’ ˝ rni regn. no. chheng/2012/42718, postal reg. no ... ‘bjp bhagao, desh bachao ’ rally. but...

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H aryana is on high alert as the State braced for the announcement of quantum of punishment on Monday to Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who has been convicted of rape by a Panchkula CBI spe- cial court. State’s Intelligence agency warned of fresh violence in Haryana. “It has been report- ed by IG/CID that the situation is tense and violence may again continue for several days, espe- cially on August 28, when the quantum of punishment will be announced,” an official state- ment quoting Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Ram Niwas, said. However, Haryana Director General of Police BS Sandhu assured that maintaining law and order would be the top pri- ority for the police. Strict secu- rity arrangements have been made for announcement of the quantum of sentence on the Dera chief in Sunaria Jail, Rohtak, on Monday, he added. Police and para-military forces have been deployed in Rohtak and Army has been placed on standby to help main- tain law and order. Curfew is imposed in Sirsa, said the DGP. CBI court judge Jagdeep Singh will be flown to Rohtak district jail where he would pronounce the quantum of sentence against Singh, whose conviction on Friday saw his followers run riot in several places in Haryana, Punjab and other parts of north India. Meanwhile, the death toll in violence and arson that imme- diately followed the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim increased to 38 persons including 32 in Panchkula and six in Sirsa while 267 were injured. As many as 52 cases have so far been registered in connection with the violence and arson and 926 persons have been arrested. In all, 76 vehicles were damaged including 53 in Panchkula, and 23 in Sirsa in vio- lence after Friday’s verdict against Dera chief. The DGP said that a spe- cial investigation team will be constituted to enquire into the arms and other things recov- ered from vehicles in the cav- alcade of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. Large number of cars, includ- ing around 28 luxury cars, which were part of Ram Rahim’s cavalcade from Sirsa to Panchkula have been impounded. Some luxury cars, which had been seized, are also being examined, he said. Continued on Page 4 S edition and attempt to murder charges have been slapped against Dera Sacha Sauda spokespersons Aditya Insan, Dhiman Insan, and five Haryana police personnel, who were part of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief’s security paraphernalia when he had arrived at Panchkula to appear in a CBI court on August 25. Haryana Director General of Police BS Sandhu said on Sunday that an FIR had been registered against seven per- sons, including five Haryana police personnel under rele- vant Sections on the com- plaint of a reporter of a Hindi daily. Investigation in this matter is underway, he added. “Sedition charge has been slapped against them,” Karambir Singh, Inspector, Panchkula Police (Sector-5), said. They have also been charged for attempt to mur- der, he added. The seven security per- sonnel of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had allegedly tried to free him when the self-styled godman was brought outside the Panchkula Court complex on Friday, after the special CBI court convicted him in a 15- year-old rape case, the police said. They allegedly got into a scuffle with the Haryana police when the Dera chief was being taken to the Western Command, from where he was to be taken to Continued on Page 4 A spate of violence unleashed by followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim in Haryana and Punjab and sub- sequent cancellation of all train and bus services have led to record high air fares. The price of one-way ticket for Delhi to Chandigarh flight on Sunday went up to over 15,801, almost 10 times higher than regular fare of 1,500-2,000. The abnormal levels of air fares on the Delhi-Chandigarh sector, has also impacted on the Delhi-Amritsar sector as the cheapest air ticket on this route for Sunday was available of 15,685. Due to violence, all train services and bus services have been suspended in Haryana and some parts of Punjab, the airfares from Chandigarh — the capital of Haryana and Punjab — had touched abnormal levels. The spike in air fares began from Sunday morning as neither railway restored the train services nor state transport department restored bus services. This had happened during the Jat agitation in 2016 when the cheapest air ticket from Chandigarh to Delhi was sold of 99,000. The distance between Delhi-Chandigarh is 234 kms while the distance between Delhi-Amritsar is 399 kms. Continued on Page 4 P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lashed out at the widespread violence by the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, saying violence in the name of faith won’t be tolerated and asserted that the guilty would not be spared and “everybody will have to bow before the law.” In his monthly radio pro- gramme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, Modi said anybody taking the law in their hand would not be tolerated. “I had said it from the Red Fort (in Independence Day speech) that in the name of faith, violence will not be tol- erated. Whether the faith is reli- gious, political or in favour of an individual or a tradition, nobody has the right to take the law into their own hands in the name of faith,” the Prime Minister declared. He said the Constitution provides scope for redressal of all kinds of grievances. “At a time, when the coun- try is in the mode of celebrat- ing festivals, news of violence from any part is naturally a matter of concern,” the Prime Minister said, clearly referring to the mayhem created by the followers of Ram Rahim in Haryana. “This is the country of Lord Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi. This is the country of Sardar Patel, who devoted his life for unity,” he said. “I want to assure the coun- try that no country, no Government can tolerate any- body taking the law into their hands, whether it is an indi- vidual or a group. Everybody will have to bow before the law. The country’s law will deter- mine accountability and the guilty will be punished,” he asserted. While deprecating violence after the conviction of the Dera chief, Modi hailed the Muslim organisation Jamiat- Ulema-e-Hind, saying its vol- unteers had recently cleaned 22 temples and two mosques affected by floods in Gujarat, setting a “fine” and “inspiring” example of unity. Continued on Page 4 T he people of Tamil Nadu are in for an action-packed week as State politics took curi- ous turns and twists on Sunday as the number of AIADMK MLAs openly supporting TTV Dinakaran, shot up to 26. With the war of nerves between the EPS and TTV camps reaching a feverish pitch, Subramanian Swamy, an MP and senior BJP leader, tweeted that TN was in for a major political change. “Great Tamil Nadu setback in store: Stalin and TTV Dinakaran will form a new coalition Government in the next few days,” Swamy tweeted during the day which sent political observers speech- less for hours. “Palaniswamy has lost the majority and the Government will fall any time from now,” the BJP MP told The Pioneer. The day also saw MK Kanimozhi, an MP who is the daughter of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, leading a delega- tion of party workers to Raj Bhavan where they handed over a petition to Governor C Vidyasagar Rao asking him to issue a directive to Chief Minister Edapaddi Palaniswami to seek a trust vote in the TN Assembly at the earliest. The delegation included Durai Murugan, deputy leader of the DMK in the Assembly. The DMK delegation calling on Governor Rao was in continu- ation of the letter sent to the lat- ter by party working president MK Stalin last week with a sim- ilar demand. The delegation which called on the Governor also included MLAs from the DMK’s alliance partners, the Congress and the Muslim League. Leaders of the Opposition parties told the Governor that Palaniswamy has lost the right to continue in office as he was heading a minority Government following the withdrawal of support by 19 MLAs from the ruling party itself. “We have submitted a memorandum to the Governor. Our leader would decide about the next course of action,” said Kanimozhi while speaking to journalists after the meeting the Governor. As five more MLAs from the AIADMK joined the Dinakaran camp, the latter Continued on Page 4 See also P5 R ebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav defied the party and joined top Opposition leaders such as Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav among others at a mega rally organised by RJD chief Lalu Prasad in Patna on Sunday. Prasad and his family showed their popularity and strength when hundreds of thousands of people across the State trooped in the sprawl- ing Gandhi Maidan to attend the ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachaorally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The way Sharad Yadav hugged Lalu at the stage gave a broad indication that the senior JD(U) leader has final- ly decided to join Lalu’s com- pany. Another JD(U) MP Ali Anwar was also present on the occasion. Soon after the rally, JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said Yadav’s participation in the rally of an Opposition party was a fit case for disqualifica- tion under Schedule 10 of its constitution as it amounted to anti-party activity. He cited the examples of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and Upendra Kushwaha, who were disqualified on this ground. Tyagi had written a letter to Yadav a couple of days back, warning that his attending the rally organised by RJD supre- mo Lalu Prasad would mean he has acted against the principles of the party and voluntarily quit its membership. Lalu, his wife and former CM Rabri Devi, both sons for- mer Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and former Minister Tej Pratap Yadav and daughter Misa Bharti mount- ed scathing attack on Nitish calling him dhokhebaz and asked the thick crowd to teach him a lesson in 2019 and 2020 elections. They said false cases were framed against them at the behest of Nitish so that the RJD was ousted from power. Continued on Page 4 P V Sindhu’s gallant effort to become India’s first-ever World Champion ended in a heart-wrenching defeat against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in an epic final, here on Sunday. Sindh had reached the final after beating World No 10 Chen Yufei, late on Saturday night. In the longest match of the tournament, which tested the physical and mental strength of both the players, Sindhu lost 19- 21 22-20 20-22 after battling hard for one hour and 49 minutes. Their bodies were falling apart as the match progressed but both Sindhu and Okuhara used every ounce of energy left in them to make it an epic contest. After closing the second game by winning an incredible 73-shot rally, Sindhu saved one championship point in the decider but it was the Rio Olympic bronze medallist who had the last laugh. For India, it still is a historic edition since for the first time country’s shuttler are returning with two medals. Saina Nehwal won a bronze on Saturday after losing her semifinal. India had one silver and four bronze in the World Championships before this edition. Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to win a medal when he took a bronze in the men’s singles in 1983 before the women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa bagged another bronze in 2011. Rio Olympic silver medal- list Sindhu came into the match with a 3-all head-to-head record against Okuhara. But the Indian had an upper hand in their last two meetings, Rio Olympics and 2017 Singapore Open. Sindhu, seeded fourth, was a little sluggish to start with and was 3-5 at one point but she managed to reel off eight points on the trot to grab an 11-5 lead at the break. The Indian used her height to good use, retrieving the shuttles quickly and started using her cross court returns to trouble the Japanese. Sindhu showed good antic- ipation and used deception well to move to a 13-8 lead but the pint-sized Japanese changed gears and started dic- tating the rallies. Continued on Page 4 Chandigarh: Dera followers attacked a media crew and snatched their vehicle in Sirsa on Sunday. A case was regis- tered in connection with the incident. According to reports, TV18 crew members were filming the Dera Sacha Sauda from the main road outside the Dera around 10.20 am. Cameraman Sunil and reporter Dharamvir Sharma were in a Swift Dzire car dri- ven by Inderjit. Suddenly, a Swift car began following them. They drove 6 km to shake off the car, but they had to stop at a police barricade, where the Swift car caught up with them. Continued on Page 4 New Delhi: Ahead of Monday’s sentencing of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case, Delhi has been put on high alert and the police have heightened vigil. Madhur Verma, Delhi Police’s Public Relations Officer, said additional forces have been deployed in sensi- tive areas and senior officers are keeping a tight vigil. Extra measures like deployment of Special Weapons And Tactics teams and reserve forces were taken. Flag marches were conduct- ed in some areas, including northeast Delhi, police said. A high alert was sound- ed in the national Capital on Friday night which continued to remain in force on Sunday. RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

