Kerala. DCC president Suresh
havefieldedanewcandidateand thepartywasnotkeptintheloop. turned up for the programme
crossedovertoPakistanforarms hadfieldedShabnumLone,arel-
we had no option but to ask peo-
ple not to vote for our own sym-
Last month, Tharoor’s North
Kerala political outreach pro-
but left before Tharoor's speech.
On Sunday, Tharoor re-
training and returned to the ative of Fayaz Ahmad Mir, then a bol.Wearenowsupportinganin- gramme had created a uproar in mained absent for DCC leader-
Valley under the Jammu and PDP leader and Parliamentarian. dependent candidate. The NC is the party after he was denied ship in Pathanamthitta on the
Kashmir administration’s reha- Shabnum, who was from PDP, also supporting an Independent party forum to speak against grounds that they were not in-
bilitationpolicy.Whiletheirnom- was allotted the party’s symbol candidate.” SanghParivarpolitics,reportedly formedabouttheprogrammeat
inationpaperswereacceptedand of pen and inkpot. It is a similar situation in at the behest of senior leaders. Bodhi Gram. However,
polling was held, the counting “The whole confusion was Hajin. In 2020, the PAGD had OnSaturday,KottayamDistrict PathanamthittaMPAntoAntony
wasstoppedowingtocomplaints created by the order of repolling fieldedajointcandidatefromthe Congress Committee president and a group of leaders attended
about their candidature. instead of fresh elections,” says People's Conference. The three NattakamSureshopenlycameout the programme.
When the elections for the PDP’s Tahir Sayeed. “Over time, parties — PDP, NC and People’s against Tharoor, who attended Tharoor Sunday said that he
DDC were held in December the candidates have changed Conference — campaigned for two programmes, including a was simply addressingthe party
2020,Lone'sPeople’sConference their affiliations but they can't thejointcandidatethen.Butthis YouthCongressconference,inthe workers and attending events. “I
was part of the People’s Alliance change their election symbols.” time,NCandPDParesupporting district. Suresh alleged that don’tknowwhythiscontroversy.
for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), After the elections, Lone independent candidates and Tharoordidnotinformthedistrict If theleadershipfilesacomplaint
which contested the polls as an parted ways with the PAGD and campaigning against their 2020 leadership as per the standing in- againstmeinthedisciplinecom-
alliance. In Drugmulla, the PAGD Mir and his relative Shabnum joint candidate. structionstoallleaders. mittee, I will reply,’’ he added.
Assam: Cong
leader files case
entirelyaware;itwasdonebyour the truce between the top lead-
Council workers. Some illegal
hoardingswereremovedmainly
ers seems at best a temporary
ceasefire to put on their best be-
against Ajmal
outside the district hospital.”
A Pilot loyalist alleged, “The
haviour before Rahul Gandhi.
However, while MLAs and
over speech
hoardings were removed at the some outspoken ministers may
behest of the Pradesh Congress
Committee, which replaced
alsofall in line,even if temporar-
ily, supporters on the ground
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
GUWAHATI, DECEMBER 4
them with its own hoardings.” may not have much to lose and
Following weeks of a re- may try to assert their leader’s CONGRESS LEADER Debabrata
newedpoliticalslugfestbetween authority. Pilot’s supporters on Saikia Sunday lodged a police
the two leaders, which began on September 12 disrupted an ad- complaint against AIUDF chief
September25,AllIndiaCongress dress by minister Ashok and Lok Sabha MP from Assam
Rahul Gandhi, CM Ashok Gehlot and Madhya Pradesh Cong Committee (AICC) organisation Chandna during the asthi-visar- Badruddin Ajmal over his re-
chief Kamal Nath in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar, Sunday. PTI in-charge KC Venugopal bro- jan ceremony (immersion of marks purportedly targeting the
kered a truce between Gehlot ashes)of lateGujjarleader Kirori Hindu community.
and Pilot on November 29. SinghBainslainAjmer’sPushkar. Saikia, the Leader of
administration since these were Jhalawar Municipal Council While both Gehlot and Pilot From Agar Malwa in Madhya Opposition in the Assam
allegedly installed without per- Commissioner Ruhi Tarannum havebeenaskedtofallinline,es- Pradesh,theYatraenteredChawli Assembly, lodged the complaint
mission and in violation of rules. told The Indian Express, “I am not pecially considering the Yatra, in Jhalawar on Sunday evening. in Sivasagar district.
The perfume baron report-

From rural to spiritual, UP govt plans to tap state’s tourism potential

MAULSHREE SETH
LUCKNOW, DECEMBER 4
BUILDING ON the success of
Ramayana and Buddhist tourist
circuits,theUttarPradeshgovern-
ment has lined up a number of
planstotapthestate'stourismpo-
tential and is hopeful that its re-
vampedtourismpolicywouldbe
abletoattractinvestorsandgener-
ate revenue and employment.
To achieve its target of Rs
10,000 crore investment in the
tourismsector,thegovernmentis
chalkingoutstrategiestodevelop
“FocusTouristsDestinations”and
theme-based tourism.
At a curtain raiser for the up-
coming Uttar Pradesh Global
Investors Summit-2023, Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath called
tourism the “priority sector” for
the state.
The new tourism policy also
lists 12 “Thematic Tourism
Sectors,”whichincludeheritage,
art and culture, spiritual and re-
ligious tourism, rural village,
tribal and agriculture-based
tourism,natureandwildlife,wa-
ter sports, adventure tourism,
wellness and medical tourism,
youth centric tourism, cuisine
tourism, wedding destination
tourism and film tourism.
Uttar Pradesh is home to
three UNESCO world heritage
monuments — Taj Mahal,
Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort. It is
dottedwithseveralreligiousand
tuaries and 24 bird sanctuaries.
In its theme-based tourism,
thegovernmentisplanningtotake
taking tourists to remote villages
aspartofitsrural,village,tribaland
agriculturetourismtocapitaliseon
itsfarm-basedeconomy.
“This, for instance, will pro-
vide tourists with the opportu-
nity to experience rustic life.
Touristscanthereforeexperience
thedailyactivitiesof thevillage...
It will also include film tourism,
which will allow visitors to wit-
ness movies being shot in rural
During the Deepotsav in Ayodhya in October. File settings,” an official said.
“Farm and plantation
tourism can augment the in-
cultural sites such as Ayodhya, state also has a rich biodiversity comefromagriculturalactivities
Varanasi, Sarnath, Kushinagar of flora and fauna including one and de-risk farmers to some ex-
Mathura and Vrindavan. The national park, 11 wildlife sanc- tent from weather vagaries,” the
new tourism policy states.
An “agri tourism” sector has
been separately created for pro-
motion under the new policy,
which states that “agri tourism”
is a form of “niche tourism” that
includes active involvement in
any agriculture-based operation
or activity.
The policy promises a wide
range of services and activities
that may be offered under agri
tourism, including guided tours,
participation in agricultural ac-
tivities, knowledge sessions, an-
imal rides and local cuisine.
Anothersignificantfocusofthe
newtourismpolicyisonpromot-
ing “religious and spiritual”
tourism by developing 12 mega
circuitsacrossthestate,including
RamayanaCircuit,KrishnaorBraj
Circuit,BuddhistCircuit,SufiKabir
Circuit, Jain Circuit, Shakti Peeth
Circuit, Adhyatmik Circuit
(Spiritual), Bundelkhand Circuit,
Freedom Fighters Circuit,
MahabharataCircuit,Wildlifeand
Eco-TourismCircuitcircuit.
It aims to provide travellers
with “a hassle-free, serene and
spiritualexperience”whilevisit-
ingthe“crucibleof religious,spir-
itual, and academic thoughts.”
“Focus shall be placed on in-
terconnecting the state circuits
with national and international
travel itineraries. End-to-end in-
frastructuredevelopmentwould
beundertakentofacilitateseam-
less national and international
connectivity,” the policy states.
edly advised Hindus to marry
young to give birth to more chil-
dren like Muslims. The MP apol-
ogised on Saturday and said he
was ashamed of the comment.
He said Ajmal's comments
has “deliberately caused dishar-
mony or feelings of enmity, ha-
tredorill-willtowardstheHindu
population, particularly Hindu
women of India”.
The Assam Jatiya Parishad
has already filed complaints
against the Dhubri MP in differ-
ent parts of the state, while the
youth wing of the Trinamool
Congress has also given a writ-
tensubmissionbeforethepolice.
Ajmal, in an interview to a me-
dia house on Friday, had com-
mented on women and Hindu
men as well as Assam Chief
Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,
purportedly as a response to the
CM's remarks on 'love jihad'.

New Delhi

9 EXPRESS NETWORK
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
BRIEFLY
MADHYA PRADESH
Sixkilled,10
injuredastruck
ramsintopeople
Ratlam: At least six peo-
ple were killed and 10 in-
jured, eight of them criti-
cally, when a speeding
truck rammed into a
group of people standing
at a bus stop in Madhya
Pradesh’s Ratlam district
Sunday evening, police
said. Superintendent of
Police Abhishek Tiwari
said the truck has been
impounded. Theincident
occurred at a traffic inter-
section nearSatrundavil-
lage. The truck driver fled
from the spot, eye wit-
nesses said. PTI
UTTAR PRADESH
Propertylinked
toformerMLA
attached
Lucknow: Bhadohi police
seizedavilla belonging to
family members of for-
mer MLA Vijay Mishra in
Lucknow under Uttar
Pradesh Gangster and
Anti-Social Activities
(Prevention) Act on
Sunday. “Police found
that the villa which is lo-
cated in Sushant Golf City
in Lucknow was pur-
chased from money col-
lected through illegal
means,” police said. The
property is estimated to
be worth Rs 11.5 crore
and is owned by the for-
mer MLA’s son Vishnu
Mishra and daughter-in-
law Roopa Mishra, said a
police officer. Vijay
MishraisinAgrajailsince
August 2020. ENS
MAHARASHTRA
ProducerNitin
Manmohan
hospitalised
Mumbai: Film producer
Nitin Manmohan, known
forbackingmoviessuchas
Bol Radha Bol and Laadla,
hasbeenadmittedtoapri-
vatehospitalforcardiacis-
sues,ahospitalofficialsaid
on Sunday. The veteran
filmmakerreportedlysuf-
fered a massive heart at-
tackSaturdayeveningand
wasadmittedtoKokilaben
Dhirubhai Ambani
Hospital. According to a
hospital official, Nitin, son
oflateactorManmohan,is
currently in the ICU. PTI
RAJASTHAN
Ex-minister,2
othersbooked
forslappingcop
Jaipur: A former BJP min-
isterinRajasthanhasbeen
booked along with two
others for allegedly slap-
pingandabusingaconsta-
ble in Bharatpur district,
police said on Sunday. In
hiscomplaint,GajrajSingh
of Rajasthan Armed
Constabularyallegedthat
former minister Krishan-
endraKaurDeepaslapped
him on Friday when he
asked her to park her car
on the side of a road at a
police check post in Neb
Chauraha.A case against
Deepaandtwootherswas
registered at Kotwali
Police Station. PTI
ISRAELI FILMMAKER SAYS AFTER WATCHING THE FILM , HE BELIEVED THAT HE MUST VOICE HIS OPINION EVEN THOUGH IT HAS MANY SUPPORTERS
‘The Kashmir Files’ totally flat, has no complexities, says Nadav Lapid
ALAKA SAHANI
MUMBAI, DECEMBER 4
PARIS-BASED writer-director
Nadav Lapid, by his own admis-
sion, has “the habit of watching
movies in a proper and uninflu-
enced way”.
Lapid, who was the head of
International Competition of the
recently concluded International
Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa,
told The Indian Express: “When I
am on the jury (of a film festival),
I try not to read the catalogue be-
forehand. When I watched The
Operational demonstration by the Indian Navy on the occasion of the Navy Day in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. PTI
In a first, Navy Day celebrated outside
Delhi; President attends Vizag event
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
VISAKHAPATNAM, NEW DELHI,
DECEMBER 4
THEINDIANNavyshowcasedits
mighty combat prowess in a
spectacular fashion through an
Operational Demonstration on
theoccasionof NavyDayhereon
Sunday.
President of India and the
Supreme Commander of Armed
ForcesDroupadiMurmuwasthe
chief guest at the event organ-
ised at Ramakrishna Beach here.
This was the first time Navy
DaywascelebratedoutsideNew
Delhi.Sailors aboardthe subma-
rine INS Sindhukeerthi and INS
Tarangini, the sail ship that cir-
cumvented the world, wel-
comed the President as they
He took loans to educate his four
kids: kin of man killed in crossfire
DEEP MUKHERJEE
JAIPUR, DECEMBER 4
WHEN45-YEAR-OLDTarachand
Kadwasra started for Sikar from
his village in Rajasthan’s Nagaur
district on Saturday, he packed
home-cooked food for his 20-
year-old daughter, who is en-
rolled at a coaching institute in
Sikar, preparing for NEET.
But hours later, Kadwasra’s
lifeless body was lying just me-
tresawayfromthecoachingcen-
tre in Sikar, while his daughter
kept trying to revive him but to
no avail.
Kadwasra, a father to four
(three daughters and a son), was
killed after being caught in the
crossfire during the murder of
gangsterRajuThethonSaturday.
According to the police, the as-
sailants of Theth had shot
Kadwasra before snatching the
car he was driving to flee the
murder spot.
“We had parked the car just
outside the coaching centre
when we heard the sound of
bullets being fired. People
around us started running. My
brotherwassittinginthedriver’s
seat when the miscreants came
near him and fired indiscrimi-
nately. Moments before he was
shot,hehad calleduphisdaugh-
KashmirFiles(2022),Iknewitwas
anIndianentry.That’smoreorless
the only thing I knew about it.
When I watched it, I found the
movie to be a cheap, vulgar and
propaganda movie. I am not
against controversial movies. It
annoyedmethatthemoviedoes-
n’thaveanyinnercontradictions,
complexities. It is totally flat.”
PriortohisGoavisit,Lapid,an
internationally acclaimed Israeli
writer and director, had as much
idea about the Kashmir issue as
“peoplewhoarecuriousandhave
acertainknowledgeaboutwhat’s
happening all around” have.
sailed past the venue.
India celebrates December 4
as Navy Day to acknowledge the
roleof theIndianNavyandcom-
memorate its achievements in
'Operation Trident' during the
1971 Indo-Pak War. Navy Chief
Admiral R Hari Kumar, Union
Minister for Tourism G Kishan
Reddy, Minister of State for
Defence Ajay Bhatt and others
attended the event.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi lauded the Indian Navy on
Navy Day, saying it has stead-
fastly protected our nation and
distinguished itself with its hu-
manitarian spirit during chal-
lenging times. "Best wishes on
Navy Day to all navy personnel
and their families. We in India
are proud of our rich maritime
history," the PM tweeted.
Tarachand Kadwasra
ter and asked her to come out of
the coaching centre as we had
reached,” Kadwasra’s cousin
Ramniwas, an eyewitness in the
case, told The Indian Express on
Sunday.
Ramniwashadaccompanied
Kadwasra,afarmer,toSikarfrom
their village Dotani in Nagaur
district.
“My brother had come to
Sikar to meet his daughter and
also to pay her coaching fee. His
daughterhadappearedforNEET
once before and she was about
to appear for her second at-
tempt. Tarachand always spoke
abouthisdreamof educatinghis
three daughters. He took loans
to ensure that he could pay their
tuitionfee.Hiseldestdaughteris
preparingfortheexamof aphys-
icaltraininginstructor,whilethe
youngest one is in Kota, prepar-
ThoughbeforecomingtoGoa,he
“readalittlebitaboutIndia”,heis
quicktoclarifythathe“notanex-
pert or even half an expert”.
After watching The Kashmir
Files, he believed that he must
voice his opinion even though he
was aware “the movie has many
supporters”.
“By nature I am not an impul-
sive person. I had a feeling that
somethingshouldbesaidaboutit
(The Kashmir Files). Other jury
members, too, shared the same
feeling.” During the IFFI closing
ceremony on Monday evening,
however,Lapidspokealoneashe
FIREPOWER: Navy personnel take part in Navy Day
celebrations in Kochi on Sunday. PTI
ing for the JEE. His son is 15 years
old and is in school,” said
Shivjiram, his another cousin
who is currently in Sikar.
Shivjiram said Kadwasra
would spend around Rs 7 lakh
every year on his children's ed-
ucation. The family is presently
staging a dharna in Sikar, de-
manding compensation and
governmentjobsforhischildren.
“His only focus was to edu-
cate his children and he wanted
his daughter to be a doctor. The
family and Tarachand’s children
now stare at an uncertain future
after his death. It is our demand
that along with a compensation
of Rs 50 lakh, the government
gives government jobs to two of
Tarachand’s daughters,” said
Shivjiram.
The Ashok Gehlot-led
Congress government has been
slammed by opposition parties
BJP and RLP, along with some of
its own MLAs, for the death of
Kadwasra.
Till late Sunday evening,
politicians, including RLP leader
and Nagaur MP Hanuman
Beniwal,wereholdingtalkswith
theSikaradministrationoverde-
mands of the family.
“It is a failure of the adminis-
trationthataninnocentmanhas
been shot in broad daylight,”
Shivjiram added.
Nadav Lapid
presentedthejuryreport.Hesaid:
“We (members of the jury) were,
allofus,disturbedandshockedby
The Kashmir Files. That felt to us
like a propaganda, vulgar movie,
GANGSTER KILLING
Minor among
five detained,
families refuse
to take bodies
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
JAIPUR, DECEMBER 4
A DAY AFTER two persons, in-
cluding gangster Raju Theth,
were killed in Rajasthan’s Sikar
district, the police nabbed the
five accused allegedly involved
in the attack.
“The accused wanted to es-
cape to Haryana at night, but
they couldn’t succeed due to the
ongoing search operation. We
have nabbed all the accused and
two of them also sustained in-
juries. They opened fire at the
policeafterwhichthecopsretal-
iated,” Additional Director
General (Crime) Ravi Prakash
Meharda told reporters on
Sunday.
Meharda said they have de-
tainedManishJat,VikramGurjar,
SatishMeghwalandJatinKumar
andoneminor.Twoaccusedhail
from Haryana. They have been
detained and will be arrested af-
ter due process, he added.
Meanwhile,thefamilymem-
bers of Theth and Tarachand
Kadwasra, whose car the ac-
cusedtooktoflee,refusedtotake
back the bodies.
inappropriateforanartisticcom-
petitive section of such a presti-
gious film festival.”
When asked about the state-
ment made by fellow jury mem-
berSudiptoSen,aMumbai-based
filmmaker, that what Lapid said
was“hispersonalview”,theIsraeli
filmmaker says: “Other jury
members too felt it was a propa-
ganda film. All the jury members
were going to talk about it on
stage.” He made it clear that he
does not hold it against any jury
member for the stand they have
taken.“Inthesekindsofsituations,
peoplebehaveindifferentways.I
Ex-Navymen’s custody
in Qatar extended by a
month, families told
NIRUPAMA
SUBRAMANIAN
CHENNAI, DECEMBER 4
THEFAMILIESoftheeightformer
Navy officers in custody in Qatar
learntonSundaythattheduration
of the men's custody was in-
creased by one more month at a
court hearing.
Family sources said the news
was communicated to them by
officialsatthecompanywherethe
men had been working.
The men were picked up by
QatariStateSecuritypersonnelon
thenightof August30.Theyhave
beenheldinsolitaryconfinement
since then, and there is no public
informationofthechargesagainst
them. Their families have been
urging New Delhi to secure their
expeditious release.
The company that they were
working for, Dahra Global
Technologies and Consultancy
Services, provided services to the
Qatari Navy, including imparting
training and providing mainte-
nanceworkforequipmentaswell
as being involved in logistics.
TheIndianExpresshasemailed
the Dahra headquarters in
Muscat, Oman, and a reply is
awaited.
On Sunday, a three-judge
Benchheldahearingandgranted
onemoremonth'scustodyof the
men, according to company offi-
cials who communicated with
family members. They told the
family that they were present at
the hearing, but “there was very
little talk” with the men. The 30-
Personnel perform during 58th BSF Raising Day function at
Guru Nanak Dev University, in Amritsar on Sunday. PTI
DG: BSF shot down 17
drones along India-Pak
front this year so far
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
AMRITSAR, DECEMBER 4
BORDER SECURITY Force (BSF)
Director General Pankaj Kumar
Singh on Sunday said the force
hadshotdownatotalof17drones
alongtheIndia-Pakistanfrontthis
yearevenasitistakingthehelpof
Defence Research and
Development Organisation
(DRDO) and other scientific re-
searchorganisationstodetectun-
derground tunnels that are used
by terrorists to infiltrate into the
country. He said the force seized
more than 500 kg of narcotics
fromtheseareasoverthelastyear.
He was speaking during the
58th Raising Day parade of the
force held on the campus of the
Guru Nanak Dev University
(GNDU)here,roughly30kmfrom
the India-Pakistan International
Border that runs along Punjab.
don’twanttojudgethem.Iamnot
in that place,” he said.
Lapid’sfellowjurorandBAFTA
winner Jinko Gotoh, tweeted in
hissupportonSaturday.Thestate-
ment issued by her and two ju-
rors,filmcriticandjournalistfrom
FranceJavierAnguloBarturenand
French film editor Pascale
Chavance,saidthattheystandby
the statement made by Lapid
about the The Kashmir Files.
Usually, the jury does not talk
aboutafilmthat’snotselectedfor
an award. "But then basically
movies like The Kashmir Files
shouldn’t be part of the competi-
New Delhi
day extension is effective from
December 1. Family sources said
the charges against the men did
not come up at the hearing.
“What an irony that today,
Navy Day is being celebrated
acrossthecountrywhileoureight
decorated Navy veterans are lan-
guishinginsolitaryconfinmentin
Dohaformorethanthreemonths
now and the Government is still
totakeaction,”saidafamilymem-
ber of one of the detained men.
On Saturday, at a customary
press conference ahead of Navy
Day, Navy chief Admiral R Hari
Kumar, said the matter had been
raisedwiththeQatariauthorities
by the “highest levels of the gov-
ernment”, and that he was hope-
ful that the matter would be re-
solved soon.
A military veterans' associa-
tionhasalsoappealedtothegov-
ernment to secure the release of
the eight men.
The Indian Ex-Servicemen
Movement has written to
External Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar asking him for help to
getthemenreleasedandrepatri-
ated, and has also requested that
he meet with the families along
withmembersoftheassociation.
The letter, copies of which
have also been sent to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh,
cameasalowintensitycampaign
for the release of the men by a
couple of family members on
Twitterappearedtoyieldlittlere-
sponse from the government.
At his last briefing, External
Affairs ministry spokesman
ThiswasthefirsttimeBSFhad
organised the parade in the holy
city of Amritsar.
Union Minister of State for
Home Affairs Nityanand Rai took
salute of the parade as the chief
guest. He was accompanied by
GurjeetSinghAujla,MPAmritsar,
and Jasbir Singh Sandhu, MLA
(West) Amritsar. Senior officers
from Army, civil administration,
state police, and GNDU Amritsar
werealsopresentontheoccasion.
Rai said that women person-
nelareincreasinglybeingengaged
in various duties being rendered
by the force, which is reflective of
thewomenempowermentvision
ofPrimeMinisterNarendraModi.
The BSF director general also
saidthattheforcehascomealong
way from just 25 battalions ini-
tially to evolving into the world’s
largestborderguardingforcewith
193battalionsandwithastrength
of 2.65 lakh men and women.
tionsectionatfilmfestivals.Ihave
been part of the jury in dozens of
festivals, including the interna-
tionalonesheldinBerlin,Cannes,
Locarno and Venice . Never ever
have I watched a movie like The
Kashmir Files at these festivals,”
says Lapid.
Hehadearliercalledtheinter-
nationalcompetitionsection“the
front window” of a film festival.
“Whenyoushowamovielikethis
to the jury, you force them to be-
have differently.”
AfterleavingIndia,heinitially
didn’t want to interact with the
mediaanddiscussthematter.He
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Arindam Bagchi said the govern-
ment and the Indian embassy in
Qatar were making all efforts for
the release. Asked about the
charges,hesaid,“Iwouldreferyou
to the Government of Qatar for
reasonsrelatedtoanarrestorde-
tention.Idon'tthinkIamtheright
personheretocommentonthat.”
TheQatariauthoritieshavere-
centlypermittedfamilymembers
to visit the men in detention.
Spouses of only two of the men
are understood to be based in
Doha, while the others are scat-
tered in different states across
India.
Some family members were
present at a virtual “open house”
meetinghostedbytheIndianem-
bassy in Doha on November for
taking up consular issues.They
were able to interact with
Ambassador Deepak Mittal. The
Indian Express has learnt that he
was unable to provide a timeline
for the release.
The families had hoped that
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar
would raise the issue when he
went to Qatar for the opening of
thefootballWorlCup,butthatdid
not happen.
At least two of the family
members met Defence Minister
Singh, and some met Minister of
State for External Affairs V
Muraleedharantopresstheircase.
“They say they are seized of the
matter and trying to resolve the
issue, but the end result is that all
eight Navy veterans are still lan-
guishing in solitary confinement
for more than 90 days,” said one
family member who met Singh.
Drone with 3 kg
heroin seized
near border, 4th
recovery in week
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
CHANDIGARH, DECEMBER 4
IN FOURTH such recovery in less
than a week, Punjab Police early
on Sunday recovered a
Quadcopter drone loaded with
three packets of heroin, weigh-
ing3.06kg,duringasearchoper-
ation launched at border area of
Border Outpost (BOP) Kalia in
Tarn Taran.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav
said the operation was carried
out with the support of the
Border Security Force (BSF).
Notably, a hexacopter drone
carrying six packets of heroin,
weighing6.68kg,wasrecovered
in the jurisdiction of Border
Outpost (BOP) Harbhajan in
Khemkaran on Tuesday. On the
very next day, a broken quad-
copter drone was recovered
from Van Tara Singh village in
Khalra. Similarly, another hexa-
copter drone carrying five pack-
ets of heroin, weighing 5.6 kg,
was recovered from the
KhemkaranareainTarnTaranon
Friday.
The DGP added that “after
noticing thedronemovement in
Indo-Pak border early on
Sunday, police teams from Tarn
Taran district immediately
shared inputs with the BSF and
jointly conducted an intensive
search operation in Kalia village
of Tarn Taran district, which is
just 2 km away from the Indo-
Pak border”. He said that “the
combing operation resulted in
the recovery of the drone.
changedhismindafterherealised
thatitwasbeingprojectedthathe
“ignored” the tragedy of the
Kashmiri Pandits.
Released on March 11 this
year,TheKashmirFiles,directedby
Vivek Agnihotri, ran to packed
halls across the country but was
pannedbycritics.Thefilm,which
wasdeclaredtax-free,isbasedon
theexodusofKashmiriPanditsin
the Valley in the 1990s.
Lapid’s is no stranger to con-
troversy.Inhisfilms,hehasnever
shiedawayfrompointingoutthe
fault lines in Israeli society and
questioning the government.
 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