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Page 1: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

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Haryana is on high alert asthe State braced for the

announcement of quantum ofpunishment on Monday toDera Sacha Sauda sect chiefGurmeet Ram Rahim Singh,who has been convicted ofrape by a Panchkula CBI spe-cial court.

State’s Intelligence agencywarned of fresh violence inHaryana. “It has been report-ed by IG/CID that the situationis tense and violence may againcontinue for several days, espe-cially on August 28, when thequantum of punishment will beannounced,” an official state-ment quoting Additional ChiefSecretary, Home Department,Ram Niwas, said.

However, Haryana DirectorGeneral of Police BS Sandhuassured that maintaining lawand order would be the top pri-ority for the police. Strict secu-rity arrangements have beenmade for announcement of thequantum of sentence on theDera chief in Sunaria Jail,Rohtak, on Monday, he added.

Police and para-militaryforces have been deployed inRohtak and Army has beenplaced on standby to help main-tain law and order. Curfew isimposed in Sirsa, said the DGP.

CBI court judge JagdeepSingh will be flown to Rohtakdistrict jail where he wouldpronounce the quantum ofsentence against Singh, whoseconviction on Friday saw hisfollowers run riot in severalplaces in Haryana, Punjab andother parts of north India.

Meanwhile, the death toll in

violence and arson that imme-diately followed the conviction ofGurmeet Ram Rahim increasedto 38 persons including 32 inPanchkula and six in Sirsa while267 were injured. As many as 52cases have so far been registeredin connection with the violenceand arson and 926 persons havebeen arrested. In all, 76 vehicleswere damaged including 53 inPanchkula, and 23 in Sirsa in vio-lence after Friday’s verdict againstDera chief.

The DGP said that a spe-cial investigation team will beconstituted to enquire into thearms and other things recov-ered from vehicles in the cav-alcade of Gurmeet Ram Rahim.Large number of cars, includ-ing around 28 luxury cars,which were part of RamRahim’s cavalcade from Sirsa toPanchkula have beenimpounded. Some luxury cars,which had been seized, are alsobeing examined, he said.

Continued on Page 4

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Sedition and attempt tomurder charges have been

slapped against Dera SachaSauda spokespersons AdityaInsan, Dhiman Insan, andfive Haryana police personnel,who were part of the DeraSacha Sauda chief ’s securityparaphernalia when he hadarrived at Panchkula to appearin a CBI court on August 25.

Haryana Director Generalof Police BS Sandhu said onSunday that an FIR had beenregistered against seven per-sons, including five Haryanapolice personnel under rele-vant Sections on the com-plaint of a reporter of a Hindidaily. Investigation in thismatter is underway, he added.

“Sedition charge has been

slapped against them,”Karambir Singh, Inspector,Panchkula Police (Sector-5),said. They have also beencharged for attempt to mur-der, he added.

The seven security per-sonnel of Dera Sacha Saudachief Gurmeet Ram RahimSingh had allegedly tried tofree him when the self-styledgodman was brought outsidethe Panchkula Court complexon Friday, after the special CBIcourt convicted him in a 15-year-old rape case, the policesaid.

They allegedly got into ascuffle with the Haryanapolice when the Dera chiefwas being taken to theWestern Command, fromwhere he was to be taken to

Continued on Page 4

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Aspate of violenceunleashed by followers of

Gurmeet Ram Rahim inHaryana and Punjab and sub-sequent cancellation of alltrain and bus services have ledto record high air fares. Theprice of one-way ticket forDelhi to Chandigarh flight onSunday went up to over�15,801, almost 10 times higher than regular fare of�1,500-�2,000.

The abnormal levels of airfares on the Delhi-Chandigarhsector, has also impacted onthe Delhi-Amritsar sector asthe cheapest air ticket on thisroute for Sunday was availableof �15,685.

Due to violence, all train

services and bus services havebeen suspended in Haryanaand some parts of Punjab, theairfares from Chandigarh —the capital of Haryana andPunjab — had touchedabnormal levels.

The spike in air faresbegan from Sunday morningas neither railway restoredthe train services nor statetransport department restoredbus services.

This had happened duringthe Jat agitation in 2016 whenthe cheapest air ticket fromChandigarh to Delhi was soldof �99,000.

The distance betweenDelhi-Chandigarh is 234 kmswhile the distance betweenDelhi-Amritsar is 399 kms.

Continued on Page 4

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday lashed out

at the widespread violence bythe followers of Dera SachaSauda chief Gurmeet RamRahim Singh, saying violencein the name of faith won’t betolerated and asserted that theguilty would not be spared and“everybody will have to bowbefore the law.”

In his monthly radio pro-gramme ‘Mann Ki Baat’, Modisaid anybody taking the law intheir hand would not be tolerated.

“I had said it from the RedFort (in Independence Dayspeech) that in the name offaith, violence will not be tol-erated. Whether the faith is reli-gious, political or in favour ofan individual or a tradition,nobody has the right to take thelaw into their own hands in thename of faith,” the PrimeMinister declared.

He said the Constitutionprovides scope for redressal ofall kinds of grievances.

“At a time, when the coun-try is in the mode of celebrat-ing festivals, news of violencefrom any part is naturally amatter of concern,” the PrimeMinister said, clearly referringto the mayhem created by thefollowers of Ram Rahim inHaryana.

“This is the country ofLord Buddha and MahatmaGandhi. This is the country ofSardar Patel, who devoted hislife for unity,” he said.

“I want to assure the coun-try that no country, noGovernment can tolerate any-body taking the law into theirhands, whether it is an indi-vidual or a group. Everybodywill have to bow before the law.The country’s law will deter-mine accountability and theguilty will be punished,” heasserted.

While deprecating violenceafter the conviction of theDera chief, Modi hailed theMuslim organisation Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, saying its vol-unteers had recently cleaned 22temples and two mosquesaffected by floods in Gujarat,setting a “fine” and “inspiring”example of unity.

Continued on Page 4

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The people of Tamil Nadu arein for an action-packed

week as State politics took curi-ous turns and twists on Sundayas the number of AIADMKMLAs openly supporting TTVDinakaran, shot up to 26.

With the war of nervesbetween the EPS and TTVcamps reaching a feverish pitch,Subramanian Swamy, an MPand senior BJP leader, tweetedthat TN was in for a majorpolitical change. “Great TamilNadu setback in store: Stalin

and TTV Dinakaran will forma new coalition Government inthe next few days,” Swamytweeted during the day whichsent political observers speech-less for hours. “Palaniswamyhas lost the majority and theGovernment will fall any timefrom now,” the BJP MP toldThe Pioneer.

The day also saw MKKanimozhi, an MP who is thedaughter of DMK chief MKarunanidhi, leading a delega-tion of party workers to RajBhavan where they handedover a petition to Governor CVidyasagar Rao asking him toissue a directive to ChiefMinister Edapaddi Palaniswamito seek a trust vote in the TNAssembly at the earliest.

The delegation includedDurai Murugan, deputy leaderof the DMK in the Assembly.The DMK delegation calling onGovernor Rao was in continu-ation of the letter sent to the lat-

ter by party working presidentMK Stalin last week with a sim-ilar demand. The delegationwhich called on the Governoralso included MLAs from theDMK’s alliance partners, theCongress and the MuslimLeague.

Leaders of the Oppositionparties told the Governor thatPalaniswamy has lost the rightto continue in office as he washeading a minorityGovernment following thewithdrawal of support by 19MLAs from the ruling partyitself. “We have submitted amemorandum to the Governor.Our leader would decide aboutthe next course of action,” saidKanimozhi while speaking tojournalists after the meeting theGovernor.

As five more MLAs fromthe AIADMK joined theDinakaran camp, the latter

Continued on Page 4See also P5

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Rebel JD(U) leader SharadYadav defied the party and

joined top Opposition leaderssuch as Mamata Banerjee andSamajwadi Party chief AkhileshYadav among others at a megarally organised by RJD chiefLalu Prasad in Patna onSunday.

Prasad and his familyshowed their popularity andstrength when hundreds ofthousands of people acrossthe State trooped in the sprawl-ing Gandhi Maidan to attendthe ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao’rally. But the RJD supremo andhis kin focused more onattacking Chief Minister NitishKumar. The way Sharad Yadav

hugged Lalu at the stage gavea broad indication that thesenior JD(U) leader has final-ly decided to join Lalu’s com-pany. Another JD(U) MP AliAnwar was also present on the

occasion. Soon after the rally, JD(U)

spokesperson KC Tyagi saidYadav’s participation in therally of an Opposition partywas a fit case for disqualifica-

tion under Schedule 10 of itsconstitution as it amounted toanti-party activity.

He cited the examples ofMufti Mohammed Sayeed andUpendra Kushwaha, who weredisqualified on this ground.Tyagi had written a letter toYadav a couple of days back,warning that his attending therally organised by RJD supre-mo Lalu Prasad would mean hehas acted against the principlesof the party and voluntarily quitits membership.

Lalu, his wife and formerCM Rabri Devi, both sons for-mer Deputy CM TejashwiPrasad Yadav and formerMinister Tej Pratap Yadav anddaughter Misa Bharti mount-ed scathing attack on Nitishcalling him dhokhebaz andasked the thick crowd to teachhim a lesson in 2019 and2020 elections. They said falsecases were framed againstthem at the behest of Nitish sothat the RJD was ousted frompower.

Continued on Page 4

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PV Sindhu’s gallant effort tobecome India’s first-ever

World Champion ended in aheart-wrenching defeat againstJapan’s Nozomi Okuhara in anepic final, here on Sunday.

Sindh had reached the finalafter beating World No 10 ChenYufei, late on Saturday night.

In the longest match of thetournament, which tested thephysical and mental strength ofboth the players, Sindhu lost 19-21 22-20 20-22 after battling hardfor one hour and 49 minutes.

Their bodies were fallingapart as the match progressedbut both Sindhu and Okuharaused every ounce of energy leftin them to make it an epic

contest.After closing the second

game by winning an incredible73-shot rally, Sindhu savedone championship point in thedecider but it was the RioOlympic bronze medallist whohad the last laugh.

For India, it still is a historicedition since for the first timecountry’s shuttler are returningwith two medals. Saina Nehwalwon a bronze on Saturday afterlosing her semifinal.

India had one silver andfour bronze in the WorldChampionships before this edition.

Prakash Padukone was thefirst Indian to win a medalwhen he took a bronze in themen’s singles in 1983 before the

women’s doubles pair of JwalaGutta and Ashwini Ponnappabagged another bronze in 2011.

Rio Olympic silver medal-list Sindhu came into the matchwith a 3-all head-to-head recordagainst Okuhara. But the Indianhad an upper hand in their lasttwo meetings, Rio Olympicsand 2017 Singapore Open.

Sindhu, seeded fourth, wasa little sluggish to start with andwas 3-5 at one point but shemanaged to reel off eight points

on the trot to grab an 11-5 leadat the break.

The Indian used her heightto good use, retrieving theshuttles quickly and startedusing her cross court returns totrouble the Japanese.

Sindhu showed good antic-ipation and used deceptionwell to move to a 13-8 lead butthe pint-sized Japanesechanged gears and started dic-tating the rallies.

Continued on Page 4

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Chandigarh: Dera followersattacked a media crew andsnatched their vehicle in Sirsaon Sunday. A case was regis-tered in connection with theincident.

According to reports,TV18 crew members werefilming the Dera Sacha Saudafrom the main road outsidethe Dera around 10.20 am.Cameraman Sunil andreporter Dharamvir Sharmawere in a Swift Dzire car dri-ven by Inderjit.

Suddenly, a Swift carbegan following them. Theydrove 6 km to shake off thecar, but they had to stop at apolice barricade, where theSwift car caught up with them.

Continued on Page 4

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New Delhi: Ahead ofMonday’s sentencing of DeraSacha Sauda chief GurmeetRam Rahim Singh in a rapecase, Delhi has been put onhigh alert and the police haveheightened vigil.