10
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

WORDLY WISE
There is no greater tyranny than that which
is perpetrated under the shield of the law and
in the name of justice.— CHARLES DE MONTESQUIEU

FOUNDED BY
Don’t count out Party-State
§

§
RAMNATH GOENKA
But as they keep protesting, people of China are bucking
BECAUSE THE TRUTH INVOLVES US ALL
trend of anti-government voices being fully suppressed

REVENUE CUSHION Jabin T Jacob

With tax collections exceeding expectations, government has MAO ZEDONG ONCE declared that “the out- agency. Beijing itself uses the opportunity to Communist Party’s 20th Congress is particu-
standing thing” about China’s people “is that shift the balance of power vis-à-vis the larlynoteworthy.WhileXiisperceivedtohave
room for fiscal consolidation. It must resist urge to overspend

N
theyare‘poorandblank’”.Hecalledit“agood
OTWITHSTANDING THE likely slowdown in economic momentum in the thing” for “poverty gives rise to the desire for
secondhalf of theyear,theUniongovernment’staxcollectionsareontrack change,thedesireforactionandthedesirefor
revolution”. Absolute poverty and economic
to surpass its budgeted target by a significant amount this year. Data re-
impoverishment might be things of the past,
leasedbytheControllerGeneralof Accountslastweekshowsthatgrosstax according to the Chinese Communist Party
collections have already touched 58 per cent of the full year’s target, growing by 18 per (CCP),butthelatestprotestsacrossChinasug-
cent in the first seven months (April-October) of the current financial year. In compari- gest that its zero-Covid policy is clearly mak-
son, the budget had pegged collections this year to grow by just under 2 per cent. As per ing the people “poor” once again and not just
recent statementsbyrevenuesecretaryTarun Bajaj,the government is nowhopeful of ex- in monetary terms.
These protests against the CCP’s zero-
ceeding the budgeted target by nearly Rs 4 lakh crore. With its spending also likely to sur-
Covidstrategyhaderuptedfollowingafirelast
pass earlier expectations by a considerable margin, higher tax collections will provide weekthatkilled10peopleinahigh-risebuild-
some comfort to the government’s fiscal arithmetic. ing in Urumqi, capital of China’s minority-
Under the broad rubric of taxes, direct tax collections have grown by a robust 26 per dominatedXinjiangprovince.Theperception
cent in the first seven months of the financial year, with healthy growth being seen across was that it was callous and unthinking en-
bothcorporateandincometaxcollections.Whilethepaceofdirectcollectionshaseaseddur- forcement of anti-Covid measures that pre-
ing July-October when compared to the first quarter, it continues to be higher than nomi- vented rescue services from reaching the
building in time.
nal GDP growth in the second quarter. On the indirect tax side, GST collections continued
Fatiguewiththezero-Covidpolicyhadal-
to witness healthy growth, recording an increase of 11 per cent in November. Higher tax ready reached such levels that its enforcers,
collections at the level of the central government imply that devolution to states will be the da bai or “big whites” — called so for the
higherthanthebudgetedamountofRs8.16lakhcrore.DatafromCGAshowsthattillOctober, white protective overalls they wear — have
theCentrehadtransferredRs4.34lakhcroretostates.AnotherRs1.16lakhcrorewastrans- been regularly subject to physical violence.
ferredinNovemberasperarecentpressrelease.ThemonthsofAugustandNovemberhave Wherethecurrentprotestsbreakthenormin
China, of at least the last two decades and
infactwitnessed doubleinstallmentsastheCentrehassteppedupdevolution.Along with
more, is in terms of their scale, their spread
theinterestfreeloanschemeextendedbytheCentre,higherdevolutionimpliesthatstates and their forthright expression of anti-party
have considerable fiscal room to increase capital expenditure. However, this has not been views.
thecasesofar.Capexbystateshasbeenrathermuted.Consideringthatthecentralgovern- China is no stranger to mass protests. A
menthasmaintainedthemomentumonitscapitalspending,growingbyaround60percent country of its size and complexity could not
possiblybe administered,nomatter howau-
inthefirstsevenmonthsof theyear,theoverallgeneralgovernmentfiscalimpulsewillde-
thoritarian the government, if it did not have
pend on how effectively states are able to utilise the extra space available to them.
avenues for the release of pressure, for the
On the expenditure side, the Union government is facing a massive increase in its sub- venting of public frustration. Thus, the coun-
sidy bill. Actual spending on the food and fertiliser subsidy and also on LPG will be signif-
tryisoftenroiledbylabourstrikesandprotests
icantly higher than what has been budgeted for. This is likely to make the fiscal situation over environmental issues. But Chinese pro-
challenging. Calls for increasing spending to support the economy during this uncertain testorsunderstandenoughaboutthecoercive
period will only gain traction as the budget approaches. The government must however powers of the party-state and its red lines to
resist the temptation. It should stick to the glide path of fiscal consolidation. limit or design their protests in such a way as
to not embarrass either the central govern-
ment or the Communist Party.
Thus,protestsaretargetedatthemanage-
The CCP has survived
tumult and protests before
and of far larger scale and
duration. It has done so by
employing a degree of
nimbleness and adaptation
unusual for large political
parties that have been in
power for long. It has always
had a variety of measures at
its disposal, ranging from
waiting it out and opening
channels of negotiation with
the protestors to simply and
decisively cracking down
provinces and local governments ever more
in its own favour.
FollowingtheTiananmenprotestsof1989
and the crackdown on the Falun Gong reli-
gious sect towards the end of the 1990s, the
party-state has also been careful to prevent
protests or mass movements organised
around a single issue from spreading across
cities. This the party-state has achieved by a
varietyof means.Alongsidetraditionalmeth-
ods of coercion, it has increasingly relied on
newtechnologiessupportingthecontroland
spread of information as well as blanket sur-
veillance and facial and other forms of physi-
calrecognitiontoeitherpreemptprotestsorto
go after the “troublemakers”.
An equally important approach the CCP
deployed, especially after Tiananmen, was to
co-opt Chinese intellectuals, whom it saw as
theonlygroupcapableoforganisingandlead-
ing protests against the party. And with no-
tableexceptions,suchastheNobelPeacePrize
winner Liu Xiaobo, who died in prison, and
severalcourageouslawyer-activists,alsoallin
various stages of incarceration currently,
Chinese intellectuals have acquiesced. Those
like Wang Huning, currently number four in
the Politburo Standing Committee, and seen
as CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping’s ideo-
logue-in-chief, in fact, represent the pinnacle
of this phenomenon or what the French
philosopherJulienBendatermedasthe“trea-
sonof theintellectuals”—theircorruptionby
andsubserviencetothestateattheexpenseof
the larger good of the people.
Thelatestprotestsare,therefore,astonish-
ing precisely because they represent an un-
derminingofseveraloftheabovelong-stand-
ing trends or certainties of the Chinese
party-state.
Shanghai—stilllimpingfromabrutal,ex-
tended lockdown earlier in the year — saw
protestsonWulumuqi(Urumqi)streetinsol-
decisively established his personal control
overthepartyanditsorgans,thatisclearlynot
the same as establishing his sway over the
masses.
Meanwhile,studentsareonceagaingath-
eringonuniversitycampuses,callingfor“free-
domofexpression”,“democracy”and“ruleof
law”. Anti-Covid slogans have appeared on
universitywallsandtheprotestanthem,“The
Internationale”, has been sung once again at
Peking University, one of China’s most elite
and politically important universities, and
which was at the forefront in the 1989
Tiananmenstudentprotests.Itmightbenoted
thattherearealsootherreasonsfortheyouth
to feel dissatisfied. Unemployment has
reached unprecedented levels in the 16-24
age cohort, while pressure has increased on
theyoung,especiallywomen,toconformonce
againtotraditionalChinesevaluesandtopro-
ducemorechildrenasawayof makingupfor
the excesses of the one-child policy.
Itisimportant,however,tonotunderesti-
matetheCCP’sabilitiesintimesofcrisis.Ithas
survivedtumultandprotestsbeforeandoffar
largerscaleandduration.Ithasdonesobyem-
ploying a degree of nimbleness and adapta-
tion unusual for large political parties that
havebeeninpowerforlong.Ithasalwayshad
a variety of measures at its disposal, ranging
from waiting it out and opening channels of
negotiationwiththeprotestorstosimplyand
decisively cracking down with violence. The
CCP might, therefore, yet win this round
against the Chinese people.
At the same time, it is perhaps just as im-
portantnottounderestimatetheChinesepeo-
pleeither.DespitetheaforementionedParty-
state capacities, including control over news
and information through heavy censorship
and propaganda, the protests show that the
minds of the Chinese people are not blank
slates for the party to write on as it wishes.

LISTEN TO THE COURT mentofafactory,forexample,orthelocalgov-

ernment.Theprotestorsthusofferthecentral
authoritiestheopportunitytoappearrespon-
Patna HC’s criticism of bulldozer-happy police is a message for sive to popular sentiment by cracking the
whip on the offending local government or
politicians who wilfully ignore due process
with violence. The CCP
might, therefore, yet win this
round against the Chinese
people.
idarity with the victims, who were several
thousand miles away, as well as protestors
shouting, “CCP, step down! Xi Jinping, step
The writer is Associate Professor at the
Department of International Relations and
down!”.Thatsuchslogansshouldbeheardso Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University,
soon after the conclusion of the Chinese Delhi NCR

I
NASTINGINGcriticismof thebulldozer-happywaysof lawenforcingagencies,the
PatnaHighCourthasfaultedpoliceofficersof athanainthecityforexceedingtheir

A QUESTION OF POLITICS
remit.Whilerespondingtoapetitioninalocallanddispute,JusticeSandeepKumar
asked: “Has the police station also been given power to sort out matters of land
dispute?If someonehasanissue,hewillgotothepolicestation,payabribeandgetsome-
one’s house demolished. Why don’t you close the court, civil court?” In times when gov-
ernmentagencies—inUP,MadhyaPradesh,Assam,Delhi—areshowingadistressingten-
dency to raze houses with scant regard for the constitutional and procedural safeguards
Institutional independence cannot be ensured through appointments alone
against such highhandedness, these words carry resonance beyond Bihar’s capital.
In Olga Tellis v the Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985), a five-judge bench of the
SupremeCourtruledthathousingisanessentialpartof theRighttoLife.Itunderlinedthat
Ruchi Gupta
demolitions should be a last resort, only after the adversely affected people have been THESUPREMECourt’sinterrogationoftheex-
given a fair hearing. Since then, a substantial body of jurisprudence has strengthened the ecutive regarding the appointments to the
rights to notice, hearing and rehabilitation. In Chameli Singh vs. State Of UP (1995), the SC Election Commission has foregrounded the
recognised the “right to shelter” as a component of the right to life under Article 21 and issueofinstitutionalindependence.However,
theCourt’sobservationstendtoframeinstitu-
freedom of movement under Article 19(1)(e). In Sudama vs Government of Delhi (2010) —
tional independence as a function of individ-
affirmed twice by the SC — the Delhi High Court ruled that before evicting people, the ual virtue instead of the distribution of polit-
state must find ways to rehabilitate people. Governments have, however, continued to ical power. While institutional leadership
weaponise municipal laws to target people accused of being trespassers. Worryingly in plays a pivotal role in elevating or degrading
recent months, what was essentially an urban housing problem to begin with, has inter- institutional integrity, the focus on selection
twined with communal politics — in several parts of the country “Illegal encroachment” glosses over variability in individual behav-
iourafteroccupyingtheseatofpower.Thisis-
hasbecometherusefor administrationtopunishprotestorsorthoseaccusedof being“ri-
n’tnecessarilycorruptionbuttheoutcomeof
oters,” who belong overwhelmingly to one community. thedialecticalrelationshipbetweentheindi-
Be it in Jahangirpuri in Delhi or UP and now Patna, the judiciary has had to step in to vidual,institutionandtheprevailingpolitical
reestablish the sanctity of due process. Before the Patna HC, the Gauhati High Court last context. Indeed, often the balance of power
month, in a case related to the razing of a house belonging to an accused in an arson case hasanoutsizedinfluenceonhowwell“inde-
inNagaon,hadwarnedthatpolicecannot,“undertheguiseof investigation”,bulldozeany- pendent”institutionsfunctioninademocracy
one’shousewithoutpermission,andif suchpracticescontinuethen“nobodyissafeinthis but this is often disregarded in favour of a
more personalised analysis.
country”.Thispushbackfromthecourtsatatimeof anoverweeningexecutiveiswelcome.
In a democracy, the source of political
Hopefully, politicians, especially those in high office, would take the cue from the judici- power is the organisation of public opinion.
ary and stop extolling the virtues of police highhandedness. However, most institutions in a democracy
are downstream of politics — their role is to
enforce not build political consensus. These
institutionsthusdonothaveanindependent
Freeze Frame E P Unny source of political power and rely instead on
the backing from political intermediaries for
their mandate. Institutions may be tasked to
produce“truth”inlinewithdefinedprocesses
such as investigative agencies. Other institu-
tions such as the judiciary and election com-
mission may be required to adjudicate be-
tween competing claims in line with the
existing normative consensus. Some like the
RBI may be empowered for fixed functions
like the monetary policy and so on.
In each of these instances, the institution
and its role isan outcome of political consen-
sus wherein political intermediaries have
agreed to delineate some function of gover-
nance and bequeath it to this institution. The
institutiondrawslegitimacyfromthespecific
mandate but operates in the dynamic space
in the changing balance of power between
competing political factions. When the bal-
anceofpowerisrelativelyequallydistributed,
institutionshavegreateramplitude.However,
if the balance of power tilts too far towards
onefaction,institutionalindependencestarts
toatrophy,especiallyifpowerfulfactionsdon’t
exercise self-restraint and adhere to norms.
It is felt that even in these circumstances,
institutionswillbeabletomaintainindepend-
ence if bn executive influence on appoint-
mentsweretobelimited.Thereissomemerit
inthisargument—however,thisanalysisun-
Even when institutional derestimates the ability of political power to
exertitself.Evenwheninstitutionaldesignin-
design insulates the sulatestheappointmentprocessfromtheex-
appointment process from ecutive — such as in the judiciary — political
the executive — such as in power can manifest in multiple ways. At the
individual level, dissent can be neutralised
the judiciary — political
throughinducement,marginalisation,intim-
power can manifest in
multiple ways. At the
idation, blackmail, harassment, propaganda,
transfers, etc, through allied (state) institu-
individual level, dissent can tions.Theavailabilityandalacrityof thisarse-
nal are driven by the likelihood of regime
be neutralised through change with the consolidation of political
inducement, power reducing the probability of blowback.
marginalisation, The executive can also make it so difficult for
intimidation, blackmail, independent-mindedindividualstofunction
that they may be forced to exit on their own.
harassment, propaganda, Largedistributedinstitutionsalsohaveinter-
transfers, etc, through allied nal contradictions which can be exploited.
(state) institutions. Over a longer timeline, countervailing in-
stitutions themselves can be defanged. The
expansionof theElectionCommissionrepre-
sents one such dilution. This is similar to the
“packingthecourt”strategybeingmootedby
US Democrats in response to a right-leaning
SupremeCourt.Undermininginstitutionalle-
gitimacy is another approach to institutional
dilution. The repeated public commentary
about corruption in the judiciary, opacity in
theCollegium’sfunctioningandjudicialover-
reach could pave the way for another institu-
tional dilution by undermining judicial cred-
ibility and legitimacy in public opinion.
Bypassing Standing Committees for legisla-
tivescrutinyisanotherexampleofundermin-
ing an institution itself.
Institutionalindependenceisalargerand
more complex issue than appointments
alone. What we are seeing in India now is a
consolidationofpoliticalpowerinonefaction,
whichisalsorejectingmuchof thepre-exist-
ing consensus that underpinned governance
in our country. Institutions are thus coming
underpressure.Re-establishingconsensus—
andinstitutionalindependence—isapolitical
battlewhichrequiresmobilisingpublicopin-
ion and organisation.
Finally, a word of caution. Liberals should
be circumspect about broad-brush state-
mentsthatreducepublictrustininstitutions.
Instead, criticism when warranted must be
targetedandspecific.Democracyisnecessar-
ily mediated through institutions and wide-
spreadinstitutionaldistrustcanonlypavethe
way for autocracy and populism.
The writer is executive director,
Future of India Foundation

DECEMBER 5, 1982, FORTY YEARS AGO

CONGRESS (I) SPLIT
THE CONGRESS (I) in Gujarat was split with
dissidents in the party sending in their resig-
nations disregarding a high voltage pressure
from the high command and its last minute
conciliation efforts. The decision on sending
the resignations was announced by Mahipat
Mehta,a Lok Sabhamember from Kutch and
one of the PCC vice-presidents. A total of 26
partymen submitted resignations.
THE KASHMIR ISSUE
PAKISTAN PRESIDENT ZIAUL Haq, was
quoted as saying that Kashmir remained the
principal obstacle to a treaty with India, but
he was determined not to to fight a third war
over the issue. In an interview with the
Washington Post, Zia said he was encouraged
by his recent meeting with Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi and he planned to discuss the
proposed non-aggression treaty with her.
NEW ALLIANCE IN AP
AN UNEXPECTED REALIGNMENT of oppo-
sition parties, after the disintegration of the
Progressive Democratic Front on one side
and the abortive communist-Telugu Desam
negotiationsontheother,gavebirthtoanew
five-party alliance in Andhra Pradesh. The
new alliance which now comprises the CPI,
CPM, Janata, Lok Dal and RPI has also an-
nounced a list of 176 constituencies where it
will field candidates.
ANTI-IRAN PROTEST
PORTRAITS OF AYATOLLAH Khomeini in the
Iran Air office in Bombay were smashed to
smithereens and the office’s staff held
hostage by a group of 20 slogan-shouting
anti-Khomeini Iranian students who barged
their way into the office. No one was hurt in
the incident, but the agitators covered the
walls and floors with
graffiti.