Madhur Verma, DelhiPolice’s Public RelationsOfficer, said additional forceshave been deployed in sensi-tive areas and senior officersare keeping a tight vigil.

Extra measures likedeployment of SpecialWeapons And Tactics teamsand reserve forces were taken.Flag marches were conduct-ed in some areas, includingnortheast Delhi, police said.

A high alert was sound-ed in the national Capital onFriday night which continuedto remain in force on Sunday.

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Page 2: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

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Rape convict andGurmeet Ram

Rahim Singh is not onlya self-proclaimed godmanbut also a philanthropist,versatile singer, all-roundersportsperson, film direc-tor, actor, art director, musicdirector, writer, lyricist and anautobiographer. The Guru, nowlodged in Rohtak jail, has alsoclaimed that he coached manya celebrity sportspersons, including ViratKohli. It seems Rohtak jail inmates have manya things to learn from the new celebrity entrant.

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Abiding to its tradition of AtithiDevo Bhava, Prime Minister

Narendar Modi and ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swarajlast week served water to the vis-iting Nepalese PM Sher BahadaurDeuba during their Press confer-ence after a bilateral talks. Deuba,who had a bad throat, started coughing inbetween his media statement when Swarajwalked up to the podium and picked up a glassto give him water. Modi poured water in theglass from the jar kept nearby as Swaraj placedit before Deuba to soothe his throat while thebureaucrats started running to help. The ges-ture was received well by both Indian andNepalese media and it sent a positive signalto Nepal that was watching the event live.

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Taking forward Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s clarion call of

‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’, theGovernment has invited citizens tocreate a logo for “New India” whichwould symbolise the aspirations andspirit of this movement from 2017 to 2022. Thelogo will be widely used across the country forevents and initiatives related to the ‘SankalpSe Siddhi’ movement. The last date of sub-mission is September 22. One can get detailsfrom Government’s site www.mygov.in.

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1984-batch IPS officer Dharmendra Kumaris new Director General of Railway

Protection Force. The post of DG RPF fellvacant after retirement of SK Bhagat. Inaddition to Dharmendra Kumar, SpecialDirector (Intelligence Bureau) and IPS (1983batch) Sunil Sinha and Director General(DG) Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)Deepak Mishra ( IPS, 1984) were in the panellist. Prior to this, Dharmendra Kumar servedas Special Director General of CISF. He hadalso served as Special Commissioner of Delhipolice.

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The Defence Ministryheadquarters in

South Block has under-taken a major drive tokeep tabs on unauthorid-ed visitors. Sophisticated elec-tronic scanners arebeing installed in allthe corridors to track bar coded passes issuedto visitors. Given the sensitive nature of theministry, this measures are being taken to pre-vent espionage and leaking of secret docu-ments.

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Finance Minister ArunJaitley last week chose

his words carefully whilereplying to media per-sons’ queries on offer of res-ignation made by RailwayMinister Suresh Prabhuand the then ChairmanRailway Board AK Mital.While replying to a query onMital’s resignation, Jaitleystated ‘accountability is a good system inGovernment’. On the issue of Prabhu offeringresignation to PM, the Finance Minister said“Prime Minister will take a decision on therequest made by Railway Minister.” Despitepersistent queries Jaitely did not reveal hismind on whether he supported Prabhu’s ges-ture.

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New Delhi: Top experts fromnearly 40 countries will hold dis-cussions on crucial issues likefreedom of navigation and over-flight, collective counter terror-ism efforts, anti-piracy cooper-ation and strengthening eco-nomic partnership during atwo-day conference on IndianOcean Region (IOR) inColombo. The conference ispart of India’s efforts to rejuve-nate ties with IOR countries andincrease its outreach in theregion to counter the growingChinese influence in the region.

This is the second edition ofthe IOR conference. The two-day event from August 31 toSeptember 1 is being orgainsedby India Foundation in associ-ation with the Sri LankanGovernment with support fromthe Ministry of External Affairs.The conference will deliberateon the topic — Peace, Progress,Prosperity — and will see par-ticipation of National SecurityAdvisors of six countries, topdiplomats, foreign ministers anda few heads of the state.

External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj will jointly inau-gurate the event with PrimeMinister of Sri Lanka Ranil

Wickremesinghe, Vice Presidentof Seychelles Vincent Meriton,and Minister of Foreign AffairsSingapore Vivian Balakrishnan,while Lankan PresidentMaithripala Sirisena will deliv-er the valedictory address. Theevent will also witness Ministers,ex-Ministers and officials fromJapan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,India, Vietnam, Singapore, Iran,Lao PDR, Vietnam, Nepal,Bahrain, Afghanistan, Tanzaniaetc. Besides, top officials fromUS, Australia, Germany, Kenyaand South Korea will also be pre-sent. The US will be represent-ed by Assistant Secretary ofState Alice Wells while ChiefExecutive of AfghanistanAbdullah Abdullah is alsoexpected to be present.

The event can been seen asan effort to counter China’sgrowing influence in the IOR.China last month dispatched itsmilitary personnel to set up itsfirst-ever overseas base inDjibouti in East Africa. Besides,last month the Chinese state runcompany China MerchantsPorts Holdings signed a $1.12bnagreement with Sri Lanka tooperate the Hambantota port inthe southeast of the Island coun-

try, despite security concernsfrom India which believes Chinamay use the deep sea port in theIndian Ocean to dock its mili-tary vessels. However, Sri Lankahas assured India that the portwill be used only for commer-cial purposes.

With the Chinese footprintgrowing in the IOR, India has forthe last couple of years intensi-fied its engagement with highernumber of IOR countries com-pared to its previous approach offocusing only on the immediateneighbours like Bangladesh, SriLanka, Myanmar, Maldives andSeychelles. The MEA now has aspecial IOR division and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi in 2015undertook a Sagar Yatra wherehe travelled to key IOR allies SriLanka, Mauritius and Seychellesto rejuvenate the relations.

Apart from increasing eco-nomic cooperation, India islooking at strengthening itsNaval relations, providing sup-port to Martime training toseveral of IOR countries. Indiahas provided interceptor boatto Seychelles and activated thefirst of the Indian Navy’s 32coastal surveillance radar(CSR) stations. This is part ofIndia-led maritime surveil-lance project that will have sta-tions in Seychelles, Sri Lanka,Maldives and Mauritius.

PNS

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The AIADMK is set to jointhe National Democratic

Alliance (NDA) before theUnion Cabinet reshuffle,expected by the first week ofSeptember. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is leaving forChina on September 3 and thechanges in the Council ofMinisters are expected beforethat.

The AIADMK might get acouple of portfolios in thereconstituted Council ofMinisters. The AIADMK has50 MPs — 37 in Lok Sabha and13 in Rajya Sabha.

Sources in the BJP said that

the crisis in the AIADMK willnot delay the party’s move tojoin the NDA fold.

The developments follow-ing the demise of AIADMKleader J Jayalalitha have defi-nitely helped the BJP gainmore than a toe hold in theState.

Amidst the ongoing tur-moil in the Tamil Nadu politics,atleast 15 AIADMK leadersfrom Tamil Nadu joined theBJP here on Saturday.

Among the leaders whojoined the BJP included formerIndustries Minister NainarNagendran, former MLA ofArcot and AIADMK cadreSrinivasan and ex-VelloreMayor P Karthiyayini.Nagendran belongs to the polit-ically powerful Thevar com-munity in Tamil Nadu.

The development is seen as

a major setback to the EKPalaniswamy Government ofwhich O Panneerselvam is theDeputy-Chief Minster .