New Delhi

11
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
THE IDEAS PAGE
Small is beautiful
To resolve environment-development conflict, begin with local initiatives that can be scaled-up and
provided market access through government support, linkages with corporates, NGOs and specialists
OVER THE BARREL
by Vikram S Mehta
EVERY NOW AND then I pen an article from
my cottage in the Binsar forest sanctuary in
the Kumaon hills about the conflictual ten-
sions between economic development and
ecologicalsustainability.IhavebeeninBinsar
for the past few weeks and am driven to
writeanotherarticleonthesamesubjectbe-
causeof theinconclusivedeliberationsatthe
COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, and also because
of a sentence that I read in Mark Carney’s
book, Values — An Economist’s Guide To
Everything That Matters. Carney is a former
Central banker and currently the UN
Secretary General’s special envoy on climate
action and finance. He is also the co-chair of
the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero
(GFANZ)--acoalitionof financialinstitutions
that have “committed” to allocate four out
of every 10 dollars that they invest towards
decarbonisation. The sentence reads: “Why
is Amazon rated as one of the world’s most
valuable companies … but the value of the
Amazon rainforest appears on no ledger un-
til it is stripped of its foliage and converted
into farmland”.
Surrounded as I am by a forest protected
from deforestation by law but reminded
daily by the local villagers of the “value” of
timber and by real estate agents of the
“value” of the cleared and, therefore, mar-
ketable land in the area, Icannothelp but ap-
preciate the profundity of this sentence.
I am an itinerant visitor to Binsar. In the
late 1980s when I first visited, the absence of
development was physically manifest. The
road to the sanctuary was irregularly tarred
and narrow — I had to walk the last half mile
to my cottage, there was no grid electricity
or running water and the nearest market,
school or hospital was an hour’s drive away.
And there was a palpable lack of economic
activity.
I, however, loved the place because of the
verdant greenery of oak and pineforests, the
majesty of the Himalayas, the pure air and
because it took me away from the cacoph-
ony and detritus of urban life. I noted, how-
ever, that my sentiments were not shared by
the resident villagers. They wanted electric-
ity,water,education,healthcarefacilities,and
jobs. They were frustrated andat times, their
frustration spilled over into acts of seeming
irrationality. They started forest fires to draw
attention to their demands.
Todaymanyof thesedemandshavebeen
met. All the villages are electrified. There are
few more beautiful sights (and, in my view,
powerful manifestations of sustainable de-
velopment) thanthe pinpricks of lights from
thevillagesinthe valleybelowsetoff against
the twinkling of stars in the clear night sky
above. All homes have LPG, the stress of
searching for firewood has been hugely alle-
viated, mobile phones and internet connec-
tivity has reached the heart of the sanctuary,
and jobs have increased with the rise of eco-
tourism and the hospitality industry.
But the underlying economic and social
Amarjeet Sinha
THE REGISTRAR General of India has con-
firmed that India's maternal mortality rate
was97during2018-2020.During2001-03,it
was 301. The infant mortality rate was 58 in
2005. In 2021 it was 27. While we have rea-
sons to be less unhappy, we still have a long
way to go. The pace of decline, however, has
gained momentum post-2005.
The National Rural Health Mission
(NRHM)waslaunchedin2005toprovideac-
cessible and affordable healthcare through a
public system of primary healthcare. And to
providesecondaryandtertiarycareservicesin
publicsystemsalongsidetheprivatecapacity
to ensure good quality services at effective
rates.Unfortunately,allocationsforNRHMdid
notkeeppace.But,itseemstohavehadapos-
itive impacton many indicators. Healthfacil-
itiesstartedlookingbetterwithuntiedfunds,
doctors, drugs and diagnostics became a re-
ality, institutional deliveries jumped, vacan-
cies of ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) and
nurses started getting filled up, and the com-
munity’s ASHA worker started putting pres-
sure on public systems to perform by getting
patients there.
What explains these gains?
First,NRHMhadaclearthrustoncrafting
credible public systems in primary health.
Communityconnect,humanresourcecapac-
ity mattered and flexible financial resources
wereavailableatalllevels.Second,thecentral,
stateandlocalgovernmentpartnershipwith
civil society, with the full involvement of
frontline workers was a thrust. Planning had
stresses remain. Healthcare and educational
facilities are limited and the quality of what
existsispoor.Theroadsarepotholedandtest
the hardiest of car springs. And the jobs that
have been created are temporary, uncertain,
and badly paid. People want jobs in govern-
mentand/orpensionableemploymentinin-
dustry, IT or hospitality and above all a se-
cure, income stream. None of this is
adequately available and the gap between
aspiration and reality widens by the day.
My “values” aredifferentfromthoseheld
by the villagers. I want to preserve the pris-
tine beauty of Binsar. I want to barricade it
from development — at least of the kind that
is evident on the drive to the sanctuary. The
villagers love nature as much as I do. Of that
thereisnodoubt.Buttheyhavedifferentpri-
orities. They need to eke out a existence. I
cannot put a “value” to my “values”. But the
villagers can put a value totheirmaterialpri-
ority.Itisdeterminedbythegovernmentcal-
culated “circle price” of land and the savings
generated from “exploiting” the produce of
the forest, including timber. Were they so
skilled they could create a ledger tabulating
these prices as also the opportunity cost of
living outside the orbit of development.
Whose values shouldpredominate?This
is a matter of judgement but what is clear (at
least to me) is that so long as there is such a
divergence of “values”, the tension between
ecological sustainability and economic de-
velopment will remain unresolved. In fact to
leap from the narrow perch of Binsar to
Sharm El-Sheikh, it is my view the reason
COP27 failed to do more than agree to estab-
lish a compensatory fund for the poor coun-
tries impacted by global warming (and on
The nutrition challenge
Thereisneedforalocalised,community-basedapproach
to begin from below. Community monitor-
ing was civil society led. Third, the approach
was pragmatic and provided for diversity of
state-specific interventions. The decen-
tralised planning process, where the states
came up with their annual plans on the
basis of district health action plans, became
the norm.
Fourth,institutionbuildingwasfacilitated
in work with panchayats and facility-specific
RogiKalyanSamitisorhospitalmanagement
committees.Civilsocietywasengagedincom-
munity action through the Population
Foundation of India. Professionals were
brought in to improve processes. Over 60 per
cent of funds were to be spent at the district
levelanduntiedgrantsweremadeavailableto
every level of the health institution.
Unfortunately, nutrition has not seen this
kind of initiative. The fifth National Family
Health Survey 2019-21 reports 35.5 per cent
of children under 5 are stunted, 19.3 per cent
arewasted,and32.1 percentareunderweight.
These are unacceptable levels. The Poshan
Abhiyan, though innovative, is still not ad-
dressing the institutional decentralised pub-
lic action challenge yet.
Unfortunately, in our initiatives for nutri-
tion, we have remained compartmentalised
and fragmented. The ICDS is seen as a nutri-
tion initiative, but the institutional role of lo-
calpanchayatsandcommunitieswithuntied
financial resources is still lagging. Nutrition
does not lend itself to narrow departmental-
ism and such non-institutional wider part-
It struck me that in the
context of Binsar at least
(but maybe if suitably
adapted, relevant for global
deliberations), the Gandhian
principles of economics offer
useful guideposts. His
emphasis on decentralised
interventions, that leverage
local talent, crafts and the
environment, makes a lot of
sense when the objective is to
create income generating
opportunities and secure
jobs without disturbing the
natural ecology.
nerships are destined to fail.
Themulti-dimensionalityof under-nutri-
tion makes it imperative that ICDS is re-
vamped to converge with health, education,
water, sanitation, and food security at all lev-
els, under the local government umbrella.
Given the diverse conditions, it is important
to allow for context-specific and need-based
prioritisation at every Anganwadi centre by
allowing flexibility through decentralised lo-
cal action, made possible by accountable de-
centralised financing.
The12reorganisationprinciplesfornutri-
tion success, should be the following: (i) Let
the gram panchayat, gram sabha, women’s
collectives of livelihood mission and other
community organisations be responsible for
education, health, nutrition, skills and diver-
sifiedlivelihoods;(ii)panchayat-ledcommit-
teesof theconcernedwiderdepartmentsare
needed at the block and district zila parishad
levels as well; (iii)operationalise village-spe-
cific planning process with decentralised fi-
nancialresources;(iv)allowsimultaneousin-
terventions for all wider determinants of
nutrition; (v) assess for additional care givers
withcapacitydevelopmenttoensurehouse-
holdvisitsandintensityofmonitoringneeded
for outcomes in nutrition; (vi) encourage di-
versity of local food including millets, served
hot;(vii)ensureavailabilityofbasicdrugsand
equipment for healthcare and growth moni-
toringineachvillage;(viii)intensifybehavior
change communication; (ix) institutionalise
monthlyhealthdaysateveryAnganwadicen-
C R Sasikumar
thattootheycouldnotdecideonwhoshould
contribute, how much and the governance
structure for the fund) is because the multi-
ple stakeholders at the conference were not
alignedon“values”andthereforethe“value”
of the various action plans presented by
them.
Anyway, whether seen through the mi-
croscopic lens of Binsar or the larger prism
of multilateral summitry, my point is that
“values”havetobebroughtintoconvergence
before the tension between development
and ecology can be sustainably resolved.
So, what then needs to be done? Is there
a pathway through which one can bring
about such a convergence?
I reflected on these questions during my
stay in the hills and it struck me that in the
context of Binsar at least (but maybe if suit-
ably adapted, relevant for global delibera-
tions),theGandhianprinciplesof economics
offer useful guideposts. His emphasis on de-
centralised interventions,that leverage local
talent, crafts and the environment, makes a
lot of sense when the objective is to create
incomegeneratingopportunities andsecure
jobs without disturbing the natural ecology.
Ratherthanfollowapathdefinedbythecen-
tre,theguidewouldbetolookforaroutethat
start with local initiatives but gain momen-
tum, scale and market access through the
support of government and collaborative
linkages with corporates, NGOs and special-
ists.Gandhijibelievedsmallstepscanbepre-
cursors to big solutions.
The writer is chairman and distinguished
fellow, Centre for Social and
Economic Progress
trewithcommunityconnectandparentalin-
volvement; (x) create a platform for adoles-
cent girls in every village for empowerment
and for diversified livelihoods through skills;
(xi) decentralised district plans based on vil-
lage plans should be the basis for interven-
tions to ensure anganwadis face no deficits
like no buildings or no untied resources; and
(xii)movetoa“leavingnoonebehind”,rights-
basedapproachtoensureuniversalcoverage
oftheundersix,adolescentgirlsandpregnant
women for all needs.
The challenge of undernutrition can be
tackled effectively over a short period if the
thrustiscorrect.TherecentlyreleasedNFHS-
V brings out the unfinished agenda and the
slow rate of decline in undernutrition.
Nutrition as a subject does not lend itself to
narrowdepartmentalism.Itcallsforawhole-
of-government and whole-of-society ap-
proach.Technologycanatbestbeameansand
monitoring too has to become local.
Panchayatsandcommunityorganisationsare
the best way forward. But the nutrition chal-
lenge is also a women’s empowerment chal-
lenge.Itrequiresabehaviourchangeinfavour
of exclusive breastfeeding, natural foods in-
stead of junk food, and clean water and sani-
tation.
We should never give up efforts at craft-
ingacrediblepublichealthcaresystem.Letus
beginre-craftingournutritioninitiative,learn-
ing from the hits and misses.
The writer was in the IAS. Views are personal
WHAT THE OTHERS SAY
“The [Chinese] people have found ways to speak forcefully, suggesting that,
just as zero covid could not stamp out Covid-19, state repression cannot
eliminate dissent. Mr. Xi would be wise to listen rather than punish.”
— THE WASHINGTON POST
Democracy
interrupted
Political parties are increasingly leaning on
criminals for winning power. Criminalisation of
politics is hurting the country
M Venkaiah Naidu
THE RISING number of elected represen-
tatives with criminal backgrounds in
Parliament and state legislatures is a mat-
ter of deep concern to all law-abiding and
right-mindedcitizens.Theincreasingtrend
of criminalisation of politics is dangerous
and has steadily been eating into the vitals
of our democratic polity along with grow-
ingcorruptionof ahumongousnature.This
perilous drift needs to be checked both by
all political parties as well as the judiciary.
Timely corrective measures need to be put
in place without any further delay, for the
common man to have faith in the fairness
of the system. Only a time-bound justice
delivery system, firmer steps by the
Election Commission of India (EC) and a
proper strengthening of relevant laws can
cleanse the body politic of this evil.
Fast-tracking the judicial process will
weedoutthecorruptaswellascriminalel-
ements in the political system. It is high
time all political parties came together and
developed a consensus on keeping crimi-
nals — some of them with serious charges
including kidnapping, rape, murder, grave
corruption and crimes against women —
out of the system.
Whencriminalsturnintoelectedrepre-
sentatives and become law-makers, they
pose a serious threat to the functioning of
ademocraticsystem.Theveryfutureof our
democracy gets imperilled when such of-
fenders masquerade as leaders, making a
travesty of the entire system. Can we ex-
pect the youth to look up to such “leaders”
and see role models in them?
We take pride in being the largest
democracy, but if we do not correct this
fundamental flaw of letting criminals and
the corrupt turn into elected representa-
tives, we would have failed the people of
this great nation. It is not enough for India
to be the world’s largest democracy — it
must also evolve into the ideal one. As we
assume leadership at several levels on the
world stage, it is important for India to
showcase itself as a model democracy and
the global moral compass.
This increasing trend of criminalisation
of politics is linked to political control of
state machinery, corruption, vote-bank
politicsandaboveall,loopholes inthelegal
system. Is it fair to expect probity and in-
tegrity from the bureaucracy if it is con-
trolled in large measure, by criminals?
Good governance gets seriously under-
mined when, for instance, criminals, gang-
sters or mafia dons, become the political
bosses of bureaucrats and subvert the sys-
tem to serve their interests. In such a sce-
nario,thebureaucraticsystemceasestore-
sist corruption and often embraces it to
carry out the diktats of criminal political
bosses and also to suit its own ends.
This is a pervasive malaise in our body
politic, which is assuming cancerous pro-
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
CHINA’S MOTIVES
THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘In
Beijing'sCourt’(IE,December3).China's
dictatorial system and the sole aim of
its authoritarian ruler, Xi Jinping, to
make the other nations in the
Subcontinent accept Beijing's su-
premacy will always be at odds with a
democratic and aspirational India.
China’s objections to the Indo-US joint
military exercise, a regular feature now,
do not hold any water, given that China
loves to runroughshodoverdiplomatic
niceties. To expect sincere efforts from
Beijingtoresolvetheboundarydisputes
with New Delhi would be foolhardy.
Vijai Pant, Hempur
NEW CHAMPIONS
THIS REFERS TO the editorial, ‘Non-
favouritesontop’(IE,December3).FIFA
World Cup 2022 has sprung up many
surprises, upsets and disappointments.
Many powerful teams could not pene-
tratethecrossbarsandwereeliminated
at the knockout stage. The teams that
managed to maintain their cool reaped
the benefits. Acquiring modern skills,
style and stamina, the players of coun-
tries like Japan emerged stronger. The
domination of traditional football-lov-
ing nations seems to be declining. This
World Cup may produce new
champions.
Subhash Vaid, New Delhi
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
portions. As a result, the three main pillars
of our democracy, namely, Parliament, ju-
diciary and executive, get progressively
weakened, and the fundamental concept
of a democratic system gets subverted.
Over the years, there have been some
attempts at decriminalising politics and
alarmcallsraisedwithregardtotheimper-
ativeneedforreform.TheVohraCommittee
setupbytheCentrein1993soundedanote
of warningsayingthat“somepoliticallead-
ers become the leaders of these
gangs/armed senas and, over the years, get
themselveselectedtolocalbodies,stateas-
sembliesandthenationalParliament.”This
was nearly three decades ago.
The Supreme Court had flagged the is-
sue on several occasions, and in August
2021 observed: “The nation continues to
wait and is losing patience.” In 2002, the
Courtruledthateverycandidatecontesting
election has to declare his criminal and fi-
nancial records along with educational
qualifications. It must be said that manda-
torydeclarationof assetsandexistingcrim-
inal charges in self-sworn affidavits to the
EC, prior to elections, has brought in some
degree of transparency.
Further, in 2005, the Supreme Court
had ruled that a sitting MP or MLA will be
disqualified from contesting the election if
convictedandsentencedforimprisonment
for two years or more by a court of law. In
2014, the apex court accepted the Law
Commission recommendations and
passedanorderdirectingthattrials against
sittingMPsandMLAsshouldbeconcluded
within a year of charges being framed and
conducted on a day-to-day basis.
As a follow-up to these directives, in
2017, the Union government started a
scheme to establish 12 special courts for a
year to fast track the trial of criminal cases
against MPs and MLAs. The apex court has
since then issued many directions, includ-
ing asking the Centre to set up a monitor-
ing committee to examine reasons for de-
lay of investigation in these cases.
The number of pending cases contin-
ues to be a matter of grave concern, so
much so that the Supreme Court had been
informed,aspermediareportsof February
2022, that the number of pending crimi-
nal cases against sitting and former MLAs
andMPshadrisentocloseto5,000towards
the end of December 2021.
What is the way forward? Fast tracking
trials and expediting the judicial process
through a time-bound justice delivery sys-
tem alone can cleanse our public life and
riditof thiswidespreaddisease.Therecan-
not be any leniency to criminals and the
corrupt in public life, especially when it
comes to a range of crimes which are seri-
ous and heinous in nature.
Checking the nexus between crime,
money and muscle power will be among
the first few steps required to be taken.
The growing dependence of political par-
ties on criminals for muscle power and
“electability” must be stopped.
Parliament, judiciary and executive will
have to find common ground to put firm
mechanisms in place to deal with in-
creased criminalisation of politics.
The writer is a former
Vice President of India
FOR FOOD SECURITY
THIS REFERS TO the article, ‘Measuring
food insecurity’ (IE, December 3). Food
securityin Indiahas beenoneof thetop
manifestos of the political parties con-
testing general and state elections. Yet,
wearemilesfromachievingit.Multiple
campaigns to remedy the issue have
failed to address and resolve it in its en-
tirety. Lack of proper administration
tops the list of causes. Storage granaries
arefloodingwithrottinggrains.Thereis
rampant and unchecked corruption.
We need a proper system of distribu-
tion of food stock. To strengthen the
food supply, reduction of players in the
food chain is an essential step.
Chandravir Singh, Pune
SECURE HEALTH DATA
THIS REFERS TO the report, ‘AIIMS cy-
ber attack probe points to ‘foreign state
actor’, Govt looks at mandatory audits’
(IE, December 3). This cyber crime inci-
dent at AIIMS is a worrying signal for
PM Narendra Modi’s vision of a digital
health ecosystem through the National
Digital Health Mission. The National
Medical Commission has engaged
NICSI empaneled private agencies for
thehospitalmanagementsystemsof all
medicalcolleges,includingAIIMS.Thus,
cyber security is an important concern
and needs an audit.
L R Murmu, Delhi
 12 EXPRESS NETWORK WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

Pensionbillexceededsalary&wages WEST BENGAL BLAST

TMC leader’s wife

spendingforCentre,3states:CAGdata says he ran illegal
The audit is an initiative of
CJI D Y Chandrachud. File HARIKISHAN SHARMA
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
PENSION EXPENDITURE VS. SALARY SPENDING 61.83% 131.98%
states stood at Rs 12.38 lakh
crore (Rs 5.47 lakh crore on
salary and wages; Rs 3.52 lakh
firecracker unit
crore on interest payment and Rajkumar's body was found 2.5

1,83,954.61**
Apex court to EXPENDITURE ON pension has
emerged as one of the major
Salary
and wages
Pensions
(`cr)**
Pension as
% of salary,
servicing of debt; and Rs 3.38
lakh crore on pension), which
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
KOLKATA, DECEMBER 4
km from the spot, they said.
Aseniorpoliceofficersaid,"It
audit premises

1,39,380*
components of the Committed (` cr)* wages was almost half – 45 per cent – was found in the preliminary

3,38,507**
Expenditure of the Centre and Gujarat 11,126 17,663 158.75% of their combined revenue ex- THE WIFE of a local Trinamool probe that it was a crude bomb

for access to states in recent years. In fact, it
was higher than the 'salary and
disabled people wages'expenditureof theCentre
and three states – including
Gujarat – during 2019-20, ac-
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE cording to official data.
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4 Incidentally, the Old Pension
Scheme (OPS) has figured as a
THE SUPREME Court will con- prominent poll promise in the
duct an audit of its premises to Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat
find how accessible it is to spe- Assembly elections, even trig-
cially abled persons. geringdebates beyond thepolit-
An initiative of Chief Justice ical arena. Two Congress-ruled
of India D Y Chandrachud, the states – Rajasthan and
“comprehensive audit” aims to Chhattisgarh – have already de-
ensureaccessibilityinthejustice cided to implement the OPS,
system and understanding the while the party has promised to
hardshipsfacedbythem,intheir restore it in Gujarat and
interface with the apex court. Himachal Pradesh if it comes
Theinitiative,anofficialcom- to power.
munication said, is in line with According to data available
the WHO’s 2022 theme of with the Comptroller and
“Transformativesolutionsforin- Auditor General of India (CAG),
clusive development: the role of the Centre’s total Committed
innovation in fuelling an acces- Expenditure was Rs 9.78 lakh
sible and equitable world”. crore during 2019-20, which in-
On December 3, which cluded an expenditure of Rs 1.39
marks as the International Day lakh crore on 'salary and wages',
of Persons with Disabilities, the Rs 1.83 lakh crore on pensions
CJIconstituteda“SupremeCourt and Rs 6.55 lakh crore on 'inter-
Committee on Accessibility”. est payments and servicing
Thecommitteehasalsobeen of debts'.
tasked to prepare and release a TheCentre’stotalCommitted
questionnaire for persons with Expenditure accounted for 37
disabilities, who visit the
Supreme Court premises.
The note said the Committee MUMBAI BUSINESSMAN’S MURDER
Karnataka 14,573
West Bengal 16,915
Uttar Pradesh 53,508
Bihar 19,968
(Figures from 2019-20)
per cent of its total revenue ex-
penditure of Rs 26.15 lakh crore
in 2019-20.
“The Committed
Expenditure in respect of the
Union Government consists of
67 per cent on Interest Payment
and Servicing of Debt. The re-
maining 19 per cent and 14 per
centexpenditureconstitutedthe
expenditure on Pensions and
Salary and Wages respectively. It
is apparent that expenditure on
pensions is more than the ex-
penditure on salaries and
wages,” reads the CAG report ti-
tled ‘Union and State Finances at
A Glance’ for 2019-20.
According to the report, the
Centre’spensionbillwas132per
cent of its expenditure on salary
and wages in 2019-20, the last
year for which comparable data
for the Centre and states is avail-
able. This was just ahead of the
18,404 126.29%
17,462 103.23%
49,603 92.70%
17,110 85.69%
Covid-19 outbreak in India in
2020.
The pension bill also ex-
ceeded the salary and wages ex-
penditure across three states –
Gujarat, Karnataka and West
Bengal – in 2019-20.
In Gujarat, the pension bill
(Rs 17,663 crore) was 159 per
centof theexpenditureonsalary
and wages (Rs 11,126 crore).
Similarly, Karnataka’s pension
bill(Rs18,404crore)was126per
centof thestate’sexpenditureon
salary and wages (Rs 14,573
crore). And for West Bengal, the
pensionbill(Rs17,462crore)was
103 per cent of the expenditure
on salary and wages
(Rs 16,915 crore).
Thedatashowsthatthecom-
bined pension bill of 30 states
and Union Territories, for which
comparable data is available,
stood at Rs 3.38 lakh crore in
5,47,505*
penditure of Rs 27.41 lakh crore.
The expenditure on pension
in Rajasthan – where the
Congress-led state government
All 30 Centre has decided to implement OPS –
states was Rs 20,761 crore in 2019-20.
in `crore
This is almost 42.7 per cent of its
expenditure(Rs48,577crore)on
salary and wages. Similarly,
2019-20, which was 61.82 per Chhattisgarh’s pension bill (Rs
cent of their combined expendi- 6,638 crore) was 30.62 per cent
ture(Rs5.47lakhcrore)onsalary of thestate’ssalaryandwageex-
and wages. Across five states – penditure (Rs 21,672 crore).
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, However, in Himachal
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Pradesh, where elections re-
Odisha – the pension bill ac- cently concluded, the pension
counted for over two-third of bill (Rs 5,490 crore) was 47 per
their expenditure on salary cent of the salary and wage ex-
and wages. penditure of Rs 11,477crore.
The expenditure on pension The latest edition of the
is one of the key components of Handbook of Statistics on
the government’s Committed Indian states, released by
Expenditure. The other two are Reserve Bank of India on
the expenditure on salary and November 19, shows that the
wagesandinterestpaymentand combined pension expenditure
servicing of debt. If the of all states and UTs has doubled
Committed Expenditure is to Rs 3.45 lakh crore in 2019-20
higher,itmeansthat thegovern- from Rs 1.63 lakh crore in 2013-
ment has lesser flexibility to de- 14. In fact, the pension expen-
termine the purpose for which diture further increased to Rs
revenue expenditure is to be in- 3.68 lakh crore in 2020-21 (re-
curred. vised estimate) and was bud-
During 2019-20, the total geted at a higher at Rs 4.06 lakh
Committed Expenditure of all crore for 2021-22 (BE).
Congress leader who along with
two others was killed in an ex-
plosion at his residence in
Bhupatinagar area of Purba
Medinipur district on Friday
night, told police that her hus-
band was running an illegal fire-
crackermanufacturingunitfrom
the premises. Several others
were injured in the blast.
Lata Rani Manna, wife of
TMC booth president Rajkumar
Manna, said that it was not a
crude bomb that went off but a
stock of fire-crackers in the
house that caught fire from a lit
cigarette.
Rajkumar's brother
Debkumar Manna and another
person named Biswajit Gayen
died in the incident.
Thepolicehavestartedanin-
vestigation into the matter after
filing an FIR, officials said.
Lata Rani said, "I repeatedly
told my husband not to get into
fire-cracker manufacturing but
he did not listen," she claimed.
The police during their pre-
liminary investigation claimed
to have found that the explosion
may have occurred while mak-
ingof acrudesocketbombinthe
house at Nariabila village.
The police claimed to have
found the bodies away from the
place of occurrence of the blast.
explosion as it could not have
producedsuchahugesoundhad
it been a fire-cracker explosion.
But now, we are seriously look-
ing into Latarani's claim. We are
also trying to figure out as why
the bodies were taken far from
the spot. The three bodies were
recoveredfromseparateplaces."
A neighbour of the Mannas
and local villagers had claimed
on Saturday that they heard a
huge sound that shook their
houses.
BJP leader Samik
Bhattacharyasaid,"Itisclearthat
the TMC is trying to hush up the
matter. After the Bogtui killings
their leader Anubrata Mondol
had said that there was a short-
circuitthattriggeredafire.Thisis
nothingnew.Peoplenowunder-
stands the tricks of the TMC."
CPIM leader Sujan
Chakraborty said, "We under-
stand as how an environment of
fear is prevailing in the state.
Everybody knows how the blast
happened. It is ridiculous."
Defending his party, TMC
leader Jayprakash Majumder
said, "No body is expert on the
blast. It is a subject of investiga-
tion. Forensic experts will come
up with their opinion only after
a proper investigation in the
matter."

Wife’s lover faked

headed by Justice S Ravindra
Bhat “has been asked to conduct
an accessibility audit extending OXFAM FLAGS DIGITAL DIVIDE

Women constitute
to both physical as well as tech-
nology accessibility”.
The Committee will also
abduction to evade
one-third of Internet
comprise of a differently abled

arrest, say police

person employed at the
Supreme Court, a differently
abled Advocate nominated by
Supreme Court Bar Association
and a person nominated by the
Centre for Disability Studies at SAGAR RAJPUT
users in India: Study
NALSAR University of Law. An MUMBAI, DECEMBER 4 Thedigitalpushdrivenbythe
Officer of the Supreme Court ESHA ROY pandemic resulted in India ex-
Registry will be the THREE DAYS after a 46-year-old NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4 periencingthelargestnumberof
Member Secretary. woman and her lover were ar- real-time digital transactions in
rested for allegedly killing her WOMEN CONSTITUTE only one 2021 at 48.6 billion.
husband,atextilebusinessman, third of internet users in India, However, the likelihood of a
nf{k.kkapy fo|qr forj.k fuxe fy- in Santacruz, it has emerged said a study conducted by NGO digitalpaymentbytherichest60
mGtkZ Hkou] 220 ds0oh0 fo|qr milaLFkku]
ckbZ&ikl jksM] fldUnjk] vkxjk & 282007 that in October, the woman’s Accused Hitesh Jain was Oxfam India. per cent is four times more than
[CIN No.U31200UP2003SGC027460] lover tried to divert the focus of found to have self-inflicted Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis inspect the Accordingto‘IndiaInequality the poorest 40 per cent in India.
[GSTIN No. 09AACCD0695D1ZS] the investigation by faking his injuries, police said. Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg, in Nagpur, on Sunday. PTI Report 2022: Digital Divide’ re- In rural India, the tendency
§ü-çÙçßÎæ âê¿Ùæ own kidnapping, police said. leased by the NGO on Sunday, to use formal financial services
v. çßçàæCè· Ú‡æ â´® Çèßèßè°Ù°Ü -°×°× / Kavita Shah and her lover Indianwomenare15percentless is lowest for ST households, fol-
xwzz-w®ww% ¥ æÂêçÌü %& D.P.C. Alu. Hitesh Jain allegedly killed her gation in the case was trans- AHEAD OF INAUGURATION BY PM ON DECEMBER 11 likelytoownamobilephoneand lowed by SC households and
husband Kamalkant (46) by ferred to the crime branch from 33 per cent less likely to use mo- OBC households.

Shinde, Fadnavis take test drive

Winding Wire 1.02mm. - 50,000 Kg.,
0.81 mm. -2,50,000 Kg., 1.32 mm. - mixing arsenic and thallium in Santacruz police, who were ini- bile internet services than men. According to UN’s e-partici-
1,50,000 Kg., 1.52 mm - 1,00,000
Kg., 1.82 mm. - 43,844 Kg., 2.34 his food. tially probing it. In Asia-Pacific,Indiafaresthe pation index (2022), which is a
mm. -58,353 Kg. çÙçßÎæ ÂýÂ˜æ · æ ×êËØÑ ₹ According to police, Jain, “Ashefearedhewouldbear- worst with the widest gender composite measure of three im-
11,800.00/- (Áè®°â®Åè® âçãÌ), ÏÚôãÚ
ÚæçàæÑ ₹17,00,000/-
w. fof'k"Vhdj.k la 0 Çèßèßè°Ù°Ü-
who was being interrogated in
the case, feared he could be ar-
rested and tried to mislead in-
rested,hetriedtomisleadthein-
vestigators by claiming he was
kidnapped and assaulted,” said
on Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway gap of 40.4 per cent, says the
study. The report also points to
rural-urban digital divide.
portantdimensionsof e-govern-
ment,namelyprovisionof online
services, telecommunication
°×°×/xwz{-w®ww vkiw f rZ % & Super
Enameled Alu. Winding Wire
vestigators by claiming that he Kamalkant's brother-in-law Thackeray Maharashtra betweenVadpeandMajiwadain “Despiteregistering asignificant connectivity and human capac-
0.81mm. – 2,50,000 Kg., 1.32mm was kidnapped, assaulted and Arunkumar Lalwani. SWEETY ADIMULAM Samruddhi Mahamarg, it is also Thane will also be revamped. (digital) growth rate of 13 per ity,Indiaranks105outof 193na-
1,50,000 Kg., 1.52 mm.- 75,000 Kg., abandoned on Nashik road at A senior police officer said MUMBAI, DECEMBER 4 known as the Mumbai-Nagpur Once fully opened, the cent in a year, only 31 per cent of tions, it said.
fufonk iz i = dk ew Y ;% ₹11,800.00
(th0,lVh0 lfgr)] /kjks g j jkf'k% ₹
Shahapurbyunknownpersons. Jain claimed that unknown per- Super Communication Samruddhi Mahamarg will re- the rural population uses The likelihood of access to a
14,50,000/-. “Jain was admitted to hos- sons tried to kidnap him on CHIEF MINISTER Eknath Shinde Expressway. The phase-1 of the duce travel time between Internetcomparedto67 percent computer is more for the
3. çßçàæCè· Ú‡æ â´® Çèßèßè°Ù°Ü - °×°× pital.Hehadinjuries all overhis October 25. According to police, and Deputy Chief Minister project was to be inaugurated Nagpur and Mumbai by six of their urban counterparts,” GeneralandOBCgroupsthanfor
/xwz|-w®ww ¥ æÂêçÌü% Gas ket Set (10- body.Butlaterduringquestion- he suddenly disappeared and Devendra Fadnavis took a test earlier this year but was delayed hours. At present, commuters says the report. the SC and ST populations. The
100 KVA)- 52,500 ux] (250- ing, he kept changing his state- later that day, he sent a voice drive on the newly-constructed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. use NH 3 (Mumbai-Dhule) and The report analyses the pri- difference between the general
400KVA)- 2,700 ux] (630 KVA)-150 ment. We found out that those messagetohisfriendthathewas Mumbai-Nagpur Super Once the entire 701-km NH 6 (Dhule-Nagpur) to reach mary data from Centre for category and ST is as high as
ux] 1000 KVA -5 ux] fufonk izi= dk ewY;%
were self-inflicted injuries,” kidnapped, beaten and aban- Communication Expressway stretch of the highway is opera- Nagpur covering 800 km taking Monitoring Indian Economy’s seven to eight per cent between
₹3540.00 (th0,l0Vh0 lfgr)] /kjksgj jkf'k%
₹ 29,000/- senior police inspector doned on Nashik road. (Samruddhi Mahamarg) on tional, it is expected to boost de- 16 hours. (CMIE) household survey held 2018 and 2021.
4. çßçàæCè· Ú‡æ â´® Çèßèßè°Ù°Ü - °×°× Rajkumar Upase of Shahapur “The matter was then re- Sunday. The deputy CM himself velopment opportunities in the The Maharashtra State Road from Jan 2018 to Dec 2021. Thechancesof havingacom-
/xwz8-w®ww % ¥ æÂêçÌü % Rubberized police station said. portedbyhisfriendandrelatives drove the car on the 520-km- Marathwada and Vidarbha re- Development Corporation Among states, Maharashtra puterarehigherwithhigherlev-
Cork Sheet (4mm.) 24,922 'khV] Kamalkant died of multiple at Santacruz police station after long stretch built under phase 1 gions, which are drought-prone (MSRDC) is building the 701 km hasthehighestinternetpenetra- els of education as well as in-
(5mm.)- 1,503 'khV] (6mm.) - 566 'khV] organ failure on September 19. which they checked his location of the project between Nagpur areasandarealsoBJPstrongholds. eight-lane Mumbai-Nagpur tion,followedbyGoaandKerala, come. As much as 99 per cent
fufonk iz i = dk ew Y ; ₹ 3,540.00 He initially complained of and found that he was near and Shirdi. Prime Minister The remaining 181-km SamruddhiExpressway–touted while Bihar has the lowest, fol- rural population did not have a
(th0,l0Vh0 lfgr)] /kjksgj jkf'k% ₹ 63,500/-
stomach ache but during treat- Shahapur,” the officer added. Narendra Modi will partially in- stretchunderphase2of theproj- to be the fastest in the country – lowed by Chhattisgarh and computer post the Pandemic –
5. çßçàæCè· Ú‡æ â´® Çèßèßè°Ù°Ü - °×°×
/xwz9-w®ww % ¥ æÂêçÌü % LT Bushing Rod ment it was revealed that there Jain had also told police that augurate the project on ect,betweenShirdiandMumbai, where vehicles can ply at 150 Jharkhand, the report said. an increase of two per cent—
Alu. (10-63KVA) 12mm. 1,70600 ux] was a high volume of “arsenic he had come to meet someone December 11. willendinThane’sVadpeareain kmph. The project is estimated “As per the NSS (2017-18), while the urban population wit-
HT Bushing Rod Alu. (12mm.) - and thallium” in his blood. nearPadghatollnakaafterwhich The expressway is a pet proj- theBhiwandidistrict,andwillbe to cost Rs 55,000 crore. only about 9 per cent of the stu- nessed an increase of seven per
1,88,600 ux] KT Bushing Rod Brass After his death, his family two persons assaulted him. ect of Fadnavis and was initiated ready by 2024, officials said. The expressway willtraverse dents who were enrolled in any cent to 91 per cent.
(63 to 160KVA) 12mm -72,800 ux] became suspicious as his “Hisstatementsdidnotmake during his tenure as CM while Since, the expressway will be through 14 districts, six talukas course had access to a computer Among all religions, Sikhs
(250 to 400 KVA)-11,600 ux] (630
mother Sarladevi had died on any sense because of which we the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition was used by commercial vehicles go- and392villagesandwillhave24 with internet and 25 percent of have highest likelihood of hav-
KVA)-600 ux] (1000 KVA) - 20, ux] HT
Bushing Rod Brass. (12mm.) -9,165 August 13 from similar health did not proceed with the investi- in office. ingtoJawaharlalNehruPortTrust interchanges, 38 bridges over 30 enrolled students had access to ing a computer followed by
ux] fufonk izi= dk ewY;% ₹ 5,900/- complications. gation. He looked disturbed,” Officially named Hindu (JNPT)fromNagpur,the23.5-km metreslongand283bridgesthat the internet through any kind of Christians, Hindus and
(th0,l0Vh0) lfgr] /kjks g j jkf'k ₹ In mid-October, the investi- Upase said. Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Mumbai-Nashikhighway(NH3) are less than 30 metres. devices,” says the report. lastly Muslims.
5,00,000/-
6. çßçàæCè· Ú‡æ â´® Çèßèßè°Ù°Ü - °×°×
/xw60-w®ww % ¥ æÂêçÌü % HT Bushing
Porcelain - 1,14,074 ux] LT Bushing Ankita Bhandari murder
In Kaziranga, Indo-French partnership bears fruit
Porcelain (10-100 KVA)-2,00,000
ux] (160-400) -11,600 ux] (630 KVA) -
600 ux] (1000 KVA) -20 ux] fufonk izi=
dk ewY;% ₹ 5,900/- (th0,l0Vh0) lfgr]
case: Chargesheet to be
/kjksgj jkf'k ₹ 1,50,000/-
7. çßçàæCè· Ú‡æ â´® Çèßèßè°Ù°Ü - °×°×
/xw61-w®ww % ¥ æÂêçÌü % Silica Gel
filed in 10 days, say cops ESHA ROY
healthiest it has ever been. With
the aid of AFD funding, conser-
now begun a massive reforesta-
tiondrivewiththehelpoftheAFD.
Breather (250 Gm.) - 50,000 ux] NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4 vation has been ramped up with Divisional Forest Officer,
(50Gm.) PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Ankita few poaching cases recorded in Kaziranga Park, Ramesh Gogoi
-2,555 ux] fufonk izi= dk ewY;% ₹ DEHRADUN, DECEMBER 4 Bhandari ARTIFICIAL HIGHLANDS where the past five years. says that the “protection strat-
3,540.00 (th0,l0Vh0 lfgr)] /kjksgj jkf'k ₹ was killed in animals can escape during “There was just one case of egy” adopted by Kaziranga in-
95,000/- THE INVESTIGATION into September floods; more than 200 anti- poaching this year, one in 2021 volves setting up 223 anti-
8. çßçàæCè· Ú‡æ â´® Çèßèßè°Ù°Ü - °×°×
/xw62-w®ww % ¥ æÂêçÌü % Nut & Bolt- 20,000 Ankita Bhandari murder case in poachingcamps;alternateliveli- and two cases the year before poachingcamps acrossthepark.
fd0xzk0] Core Bolt- 20,000 ux] LT Uttarakhandisalmostcomplete hood training for local commu- that. We have successfully “Weensuredthattheconcen-
Connector-1,88,600 ux] HT and police will file the (criminal conspiracy) and 354 nities — these measures at the stopped poaching in the area,” trationofcampsishigherinareas
Connector - 99,062 ux] fufonk izi= dk chargesheet in court in 10 days, (assault or criminal force to Kaziranga National Park in says Sarma. wheretherehastraditionallybeen
ewY;% ₹ 5,900.00 (th0,l0Vh0 lfgr)] a senior official said Sunday. woman with intent to outrage Assamwillformthecornerstone Sarma adds that what the a poaching pressure. The AFD
/kjksgj jkf'k ₹ 1,15,000/- Theaccusedwillalsobesub- her modesty) of the Indian of an Indo-French initiative an- AFD programme has been most funding has helped us equip the
i. R × â´® v âð y ÂÚ §´ç»Ì çÙçßÎæØð´ çÎÙæ´· jected to narco analysis to find Penal Code and Immoral Traffic nounced earlier this year. effectiveinisthe skillingof com- camps as well as build the requi-
®{.®v.w®wx · ô â×Ø vx%®® ÕÁð Ì· ¥ æòÙÜæ§üÙ
out about the “VIP” for whom (Prevention) Act, he said. With French and Indian tech- munitiesinthearea,particularly site infrastructure,’’says Gogoi.
¥ ÂÜôÇ · è Áæ â·Ô ´»è çÁÙ·Ô ¹éÜÙð · è çÎÙæ´·
®|.®v.w®wx · ô âæØ´ v{%®® ÕÁð ãô»èÐ Bhandari allegedly refused to Bhandari,19,whoworkedas nical and financial support, the The Kaziranga project is a part of a larger Assam project. File forest-dwelling communities. There are 35 six-seven foot
ii. R × â´® z âð } ÂÚ §´ç»Ì çÙçßÎæØð´ çÎÙæ´· give“extraservice”andgotkilled. a receptionist at Vanantara Indo-PacificParksPartnershipwill Assamofficialssaythatmany tall embankments or highlands
®~.®v.w®wx · ô â×Ø vx%®® ÕÁð Ì· ¥ æòÙÜæ§üÙ The accused in police re- ResortinGangaBhogpurareaof facilitate partnership activities for of the community members that have been constructed in
¥ ÂÜôÇ · è Áæ â·Ô ´»è çÁÙ·Ô ¹éÜÙð · è çÎÙæ´· mand andthestaff of Vanantara Pauri district near Rishikesh, interested natural parks of the Française de Développement But it is the 457 sq km wouldsometimes be engagedin various areas around the park,
v®.®v.w®wx · ô âæØ´ v{%®® ÕÁð ãô»èÐ çÙçßÎæ Resort — where Bhandari was was allegedly pushed into the Indo-Pacificregion.Theseactivities (AFD) has committed funding of Kaziranga National Park that re- illegaltree felling by middlemen that animals can climb on to and
¹ôÜð ÁæÙð · è çÌçÍ · ô ¥ ß· æàæ ãôÙð · è çSÍçÌ ×ð´, working — have told police that Chillacanalbytheresort'soper- includebiodiversityconservation, €80.2millionfora10-yearperiod, mains the heart of the pro- for illegal timber trade, and seek refuge during the annual
çÙçßÎæ ¥ »Üð · æØüçÎßâ ×ð´ ¹ôÜè ÁæØð´»èÐ guests at the presidential suite atorPulkitAryaandhistwoem- wildlifemanagementandengage- between 2014-2024. The project gramme. wouldalsogivesheltertopoach- flooding.Theprojecthasalsode-
çÙçßÎæ àæéË· ·Ô ßÜ ¥ æòÙÜæ§Ù, DVVNL, are called VIPs. ployees Saurabh Bhaskar and mentwithlocalcommunities. conceptualised the reforestation Chief Conservator of Forests ers, which no longer happens. veloped infrared-based early
AGRA · è ßðÕâæ§üÅ www.dvvnl.org ·Ô
×æŠØ× âð ãè Sßè· æÚ ç· Øæ ÁæØð»æÐ The accused have been Ankit Gupta, in September. TheKazirangaprojectisapart of33,500hectaresoflandandthe andKazirangaNationalParkand The illegal timber trade is one warning systems, triggered by
çßßÚ‡æ ·Ô çÜ° · ëÂØæ çÙçßÎæ ÂýÂ˜æ ŠØæÙÂêßü· Âɸ Üð´Ð booked under sections 302 The police had said she was ofalargerAssamProjectonForest training of 10,000 community Tiger Reserve Director Jatindra ofthemainreasonsforthedegra- elephant footfall, to either scare
¥ Ïèÿæ‡æ ¥ çÖØ´Ìæ (lk0iz0&I) (murder), 201 (causing disap- murdered for allegedly refusing and Biodiversity Conservation membersinalternatelivelihoods Sarma says that the population dation of forests around the re- off herds from human habitat or
i=kad& 8671@v/kh0vfHk0 (lk0izk0&I)@vkxjk fo0 fnukad 3-12-2022 pearance of evidence), 120B toprovide"extraservice"toaVIP. (APFBC) for which the Agence by 2024. of animals in the park is the serve.TheAssamgovernmenthas to warn villagers.

New Delhi
 E EXPLAINED
13
Iran’s morality police, ‘disbanded’ amid street protests
RISHIKA SINGH
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
IRAN’S PUBLIC prosecutor said on Sunday
that thecountry’s dreaded morality police —
thesameforceinwhosecustody22-year-old
Mahsa Amini died in September — has been
disbanded.
If theannouncementisfollowedthrough
— there was no confirmation from the
Interior Ministry, and state media said the
public prosecutor was not responsible for
overseeing the force — it would signal an ex-
traordinary concession from the Iranian
regimetothewomenwhohaveoverthepast
couple of monthsled themost powerful and
sustained street protests since the Islamic
Revolution of 1978-79.
Themoralitypolice“wasabolishedbythe
same authorities who installed it,” Attorney
General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said,
the AFP reported. “Both parliament and the
EXPLAINED GLOBAL
WHATWESTERNCAPONRUSSIANOIL
PRICE,EMBARGOBYTHEEUMEAN
A Russian tanker at the Kozmino crude oil terminal near the port city of
Nakhodka earlier this year. Reuters file
THE EUROPEAN Union, G7, and Australia
have decided to cap the price of Russia’s oil
exports at $60 per barrel in an attempt to
limit the fossil fuel earnings that support
Moscow’s budget, its military and the war
in Ukraine. The cap will take effect on
Monday,andtheEUwillalsoimposeaboy-
cottonRussiancrudethatisshippedbysea.
How will the price cap work?
It is seen as a way to limit Russia’s earn-
ingswhilekeepingRussianoilflowingtothe
globaleconomy.Theaim:hurtMoscow’sfi-
nances while avoiding a sharp price spike if
Russia’soilissuddenlytakenoff themarket.
Insurance companies and other firms
needed to ship oil would only be able to
deal with Russian crude if the oil is priced
at or below the cap. Most insurers are lo-
cated in the EU or the UK and could be re-
quired to participate in the cap.
Universalenforcementof theinsurance
ban, imposed by the EU and UK in earlier
rounds of sanctions, could take so much
Russian crude off the market that oil prices
would spike, Western economies would
suffer, and Russia would see increased
earnings from whatever oil it can ship in
defiance of the embargo.
Russia, the world’s No. 2 oil producer,
has already rerouted much of its supply to
India, China and other Asian countries at
discountedpricesafterWesterncustomers
shunned it even before the EU ban.
Will capping the price help?
A$60capwillnothavemuchimpacton
Lady Chatterley’s Lover and the debate over obscenity that it triggered
YASHEE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
LADY CHATTERLEY’S Lover, based on D H
Lawrence’s(in)famousnovel,isnowstream-
ing on Netflix. In coming to your personal
screenfromLawrence’sfeverishandearnest
pages, Lady Constance Chatterley has trav-
elledalongway,facinglandmarkobscenity
trials in several countries, including India.
Book and its contents
Put very simply — and robbed of all its
tenderness and wistfulness — Lady
Chatterley’s Lover is about the extramarital
affair of an aristocratic lady with her game-
keeper.Itwaspublishedin1928inItalyand
in1929inFrance.InEngland,itwasnotavail-
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
judiciary are working [on the issue],” he said
as part of the statement.
The morality police
The Gasht-e Ershad are part of the police
force and supervised by Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the elected gov-
ernment has a say in their activities through
the Interior Ministry. Both men and women
officials are part of the morality police.
MahsaAminiwasallegedlybeatenbythe
moralitypolicewhohaddetainedherfor“in-
correctly” wearing the mandatory hijab. The
Iranian government has denied that Amini
was assaulted, and has accused the United
StatesandIsraelof orchestratingthepopular
protests across the country.
Overthepastweeks,theprotestshaveex-
panded from anger over the hijab regulation
toawiderdissatisfactionwithstaterepresen-
tatives seen to be reinforcing these laws.
The contested hijab
Russia’sfinances,saidSimoneTagliapietra,
anenergypolicyexpertattheBruegelthink
tankinBrussels.That“willalmostgounno-
ticed,” he said, because it would be near
where Russian oil is already selling.
If the cap had been $50, it would be im-
possible for Russia to balance its state
budget, because Moscow is believed to re-
quire around $60-70 per barrel for a “fiscal
break-even”.However,a$50capwouldstill
have been above Russia’s cost of produc-
tionof between$30and$40perbarrel,giv-
ing Moscow an incentive to keep selling oil
simplytoavoidhavingtocapwellsthatcan
be hard to restart.
Can Russia defy the West on this?
Russia has said it will not observe a cap
andwillhalt deliveriestocountriesthatdo.
It could retaliate by shutting off shipments
in hopes of profiting from a sharply higher
global oil price on whatever it can sell
around the sanctions.
Buyers in China and India might not go
along with the cap, while Russia or China
could try to set up their own insurance
providerstoreplacethosebarredbytheUS,
UK, and Europe.
What about the EU embargo?
Russian producers likely won’t be able
to reroute all their oil from Europe, and
somewilllikelybelosttotheglobalmarket.
Analysts at Commerzbank say the EU em-
bargo and cap together could result in “a
noticeable tightening on the oil market in
early 2023”. AP
able in an unexpurgated edition until 1960.
Though hardly sensational by today’s
standards, when published, the book was
considered scandalous. It had descriptions
of sexual encounters and contained the f-
word.Asignificantmomentinthebookhas
Lady Chatterley and Oliver Mellors — the
‘lover’ in the title — orgasming together.
Whilecriticsfocusedonthe‘steamy’parts,
the novel explores the importance of a con-
nection of bodies, not just minds, in a rela-
tionship;itisacommentaryonclasstensions;
and,inthepostWorldWarIworld,isaplain-
tive plea to heal through passionate love.
Obscenity trial in UK
In1960,Penguin’sco-founderAllenLane
decidedtopublishanunexpurgated,afford-
ablypricededitionof thebook.Penguinwas
Iran has a long history of policing the hi-
jab. During the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi in
1936, the hijab was actually banned in an ef-
fort to “modernise” the country. The police
would thenremove thehijab fromtheheads
of women seen wearing it in public.
Thissituationwasturnedonitsheadafter
the Revolution, when conservative forces
alignedwithAyatollahRuhollahKhomeinide-
Hopeful signs on food inflation
Several factors have boosted rabi plantings; open market agri prices are high; prospects of onion, potato,
milk look good. As the RBI MPC meets today, there are reasons for cautious optimism on food inflation
HARISH DAMODARAN
& PARTHA SARATHI BISWAS
NEW DELHI, PUNE, DECEMBER 4
CONSUMER PRICE inflation fell from 7.41%
year-on-year in September to 6.77% in
October — and food inflation fell even more,
from 8.60% to 7.01%.
But that isn’t the only data point the
ReserveBankof India’s(RBI’s)monetarypol-
icy committee (MPC) may consider at its in-
terest-rate action meeting from December
5-7. How much to hike, if at all, would de-
pend on how the committee perceives infla-
tion — especially food, which has a 45.86%
weight in the consumer price index — to pan
out in the coming months.
There are two reasons for cautious opti-
mism here.
The first reason relates to
global food prices.
The accompanying graph shows move-
ments in the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation’s (FAO’s) Food Price Index (FPI)
over the last two-and-a-half years.
Theindex—aweightedaverageof thein-
ternational prices of a basket of food com-
moditiesoverabaseperiodvalue,takenat100
for2014-16—soaredfromalowof91.1points
in May 2020 (when Covid lockdowns world-
wide triggered a “collapse of demand”) to an
all-time-high of 159.7 points in March 2022
(following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, lead-
ing to disruptions and “collapse of supply”).
Both the FPI and its two key component
indices — cereals and vegetable oils, which
had exhibited ever higher volatility — have
come down from those peaks. The FPI has
fallen every single month since March, to
135.7pointsinNovember.Moresignificantis
vegetableoils.At154.7pointslastmonth,the
index was 16.2% down from a year ago and
38.6% down from the March 2022 high.
The effects of world prices easing are be-
ing felt most clearly in edible oils. Over the
last six months, the all-India average modal
(most-quoted) retail prices of soyabean and
palm oil have come down from Rs 180 to Rs
160 and from Rs 165 to Rs 110 per kg respec-
tively.Notsurprising,giventhatIndiaimports
roughly 60% of its edible oil requirements.
The second reason has to do
with domestic factors.
This year’s kharif crop, mainly sown in
June-July and harvested after October, hasn’t
beentoogood.Thesouthwestmonsoon’slate
arrival affecting June plantings, drought-like
conditions in the four Ganga basin states
(Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West
Bengal) and excess September-October rain-
fall around harvesting time resulted in lower
outputs for most crops. Cotton and soyabean
weretheprobableexceptions:Highpricesand
their relative hardiness over, say pulses, in-
D H Lawrence’s
novel, although
fairly tame by
today’s standards,
was deemed
scandalous when
it was published.
sued, even though just a year earlier, the
Obscene Publications Act had been passed,
which provided a defence to publishers if
theycouldprovetheworkhadliterarymerit
and was intended for the public good.
TheensuingReginavs PenguinBooksLtd.
trial is now recognised as a watershed mo-
ment in British cultural life.
An Iranian fan
holds a jersey in
memory of
Mahsa Amini at
the World Cup
in Qatar last
month.
Reuters file
posed Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, son of Reza
Shah, and proclaimed the Islamic Republic.
While wearing the hijab was made
mandatory, a force was constituted to en-
forcetherulesonmoralityandthepublicap-
pearance of women only in the 1990s, after
the war broke out with Saddam Hussein’s
Iraq, and the regime felt the need to cen-
traliseitspowerandunderlineanIranianna-
EXPLAINED ECONOMICS
CUMULATIVE AREA SOWN UNDER RABI CROPS
(LAKHHECTARES)
NORMAL** 2021-22@
1. Wheat 304.47
2. Rice 45.65
3. Jowar 29.35
4. Maize 19.17
5. Barley 6.16
6. Pulses 150.20
(a) Chana 98.86
(b) Masoor 14.29
(c) Moong 10.47
(d) Urad 9.13
(e) Matar 7.45
7. Oilseeds 78.81
(a) Mustard 63.46
(b) Groundnut 7.22
(c) Sesamum 3.42
Total Rabi* 633.80
*Includes other rabi coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds;
**Five-year average (2016-17 to 2020-21) for whole season;
@As reported on December 2.
ducedfarmerstoexpandacreagesunderboth.
This is in contrast to kharif pulses.
Production of both arhar/ tur (pigeon-pea)
and urad (black gram) are estimated 15-20%
lower than in the 2021 kharif season. It ex-
plains why arhar is currently wholesaling at
about Rs 7,000/quintal in markets such as
Gulbarga (Karnataka) and Latur
(Maharashtra), against last year’s Rs 6,000
levels at this time.
Yet pulses overall haven’t seen much in-
flationsofar.Thatisprimarilyduetothehuge
stocks of chana (chickpea) with government
agencies; they had bought some 25 lakh
tonnes(lt)duringthelastrabimarketingsea-
son(March-April),ontopof the8ltheldfrom
the previous crop.
There’s still an estimated 24 lt of unsold
stocks, which is putting pressure on prices:
Chana is trading in major mandis like Rajkot
(Gujarat), Akola (Maharashtra) and
Ganjbasoda (Madhya Pradesh) at Rs 4,400-
4,600 per quintal, well below the official
minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,335.
Chana stocks apart, the market is being
well-supplied by imports of masoor (red
lentil) from Canada and Australia at landed
prices of $720-730 per tonne (Rs 59-60/kg).
Since masoor dal can replace arhar to some
extent — more so in hotels and canteens — it
is putting a lid on the latter’s prices.
There is room for cautious
optimism in the rabi season.
Sowing is in progressfor the rabi (winter-
spring) crop. The extended monsoon, al-
Witnesses for the defence included au-
thor E M Forster, critic Helen Gardner, and
evensomeclergymen.Thedefencealsoen-
sured there were women among the jury,
and the verdict was that the book was not
obscene. In the next three months, 3 mil-
lion copies were sold.
In 1961, Penguin dedicated the second
edition of the book “to the twelve jurors,
three women and nine men, who returned
a verdict of ‘not guilty’ and thus made D H
Lawrence’s last novel available for the first
time to the public in the United Kingdom.”
Test of obscenity in India
India had its own version of Regina vs
Penguin Books in the form of Ranjit D Udeshi
vs the State of Maharashtra, although in this
case, the Supreme Court in 1964 held the
@ieExplained
#ExpressExplained
If there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that you would like
explained, please write to explained@indianexpress.com
tional identity.
Over the years, the strictness with which
themoralityruleshavebeenenforcedhasvar-
iedinaccordancewiththenatureoftheregime
in the country’s dual theocratic-democratic
politicalsystem.Liberalleaderssuchasformer
President Hasan Rouhani have made refer-
ences to personal freedoms and dignity fol-
lowing reported excesses by the force.
Morality functions
Not only the enforcement of hijab, but
the implementation of other rules on pub-
lic appearance and conduct, according to
the Iranian authorities’ interpretation of
the Sharia, are also the responsibility of the
police.
In 2010, for instance, Iran’s Ministry of
Culture and Islamic Guidance issued a tem-
plate for suitable haircuts for men in order
to halt Western influence on culture, and the
morality police were tasked with enforce-
ment at salons.
FAO FOOD PRICES INDEX
2022-23@
200.85 211.62 250
9.53 10.62 ALLFOOD
18.11 17.87 CEREALS
5.93 8.98 OILS
4.57 5.30 200
108.57 112.67
75.80 79.82
13.27 13.38
0.67 0.69 150
3.23 3.17
7.98 7.34
98.01
75.55 83.07
69.32 76.69 100
2.73 2.67
0.15 0.15 91.13
423.52 450.61 77.76
50
MAY2020
though bad for the harvest-ready kharif
crops, has helped recharge aquifers and fill
up reservoirs. Coupled with the timely on-
set of winter and improved fertiliser avail-
ability (on theback of easingglobalprices),it
has given a boost to rabi plantings of wheat,
mustard, maize, and even chana and masoor
(see table above).
Open market prices of all these crops,
save chana, are ruling above MSPs. That, and
the need to make up for kharif losses, has
been added incentive for farmers to sow
more area this time.
It isn’t field crops alone. Onion prices at
Maharashtra’sLasalgaonmarket,atRs10per
kg,arehalf of theiryear-agolevels.Lastyear’s
excess rain from September extending
through January, destroyed both the kharif
(June-JulysownandOctober-Novemberhar-
vested) and late-kharif (September-October
sown and January-harvested) onions.
There has been no such damage from La
Niña this time, even as farmers have started
planting the all-important rabi onion that is
harvested from March onwards and is
amenable to storage.
There isn’t any major cause for concern
with potatoes either — prices in Agra, at Rs
15/kg, are higher than last year’s Rs 10 levels.
HeavyOctoberrainfalldiddelayplantingsby
10-15dayswithsomeareareduction,butthe
prospects for the tuber (harvested towards
March and mainly kept in cold stores) look
goodfornow.Mostcrops—seasonalvegeta-
bles included — have seemingly escaped the
ravages of a third La Niña year in a row.
booktobeobscene.TheSCupheldthe1868
Hicklin Test of obscenity — which the court
did away with only in 2014.
Udeshi and the co-owners of Happy
Book Stall in Bombay were prosecuted un-
derSection292of theIPC(whichdealswith
obscenity) for selling unexpurgated copies
of Lady Chatterley’s Lover in 1959.
The SC ruled that “the obscene matter
must be considered by itself and separately
to find out whether it is so gross and its ob-
scenitysodecidedthatitislikelytodeprave
and corrupt those whose minds are open
to influences of this sort and into whose
hands the book is likely to fall”.
Thisviewwas inlinewiththeVictorian-
era Hicklin Test, which said that obscenity
can be punished irrespective of the artistic
merit of the work, that “obscene” portions
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
In September this year, the United States
government said it would be “imposing
sanctions on Iran’s Morality Police and sen-
iorsecurityofficialswho haveengaged in se-
rious human rights abuses”.
Significant statement
Iran’sauthoritieshaverefusedtoconcede
any of the demands in the ongoing protests,
and have instead cracked down heavily on
the protesters.
In November, a Revolutionary Court in
Tehran sentenced an individual to death for
setting fire to a government building and for
“waging war against God”. Iran Human
Rights reported at least 20 other protesters
too were facing charges that are punishable
by death.
Whatapossibledisbandmentof theforce
would mean was not immediately clear.
Some protesters expressed scepticism, say-
ing the statement was a sham, and only a
precursor to further violence by the state.
(2014-2016=100)
154.70
150.40
135.67
NOVEMBER2022
The weakening rainfall activity since
November should also be good for milk.
Waterlogged fields from incessant rains do
notallowfoddertogrowforanimalstograze.
Farmers have been suffering fodder short-
ages and increased feed costs, forcing dairies
in turn to pay more for milk and pass it on to
consumers.
That should ease somewhat with
bumper crops of soyabean, groundnut, cot-
ton, and mustard (their oil-cakes are protein
ingredients in cattle and poultry feed) and
also maize (a source of energy).
But it’s important to beware
the Ides of March.
Theaboveoptimismshouldbetempered
by a simple fact: The present soil moisture
and temperature conditions are ideal for the
rabi crop, whose harvesting and mandi ar-
rivals though, is only after March.
Lastyear’s wheat was singed by a sudden
spike in temperatures from mid-March,
when the crop had just entered the grain-
filling stage. March 2015 saw unseasonal
rainfall, accompanied by hailstorms and
gusty winds, causing widespread crop dev-
astation across north, west and central India.
AlotcanhappenbetweennowandMarch-
April. The India Meteorological Department,
on December 1, forecast “above normal max-
imum temperatures” during the winter sea-
son(December-February)“overmostpartsof
northwest India, east & northeast India and
manypartsofcentralIndia”.Thatisn’tahappy
augury either for wheat or mustard.
can be judged independently of the work’s
larger context, and if one portion is found
obscene, the work can be banned.
Fiftyyearslater,inAveekSarkarvsStateof
WestBengal(aboutthepublicationofasemi-
nudepictureofBorisBeckerandhisfiancee),
theSCdidawaywiththeHicklinTest.Itruled
that“whilejudging...[obscenity]regardmust
be had to the contemporary mores and na-
tional standards and not the standard of a
group of susceptible or sensitive persons”.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover was the subject
of obscenity trials in many other countries,
including Australia (ban lifted in1965);
Japan (found obscene, translator and pub-
lisherfined,in1957);US(banliftedin1959);
Canada (found not obscene in 1960).
LONGER VERSION
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