On August 22, at least 19AIADMK MLAs with alle-giance to TTV Dhinakaran,whose aunt, V K Sasikala, is theAIADMK chief and in jail ona corruption case, had with-drawn their support from theruling Tamil Nadu party.

The rebel MLAs submittedmemorandums to Tamil NaduGovernor C Vidyasagar Rao,saying they had no confidencein Chief Minister Palaniswami.

This happened a day afterthe two warring factions ofAIADMK-led by O

Panneerselvam andPalaniswami announced amerger.

Soon after Palaniswamiand Panneerselvam factionshad merged on August 21 with“positive encouragement” fromthe BJP, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had congrat-ulated the Chief Minister andhis deputy and assured “ allpossible support for the growthof Tamil Nadu”.

The BJP which had formedits own Government inKarnataka in 2008 is expand-ing its footprints in Kerala andTamil Nadu. The BJP leaderstrust that AIADMK’s formalentry to the NDA may give ita right leverage in theSouthernmost State, thus, fardominated by the two-partysystem.

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In a move to reorganise andoptimise the available human

resources, new Chairman of theRailway Board Ashwani Lohanion Sunday cracked the whip onofficers, who have deployedgangmen, trackmen and otherlower level staff in their bun-galows to do their householdchores.

Lohani has asked the offi-cers, even up to the rank ofRailway Board Members,General Managers andDivisional Managers, to ‘relieve’the gangmen and lower-levelstaff from their personal dutiesand make them available forthe use of the general publicand the Indian Railways.

The move comes followinginformation that half of thelower rung railway personnelwere engaged at the place of res-idence of the officers at the costof the ground works. Lohani isalso likely to convene a confer-

ence of gangmen, keymen andsimilar staff to comprehendtheir side of problems and need.

“Two of the three gangmenrequired to monitor the tracksof a particular stretch areemployed in the bungalows ofthe officers. This culture needsto end since ground work isbeing hampered. The work-force remains the same whilerapid expansion of rail net-work continues under giveninfrastructure which has notgrown the way it should havebeen. Railways drives on humanfaith and for that we need morehuman staff on grounds thenonly even technology can beused systematically,” said asenior railway official whenasked about this decision.

Gangmen are crucial forrailway track maintenance andrunning of trains. Trackmenused to be known as Gangmentill the Railway Union changedit because of the negative con-notations attached to the word‘gang’. An average 200 Railway

men get killed in accidentsevery year during theirpatrolling exercises. They havea 12-hour shift and are burdenedwith 20-kg weight of the tools.However, hundreds of them areattached to the serving Railwaysofficers to do their householdchores and are at the mercy ofofficers and their family mem-bers. There was a reports of agangman being roughed up bythe wife of a former CRB.

Earlier in the day, Lohanialso interacted with DelhiDivision’s young officers whohave put in less than eight yearsof service in the organisation.The young officers complainedto the new CRB that they workunder tremendous pressurewithout adequate infrastructure

and man power. DivisionalRailway Manager, DelhiDivision, Anshul Gupta wasalso present on the occasion.

In his address, Lohani saidthat a deep introspection isneeded to find the maladies andthe shortcomings that plaguethe system. “We must look forlong term solutions and notmere quick fixes. Since you(low rung personnel) are theones working at the groundlevel, perceptible changes shouldcome from them,” Lohani saidadding that a motivated andzealous human force is the dri-ver of any organisation.

Inspiring the young brainsthe CRB advised that foremostthey should have pride andpassion for their work. “The

officers should lead from front,setting examples for others tofollow. To the mid-level officersin the rank of Directors, Lohaniinstructed them to speciallylook into the staff welfare mat-ters and to be perceptible andhumane towards their needs.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitleyon Sunday said JAM (Jan

Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile)trinity has ushered in a socialrevolution which will eventu-ally bring all Indians into acommon financial, economicand digital space, similar tohow GST has created a unifiedmarket.

“Within reach of the coun-try is what might be called the1 billion-1 billion-1 billionvision. That is 1 billion uniqueAadhaar numbers linked to 1billion bank accounts and 1 bil-lion mobile phones. Once thatis done, all of India can becomepart of the financial and digi-tal mainstream,” he said.

In a Facebook post on thethird anniversary of thePradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY), he said, “Justas GST created one tax, onemarket, one India, the PMJDYand the JAM revolution canlink all Indians into one com-mon financial, economic, anddigital space. No Indian will beoutside the mainstream.”

Noting that JAM is nothingshort of a social revolution, the

Finance Minister said it offerssubstantial benefits for theGovernment, the economy andthe poor.

Highlighting the benefits,he said the poor will haveaccess to financial services andbe cushioned against life’smajor shocks while theGovernment finances will beimproved because of thereduced subsidy burden andweeding out of leakages fromthe system.

Currently, the Governmentmakes direct transfer of�74,000 crore to the financialaccounts of 35 crore beneficia-ries annually, at more than�6,000 crore per month. Thesetransfers are made under var-ious government anti- povertyand support schemes such asPAHAL, MNREGA, old agepensions and student scholar-ships, he said.

Talking about seeding ofAadhaar with bank accounts,the Finance Minister said onSunday that about 52.4 croreunique Aadhaar numbers arecurrently linked to 73.62 croreaccounts in India. “As a result,the poor are able to make pay-ments electronically. Everymonth now, about 7 crore suc-cessful payments are made bythe poor using their Aadhaaridentification,” he said.

Besides, he said, with the

launch of BHIM app and theUnified Payments Interface(UPI), JAM has become fullyoperational. “A secure andseamless digital payments infra-structure has been created sothat all Indians, especially thepoor can become part of thedigital mainstream,” he said.

Giving details of achieve-ments of the scheme over thelast three years, the FinanceMinister said total PMJDYaccounts opened increasedfrom 12.55 crore in January2015 to 29.52 crore as of August16, 2017 while the number ofRuPay cards issued increasedfrom 11.08 crore to 22.71 crorein the same period. At the sametime, the number of ruralaccounts opened underPMJDY has grown from 7.54crore to 17.64 crore and theaverage balance per accountincreased from �837 to �2,231as of August 16.

Jaitley said the total balancein beneficiary accounts rose to�65,844.68 crore while zerobalance accounts declined from76.81 per cent in September2014 to 21.41 per cent inAugust 2017.

In addition to financial

inclusion, he said, theGovernment has taken steps toprovide security to the poor vialife insurance under the PradhanMantra Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana(PMJJBY) and accident insur-ance Pradhan Mantra SurakshaBima Yojana (PMSBY).

As on August 7, total enroll-ment was 3.46 crore under thePMJJBY and 10.96 crore underPMSBY with 40 per cent of thepolicy holders being women inboth the schemes. PMJDY,launched on August 27, 2014 byPrime Minister Narendra Modi,was aimed at providing finan-cial services to the poor. Theseincluded opening bank accountsfor the poor, giving them elec-tronic means of payment (viaRuPay cards), and placing themin a position to avail themselvesof credit and insurance.

“The vision underlying itwas, of course, much broader:nothing short of ending thefinancial, and hence econom-ic, digital and social exclusionfaced by India’s poor. India’spoor would not only be able toovercome their economicdeprivation but they wouldalso become an integral part ofthe social mainstream,” he said.

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In a move to multiply pro-duction, sale and employ-

ment, the Khadi and VillageIndustries Commission(KVIC), through its ‘Sahyog’programme on Saturday, hadgiven 45 charkhas to tribalwomen at Omkareshwar tostart Khadi activities in theNarmada valley areas ofMadhya Pradesh. The tribalwomen rocked on the rampwalk after the inaugural func-tion, leaving the audiencespellbound with their confi-dence.