14 THE WORLD
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
TOPOFTHE
WORLD
Troops in capital San
Salvador . Rueters
EL SALVADOR
10,000troops
fannedacross
gangstronghold
PresidentNayibBukelean-
nounced on Twitter on
Sundaythedeploymentof
10,000 troops to a San
Salvador suburb of
Soyapango,knowntobea
gang stronghold. The
move is the latest update
in a crusade against gang
violence that began in
March, which human
rightsgroupssayhasbeen
‘marredbyunjustifiedde-
tentions’. “8,500 soldiers
and1,500agentshavesur-
roundedthecity,whileex-
traction teams from the
police and the army are
tasked with extricating all
the gang members still
there one by one,”
he wrote. REUTERS
AFGHANISTAN
ISclaimsattack
onPakmission
headinKabul
THE ISLAMIC State on
Sundayclaimedresponsi-
bility for an attack on
Pakistan's embassy in
KabulinwhichtheCharge
d'Affaires escaped un-
harmed but a guard was
criticallyinjured.Inabrief
statementinArabiconso-
cial media, the terror
group's Khorasan chapter
(ISIS-K) claimed that its
two members armed
with “medium weapons
and snipers” targeted the
ambassador and his
guards who were present
inthecourtyardoftheem-
bassyonFriday.Pakistan’s
Foreign Office said it was
“verifying” the claim. PTI
UNITED STATES
Bodyof7-yr-old
found,FedEx
driverheld
A 7-YEAR-OLD Texas girl
was been found dead,
two days after being re-
ported missing, and a
FedEx delivery driver ar-
rested in her death, au-
thoritiessaid.Thebodyof
Athena Strand was found
on Friday and Tanner
Lynn Horner, 31, was ar-
restedonkidnappingand
murder charges after
confessing to killing the
girlandtellingauthorities
where to find her body,
accordingtoWiseCounty
Sheriff Lane Akin. Horner
did not know the girl's
family, according to Akin,
who declined to discuss a
motiveforthecrime.“We
really can't get into the
contentof theconfession,
but I will say we have a
confession” from Horner,
Akin said. AP
TEST FOR PM SUNAK WHO HAS BEEN IN POWER FOR JUST OVER A MONTH
Ahead of health workers’ strike, UK weighs option: Bringing out the military
REUTERS
LONDON, DECEMBER 4
BRITAIN'S GOVERNMENT is
looking at bringing in the mili-
tary to help keep public services
running if key workers, includ-
ing in the state-run National
HealthService,takestrikeaction,
the chairman of the governing
Conservative Party said
on Sunday.
Britain is already grappling
with industrial action in a range
of sectors, but now faces strikes
by thousands of nurses in
England and ambulance work-
ers in England and Wales who
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES POUND GAZA
Smoke and flames rise during an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip early Sunday. Israeli said it launched the airstrikes on what
it said were military sites in Gaza hours after Palestinian militants fired a rocket into southern Israel. No one was hurt by the
rocket which landed in an open area near the Israel-Gaza fence. More than 140 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli-
Palestinian fighting this year. Reuters
AMID CRACKDOWN ON ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTERS
Iran demolishes home of climber who
took part in Korea event without hijab
REUTERS
DUBAI, DECEMBER 3
PRESIDENT EBRAHIM Raisi on
Saturday hailed Iran's Islamic
Republic as a guarantor of rights
andfreedoms,defendingtherul-
ingsystemamidacrackdownon
anti-government protests that
the United Nations says has cost
more than 300 lives.
A top state security body
meanwhilesaidthat200people,
including members of the secu-
rity forces, had lost their lives in
the unrest, a figure significantly
lower than that given by the
world body and rights groups.
The protests, in their third
month, were ignited by the
death of 22-year-old Kurdish
womanMahsaAmini inthe cus-
todyof moralitypoliceenforcing
strict mandatory hijab rules. The
demonstrations have turned
into a popular revolt by furious
Iranians from all layers of soci-
Indonesia: Alert at highest level
in Java island as volcano erupts
REUTERS
JAKARTA, DECEMBER 4
AVOLCANOeruptedinIndonesia
onSundayspewingacloudofash
15kmintotheskyandforcingthe
evacuation of nearly 2,000 peo-
ple, authorities said, as they is-
suedtheirhighestwarningforthe
area in the east of Java island.
Therewerenoimmediatere-
ports of any casualties from the
eruption of the Semeru volcano
and Indonesia's transport min-
istry said that there was no im-
pact on air travel but notices had
beensenttotworegionalairports
for vigilance. “Most roads have
been closed since this morning
andnowitisrainingvolcanicash
andithascoveredtheviewof the
mountain," community volun-
teer Bayu Deny Alfianto said.
Semeru,thetallestmountain
on Java, erupted last year killing
plantowalkoutlaterthismonth
over pay and conditions.
The government has repeat-
edly called on workers to halt
strike action, saying it could not
afford pay rises tocover inflation
and that, even if it could meet
their demands, such increases
would further fuel inflation.
“Our message to the unions
is to say 'this is not a time to
strike,thisisatimetotryandne-
gotiate'. But in the absence of
that, it is important for the gov-
ernment... to have contingency
plans in place,” Nadhim Zahawi
told Sky News.
“We're looking at the mili-
tary, we're looking at a specialist
Elnaz Rekabi was widely
assumed to have expressed
support for the protests.
ety, posing one of the boldest
challenges to the clerical leader-
ship since the 1979 revolution.
A social media video ap-
peared to show authorities de-
molishing the family home of
Elnaz Rekabi, a climber who
competed in an international
contest without a headscarf in
October. Rekabi later she had
done so unintentionally, but she
was widely assumed to have ex-
pressed support for the protests.
State media on Saturday
quotedtheheadofthejudiciaryin
Volcanic ash rises from Mount Semeru, as seen from
Candipuro in Lumajang, East Java province, Sunday. Reuters
more than 50 people and dis-
placing thousands.
The volcano's plume of ash
reached a height of 15 km, said
Japan's Meteorology Agency,
which had initially been on alert
forthepossibilitythatthevolcano
response force... a surge capac-
ity," he said, adding that the mil-
itarycouldbebrought in todrive
ambulances.
Workers at post and parcel
company Royal Mail have held
severalroundsof strikesthisyear
in a dispute over pay and work-
ing conditions and more strikes
are planned this month.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,
in power for just over a month,
faces a raft of problems, includ-
ing what could prove to be a
lengthy recession in the run-up
to an election that opinion polls
suggest the Conservatives
will lose.
The Sunday Times newspaper
Protesters call for 3-day strike
Dubai:ProtestersinIrancalled
on Sunday a three-day strike
this week as they seek to
maintainpressureonauthor-
itiesoverthedeathincustody
ofMahsaAmini,withprotests
planned on the day President
EbrahimRaisiisduetoaddress
northwestern Zanjan province as
saying the ruling to demolish the
villahadbeenissuedfourmonths
ago as the family had failed to ob-
tainaconstructionpermit.
Unfazed by the brutal crack-
down,protestershaveraisedslo-
gans against Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and re-
peatedly demanded an end to
the Islamic government.
Social media videos showed
renewedprotestslateonSaturday
in parts of Tehran, including the
eastern Haft Howz area where
could trigger a tsunami. It later
ruled that out.
The eruption, some 640 km
eastofcapitalJakarta,followsase-
ries of earthquakes in the west of
Java,includingonelastmonththat
killed more than 300 people.
Thousands of healthcare workers plan to walk out later this month over pay. Reuters File
students at Tehran University
on Wednesday, celebrated in
Iran as Student Day.
Apart from planning a
rally towards Azadi Square,
the protesters have also
urged a three-day boycott of
economic activity. REUTERS
protesters could be heard chant-
ing:“MurdererKhameneishould
be executed.”
The authorities blame the re-
voltonforeignenemies,including
the US, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
“Iran has the most progressive
constitutionintheworld”because
it marries “ideals with democ-
racy,”Raisisaidinaspeechtopar-
liamentarians. “The constitution
guarantees the (existence) of the
Islamicsystem,”hesaid,addingit
also “guarantees fundamental
rights and legitimate freedoms.”
Tigray forces cut
down presence
in frontline areas
REUTERS
NAIROBI, DECEMBER 4
MORE THAN half of Tigrayan
forces have withdrawn from the
frontlines, the forces’ top com-
mandersaidSunday,amonthaf-
ter the signing of an African
Union mediated truce aimed at
ending the two-year conflict in
the northern Ethiopian region.
“We have accomplished 65%
disengagement of our army,"
Tadesse Wereda, commander-
in-chief of the Tigray People's
Liberation Front (TPLF) said in a
video posted on the forces' offi-
cialFacebookpagelateSaturday.
In November 2020, war
erupted in Tigray after its troops
went against federal troops and
their allies. The fighting has
killed thousands, displaced mil-
lions and left hundreds of thou-
sands facing famine.
AHEAD OF UK MONARCH’S CORONATION IN MAY
JEWEL CROWN TO BE RESIZED FOR CHARLES
The St. Edward’s Crown, described as the ‘historic centrepiece’ of the UK Crown Jewels,
has been removed from the Tower of London to allow for ‘modification work’ for the
crowning ceremony of King Charles III on May 6, 2023, the Buckingham Palace said.
AS UKRAINE WAR DRAGS ON
Russia’s NATO
fears must be
noted: Macron
French President calls for Europe to
prepare future security architecture
REUTERS
PARIS, DECEMBER 4
THE WEST should consider how
to address Russia’s need for se-
curity guarantees if President
Vladimir Putin agrees to negoti-
ations about ending the war in
Ukraine, French President
Emmanuel Macron has said.
In an interview with French
TV station TF1 recorded during
his state visit to the US last week
and broadcast Saturday, Macron
said Europe needs to prepare its
futuresecurityarchitecture.“This
means that one of the essential
points we must address - as
President Putin has always said -
isthefearthatNATOcomesright
up to its doors, and the deploy-
ment of weapons that could
threaten Russia,” Macron said.
“That topic will be part of the
topics for peace, so we need to
preparewhatwearereadytodo,
how we protect our allies and
member states, and how to give
guarantees to Russia the day it
returns to the negotiating table,”
Macron said.
Russia and the US both have
said they are open to talks,
though US President Joe Biden
said he would only talk to Putin
if heshowedhewasinterestedin
endingthewar.Ukrainesaysne-
gotiations are possible only if
Russia pulls out its troops.
ManyinUkraineandtheWest
are strongly opposed to any ne-
gotiation with Putin that would
rewardhimwithconcessionsaf-
ter nearly 10 months of war, es-
pecially as Ukraine has driven
backRussianforcesfromlargear-
eas in the past three months.
Despite Covid battle, Xi not willing
to accept western jabs: US spy chief
MICHAEL MARTINA &
DAVID BRUNNSTROM
WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 4
CHINESE LEADER Xi Jinping is
unwillingtoacceptWesternvac-
cines despite the challenges
China is facing with Covid-19,
and while recent protests there
are not a threat to Communist
Party rule, they could affect his
personalstanding,USDirectorof
National Intelligence Avril
Haines said on Saturday.
Haines, speaking at the
Reagan National Defence Forum
inCalifornia,saidthatdespitethe
social and economic impact of
the virus, Xi “is unwilling to take
a better vaccine from the West,
and is instead relying on a vac-
cine in China that's just not
nearly as effective against
Omicron.”
On the protests, the US top
spy chief said: “It’s, again, not
something we see as being a
threat to stability at this mo-
ment, or regime change or any-
thing like that.”
China’s foreign ministry did
notimmediatelyrespondtoare-
quest for comment sent
on Sunday. REUTERS
New Delhi
Reuters
Macron and Biden at the
White House last week.
For peace
in Ukraine
MACRON’S remarks, sug-
gesting he is sympathetic
to Moscow’s need for se-
curity guarantees, come as
both Russia and the US
said they are open to talks
in principle, though Biden
said he would only talk to
Putin if he showed he was
interested in ending the
Ukraine war.
But Macron's remarks sug-
gested he was sympathetic to
Moscow’'sneedforsecurityguar-
antees - a demand that was the
focus of intense but failed diplo-
macy in the run-up to the war.
On February 8, just weeks be-
foreRussia'sinvasion,Putinsaidat
a joint news conference with
Macron in Moscow that Russia
would keep trying to obtain an-
swers from the West to its main
demands:nomoreNATOenlarge-
ment; no missile deployments
nearitsborders;andascalingback
of NATO's military infrastructure
in Europe to 1997 levels. The US
said at the time the Russian de-
mands were “non-starters”.
People at a Covid testing centre in Beijing. Reuters
Urumqi, where protests first
began, loosens Covid curbs
Beijing: More Chinese cities in-
cluding Urumqi in the far west
announced an easing of coron-
avirus curbs on Sunday as China
tries to make its zero-Covid pol-
icy less onerous after unprece-
dented protests against restric-
tions last weekend.
Urumqi, the capital of the
Xinjiang region where the
protests first began, will reopen
malls, markets, restaurants and
other venues from Monday, au-
thorities said, ending strict lock-
downs after months.
reportedthatSunakcouldrevive
plans to curb the right to strike
forpublicsectorworkers,includ-
ing NHS staff, teachers and fire-
fighters, while the Sunday
Telegraph said pharmacists
could be drafted in to help pa-
tients if health workers strike
later this month.
The main opposition Labour
Party called on the government
to negotiate with public sector
workers,withBridgetPhillipson,
Labour's education policy chief,
sayingteacherswere"righttoar-
gue for a better deal in terms
of pay".
Teachers across Scotland
have carried out strike action
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan. File
Bajwa played
double game
against my
govt: Imran
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
ISLAMABAD, DECEMBER 4
PAKISTAN'SOUSTEDprimemin-
ister Imran Khan has accused
former army chief Gen (retd.)
Qamar Javed Bajwa of playing
"double game" against his gov-
ernment on Sunday.
Khan, who was dethroned
earlier this year, dubbed the ex-
tention of Bajwa's 2019 term a
“big mistake”.
Heclaimedthatthenmilitary
establishment was in contact
with the Pakistan Muslim
League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz
Sharif to topple his government
andtheplotagainsthimbecame
clear following the removal of Lt
Gen (retd.) Faiz Hameed as ISI
chief in October 2021.
“I would believe in every-
thing General Bajwa would tell
me because our interests were
the same… that we had to save
the country,” said. 70-year-old,
adding he regretted the
invested trust.
Khan also claimedthat he re-
ceived reports from Intelligence
Bureau (IB) on “what games
were being played against his
government”. “Gen Bajwa was
playing a double game and I dis-
covered later that even PTI’s
members were being given dif-
ferent messages,” he claimed.
Last week, in his farewell ad-
dress,GeneralBajwahadsaidthat
his decision to keep the military
establishment "apolitical" will
shielditfromthe"vagariesofpol-
itics" in the coup-prone country.
A deadly fire last month in
Urumqi sparked dozens of
protests against Covid curbs in
over 20 cities after some social
mediauserssaidvictimshadbeen
unable to escape the blaze be-
cause their building was locked
down. Authorities denied that.
China is set to further an-
nounce a nationwide easing of
testingrequirementsaswellasal-
lowing positive cases and close
contactstoisolateathomeunder
certain conditions, people famil-
iarwiththemattersaid. REUTERS
for the first time in almost 40
years after talks on a pay deal
broke down, and hundred of
thousands of teachers and edu-
cation staff in England and
Wales are voting on whether to
strike in a dispute over pay and
funding.
Zahawi again blamed
Russian President Vladimir
Putin's invasion of Ukraine for
fuelling energy price rises and
double-digit inflation, calling on
public sector workers to "come
together".
"There is a minimum safety
level of delivery in place already,
but the NHS will look at all con-
tingency planning," he said.

15 ECONOMY
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
ILLEGAL DIGITAL LENDING APPS YET TO BE BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL
Digital lending: No clarity, awaiting
RBI response, say bank & fintechs
HITESHVYAS
MUMBAI,DECEMBER4
TWO MONTHS after the Reserve
Bank issued guidelines on digital
lending, banks, non-banking fi-
nancial companies and fintech
playersarestillawaitingclarityon
many aspects, including the First
Loss Default Guarantee (FLDG)
systemandchallengesthatbanks
facewhilecollaboratingwithfin-
techs. On the other hand, hun-
dreds of illegal lending apps,
which are not under the RBI am-
bit, are yet to be reined in by the
state governments.
Banks, NBFCs and fintechs
havesoughtclarificationfromthe
RBI on First Loss Default
Guarantee (FLDG), on which RBI
hasadvisedtheregulatedentities
to follow its September 2021 di-
rections on securitisation, espe-
cially, synthetic securitisation.
FLDGisalendingmodelbetween
afintechandaregulatedentityin
whichathirdpartyguaranteesto
compensate up to a certain per-
centage of default in a loan port-
foliooftheregulatedentities(RE).
Synthetic securitisation
means a structure where credit
MARKET WATCH
FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTORS
FPIs invest
`7,437 crore
in two days
ENS ECONOMIC
BUREAU
MUMBAI,DECEMBER4
AFTER INVESTING Rs 36,329
crore in Indian equities mar-
ketinNovember,foreignport-
folio investors (FPIs) have
made a net investment of Rs
7,437croreinthefirsttwodays
of December on the back of
weakeningoftheUSdollarin-
dex and the overall positive
macroeconomic trends, ac-
cording to NSDL data.
Significantly, after pulling
out over Rs 5,000 crore from
the debt market in October
and November, FPIs have in-
vestedRs394croreinthedebt
market in December. The US
federal Reserve plan to go for
slower rate hikes has calmed
the global markets, leading to
a fall in the dollar index and
capital inflows. V K Vijayak-
umar, chief investment
strategist at Geojit Financial
Services, said, “FPIs turned
strong buyers in November
consistentlybuyingfinancials,
IT, autos, FMCG, capital goods
and telecom. They were sell-
ersinfinancialsinOctober,but
were buyers in November.
Thereisnoconsistencyintheir
sectoral selling strategy.”
“Intheshortrun,themost
importantfactordetermining
FPI strategyisthemovement
in the dollar index. When the
dollar index moves up and is
expectedtotrendup,theysell.
Converselywhenthedollarin-
dex declines and is expected
totrenddown,theybuy.Going
forward, India will get its fair
share of FPI money. But the
BRIEFLY
Sitharaman
NewDelhi:FinanceMinister
NirmalaSitharamanwillon
Monday address Revenue
Intelligence officers at the
DRIfoundationdayeventin
the national capital.
PowerGrid
New Delhi: Power Grid
CorporationofIndiaLtdisin
theprocessofcarvingoutits
telecom vertical to a new
fully-owned subsidiary,
Powergrid Teleservices Ltd,
inabidtomoveupthevalue
chain, officials said. PTI
PREVENTING ILLEGAL E-LENDING
■ RBI’s norms are meant to
protect customers from
unethical business practices,
such as mis-selling, breach
of data privacy, unfair
business conduct
risk of an underlying pool of ex-
posuresistransferredthroughthe
use of credit derivatives or credit
guaranteestohedgethecreditrisk
oftheportfolio.“Thisisanissueon
whichwehavewrittentoRBIask-
ing for more clarity as the guide-
linesjustrefertotheearlierissued
securitisation norms. We are yet
tohearfromRBIonit,”saidalarge
NBFC player.
According to Aditya Kumar,
co-founder and CEO, Niro, a fin-
tech firm, the RBI has been vague
aboutFLDGandthereisnoclarity
on what is permissible and what
is not permissible as far as these
partnershipsareconcerned.“The
RBI needs to provide clarity on
whatitmeansandwhatistheim-
portanceoftheseco-lendingreg-
ulations by non-regulated enti-
ties,” he said.
BSE in Mumbai. File
high valuation in India will be
adeterrent,”Vijayakumarsaid.
However, there was an
overalloutflowof Rs1.25lakh
crore from the equity market
in 2022 so far.
AnalystssaytheUSFederal
Reserve’s decision to increase
interest rate does have an im-
pact on emerging market
economies,includingIndia,in
terms of capital flows.
Currently, the interest rate in
the US is at 3.9 per cent and
that in India is at 5.9 per cent.
Therefore,theinterestratedif-
ferential between the US and
Indiais2percent. Incasethe
USFedraisestherateby50ba-
sis points and the RBI keeps
therateunchanged,theinter-
estratedifferentialwillreduce
to 1.5 per cent, which makes
India a less attractive destina-
tion toforeigninvestors. If the
RBI hikes the rates by 35 basis
points,themarginwillremain.
“The US is exporter of capital
totheworldasalargeamount
of funds flows from there to
emerging market economies.
For India to attract flows and
build foreign exchange re-
serves, an increase in rate is
necessary,” said a foreign ex-
change expert. Full report on
www.indianexpress.com
OPEC+ keeps steady policy amid
weakening economy, Russian oil cap
REUTERS
LONDON/DUBAI,DECEMBER4
OPEC+ AGREED to stick to its oil
output targets at a meeting on
Sunday, two OPEC+ sources told
Reuters, as the oil markets strug-
gletoassesstheimpactof aslow-
ingChineseeconomyondemand
and a G7 price cap on Russian oil
onsupply.
The decision comes two days
after the Group of Seven (G7) na-
tionsagreedapricecaponRussian
■As many as 600 out of 1100
lending apps currently
available for Indian Android
users across 80 application
stores are illegal apps, said
RBI Working Group
OnSeptember2,theRBIcame
out with guidelines on digital
lending aimed at protecting cus-
tomers from unethical business
practices, such as mis-selling,
breachofdataprivacy,unfairbusi-
ness conduct, charging of exorbi-
tantinterestrates,adoptedbydig-
ital lenders. However, as per the
findingsofanRBIWorkingGroup,
released in November 2021, as
many as 600 out of 1100 lending
appscurrentlyavailableforIndian
Android users across 80 applica-
tion stores are illegal apps. The
working group set up by the RBI
hasproposedstringentnormsfor
digital lenders, including a sepa-
rate legislation to prevent illegal
digital lending activities.
The RBI asked the regulated
entities like banks to ensure that
Lending Service Provider (LSP)
‘Bengaluru may see highest
office rent growth in APAC’
Rent growth in the APAC region is expected
to moderate in 2023, said property
consultant Knight Frank
`
The consultant attributed the expected growth in office rentals to a
comparatively strong economic outlook, potentially increased outsourcing
from the west due to cost constraints and rupee depreciation
ESIC to invest surplus funds
in stock market through ETFs
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 4
GOVERNMENT’S SOCIAL secu-
rity body Employees’ State
Insurance Corporation (ESIC) on
Sunday approved a proposal to
invest its surplus funds in the
stock market through exchange
traded funds (ETFs). The deci-
sion was taken in the 189th
meeting of ESIC held on Sunday
at ESIC headquarters under the
chairmanship of Union Labour
Minister Bhupender Yadav, a
Labour Ministry statement said.
Due to relatively low returns
on investments in various debt
instruments coupled with the
need to diversify investment,
ESIC gave its approval for invest-
ments of surplus funds in equi-
ties restricted to ETFs. The in-
vestment will start with 5 per
cent of surplus funds and will
increase up to 15 per cent, based
on the review of the investment
after two quarters, it stated. The
investment will be confined to
Exchanged Traded Funds on
Nifty and Sensex. It will be man-
aged by fund managers of asset
management companies
(AMSs), the statement said.
oil. OPEC+, which comprises the
Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) and
alliesincludingRussia,angeredthe
US and other Western nations in
Octoberwhenitagreedtocutout-
put by 2 million barrels per day
(bpd), about 2 per cent of world
demand,fromNovemberuntilthe
endof2023.Washingtonaccused
the group and one of its leaders,
SaudiArabia,ofsidingwithRussia
despiteMoscow’swarinUkraine.
OPEC+ argued it had cut out-
putbecauseofaweakereconomic
and Digital Lending App (DLA)
comply with the guidelines. As
per the guidelines, the regulated
entities will have to disclose up-
front the rate charged to the bor-
rowerofadigitalloan,ensurethat
borrowers are aware of the prod-
ucts at the time of on-boarding
andcapturetheeconomicprofile
of the borrowers before offering
the loans.
“There is a significant confu-
sion because the RBI has been
verystringentonthoseguidelines
as far as the data storage, confi-
dentiality, role and responsibility
of digital partners are concerned.
Since all the responsibility is on
lenders, we have to be very care-
ful,” said a private sector lender.
On storage of data, the guide-
lines said that the REs should en-
surethatLSPsorDLAsengagedby
themdonotstorepersonalinfor-
mationofborrowersexceptsome
basic minimal data. These guide-
lineswereapplicabletotheexist-
ingcustomersavailingfreshloans
and to new customers getting on
boarded from September 2.
However, the RBI gave regulated
entities time till November 30 to
putinplaceadequatesystemsand
processes to ensure that existing
Thedecisionwastaken
inthe189thmeetingof
ESICheldonSundayat
ESICheadquarters
underthechairmanship
of Labour Minister
BhupenderYadav
Equity investments will be
monitored by the existing cus-
todian, external concurrent au-
ditor and consultant looking af-
ter the debt investments, it said.
Acknowledging the increase
in the number of insured work-
ers and their dependents com-
ing under the ambit of ESI
Scheme, Yadav directed ESIC to
focus on strengthening the in-
frastructure.
He further informed that the
‘Nirman Se Shakti’ initiative has
been started to strengthen and
modernise the infrastructure of
ESIC hospitals and dispensaries
in a phased manner. During the
meeting, Rameswar Teli,
Minister of State for Labour and
Employment, informed that the
latest technologies are pro-
File
outlook. Oil prices have declined
since October due to slower
Chinese and global growth and
digital loans were also in compli-
ance with the guidelines.
Even bringing the existing
loan contracts under the RBI’s di-
rections is taking time, said an-
other banker. Technologically,
banks, NBFCs and fintechs oper-
ate on different platforms.
Bankers said the process of inte-
grationof fintechs’platformwith
theirownisalsotakingtime.“The
systemsofbanksandfintechhave
to be aligned for co-lending. We
have submitted our concerns to
the RBI on the challenges we are
facing in collaborating with fin-
techs,”saidapublicsectorbanker.
Two associations of digital
lenders — Digital Lenders’
Association of India (DLAI) and
FintechAssociationforConsumer
Empowerment(FACE)—hadear-
liermaderepresentationonFLDG
totheRBI.Inaletterwrittentothe
RBI in September, DLAI said the
scopeofFLDGrestrictionasperthe
digital lending guidelines is not
clear as the securitisation guide-
linesareverywideinitsambitand
includesvariouscompliancespre-
scribed for credit enhancements
forsecuritisationtransactionsun-
dertakenbyREs. Full report on
www.indianexpress.com
5-7% Bengaluru’s prime
office rental is
expected to grow in 2023
4-6% New Delhi’s prime
office rental is
expected to grow, followed by
Mumbai in the 3-5% YoY
2-3% The residential
price in Delhi is
expected to grow in this range
4% Mumbai’s residential
price is expected to
grow in 2023
Source:
Knight Frank/PTI
posed to be adopted by ESIC for
construction and monitoring of
projects using drones and an
online real-time dashboard.
In order to improve the
healthcare benefits and service
delivery mechanism and
strengthen the infrastructure of
ESIC towards managing the in-
creasing number of insured
workers, ESIC approved the pro-
posals for setting up a new 100-
bed ESIC hospital at
Shyamlibazar in Agartala,
Tripura and a 100-bed hospital
at Idukki, Kerala. The hospitals
at Agartala and Idukki will cater
to the medical needs of around
60,000 beneficiaries each.
Considering the significant
increase in the number of can-
didates for admissions in ESIC
medical institutions, the corpo-
ration approved the proposal of
increasing the number of seats
under the insured persons (IPs)
category in two of its ESIC nurs-
ing colleges at Gulbarga and
Bengaluru.
Further, the ESI Corporation
also approved the proposal to
start Ph.D, MDS, nursing and
paramedical courses at its med-
ical institutions spread across
the country, it stated.
higher interest rates, prompting
market speculation the group
could cut output again. “It’s a
rolloveruntiltheendof 2023,”an
OPEC+ source said after the
group’s key ministers reached a
decision. The OPEC+ full ministe-
rialmeetingwasstillcontinuingat
1210 GMT. On Friday, G7 nations
andAustraliaagreeda$60perbar-
rel price cap on Russian seaborne
crude oil in a move to deprive
President Vladimir Putin of rev-
enue while keeping Russian oil
flowingtoglobalmarkets.
Market Watch
8 OF TOP-10 COS GAIN M-CAP
New Delhi: Eight of the top-10 most valued firms together added Rs
1,15,837 crore in market valuation last week, with Reliance
Industries emerging as the biggest gainer. From the top-10 pack,
HDFC twins were the only laggards. PTI
What to make of ‘Twitter
Files’: The documents on
Hunter Biden laptop story
SOUMYARENDRABARIK
NEWDELHI,DECEMBER4
TWITTER’S NEW owner Elon
Musk heralded the release of ex-
clusive emails that show some of
theinternaldiscussionsattheso-
cial media company over a con-
troversial decision, taken in 2020
before the US Presidential elec-
tions, to censor a story by tabloid
New York Post about information
ithadobtainedfromalaptoppur-
portedlyownedbyHunterBiden,
son of US President Joe Biden.
Therevelationsdubbedasthe
“Twitter Files” were billed as a
bombshell. “This will be awe-
some,” Musk had tweeted, teas-
ing the announcement with a
popcorn emoji. The details were
later shared by Substack writer
Matt Taibbi in a tweet
threadwhosaidhehad
to “agree to some con-
ditions” to obtain the
emails.
Here is a lowdown
on the revelations and
how to make sense of
them:
Whatarethe‘TwitterFiles’?
The ‘files’ released as part of
screenshotsbyTaibbionSaturday
claimtodetailthedecisionstaken
within Twitter in 2020 when it
made the decision to censor a
story published by the tabloid
New York Post which contained
unverified claims about Joe
Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s busi-
ness activities in Ukraine. At the
time,Twitterhadsaidthatitcen-
soredthestoryclaimingitviolated
its “hacked materials” policy.
In essence, the revelations
showed that Twitter independ-
ently decided to limit the spread
of the article, without any politi-
calpartyorintelligenceagencyex-
ertinganykindofcontroloverthe
company. The only input from a
sittingpoliticianthatTaibbinoted
was from Silicon Valley Rep. Ro
Khanna, who told the company
that they should distribute the
story, regardless of the potential
consequences for his party.
AccordingtoTaibbi’sclaims,in
one message from that time,
Trenton Kennedy, a member of
Twitter’s communications team,
wrote to a group including legal
andpolicyheadVijayaGaddeand
siteintegrityheadYoelRothvoic-
ingquestionsaboutwhythestory
was being restricted.
“I’m struggling to understand
the policy basis for marking this
as unsafe, and I think the best ex-
plainabilityargument forthis ex-
ternallywouldbethatwe’rewait-
ing to understand if this story is
the result of hacked materials,”
Taibbi’s tweets show Kennedy as
writing.“We’llfacehardquestions
onthisifwedon’thavesomekind
ofsolidreasoningformarkingthe
link unsafe.” Brandon Borrman,
Twitter’schiefofcommunications
RBI may moderate
interest rate hikes
in MPC, say experts
PRESSTRUSTOFINDIA
NEWDELHI,DECEMBER4
AFTERTHREEback-to-back50ba-
sispointshikeininterestrates,the
Reserve Bank may opt for a lower
rateincreaseof25-35bpsinlend-
ing rates at its coming monetary
policyreviewonWednesdayamid
retail inflation showing signs of
moderationandtheneedtopush
growth, according to experts. The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will
comeoutwithitsnextbi-monthly
policy review on December 7 at
the end of the three-day meeting
oftheMonetaryPolicyCommittee
(MPC)beginningMonday.
Inadditiontothedomesticfac-
tors, the RBI committee may also
take some cues from the US
FederalReservewhichhintedata
lower rate hike of 50 basis later in
themonth.Inordertocombatin-
flation, the Federal Reserve had
earlierhikedthekeyinterestrates
fourtimesby75basispoints(bps)
each.
The Reserve Bank since May
has increased the repo or bench-
mark lending rates by 190 basis
points, to calm down inflation
which has remained above its
New Delhi
Elon Musk File
atthetimealsoaskedseniorlead-
ership at the company, “Can we
truthfullyclaimthatthisispartof
the policy?”. However, in his
Twitter thread, Taibbi has ab-
solved former CEO of
the company Jack
Dorseyofhavinganyin-
volvement in this deci-
sion making. It is worth
noting that Dorsey has
previouslysaidthatElon
Musk is the only right
person to lead the company.
While Taibbi did not reveal
how he obtained the internal
communications of Twitter –
even as Musk himself was pro-
motingthethreadonhispersonal
handle – he noted that the data
he had accessed showed the “ex-
traordinarysteps”Twittertook“to
suppress the story.”
The key takeaway from
Taibbi’s revelation is that the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI)playednopartingettingthe
story censored, as had been pre-
viously claimed by conservative
commentators.Anothernotewor-
thythingisthatrequeststodelete
content from Twitter were rou-
tinelymadetothecompanyfrom
across the political aisle.
“Both parties had access to
these tools. For instance, in 2020,
requests from both the Trump
WhiteHouseandtheBidencam-
paign were received and hon-
oured. However... This system
wasn’t balanced. It was based on
contacts.BecauseTwitterwasand
isoverwhelminglystaffedbypeo-
ple of one political orientation,
there were more channels, more
waystocomplain,opentotheleft
(well,Democrats)thantheright,”
Taibbi wrote.
WhatwastheHunterBiden
storyTwitterhadcensored?
In October 2020, three weeks
before the 2020 US Presidential
election, The New York Post pub-
lishedanexclusivestory:“Biden’s
Secret Emails: Ukrainian exec
thankedHunterBidenfor‘oppor-
tunity to meet’ veep dad”. The
storypurportedtoreportthecon-
tents of a laptop brought to the
tabloid by the owner of a com-
puterrepairshop,whosaidithad
belongedto,andbeenabandoned
by, President Biden’s second son,
POLICY REVIEW
TO START TODAY
■ The Reserve Bank of
India will come out
with its next bi-
monthly policy review
on December 7 at the
end of the three-day
meeting of the MPC
beginning Monday
comfort level of 6 per cent since
January. Madan Sabnavis, chief
economist, Bank of Baroda, said
the RBI will be presenting the
monetarypolicyagainsttheback-
dropofGDPgrowthslowingdown
as well as inflation being high
above6percent.
Consumer price index (CPI)
based retail inflation, which the
RBI mainly factors in while arriv-
ingatitsmonetarypolicy,isshow-
ingsignsofmoderationbutstillre-
mains above the central bank’s
upper tolerance level. D K Pant,
chief economist, India Ratings &
Research, said the second quarter
inflationandGDPnumbersarein
linewithRBI’sforecast.
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Elon Musk heralded
the release of emails
that show some of the
internal discussions at
the company over a
controversial decision,
taken in 2020 before
the US Presidential
elections, to censor a
story by tabloid New
York Post
Hunter Biden. At the time Biden
was the Democratic nominee for
the upcoming Presidential polls.
Emails and files found on the
laptoppurportedlyrevealedhow
Hunter Biden had peddled influ-
ence with Ukrainian business-
men, the Post claimed — and also
included “a raunchy, 12-minute
video” showing intimate mo-
ments of Hunter Biden.
Afterthestorywaspublished,
Twitter barred anyone from
tweeting a link to it or sending it
via direct message, labelling it
“hacked material.” The company
alsosuspendedthePost’saccount
for multiple days, preventing it
from tweeting further.
JackDorseyhadlatertweeted
that blocking the links without
providingmorecontextwas“un-
acceptable,”andTwitterchanged
itspoliciesshortlyafterrestricting
the Biden story, saying it would
“label tweets to provide context
instead of blocking links” to sto-
ries.
Whattomakeof the‘Twitter
Files’?
While Musk promised that
the revelations would be a
“bombshell”, Taibbi’s Twitter
thread failed to create the impact
he would have hoped for. That is
mostlybecauseof onemajorrea-
son: while the screenshots show
howthecompanydecidedtosup-
press the Post’s story, it sheds no
light on why that decision was
taken. It reaffirms a number of
things that had already been
known publicly — like who takes
content moderation decisions at
the company — and at the same
time fails to shed light on ques-
tions about whether those deci-
sions were taken because of any
political influence or control.
Therevelationshavealsobeen
criticised for making public per-
sonaldetailsofpeopleinvolvedin
the process like their email ad-
dresses. “Publicly posting the
namesandidentitiesoffront-line
employees involved in content
moderation puts them in harm’s
wayandisafundamentallyunac-
ceptable thing to do,” former
TwitterTrustandSafetychiefYoel
Roth, who was among the em-
ployeesnamedinthetweets,said
in a social media post.
High ICAO
rankings to
help domestic
airlines: Govt
NewDelhi:Indiaisamongthetop
50 countries with best aviation
safety in the latest ICAO rankings
andthemajorbreakthroughwill
helpdomesticairlinesininterna-
tionalexpansion,thegovernment
saidonSunday.Intherankingsby
the International Civil Aviation
Organisation(ICAO),Indiaisnow
at the 48th position, a "quantum
leap" from the 102nd rank it had
in 2018.
In a series of tweets, the
Ministry of Civil Aviation said the
ICAO has given the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
the highest Effective
Implementation (EI) score of
85.49 per cent. "India is now
among the top 50 countries with
best aviation safety according to
thelatest@icaorankings.Thisma-
jor break through will also help
Indianairlinestoexpandinterna-
tionally," it said.
Therankingsarefor187coun-
tries and assessments were done
at different points of time.
Under its Universal Safety
Oversight Audit Programme
(USOAP) Continuous
Monitoring Approach, an ICAO
Coordinated Validation Mission
(ICVM) was undertaken from
November 9 to 16. PTI