After inaugurating thecentre, KVIC chairman VinaiKumar Saxena said that it is anew beginning in Narmadavalley. The KVIC would pro-vide looms and moreCharkhas to create employ-ment in remote areas.

“Our priorities have alwaysbeen to create maximum num-ber of jobs for the womenfolkof Narmada valley areas. In mylast visit to Onkareshwar, I hadpromised to open a Khadiproduction centre to providebetter job opportunities for thewomen of this area. The newcentre is equipped with 45charkhas and 60 trained arti-sans, with adequate trainingand remuneration. MalwaBheel Sewak Sangh, a finan-

cially-aided institution ofKVIC, has been assigned torun this centre,” he said.

“We are trying to engagethe youths in this sector forformation and innovation ofKhadi institutions, besidesimplementing the target andincentives relating to Khadiproduction set by theMinistry.”

Comparing women arti-sans as the spinal cord of theKhadi industry, Saxena furthersaid that it was the sheer deter-mination of the women arti-sans that Khadi had beenachieving new milestonesevery day. “The all 45 womenartisans, after imparting prop-er training, have virtuallybecome a role model for theother tribal women. Keeping inmind the continuous demand

of more charkhas, we haveasked the running agency toincrease the capacity ofCharkhas to 100, which willsoon be done,” he said.

Saxena went onto add thathe was impressed by the kindof confidence the tribalwomen displayed on rampwalk. Since the NarmadaValley has immense flora andfauna, KVIC has decided tolaunch bee-keeping pro-gramme here soon, to increasethe job opportunities andincome avenues for the localshere, he said.

“We are leaving no stoneunturned to take Khadi tonew heights across the globe,with the mission of our PMNarendra Modiji and thedetermination of our adroitartisans,” he further added.

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Indians are not only develop-ing heart failure (HF) at a

faster pace but the death rate isalso higher than their coun-terparts in South-Asia, SouthAmerica and West Asia. Thishas been the outcome of acomprehensive study on heartfailures conducted across sixgeographies globally.

Heart failure, often referredto as congestive heart failure(CHF), occurs when the heartmuscle is weakened and unableto pump sufficiently to main-tain blood flow to meet thebody’s needs

The InternationalCongestive Heart Failure(INTER-CHF) study, publishedin recent edition of Lancet, saidthat Indian, with 23 per cent ofheart failure death within oneyear of diagnosis, is just next toAfrica where the rate stands at34 per cent.

Death rate of patients dueto heart failures in SoutheastAsia is 15 per cent, seven percent in China, nine per centboth in South America andWest Asia, significantly lowerthan in Indian patients.

Of the total deaths, 46 percent were due to cardiac issues,while non-cardiac causes led to16 per cent deaths in patients.

Of several reasons fordeveloping heart failure, whichis on increase among Indians,is poor intake of fruits and veg-etables, low physical activitiescausing diabetes, obesity andblood pressure, smoking andstress, said Dr Sundeep Mishra,Professor of Cardiology at AllIndia Institute of MedicalSciences (AIIMS).

In India, heart-related dis-eases occur a decade earlythan the people of west. Lackof awareness, out of pocketexpenditure and lack of infra-structure are corroborating tothe heart-related diseases, saidMishra and added that withincreasing life expectancy ofthe population and changinglifestyle, incidence of heartfailure is increasing in an epi-demic proportion.

The study was aimed atmeasuring mortality at oneyear in patients, due to heartfailure in India, Africa, China,the Middle East, South EastAsia and South America.

A total 5,823 patientsacross 108 centres in six geo-graphies were enrolled in thestudy. Patients were followedup at six months and one yearfrom enrollment. The mean ageof patients was 59 years, witha male to female ratio of 60:40.

Calling for a communitybased approach to resolve theissue, Mishra said heart failureis a chronic disease and reha-bilitation includes controlleddiet, exercise and medicines.

A lot of Indians also do notunderstand the difference

between heart failure and heartattack because of which they donot consult doctors.

“Heart failure refers to thecondition where the bloodpumping capacity of the heartis reduced. Whereas heartattack is secondary to blockedcoronary circulation, wherethe blood supply to muscles ofheart is cut or drasticallyreduced. Heart failure is a seri-ous health hazard and can belife threatening if ignored,”Mishra said.

“Although there is no curefor heart failure, patients whoare diagnosed early need to fol-low their treatment and makelifestyle changes to live longer,feel better and be more active.It is, therefore, vital thatpatients and care givers areaware of the symptoms of heartfailure, leading to better recog-nition and earlier diagnosis,”said Mishra.

The estimated heart failureburden in India ranges from 1.3million to 4.6 million cases perannum. The need of the houris to disseminate awareness tothe general public, added DrHK Bali, chief patron of theHeart Foundation.

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Page 3: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

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Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterRaman Singh said on

Sunday that youths in the Statewere adopting agriculture astheir professional career whichis a very healthy sign.

“Youths in the State are giv-ing up ambition of becomingIAS, IPS and even showing lessinterest for high salary packageprivate jobs for the sake of

making career in farming andagriculture sector in rural areaswhich is a very welcome sign,’’Singh remarked while speakingat the inaugural function of thetwo-day workshop at IndiraGandhi Agriculture Universityin Raipur.

The workshop was themedon ‘Youth-FarmersEntrepreneurs’ which wasattended by dozens of subjectexperts from across the State.

The key personalities whoattended the function wereformer Union MinisterRamesh Bais who is presentlythe Lok Sabha MP from Raipurand Dinesh Kulkarni fromAkhil Bharatiya Kisan Sangh.

Singh revealed that hisgovernment was working onformulating a policy to boostfood processing industry in theState which has tremendouspotential to generate employ-

ment on massive scale. Headded that his governmentwas expecting huge invest-ment in food processing sectorin coming up years.

Singh who completed5000 days as the chief minis-ter of Chhattisgarh this month,claimed that the state was thefirst in the country that haddeveloped a system to procureeach and every paddy grainfrom farmers on support price

annually through co-opera-tive societies.Singh said thatChhattisgarh had become self-reliant in high yield producingagriculture seeds which wouldhelp the state to double its agri-culture output by year 2022. Hefurther added that farmers areadopting modern techniques inagriculture sector even inremote areas such asDantewada, Bijapur, Surajpurand Jashpur.

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Opposition Congress onSunday slammed

Agriculture MinisterBrijmohan Agrawal for carry-ing on his lengthy foreign tripdespite he was needed in theState at a time of drought.

“Chhattisgarh AssemblySpeaker had recently called offa foreign trip of MLAs citingprevailing drought-like situa-tion in the State and advisedMLAs to be in their respectiveconstituencies with farmersbut it is surprising thatAgriculture Minister is still onhis foreign trip,’’ a Press state-

ment of the Congress said.

Congress alleged that theAgriculture Minister preferredforeign trip instead of helpingout farmers whose crops arewilting due to insufficient rain.Congress has also hit out at theBJP Government for doingnothing for farmers to over-come drought crisis.

Notably, ChhattisgarhGovernment is planning todeclare 41 tehsils of the statedrought-affected if rain con-tinues to elude these tehsils,officials claimed.

As per agriculture depart-ment, Surguja and Bastar

region have received normalrainfall this Monsoon season sofar but the condition in rice-belt pockets mainly in Raipur,Durg and Bilaspur divisions isgrim.

The crop is wilting inRaipur, Durg and Bilaspurregions due to insufficient rain-fall for consecutively secondyear and the Government ismonitoring the condition onregular basis.

The situation of Raipur,Abhanpur, Arang, all the threetehsils of Durg, Gurur tehsil ofBalod and all the four tehsils ofKanker district is highly serious.