16 IDEA EXCHANGE
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
Coal is not the only
fossil fuel which causes
global warming.
In fact, natural gas is
just as responsible, if
not more, because of
methane. If you want a
phase-out or even a
phase-down, then do
away with all fossil fuels
LizMathew:Howhaveyourampedup
powerdistributionandensuredlast
mileaccesstoremotecorners?
Justsettingupcapacitywasnotenough,
weneededtotransferpower.We’veadded
almost169,000circuitkilometresof trans-
mission lines during my tenure. And now
we can transfer 112,000 megawatts from
onecornerofthecountrytoanother.We’ve
unifiedthewholecountryintoonemarket.
Now you can generate power in Guwahati
and sell it in Tiruchirappalli or vice versa.
Wesanctioneddistributionschemesworth
Rs 4,000 crore. All of this was possible
throughthestategovernments,whomwe
gave money. We added more than 2,900
new sub-stations and upgraded 4,000
more. We increased the availability of
powerinruralareasfromabout12hoursin
2015 to almost 22.5 hours. We have trans-
formed the power sector.
Now, India had made a pledge, saying
thatby2030,40percentofourcapacitywill
comefromnon-fossils.Wecrossedthattar-
get in November 2021 — nine years in ad-
vance. Today, our fossil fuel capacity is 42
per cent of our total capacity. Our non-fos-
sil capacity is 170 gigawatts, 42 per cent of
theglobalcapacity,whichis404gigawatts.
That is why we upped our ambition con-
servatively at COP 26 in Glasgow. We said
that by 2030, 50 per cent of our capacity
would be from non-fossils. Of all the G20
countries, we are the only one whose en-
ergytransitiontrajectoryisconsistentwith
the two-degreerise inglobal temperature.
LizMathew:Whatarethetakeaways
forIndiafromCOP27?
AtCOP26,theywanteddevelopingand
emerging economies to commit to a
“phase-out” of coal. After India objected,
they added the word “phase-down.” Now,
thisinsistenceonphase-outorevenphase-
down was totally inequitable because coal
isnottheonlyfossilfuelwhichcausesglobal
warming. In fact, natural gas is just as re-
sponsible,ifnotmore,becauseofmethane.
If you want a phase-out or even a phase-
down,thendoawaywithallfossilfuelsbe-
cause they release carbon dioxide when
burnt.Coalhappenstobethefossilfuelwe
have. If some country has oil, it uses that.
Why single out coal then? We raised this
pointatCOP27andinsistedthatweusethe
word “fossil fuels” instead of “coal,” some-
thing that developed countries are oppos-
ingsinceitimpactstheirpowergeneration
systems. This is sheer hypocrisy. India is a
leaderinenergytransitionandnobodyhas
done as much as we have despite the fact
thatourpercapitaemissionsareone-third
of the world average. About 85 per cent of
the legacy carbon load has come from de-
veloped countries. We are responsible for
only 3.47 per cent of the carbon load
whereaswehave17.5percentoftheglobal
population.
LizMathew:Thefreebieculturethat’s
resultinginpowersectordebtsisgoing
tocomeupfordiscussionin
Parliament.PrimeMinisterNarendra
Modipulledupstate governmentsfor
notpayingduestopowerdistribution
companies(discoms),whichhas
curbedthelatter’sabilitytoinvestin
additionalinfrastructure.What’sbeing
doneonthisfront?
Forthefirsttime,Delhiisinthenegative
category,whichmeansitscurrentrevenues
will not cover its current expenses. Punjab
is in a debt trap. It borrows to pay loans,
whichithadtakenearlier.Allthesefreebies
arebeinggivenbytakingloansandencum-
bering future generations. I don’t mind if
you give free electricity to everyone pro-
vided you pay out of your pocket. If you
don’t, then electricity will be cut off.
AnilSasi:Thereareconcernsabout
energystorageconsideringthebulkof
capacityadditioniscomingthrough
renewables.You’repushingforbattery
storagebuttherearelimitationstohow
muchlithiumioncanbeusedasa
technology.Theonlyalternativeona
largescaleispumpedhydrobutthat
hasalongergestation.
You’reright.Onerequirementisstorage.
Theotheristheflexibilityofthermalpower
plants. We’ve already issued a regulation
that the thermal power plants will be flex-
ibleupto55percent.Inthenextphase,af-
ter three years, we have to go down to 40
percent,whichmeansinthedaytime,they
would run at 40 per cent and pick up after
sunset.Now,batterystorageisexpensiveat
Rs10perkilowattperhour.SoI’vegotasur-
vey of all pumped hydro sites done and
given our hydro PSUs a target of taking up
two pumped hydro schemes. Some states
havealreadystartedexploitingpumpedhy-
dro. I have written to the coal ministry to
look at opencast mines as they are great
sites for pumped hydro, our future. Right
now, most states have a capacity to absorb
solar energy except those where the sun
‘India is a leader in energy transition and
nobody has done as much as we have’
Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy R K Singh on meeting global targets for climate action, streamlining power
distribution and efficient harnessing of renewable energy. The session was moderated by Deputy Political Editor Liz Mathew
Idea Exchange with Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy RK Singh at The Indian Express Noida office. Abhinav Saha
shines more than their requirement.
AnilSasi:Whatchangeshaveyoumade
inthepowerdespatchscheduleand
howwilltheMarket-BasedEconomic
Despatch(MBED)systemhelp?
Thecheaperpowergetsloadedfirstinto
the interstate grid and the despatch is
planned accordingly as per the tariff. Peak
demand, which is over and above the con-
tractedcapacity,wouldbemetthroughthe
costlierpowerleftaftermeetingallrequire-
ments.Thepresentsystemdoesnotinclude
thestategenerationcompanieswhosecosts
may be higher.
Wewillsoonhaveauniversalmeritori-
ous system, which will be working on a
market-based economic despatch sched-
ule.Theprocurer,whichisthediscom,will
state its demand in advance or if it doesn’t
want power on certain days. The generat-
ingcompanycanthensellthepowertothe
exchangeorthroughabilateralagreement
toanybodywhoneedsit.Nocapacitywillbe
idle. It will be on the market.
Theonlyconcernattheexchangeisyou
havetoimmediatelypayforthepower.We
havesaidthatwe’llbeabletoprovidesome
current account benefits. Sometimes,
legacy systems don’t make sense and we
have to change. The procurer will pay the
fixed charge. So, it’s beneficial both for the
procurer as well as for the generator.
AnilSasi:The GeneralNetworkAccess
(GNA)regulationsobviouslyareseenas
abigprogressivestep.Isthereadanger
thatunviableplants,whichdonot
figureinthemeritorder,mightjust
decidetoshutdownbecausethey’re
notabletosellpower?
Ifthereissurpluscapacity,thenitmakes
sense that the capacity which is inefficient
shuts down first. But today, the situation is
different.Ourcapacityis404GW,ourmax-
imum demand is 215 GW. Our demand is
growingbecauseIndiaistheonlyeconomy
growingatsevenpercent.Today,onadaily
basis,thedemandis20,000MWmorethan
what it was on the corresponding day last
year.Therealproblemiscoal. Nowthatisa
challenge because, for a long time, we had
a system which was totally public sector. It
wasachallengebecauseofwhatpeoplelike
Jairam Ramesh, who was Environment
Minister in the UPA, did. He single-hand-
edlyputsuchhurdlesinthesystemtoslow
downthespeedofprogressinIndia.Enviro-
nmentallawsmadebyRameshmeantthat
you couldn’t start a coal mine, knowing
there’sareserveunderground,beforewait-
ingone-and-a-halfyearsforclearance.Then
thelandacquisitionprocessunderhimwas
WHY RK SINGH
THE INTERNATIONAL
Energy Agency has called
India’s almost last-mile
electrification the largest
expansion of access within
1,000 days. Capacity addition
and the transition from fossil
fuel-based generation to a
renewable one have happened
under the watch of Minister
for Power, New and
Renewable Energy,
soconvolutedthatyouwouldtakeanother
one-and-a-half years to get it at four times
the market cost. Our government has auc-
tioned mines to the local market and pri-
vate companies. Many of them will start
production.Sotwoyearsdowntheline,we
won’thavethisproblem.Weareimporting
toblendbutagain,thatquantumofimport
is lesser than what it was.
ShobhanaSubramanian:Anentitylike
NTPC,whosetariffsaremuchhigher
becauseof legacyreasons,willbelastin
powerscheduling.Willitspower
remainunsoldthen?
Yes, when the demand is low. But on a
dailybasis,demandisfarmorethanwhatit
was the corresponding day last year. My
problemtodayishowmuchcoalIhaveand
how much is consumed on a daily basis.
ShobhanaSubramanian:Arethedues
zeronow?
The current dues are zero. And the
legacydueshavecomedownbyRs15,000-
20,000 crore. Every year, the legacy dues
havetobepaidasfirstinstallment,followed
by current dues. Now State Electricity
Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) cannot
create regulatory assets. The law says that
ifanystatesurmountsasubsidy,themoney
hastobegiveninadvancetothediscomto
beabletogivethesubsidy.Wesentnotices
toSERCs.Anyconsciousviolationofthelaw
will invite proceedings.
AmitabhSinha:Howareweplanninga
phase-downof coal?Howmuchcoal
willfeatureinadditionalcapacities?
Theavailabilityofpowerandenergyse-
curityismyfirstpriority.Wearenotwilling
to compromise on that. In 2030, as per the
targets we have set, fossil fuel capacity will
come down from 60 per cent to almost 35
per cent. In absolute terms, figures will go
Newsmakers in the Newsroom
R K Singh, who says his
Ministry connected 30 million
homes in 19 months, added
about 172 gigawatts of capacity
and now has a power surplus
that goes to neighbouring
countries like Nepal and
Bangladesh. His challenges
are a unified market, ensuring
no power plant remains idle
and prioritising clearance of
power debts.
upbecausemydemandisgoingup.Butthe
percentage (of total capacity) will come
down. Let’s be very clear, the phase-down
(ofcoal)willbedefinedinpercentageterms,
not in absolute terms.
ShubhajitRoy:Whatisthestatusof grid
connectivitywithBangladesh?Will
youbeconsideringsharingpowerwith
Pakistan?
Wealreadyhavethreeinterconnections
andaregoingtogetafourth.Wearealready
connected to Nepal and Myanmar. Sri
Lanka’sinterconnectionisontheanvil.With
Pakistan, I don’t see anything happening
unless our relations improve and Pakistan
stops pushing terrorists.
LizMathew:Theterm“saffronterror”
cameupduringyourtenureasHome
SecretaryintheUPAyears.Ithad
politicalrepercussionsasitpointedout
totheinvolvementof RSSleadersin
blasts.Wehavenotheardyour
explanationonthat.
Terror does not have any colour. You
can’tgeneralise.Forexample,youcan’tsay
thateveryMuslimisaterrorist.Ifsomebody
says that all Hindus are terrorists, they are
wrongtoo.Theissueof involvementhasto
be corrected in the light of what has tran-
spired in courts where people accused of
blasts were discharged.
AmitabhSinha:Wasthereaneffortbythe
then government to prop up Hindu ter-
ror terminology to neutralise all talk of
Islamic terror?
Probably that is why it was said, I would
say…orthatitwassomethingthatslipped
out by mistake from the then Home
Minister(SushilKumarShinde)…because
later on he said that it had slipped out by
mistake. He apologised for that. You can’t
blame all Hindus for terrorism.
Coal was a challenge
because of what Jairam
Ramesh, who was
Environment Minister
in the UPA, did. Laws
under him meant you
couldn’t start a coal
mine fast enough
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
Battery storage is
expensive at Rs 10 per
kilowatt per hour. I’ve
got a survey of all
pumped hydro sites
done and demarcated
them for hydro PSUs.
Some states have already
started exploiting
pumped hydro
LizMathew:Didthiscreateanyissuesfor have already done that with Power Grid
you in the BJP? and we got almost Rs 48,000 crore.
I’mstillhere.Iwastheonewhostopped
LK Advani’s Rath Yatra and arrested him. AnilSasi:Overthelastthreeyears,
When I got selected for a posting in the we’vebeenseeingamini-powercrisis.
HomeMinistryduringLKAdvani’stenureas Now,asthebaseloadandthethermal
Home Minister, I told my batchmate, generationgoesdowntoabout35per
“Probablyhedoesn’tknowthatI’mtheone centoveraperiodof time,istherea
who had arrested him.” But the Minister possibilityof suchacrisisrecurring?
had said, “So, what? He was doing his job. No, because more power will come
Let him come here and do his job.” from renewables. Plus, there will be stor-
age.So,theburdenoncoalwillcomedown.
LizMathew:Havingworkedwith Infact,ifwehadnotaddedthisquantumof
AdvaniandABVajpayeeasa renewable energy, we would have been in
bureaucrat,you’reworkingwiththe dire straits and been like Sri Lanka.
newBJPleadershipasaMinister.
What’schanged? AmitabhSinha:Whataboutgetting
IfirstmetNarendraModiwhenhewas nuclearreactors?
ChiefMinisterofGujarat.Ihadgonetomeet It’sagoodidea.I’maddressingaconfer-
himafterjoiningthepartyandhesatdown enceonsmallmodularreactors(SMRs).The
withmeforalmosthalfanhour.Hewasnot NTPCwillalsotakeupthetaskofsettingup
in a hurry and there was total focus. He a nuclear capacity. I’ve already discussed
grasps the essentials, looks ahead and de- with the Ministry of Atomic Energy
cides in the national interest. Department. We have a sort of joint ven-
ture between NPCIL and NTPC, which we
MihirMishra:Duringsummer,when arestrengtheningtogettheSMRgoing.We
wewereseeinganunprecedented are exploring all options.
demandacrossthecountry,thePower
Ministryissuedanorderaskingbanks LizMathew:Therearepoliticalchanges
tohelprestart13importcoal-fired inBiharaftertheexitof NitishKumar
powerplantstomanagethesupply fromtheNDA.What’syourreading?
deficit.Whywerebanksnot Before the last Assembly election, I had
forthcomingwiththatproposal?Isit calledmypartyleadersandsaidweshould
becausetheywerecategorisedasnon- break our alliance with Nitish Kumar be-
performingassetsonbankbooks? cause there was a huge anti-incumbency
There were one or two imported coal- against him and he was a political liability.
fired plants which were in the NCLT Hadwebrokenthealliancethen,wewould
(NationalCompanyLawTribunal)process. have done better because of the 100-odd
When any unit is in the NCLT process, that seats which we contested, we won 74 and
meanslendersareincontrol.Wecalledthe he won only 40. But somehow the party
lenders and told them that we wanted the leadership did not agree.
plantstorunandthattheyhadtoworkout Basically, Nitish Kumar going to the
a method whereby they could give some Oppositionmeanshis liability is alsogoing
funds to the promoter. totheotherside.TheconditionofBiharhas
Right now, I’m not actually pushing on started deteriorating rapidly as far as law
thatNCLTprocess.Wehavesomecapacity, and order is concerned. There’s no indus-
26,900 MW, under construction. About trialisationandyoucan’tcreatejobsinagri-
5,000-6,000 MW is coming this year and cultureunlessyouhaveasecondaryorter-
about 15,000 MW will come next year. So, tiary sector.
the capacity, per se, is not in question. But
what is in question is the availability of do- LizMathew:Whatkindofanedgeshould
mestic coal. We’ve seen plants running a BJP leader have to bolster the party’s
completely on imported coal. The fair cost prospects in Bihar?
comestoRs6.50.Whereasifyoublend,the People vote for somebody who is up-
cost is lesser. right and honest. You look at the state’s re-
cent electoral history. People gave Nitish
PrasantaSahu:Thereareguidelinesfor Kumar their votes after the first term be-
monetisingthestatetransmission causehedelivered. Similarly,wedelivered.
network.Whatistheirpotential? People want a good alternative.
This is to help states find money for ex-
pandingtheirintra-statetransmissionsys- ShubhajitRoy:Areyouapotential
tems. We can do that by monetising exist- contenderforleadershipinBihar?
ingsystems.Asfarasweareconcerned,we The people and the party will decide.
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
BRIEFLY
Englandscentwin
afterbolddeclaration
Rawalpindi: England made a bold dec-
laration and used short-ball bowling
tactics to great effect to stay on course
for a comprehensive victory in the
opening test against Pakistan on
Sunday. Having taken a 78-run lead in
therunfest,Englanddeclaredtheirsec-
ondinningson264-7tosetPakistanan
improbable victory target of 343 with
four sessions to go. On a docile pitch
where seven batsmen smashed hun-
dreds,England'spaceattackbenttheir
backs and diligently pursued a short-
ball strategy to dent Pakistan's top or-
der.Thehomesidefinishedthepenul-
timate day on 80-2, still 263 behind
their target, with number three bats-
man Azhar Ali unlikely to bat again af-
terretiringhurtwithadamagedfinger.
BRIEF SCORES (Day 4): England 657 &
264/7 decl (H Brook 87, J Root 73, Z
Crawley 59) vs Pakistan 579 & 80/2 in
20 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 43). AP
Indialose4-5to
Ausinfinalgame
Adelaide: Skipper Harmanpreet
Singh'sbracewentinvainasIndialost
4-5 to Australia in the final game to
hand the five-Test hockey series 1-4
totheworld no.1sidehereonSunday.
TomWickham(2nd,17th)scoredtwo
goals for Australia while Aran
Zalewski (30th), Jacob Anderson
(40th) and Jake Whetton (54th) were
the other goal getters for the home
team. Harmanpreet (24th, 60th) con-
verted two penalty corners for India
while Amit Rohidas (34th) and
Sukhjeet Singh (55th) also found the
opposition net. India had lost 4-5 and
4-7 in the first two Tests before win-
ning the next match 4-3 They lost the
fourth game 1-5. PTI
Erigaisi,Vaishali
emergechampions
Kolkata: Arjun Erigaisi clinched the
Blitz title finishing ahead of Hikaru
Nakaumura on the concluding day of
the Tata Steel Chess India here on
Sunday. The Indian teenager finished
with 12.5 points, one ahead of the
American wizard after clinching the
issue in the penultimate round with
a splendid comeback. Displaying a
strong performance on the last day, R
Vaishali emerged as the Blitz
women's champion. She ended with
13.5 points followed by Mariya
Muzychuk with 12 points and Harika
Dronavalli with 11 points. PTI
India’s batting flops and
bowling lacks killer punch
Bangladeshreturn fromthedeadtoscriptremarkablecomebackwininfirstODI
VENKATA KRISHNA B
DECEMBER 4
ASMEHIDYHasanMirazloftedthefinalballof
the46thoverforasingle,acollectivesighofre-
lief gave way to a huge roar at the Sher-e-
Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. Bangladesh have
beenonthereceivingendofafewheartbreak-
ingmomentsagainstIndiabefore,wherethey
believed they had the game in the bag, only
for emotions and pressure to getthe better of
them. At 128/4 in the 35th over, with
Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah in the
middle, they were cruising in pursuit of 187,
onlytosufferasuddencollapsethatleftthem
reeling at 136/9 by the 40th over.
The home fans had already started to va-
cate the stadium, just to wade through the
congestedDhakatrafficandgethomeintime
for the France vs Poland fixture in the FIFA
World Cup. Yet another contest against India
was slipping away from their hands. In the
Bangladeshdugoutthereweresomefamiliar
scenes,eachplayershell-shockedandthesup-
portstaff,ledbyheadcoachRussellDomingo,
looking exasperated. As the television cam-
eraspannedtooutspokenBangladeshCricket
Board president Nazmul Hassan, one felt an-
other meltdown was coming. That is how
Bangladesh operates. Emotions tend to over-
flow, resulting in catastrophe.
But Sunday was different. In Mehidy
Hasan, they had a calm head who was pre-
pared to take a few calculated risks. Still 51
runs away, just one wicket in hand, it was
India’s match to lose.
Infact,Indiawerenotevensupposedtobe
in that position. Yet they were, largely thanks
toKLRahul-whofurtherestablishedhiscre-
dentials as a middle-order batsman by top-
scoring with a 70-ball 73 - and through some
timelystrikesfromthebowlingunitthatwas
disciplined for the most part.
AsMehidytookthecalculativegamble,go-
ing after anything that had width on offer,
boundaries flew thick and fast. India got a
chancetosealthegameinthe43rdover,only
for Rahul – keeping wicket in the absence of
theinjuredRishabhPant--tospillthechance.
Havingmadegoodgroundbyrunningasfaras
fine-leg, Rahul settled underneath, only to
shellthechanceofferedbyMehidy.Thereafter,
nothing went India’s way. With each passing
deliveryandover,themomentumswungthe
hosts’ way and for a change, they didn’t let
emotions take over.
For India, although this would feel like a
Bangladesh’s Ebadot Hossain (C) celebrates the wicket of Shreyas Iyer during the
first ODI in Dhaka on Sunday. AP
game that the bowlers failed to close down,
this was lost with the bat. For a team that be-
gan preparations for the 2023 World Cup on
home soil, the batting performance was be-
low par. Maybe it had to do with the fact that
theregularswereplayingODIsafteralongtime
andwereabitrusty.Andthepitchbynomeans
was a platter with plenty of runs to be taken.
Ifanything,thiswasatypicalpitchthatone
expectsintheseparts.Ablacksoilpitchwhere
the ball holds a bit – to suit the Bangladesh
spinners – and gets slower as the game pro-
gresses. In many ways, this was a throwback
toconditionsinIndiainthe1990swhenscores
of230-240wouldbechallengingtochase.But
this is what one expects against Bangladesh,
ateamthatisnotjustcompetentinthesecon-
ditions,butcanbeatanysideonanygivenday.
WhentheytakethefieldinODIsathome,they
areexpectedtowin.Theyhavealreadysealed
their spot in next year’s World Cup ahead of
South Africa, Sri Lanka and are in fifth spot in
theODISuperLeague,evenaheadofPakistan.
It is a format in which Bangladesh feel com-
pletely at home.
No pushovers
Under Tamim Iqbal, they have their eyes
set on a top-four finish in the World Cup in
India. And if conditions in India remain simi-
lar, they would definitely believe they can do
it.Veryfewteamshavesuchresourcefulspin-
ners,whocantieupopponents,asBangladesh
do. In Mehidy Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan,
they have tweakers who can be difficult for
batsmentogetunderneath.Andifpitchesare
on the slower side, they can not just be frus-
trating to play against, but can also wreak
havoc, as India found out.
This was not a high-scoring wicket and a
full-strength Indian batting unit should have
been more calculative in its approach. They
showedintentthatoneexpectedthemto,but
this was never a wicket where a team could
go in fifth gear. They tried to up the pace and
paidtheprice.Off-spinnerMehidystartedby
removing Shikhar Dhawan, while Shakib ac-
counted for five wickets - those of Rohit
Sharma, Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar,
Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar - to
squeeze the life out of India.
TheonlybatsmanwhogotgoingforIndia
wasRahul.Fromthetimehemoveddownthe
order,theKarnatakabatsmanhasbeeneffec-
tive in the middle order. On Sunday, he
showed what he can do in case the top three
failtogetgoing.Hedidn’tletthepressurebog
himdown,insteadwentfortheboundaryand
wasbuildingaplatformforthelower-middle
order. Even though Bangladesh kept pegging
India back with wickets at regular intervals,
Rahul'sinningsmeantthebowlershadsome-
thing to bowl at. If only other batsmen had
hung around a little more.
BRIEF SCORES: India 186 (Rahul 73; Shakib
5/36,Ebadot4/47)losttoBangladesh187/9in
46 overs (Liton 41, Mehidy 38*; Siraj 3/32) by
one wicket
SPORT 17
Lyon spins Australia
to 164-run triumph
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DECEMBER 4
OFF-SPINNER NATHAN Lyon bowled
Australia to a 164-run win in the opening
cricket Test against the West Indies to retain
the Frank Worrell Trophy at the Perth
Stadium on Sunday.
Lyon claimed 6-128 as the West Indies
were all out for 333 before tea on the final
day. It was Lyon's 21st five-wicket haul in his
111th Test.
Lyon's 446 test wickets tally has moved
him to eighth amongst all-time wicket-tak-
ers and behind fellow Australians Shane
Warne (708 wickets in 145 tests) and Glenn
McGrath (563 in 124) who are second and
sixth respectively. "Lyon loves bowling here
and it was a fantastic all-round perform-
ance," captain Pat Cummins said.
"(He) was fantastic. There was not a lot
on offer, but he still found a way." Skipper
Kraigg Brathwaite top scored for the visitors
with an obdurate 110, and a late order rally
by Roston Chase and Alzarri Joseph pre-
vented a capitulation that had looked likely
after the visitors slumped to 233-7 in the
space of 17 overs in the morning.
A stubborn 82-run stand for the eighth
wicket between Chase (55) and Joseph (43)
delayed the inevitable for 1 ½ hrs on both
sidesof thelunchbreak.Part-timeoffspinner
Travis Head provided the breakthrough
when he bowled Joseph.
Resumingon257-7afterthelunch break
the West Indies batted for another 85 min-
utes before Lyon had Chase caught by
Mitchell Starc in the outfield, and bowled
No.11 Kemar Roach (0) with his next ball.
Chase hit a sixand three fours off 72 balls
in occupying the crease in two frustrating
hoursfor the Australians,whowere without
Nathan Lyon claimed 6-128 as the West Indies were all out for 333. Reuters
PatCumminsinitsbowlingattackduetothe
skipper's thigh complaint preventing him
from taking the ball.
"I'll be fit for Adelaide. I had a tight quad,"
Cumminssaid."Obviously,Ihavetogothrough
a fitness test, and a bowling session, but I am
good to go." Earlier, West Indies lost the
overnightpairof BrathwaiteandKyleMayers
(10) in the first hour of the day and managed
only24runsin15oversasAustraliastrangled
WestIndies'progress.AfterMayershadedged
a Lyon delivery that spun across him to Steve
Smithatslip,thespinnergotadeliverytoturn
sharply and beat Brathwaite all-ends-up to
claim the prized-wicket.
Brathwaite had defied Australia's
vaunted bowling attack for just over five
hours in scoring his 11th test ton in 80 test
appearances and hit 14 boundaries off 188
balls. Jason Holder (3) went for a big drive
and edged to Smith at slip, who took a bril-
liant catch off part-time spinner Head (2-
25), tumbling to his left as the West Indies
resistance nose-dived.
West Indies, once the powerhouse of
world cricket, has not beaten Australia in 12
tests since beating Steve Waugh's side in the
fourth test of a dead-rubber under the cap-
taincy of Brian Lara in Antigua in May 2003.
Man-of-thematch MarnusLabuschagne
scored 204inAustralia's firstinningsof 598-
4declaredandthenanunbeaten104notout
in the second innings, the first Australian to
scoreadouble-hundredandacenturyinthe
same match since Greg Chappell in 1974.
West Indies made 283 in its first innings.
Australia's dominance over the West
Indies dates back to May 1995 and remains
undefeated over 11 series.
BRIEF SCORES: Australia 598 & 182 beat
West Indies 283 & 333 all out in 110.5 overs
(Brathwaite 110, R Chase 55; Lyon 6-128) by
164 runs