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Page 4: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

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Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP) international work-

ing president Praveen Togadiaon Sunday expressed grief overthe cows deaths en masse at aGaushala in the State andappealed the society to comeforward and team up with theGovernment for cows protec-tion.

The VHP fire brand leaderwas speaking to media personsduring his visit to state capitalto participate in a function ofVHP National TreasurerRamesh Modi’s 75th birthdayat Sardar Balbir Singh JunejaIndoor Stadium.

Chhattisgarh hit head-lines early this month whendozens of cows were starved todeath at a Gaushala for com-mercial purposes. The cows’death shocked entire state andthe government was forced toarrest the Gaushala owner whowas the BJP leader in Durg dis-trict.

Togadia held meetingswith local VHP leaders andalso attended a Sports festorganized by RSS at PtRavishankar Shukla sportsground.

Referring to farmers’plight in the country, Togadia

stated, ``political parties should

come forward leaving behindtheir all political differencesand jointly think about farm-ers’ welfare’’.

He added, ``farmers arecommitting suicide becausethey fail to return back the loanamount to bank. In last 17years more than 3 lakh farm-ers have committed suicide,’’.

He further said when allthe political parties can unite topass the GST bill then why notthey join hands on the farmers’issues mainly on providinghiked bonus amount, increasedsupport price for their cropsand making farmers debt-free.

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Congress will take out a statelevel `Akrosh rally’ at

Bemetara district headquar-ters on Monday. The mainissue of the protest of Congressparty would be the cows deaths

in the shelter house of BharatiyaJanata Party leader. The partywill also raise the issues of farm-ers, police protection to the rapevictim of Bargaon, and atroci-ties of police on Congress work-ers making protest over theseissues.

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From Page 1He noted that India is a

land of diversities, which is notlimited to cuisine, lifestyle andattire but can be seen in everywalk of life.

“Gujarat saw devastatingfloods recently. Many peoplelost their lives. When the watersreceded, there was so muchfilth everywhere. That is when,in Dhanera in the Banaskanthadistrict of Gujarat, volunteers ofJamiat-Ulema-e-Hind cleaned22 affected temples and twomosques in a phased manner,”he Modi.

He said the Jamiat volun-teers came together and toiledcollectively. “The volunteersof Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind set afine, inspiring example of unityfor cleanliness. If this commit-ted effort towards cleanlinessbecome inherent to us, ourcountry will certainly take ournation to greater heights,” thePrime Minister stressed.

In his 30-minute broadcast,he pointed out that India has arich cultural heritage, spanningthousands of years, and in thiscontext, talked about the festi-vals which are replete withdiversity.

He said Indian festivalsfollow the almanac of natureand there is a direct connectwith nature. “Many of our fes-tivals are linked straightawaywith farmers and fishermen.”

He mentioned festivals likeSamvatsari that was celebratedby the Jain communitySaturday, as also GaneshChaturthi, Onam, Navaratriin Gujarat, Durga Puja inBengal and Eid-ul-Zuha. Heextended his greetings to thenation regarding these occa-

sions.“The festival of Samvatsari

is symbolic of forgiveness, non-violence and brotherhood,”Modi said.

“”Kshama VirasyaBhushanam,” that is, forgivenessis the adornment of the brave.The one who forgives is valiant.And Mahatma Gandhi alwayssaid, that forgiveness is thequality of great men,” Modi said.

He also quotedShakespeare’s play TheMerchant of Venice, saying itexplained the importance offorgiveness as it spoke about“Mercy is twice blest, it blessethhim that gives and him thattakes”. It means the forgiver andthe forgiven both stand toreceive divine blessing.

Referring to GaneshChaturthi, he said this megafestival stands for unity, equal-ity, integrity and honesty. “Myheartiest greetings to all ofyou on the occasion ofGaneshotsav,” Modi said.

Onam, which is mainlycelebrated in Kerala, showcas-es the rich cultural heritage ofthe State and gives the messageof love and harmony, awakensnew hopes and aspirations,and gives new confidence tothe people, he said. Festivalslike Navaratri in Gujarat andDurga Puja in Bengal aretremendous tourist attractions,he added.

“In this series of festivals,Eid-ul-Zuha will be celebratedin a few days from now.Heartiest felicitations and bestwishes to all countrymen onthe occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha,”the Prime Minister said.

He said festivals are sym-bols of faith and belief and inthe ‘New India’, “we shouldtransform them into symbols ofcleanliness as well.”

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From Page 1Dera followers pulled out the TV 18 crew members from their

car, beat them and tried to snatch their camera; all in front ofthe police and paramilitary personnel at the barricade, the reportsaid.

The assailants took away the journalists’ car and fled the spot.Police recovered the vehicle after a 90-minute search and returnedit to the journalists, it said. PNS

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From Page 1She first clawed back to 14-

14 when Sindhu faltered withher return serve before grab-bing the lead.

Okuhara continued tomove ahead, reaching 18-14after winning 10 of the 13points after the interval.However, the Japanese com-mitted a few unforced errors,which helped Sindhu to levelpar at 19-19.

Sindhu, then sent one tothe net to hand over the gamepoint to Okuhara, who pock-eted the opening game whenthe Indian hit long.

After the change of side,Okuhara struggled to controlher lifts and also miscued a fewshots as Sindhu led 5-1 whenher rival’s smash found thenet. Sindhu made some soundjudgements at the baseline andtried to be patient on the courtto extend the lead to 9-3.

However, Sindhu failed toreach for a low forehand returnat forecourt and sent the shut-tle wide thrice as Okuharareached 7-9 before unleashinga down the line smash.

A net error stoppedOkuhara’s run as Sindhu even-tually held a 11-8 lead at theinterval when her rival again

went wide.At 15-13, another excep-

tional rally unfolded withSindhu making the Japaneserun to the deep corners andeven though Okuhara madesome remarkable retrieves shemiscued a shot at the forecourtas Sindhu led 16-13.

Okuhara brought morepower to her smashes to breachSindhu’s defence and createdacute angles with her wrist toreduce the margin to 16-17.Two backhand returns and ablock at the net helped Sindhumove to 18-16. An extraordi-nary net return gave her anoth-er point and she grabbed thegame point when Okuharawent long.

Not ready to give up,Okuhara fell back on her extra-ordinary net game to save threegame points. Sindhu then wona point by pushing the shuttleat the back of the court.

What ensued next was a73-shot long and exhaustingrally which Sindhu managed towin when Okuhara’s returnfound the net and she collapsedon the ground, drained com-pletely.

In the decider, Okuharaopened up a 5-1 lead early onas Sindhu looked a tad exhuast-

ed but some clever returnsnear the net helped the Indianclaw back at 5-5. The momen-tum shifted again in Indian’sfavour as she started dominat-ing the rallies and reached thebreak at 11-9 when Okuhara hitwide. After the change of sides,Okuhara erased the deficit witha backhand body smash and aforehand return. Sindhu wonanother long rally with anonrushing smash but she losther second video referrel asOkuhara led 13-12.

They moved neck and necktill 17-17 before the Indiangrabbed a 19-17 lead whenOkuhara hit wide. The Japaneseproduced a perfect cross courtreverse slice and then unleashedanother cross court smash toonce again level par.

A net error from Sindhuhanded a match point toOkuhara but the Indian savedit after winning another longrally, following a bad leave at thebaseline by Okuhara.

The Japanese grabbed thematch point again when Sindhufound the net and she used itthis time with a perfect returnon Sindhu’s backhand tobecome the first shuttler fromher country to win the WorldChampionship.