OVER THE HEDGE by Michael Fry & T Lewis

CROSSWORD 4916
ACROSS
1 Tilts - where? (5)
4 Agrees with the scores
(7)
8 Mask is covering the runner
(3)
9 Any word of topless club with
topless dance? (9)
10 A loud story; not factual but
friendly (7)
11 The boundaries of laughter (2-
3)
13 Leave the vehicle burning (6)
15 He takes a lot of interest (6)
18 Put underground nearly all
winter (5)
19 Net girl used to produce a curl
(7)
21 Use face stain to attract
(9)
23 Powerful vessel returns in the
narrow channel (3)
24 Continued to give the total in a
rush (7)
25 A bit quiet and embarrassed (5)
SolutionsCrossword4915:Across: 1Chartreuse,8Again,9Habitue,10Cadgers,11
Award,12Indeed,14Fencer,17Noted,19Hostage,21Express,22Posts,23
Resistance.Down:2Hoarded,3Range,4Rehash,5Umbrage,6Extra,7Tenderness,
8Auctioneer,13Endless,15Classic,16Chasms,18Taper,20Sepia.
JUMBLED WORDS
DOWN
1 Callas went round a famous
opera house (2,5)
2 Hide pirate; a mean fellow
(9)
3 If damp it’s unlikely to make
much impact (5)
4 It limits the movement of stock
(6)
5 Charles is out in the forest
(7)
6 I have a northern name (3)
7 Buildings like these are rejects
(5)
12 In time he has become an
expert (9)
14 It’s more his sort of bravery
(7)
16 Turned to trade that’s new (7)
17 One must have a commission to
run it (6)
18 Gather from hell no less (5)
20 Requires a dense mixture (5)
22 The appeal of a dying craft
perhaps (3)
DAY TODAY
ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 20)
In spite of
appearances, the
important
developments this
week may be the ones that
normally pass unnoticed. You
will have to be quick-witted and
fast-moving to catch other
people out, if that is what you
are intending to do. But it still
looks to me as if partners have
the best ideas.
TAURUS (Apr 21 - May 21)
There may soon have
to be a substantial
alteration in your
CALVIN & HOBBES by Bill Watterson personal life, one
which could well have
repercussions in your
professional or related
activities. Don't think of
yourself as a martyr or victim,
though. It's time to stand up and
be counted.
GEMINI (May 22 - June 21)
A general abundance
of challenging
aspects may let you
off the hook as far as
at least one interesting matter is
concerned, yet the atmosphere
will be tense and I would be
surprised if you escaped
without at least one minor
confrontation. Still, you might
even come out on top.
MARVIN by Tom Armstrong CANCER (June 22 - July 23)
You may have
become accustomed
to soothing words,
especially where
long-term financial
commitments are concerned.
Happily, Mercury's witty
performance must have now
made you realise that it is
better to talk about all those
personal differences than
ignore them.
LEO (July 24 - Aug 23)
It is not part of
your nature to
suffer fools gladly or
to watch partners
making silly mistakes. However,
an examination of the current
DifficultyLevel5s
situation should make it
SOLUTION SUDOKU 5038
BY PETER VIDAL
LIBRA (Sep 24 - Oct 23)
Look on the
bright side. Financial
obligations have
caused a certain
amount of heart-searching
although, when all is said and
done, it's difficult to see that
you could have acted other
than you did. You will not
make the same mistake twice.
At least, not in exactly the
same way.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 - Nov 23)
It is well worth
reminding you that
the main difficulty
now lies in your
failure to let go of the past. It is
by refusing to face up to the
present that you allow
opportunities to slip by - and so
let yourself down. If you tackle
all those old regrets and
resentments, you will soon be
much happier.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 24 - Dec 22)
You are reaching a
turning point in
your financial
situation. What is
really at issue, though, is a
number of your priorities - and
the completely irrational
values you put on various
people and objects. Have you
misjudged somebody? If so,
make amends now.
CAPRICORN (Dec 23 - Jan 20)
There is nothing to
be gained from
suppressing your
dreams and
adopting a crude materialistic
approach. You must have faith
in your imagination plus the
courage to follow your
intuitions, even when this
means putting yourself out on
a limb.
AQUARIUS (Jan 21- Feb 19)
You may think
you are good with
money, but you
must now
endeavour to be more selective
in your choice of business
companions. Sensitive friends

clear that others must be and family members may

Instructions allowed to go their own way. encourage you to be too
Givenbelowarefourjumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemto TosolveaSudokupuzzle, You might even want to lend influenced by first, and perhaps
therespectivesquaresbelow.Selectthelettersintheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtoget everydigitfrom1to9 a hand. misleading, impressions.
SUDOKU 5039

theanswerforthegivenquip. mustappearineachofthe
Thecriticalperiodof___isbreakfast-time. VIRGO (Aug 24 - Sep 23) PISCES (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
nineverticalcolumns,in This is no time for Does it seem that
-A.P.Herbert(9)
eachoftheninehorizontal self-doubt or second other people,
NYAOR BEOTMN rowsandineachofthe thoughts about new including those
nineboxes. plans or projects at whom you count
work. You must press ahead, among your friends, have been
arranging meetings and unnaturally cold, unfriendly or
IPPIT GLSUMY DifficultyLevel
discussions until you receive secretive? Is it possible that
the assurances you need. And, if part of the problem lies with
1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy; you are concerned about the your own failure to
3s=Medium;4s=Hard; outcome, make sure that communicate? In that case,
- A. P. Herbert 5s=VeryHard;6s= partners understand your break down personal barriers as
Answer: The critical period of matrimony is breakfast-time. Genius predicament. soon as you can.
SOLUTION: RAYON, PIPIT, ENTOMB, SMUGLY

New Delhi

18 SPORT
THE INDIAN EXPRESS, MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022
FIFA
WORLD
CUP
PREVIEW
ROUND OF 16
Japan vs Croatia
8.30pm,
AlJanoubStadium
(LIVE ON SPORTS18 AND JIO CINEMA)
Thescript
Japanpulledofftwosuperbvictoriesin
groupE,beatingGermanyandSpainby
anindentical2-1margin.Theywillen-
deavour to pull off another impressive
scalp against last World Cup finalists
CroatiaonMonday. WhiletheSamurai
Bluehavebeenarevelationatthistour-
nament, Croatia haven't really set the
stagealightyet.Theirgroupstagequal-
ificationwasfarlessdramaticandtoan
extent,runofthemill.Theteam,which
remains largely the same as the one
that lost to France in the finals of the
2018 World Cup, had a goalless draw
with Morocco, followed by a routine
win over Canada and finally, a goalless
drawwithBelgium.Butthey'reknown
to growintothetournamentandpeak
at the right time.
Howthey’lllineup
Japan:3-4-3
Likely XI: Gonda; Tomiyasu, Yoshida,
H Ito; J Ito, Endo, Tanaka, Nagatomo;
Doan, Asano, Kamada
Croatia:4-3-3
Likely XI: Livakovic; Juranovic,
Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric,
Brozovic, Kovacic; Kramaric, Livaja,
Perisic
Brazil vs South Korea
12.30am(Tuesday),
RasAbuAboudStadium
(LIVE ON SPORTS18 AND JIO CINEMA)
Thescript
Neymar is set to return to the Brazil
squadfortheirWorldCuplast-16clash
withSouthKoreaonMonday.He was
injured during the Selecao’s opening
winagainstSerbiawithdamagetohis
ankle, missing the rest of the group
stage. Tournament favourites Brazil,
however, made it through Group G as
winners even despite further injuries
to both Danilo and Alex Sandro.
South Korea started the tourna-
ment without a shot on goal against
Uruguay and may again struggle
against a Brazil side which has
proven to be more functional than
flair-ridden so far. Their stunning 2-
1 win over Portugal has given them
impetus to go even further. Hwang
Hee-chan, who scored the decisive
goal against Portugal, said his team
are not in the last 16 just to make up
the numbers.
Howthey’lllineup
Brazil:4-2-3-1
Likely XI: Alisson; Militao,
Marquinhos, Silva, Danilo; Paqueta,
Casemiro, Neymar; Raphinha,
Richarlison, Vinicius Jr.
SouthKorea:4-3-3
Likely XI: Alisson; Militao,
Marquinhos, Silva, Danilo; Paqueta,
Casemiro, Neymar; Raphinha,
Richarlison, Vinicius Jr.
Behich provoked Messi, then almost scored goal of the World Cup
SRIRAMVEERA
DECEMBER4
TEN MINUTES before half-time, something
snapped in Aziz Behich. A shove, a shirt-tug, a
snarl–andhewasstaringrightintoLeoMessi’s
eyes, eyelids almost touching each other’s.
Even as the referee would pull them apart,
Behich’s eyes flared. Red mist swirling in the
air. Interestingly, Messi’s eyes too would turn
crimson.Lasttimetheworldsawhimthatan-
gry was last July during Copa America when
hetauntedtheColumbianstrikerYerriMina’s
penalty miss: “baila ahora,” he would roar at
him; ‘dance now’ a seeming reference to
Mina’s signature goal celebrations. Here,
against Australia, Messi’s lips didn’t open up;
his eyes did.
“Leo,whenthesethingshappen,hebrings
outthatinnerfirethathehas,thatpersonality
thatmakeshimevenbiggerthanheis,”team-
mate Mac Allister would later say. “In these
kindofgames,hebecomesbigger.”OnlyMessi
Vol XCI- 21 Regd.No. DL-21046/03-05 R.N.I. No.506/57. Printed and Published by R.C.Malhotra on behalf of The Indian Express (P) Limited and Printed at The Indian Express (P) Limited Press, A-8, Sector-7, Noida -201301 and Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd., Mauza-Daryapur, Police Station-
Shahpur, Danapur District-Patna, Bihar-801503 and Published at The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9 &10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002. Editorial office: The Indian Express (P) Limited, Mezzanine Floor, Express Building, 9&10, Bahadur Shah
Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002. Phone: 0120-6651500. Advertising office: The Indian Express (P) Limited, B1/B, Sector-10, Noida-201301. Phone:01206651291. Chairman of the Board: Viveck Goenka, Chief Editor: Raj Kamal Jha, Editor: Unni Rajen Shanker, Editor (Delhi): Rakesh Sinha ** **
Responsible for selection of News under the PRB Act. Copyright: The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. The Indian Express®
Record-breaker, forgotten hero
Mbappewouldbethestar,whileGiroudwouldberelegatedtoafootnotedespitescoringFrance’sopener
EXPRESSATWORLDCUP
SANDIPG
DOHA,DECEMBER4
THE NIGHT, undeniably, belonged to Kylian
Mbappe.ButitalsobelongedtoOlivierGiroud.
Years later, when one revisits the match,
hymnswouldbesunginpraiseofMbappe,his
greatness reasserted. Giroud would then be a
footnote,oranafterthought.Butthathasbeen
Giroud's fate. To be, literally and metaphori-
cally, operating in the shadows.
Even the moment he went past Thierry
Henry as France’s most prolific goalscorer
would be forgotten. But that was perhaps the
mostemotionalmomentofthegame,besides
being its most definitive moment.
Beside the corner flag, Giroud knelt for an
eternity,gazingskywardsandarmsstretched.
Hewaitedforhisteammatestoshrugtheirem-
brace one after the other. Then when he was
alone,undertheshimmeringfloodlightsofthe
AlThumamaStadium,heclenchedhisfistsand
roared towards the crowd.
This was his moment of vindication. The
moment when his under-appreciated genius
gleamed.ItwasGiroud'sgoal—thoughitwas
thevisionofcentre-backDaytonUpamecano,
whowhippedtheball25yardstoMbappe,and
the latter’s delicious run-and-pass, that engi-
neeredit.ButGiroud,hispreternaturalsenseof
goal shining brightly, kept his composure un-
derpressure—ithastobesaidbecausehehas
had a propensity to fluff straightforward
chances —and pasted a ball into the corner.
However,hisrecord-breakinggoalmaybe
forgottenduetotheimpeccablenightMbappe
enjoyed, two sumptuous goals, an assist, sev-
eralsupersonicruns,flicksanddribbles,stamp-
inghisgreatnessonanotherWorldCupnight.
BothofMbappe’sgoalswon’tbeforgotten
—thefirstwasathunderboltthatleftWojciech
Szczesnyashen-facedwhilethesecondwasa
viciouscurlerintothefarcorner—butGiroud’s
goal would be even before the match ended.
Forgotten too would be his divine first touch
in the build-up to Mbappe’s first goal. The tall
striker was side-on as the ball was dropping.
Buthejustdroppedhisleftfootattheballand
it obediently fell onto his right foot, which
promptly ferried it to Ousmane Dembele on
the right. He does not set the pulse racing like
Mbappe, he is not as ruthless as him.
Tofullyappreciatehim,oneneedstotrack
him when Upamecano receives the ball.
Giroud had already begun his upfield run, in
whichhewouldbethefinaldestination.These
are the skills that made him, the instinct for
goal, the quick thinking to figure out his per-
fect perch.
When it comes tojudgingGiroud,hisbest
virtues become anti-virtues. He is unspectac-
ular.Heisnotruthless.Heisnotfast.Heslows
theteamdown.Theobviouspointofcompar-
ison is Karim Benzema, whom Didier
Deschamps had exiled for half a decade.
Benzemahimselfhadoncemockedhim,liken-
ing Giroud to a kart and calling himself a
Formula One Car. Giroud's goal-match ratio
wasprojectedasanotherevidenceofmedioc-
rity—258goalsfrom648clubgames;52from
116 games. Modest stats, but he brings more
to the table than goals.
People questioned why Deschamps per-
sisted with him; he was caricatured in the
Frenchpress,booedbyfansduringafriendlyin
2016 because he had replaced the suspended
Benzema;therewasawaveofshockwhenhe
was drafted in the team. At one point in time,
even Deschamps thought he should move on
fromhim.Hewas35,doesnotpressvigorously
- even though the French are not a press-ob-
sessed side – and does not track back as effi-
cientlyasyoungerforwards.Besides,thecoach
hadanuncontainablethreeupfrontina4-3-3.
would know if there was a connection or not,
butverysoon,hedidturnbigger.Thesequence
is worth numerous look at replays: especially
thatmanicrunof anticipationafterhetapped
theballinfromfarrightcornerasifhehaden-
visionedthefewstepsaheadalready.Tap-col-
lect-fire-goal. But this isn’t the story about
Messi; it’s about the other man Behich.
Near the end of the game, he would rouse
himselfintoalmostscoringthegoalofthetour-
nament.Hehadcriss-crossedfromthefarleft
fromnearlythehalf-wayline,shovingpastthe
first Argentine on his way, then bursting
through at breakneck speed to split two con-
vergingdefenderstoemergeontheotherside
withtheballstillonhisfoot.Now,hewasinside
the box, still rushing, turning to right to leave
anotherArgentinefloundering,andwasabout
totakethekickofhislife,whenMartinez’sright
foot materialised to present a cruel interven-
tion.Helaysprawledontheground,hisbright
crimson-redshoesreflectinglight,butalllight
seems to have drained out of Behich’s face,
sunk in the grass, with the realisation kicking
Qatar 2022
Kylian Mbappe celebrates with Olivier Giroud after the latter became France’s leading goal-getter.
SCORELINE
FRANCE 3 POLAND 1 THE BLUR THAT IS MBAPPE
Giroud 44’ Lewandowski 90+9’
Mbappe 74’
Mbappe 90+1’
where Mbappe is the focal point flanked by
Dembele and Griezmann.
Theoretically it sounded good, but of late
Mbappe had preferred playing as a left-sided
forward and Griezmann as a playmaker be-
hind the forwards. Giroud would solve both
problems.ButDeschampswantedtoseehow
good he still was. So he flew to Italy to watch
Giroud, who is with AC Milan. On his flight
back, Deschamps had another rethink, to not
discard him. Even today, men like Giroud,
blessed neither with the ruthlessness of a No.
9 nor the ingenuity of a No. 10, have a place.
All that was evident against Poland. As if
stoppingMbappeandOusmaneDembéléwas
not difficult enough, they had to deal with a
differenttypeofforward,onewholurksinthe
dark, pounces from nowhere. At one point,
Mbappehadtwodefendersonhim,butGiroud
was immense, roaming into dangerous areas
betweenthedefensivelines.“Hegivesperfec-
tion to our forward line, especially against
teamsthatplaywithlowblocks.Hisdirectness
can trouble a lot of teams,” Deschamps had
said the other day.
Polanddidnotemployalowblock,butthe
Frenchwerefindingitdifficulttobreachthem.
Itfrustratedthem,disturbingthemtosuchan
extent that Poland grew in ascendancy after
the first 20 minutes, and could have claimed
the lead had Piotr Zielinski and Matty Cash
madethebestuseoftheirchances.Itrequired
Giroudtodisrupttheirrhythm.Sooncamethe
goal,therecord-breakingGiroudgoal.France,
andMbappe,carvedthegameopenthereafter.
PoorDeschamps,beforethegame,hewas
forthezillionthtimeaskedwhyGiroudis“un-
der-appreciated”?Hestaredpuzzlinglyatthe
translator, wondering whether he heard a
wrong word. When he was informed that
whatheheardwascorrect,hesummonedhis
dry wit. “Under-appreciated? By the French?
Lately,he’sbeenadored.Evenbythese(point-
ing to the French media), and plenty of them
have criticised him in the past.”
AndthatHenry-equallinggoalwouldhave
settledthedebateofhisunderstatedgreatness.
That was his moment of vindication. His rare
momentunderthelights,thoughMbappe,so
oftenashedoes,stolethelimelightintheend.
Andinanot-so-distantfuture,hewouldoblit-
erate Giroud’s goal-scoring record too.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi and
Australia’s Aziz Behich clash. Reuters
in that the greatest moment of his career, a
mini-redemptionsongaftertheMessi-shove,
certainlythebestgoaloftheworldcup,would
French superstar demolishes a stubborn Polish defence with his speed,
while accelarating his rise to the top of world football
Kylian Mbappe runs past Poland players during the last-16 match on Sunday. AP
35km/h
ThetopspeedKylianMbapperecordedduringthelast-16matchvsPoland
DOUBLE-TEAMING NOT ENOUGH
POLANDSTRIKERARKADIUSZ Milik
jokedontheeveof thematchthathisside
“willneedscooters”tostopMbappe.
Perhaps,eventhatwouldn'thaveworked.
MbappeblewapartthePolishdefencewith
hisspeed,eventhoughtheydouble-teamed
tostophismonstrousruns,withrightback
MatthewCashdoingmostof thehardwork.
TWO MEN CONSTANTLY shadowed the
biggest threat, from Poland's point of
view, but that couldn't stop Mbappe from
scoring two goals, having one assist,
completing nine dribbles and have three
shots on target.
SURPASSESMARADONA,RONALDO
HIS BRACE ON Sunday meant Mbappe
now has 9 goals in 11 World Cup games (4
goals in 2018, 5 in this campaign), which
is more than Cristiano Ronaldo (8 goals in
20 games) and Diego Maradonna (8 goals
in 21 games).
Aziz Behich’s dad drip-fed the
love of football in him. The pair
would follow the Turkish Super
Lig, and as things would turn out,
years later, he would get an offer
from Bursapor in Turkey to play.
fade away into a what-if moment at the best.
That could perhaps have been his chew-
ing-gum image moment like his father.
HisfatherYasar,aTurkish-Cypriot,hadfled
a coup in North Cyprus to take refuge in
Australia in 1970’s. A famous footballer in his
nativeland,thathisimagewasprintedonthe
insideofachewing-gumwrapper.LiketheBig
Fun,bubble-guminthe80’sIndiawhereKapil
Dev and Viv Richards would be flashing their
teeth.Thefatherhadlefthisfootballingdreams
behind and sweated on factory floors and
cleaningjobstogetadecentlifeforhisfivekids;
WENGER KNOCKS PROTESTING AT WC
Arsène Wenger took a shot at World Cup teams who tried to
make political statements in Qatar, saying Sunday they lacked
focus for their first games.Wenger said teams who had a good
opening game were mentally ready to focus on the competition
and “not on political demonstration.”
Reuters
NEXTONLYTOPELE
AT 23 YEARS and 349 days, Mbappe also
became the youngest player to tally five
knockout-stage goals at the World Cup
since Pele in 1958. The Brazilian legend
was 17 years and 249 days when he
achieved the feat.
NEWCELEBRATION
HE'S BEEN CELEBRATING differently
this World Cup. The old one used to be
with his arms clasped around the chest,
tucked in the arm-pit, is gone. These days,
he goes down on his knee, right hand
behind the back, and head is bowed: the
left thumb is pressed on the nose, and the
little finger is lifted up. It’s his little
brother Ethan’s celebrations. L’Equipe
had quoted Mbappe as saying that Ethan
scored a goal against him on the
playstation and did that as an impromptu
celebration.
EXPRESSNEWSSERVICE
Aziz was the fourth and the only son. The son
wouldleanoverfencetowatchhisfatherkick
the ball on the community fields.
“It was probably difficult for them, but we
never saw that part of it. They hid it from us.
Theydidwhatevertheycouldtomakesurewe
had the best life possible,” Behrich once told
Abc.net.au.
Hisdaddrip-fedtheloveoffootballinhim.
ThepairwouldfollowTurkishSuperLig,andas
things would turn out, years later, he would
getanofferfromBursaporinTurkeytoplay.“A
nobrainer”butthefirstsixmonthsprovedhell.
Hedidn’tgetagameascoacheskeptchanging
buthewilledhimselftohangontoemergeout
of anonymity. People have asked him why he
chosetorepresentAustraliainsteadofTurkey.
“I always felt Australian, but I do have the
Turkishbloodinme,soIwasalwaystheplayer
caught in-between,” he told ABC. “I always
wanted to play for Australia; I grew up there, I
startedmyfootballthere.Theygavemyfamily
a life.Even my dad said, ‘the best decision you
madewasplayingforAustralia.’Australiagave
New Delhi
WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM
REUTERS
Despite Neymar’s
return, key tests
await Selecao
NAMITKUMAR
DECEMBER 4
AHEAD OF this World Cup, South Korea had
beenlabelledthe‘SonHeung-minteam’.Their
chances this year, as a side that is not quite
closetothe2002teamthatreachedthesemi-
finalasco-hosts,largelyhingedontheirtalis-
man, who suffered an eye socket injury and
faced a race against time to be fit for the first
match.
Sonplayeddespitebeinginrecoverymode
and not at his best, but his side played solid
football, well-structured in defence with
plenty of patterns of play to create attacks.
They were arguably the best team of their
group, which contained Portugal, Uruguay,
andGhana,butstillneededalast-minutewin-
ner and results elsewhere to go their way to
seal their place in the knockout phase.
Therewardforthatdeterminationandre-
solve: a meeting with the tournament
favouritesBrazil.Andasif thetieneededtobe
tippedanyfurtherintheSelecao’sfavour,head
coachTitehasconfirmedstar-manNeymarJr.
willreturnforthegameafterrecoveringfrom
an ankle injury.
Tite’s side is blessed with an array of at-
tackingtalent,makingitoneofthebestsquads
at the tournament, but in the last two games
without their talisman, they have been un-
convincing going forward. There were mur-
murs that Brazil are better off without
Neymar, but even the biggest critics of the
Paris Saint-Germain forward would confess
that the side have been flat without him, an
acknowledgement of how dependent Tite’s
system is on his creative spark, chance cre-
ation, and on-ball ability.
In a friendly the two teams played back in
June, coach Paulo Bento had South Korea set
up in a more open, attacking system – one
they are used to playing in Asia where they
are usually the better team – and got humili-
ated 5-1. This time around, the Portuguese
manager can be expected to employ a much
more conservative approach – combative in
midfield, structured in a five-man defence,
and reliant on the counterattack.
South Korea’s approach will test two key
areasofdoubtforBrazil.Thefirstwillbetheat-
tacking balance of the team to be able to cre-
ate against a defence that affords very little
space in between the lines and presses with
intensity.Neymar’sreturnisahugebonusfor
the Selecao, but how much of a role he can
play, and for how long, remains to be seen.
Against Serbia, Brazil did not get a break-
through until the hour mark, and even then
Neymar was their brightest spark. Against
Switzerland, without him, they looked lack-
lustre in attack, and needed a wonder strike
fromCasemirotowin1-0.Thechallengehere
willbetofindtherightbalancebetweentheir
wingersandattackingmidfielders–whether
or not to try to get Lucas Paqueta to play
Neymar’s No. 10 role or play with three out-
and-outforwardsthatliketogetinbehindthe
defence in front of striker Richarlison.
Thesecondtestwillbedefendingwidear-
eas. South Korea’s most potent attacking – in
this case probably counterattacking – strat-
egyhasbeentoadvancedownthewingswith
paceandenergy,getthetechnicallygiftedSon
to come narrow, and overload wide areas to
launch balls into the box.
Against Ghana, in what was arguably the
best 20-minute phase of the tournament
when they were looking for the equaliser in
thesecondhalf,SouthKoreacompletedmore
crosses than any other team in a single game
in World Cup history.
Theirabilitytocreatetrianglesaroundthe
widedefenderstoopenupspaceforthecross
will be a big test for Brazil’s wide defenders -
likelytobeAlexSandroontheleftandDanilo
on the right, where centre back Eder Militao
can also deputise – who could be the biggest
weakness of Tite’s side.
So, despite the return of their superstar,
andaneasier-than-anticipatedknockoutfix-
ture in terms of their opponents’ ranking,
Brazil cannot afford complacency. In some
ways, this could be the sternest test of their
World Cup-winning credentials.
us a chance. I’ve always felt like I had to give
something back.”
Faith was another thing that resolved in-
side him as he grew older. “”I’m a very proud
Muslim,”hesaid.“I’mnotsurewhy,butasI’ve
gottenolder,IfindI’mmovingmoretowardsit.
LivinginTurkeyandlearningoffmymumand
mydad,askingthemallsortsofquestions,has
mademeopenmyself toitmore.WhenIrep-
resent Australia, I’m also representing the
MuslimcommunityinAustralia.Attheendof
theday,everyone’sbeliefsaretheirown;Ijust
try to show that it’s possible to conquer your
dreams.”
And sometimes dare to dream beyond
what seems rational. A boy from Turkey, the
son of a secret superstar father whose image
was in chewing gum wrappers but who had
toleaveallthatbehindforsurvivalandfamily,
the man who would get trapped in red-mist
with a GOAT in a big world cup game, and re-
boundwithamostaudaciously-dreamyeffort
of his own, only to be tripped at the last sec-
ond. Life.