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����������������E�����*�����������8����������������� ���������������$����!�� ������*����� � ���������BLLJ�LL!F������� � " �$3������7����!������������������ ���������������� " �$3�������� ������� ������ ��6������������������ ���������������������)������������������������@3����*���������������������� ���������*����� ���� ����@����*����������������������������!�������������������������E� ������������������������ ���������0/�����2������!�� �����������������������������!$:������$9 �!F�� ������� ���������������������������������

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From Page 1Interestingly, the air ticket

for Delhi-Mumbai sector wasavailable of �8,950 for Sunday.The aerial distance betweenDelhi and Mumbai is 1148kms.

Officials say that the one-way, 45-minute flight is pricedalmost 10 times higher as allflights out of Chandigarh werefully booked as people were des-perate to get out of the State.“These are the last few seatsavailable,” said an airline officialwho did not wish to be named.Across the board from econo-my to business class seats, pricesshowed a ten-fold jump, with aone-way ticket on travel portalmakemytrip selling at �15,801on the Delhi-Chandigarh sector.The impact of Haryana’s law andorder problem was visible onDelhi-Jaipur air route as the fareof Air India has touched

�12,861 on Sunday while the JetAirways has charged �13,081 onthe same route on Sunday. Thedistance between Delhi andJaipur is 241 kms.

Sensing that situation willbe normal by Thursday, the tick-et from Chandigarh to Delhi isbeing sold at �1,815 for August31.

Sources said the DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation(DGCA) was keeping a tab onthe situation.

“DGCA has already clearedone additional flight on Delhi-Amritsar-Delhi of Vistara forSunday to clear and one eachadditional flight on Delhi-Chandigarh-Delhi and Delhi-Amritsar-Delhi of Vistara forMonday,” sources said

Officials said that Air Indiahas been requested to explore aflight on Monday on Delhi-Jammu-Delhi sector. Indigo

representative has also informedthey will mount additional flighton Delhi-Jammu-Delhi sectoron 29 Aug. Airlines have alsobeen advised to keep a check onthe airfares on these sectors.

There have been no reportsof violence from anywhere inHaryana and Punjab on Sunday.Train operations in Punjab andHaryana, severely affected byviolence in two states, havebeen restored, except for theDelhi-Rohtak-Bathinda section,a Railway Ministry statementsaid in New Delhi. The securi-ty clearance for the section isawaited from state authorities,it said.

The case against RamRahim was registered in 2002 bythe CBI on the directions of thePunjab and Haryana HighCourt after anonymous letterswere circulated about thealleged sexual exploitation oftwo ‘sadhvis’ (female followers)by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

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Officials in Punjab andHaryana have started

identifying movable andimmovable assets of the Sirsa-headquartered Dera SachaSauda on the directions of thehigh court for compensation inthe damage caused by theDera supporters in the vio-lence.

Revenue officials of thetwo states have been compilingdetails of properties and assetsof the Dera, the quasi- religioussect headed by Gurmeet RamRahim Singh, convicted ofraping his two followers.

Banks have been asked toprovide details of accounts ofthe Dera.

“A list of the Deras assets,incomes, bank accounts andproperties is being prepared ona war footing," one of the offi-cials connected with the exer-cise in the twin States ofHaryana and Punjab said.

The Punjab and Haryana

High Court asked the twostates to submit by Tuesday alist of the Deras properties andassets which can be attached“in case it is found that theyand their followers are respon-sible for damaging properties”.

After the Dera chief wasconvicted by a CBI court inPanchkula on August 25, hisfollowers went on rampagesetting fire to vehicles andrailway stations, and damagingpublic and private properties.

Thirty-eight people werekilled and more than 250injured in violence inPanchkula and Sirsa.

The high court hadrefrained the Dera from trans-ferring, selling or leasing out itsproperties.The Dera has NamCharcha Ghars (congregationcentres) in many parts ofHaryana and Punjab. Whilethe sects headquarter is locat-ed in Sirsa in Haryana, itsbiggest congregation centre inPunjab is at Salabtpura inBathinda.

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After death and destructiondescended on Haryana’s

Panchkula city following con-viction of Dera Sacha Saudachief Gurmeet Ram Rahim ina rape case on Friday, theManohar Lal KhattarGovernment has put the entireblame on IPS Ashok Kumar,

DCP Panchkula, who was sus-pended a day before.

Additional Chief Secretary,Home, Ram Niwas, while talk-ing to the mediapersons onSunday said that DCPPanchkula failed to imposeSection 144 of CrPC correctly.

On the huge gathering ofdera followers at Panchkula, hesaid that the Government did

what could be done to stopthem to reach Panchkula. But,as Panchkula is surrounded byopen areas, the protestersentered the city in large num-bers by road, river Ghaggar andother ways in spite of 61 nakas,said the ACS Home.

The senior bureaucrat wasagain seen trotting out excus-es that cracking down on the

dera supporters before thejudgment would have led tomore violence in Panchkula.

A day before also, the topbrass of Haryana Governmentincluding Chief Secretary DSDhesi, Additional ChiefSecretary, ACS Home andDGP BS Sandhu also pattedthe back of their Governmentfor controlling the violent sit-

uation in around three hoursand preventing the violentprotests by dera followers fromescalating further inPanchkula.

But the Khattar Govern-ment’s “achievement” was at thecost of 38 lives lost in these threehours. While the death toll stoodat 32 in Panchkula, 6 people diedat Sirsa, where the dera sect has

main headquarters. More than260 people were injured in theviolence.

The violence and arson bythe supporters of the Derachief at Panchkula broughtback the chilling memories oflast year’s violent Jat agitationduring which 31 people haddied and more than 200 wereleft injured in Haryana.

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Describing herself as“Papa’s angel”, the adopt-

ed daughter of controversialgodman Gurmeet RamRahim, Honeypreet, manysupporters of Dera SachaSauda say that she is the clos-est to the rape accused.

In her social media pres-ence, Honeypreet claims thatshe is a philanthropist, direc-tor, editor and actress” onsocial media.

Honeypreet Insan is theadopted daughter of RamRahim Singh whose convic-tion in a rape case triggeredmob violence that killed 38people across Haryana.

Considered a confidant ofthe Dera chief, she has alsoemerged as his likely succes-sor to head the controversialsect.

Honeypreet, in her thir-ties, accompanied RamRahim Singh when he wasbrought to the special CBI

court in Panchkula for thepronouncement of the verdictin the 15-year-old rape case onFriday.

On her Twitter andFacebook accounts, she men-tions herself as “PAPA'sANGEL, Philanthropist,Director, Editor, Actress!!Passionate to transform myRockstar Papa's directionsinto actions!” She has over onemillion followers on Twitterand more than five lakh onFacebook.

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Page 5: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

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Washington: America’s secu-rity aid to Pakistan “will beconditioned” on the stepsIslamabad takes against ter-rorist groups such as theTaliban and the Haqqani net-work, a senior Trump admin-istration official has said.

“There have been longstanding relationships betweenthe Pakistani intelligence offi-cials and these terrorist groups.So, we don’t expect things tochange overnight. We expectincremental changes over time,”the official told PTI.

His comments came daysafter US President Donald

Trump hit out at Pakistan forproviding safe havens to “agentsof chaos” that kill Americans inAfghanistan and warnedIslamabad that it has “much tolose” by harbouring terrorists.

“We will be able to seewhen these changes start tohappen. They (might) notbecome immediately apparentto the public, but we’re confi-dent that when Pakistan takesthe steps we’re asking it to do,we’ll know it and we’ll be ableto assess. And so, our securityaid will be conditioned on thesteps that we expect them totake against, in particular, the

Taliban-Haqqani Network,” theofficial said on condition ofanonymity.

The United States, the offi-cial said, is monitoring the sit-uation carefully in Pakistanand expects some progress.

“It wouldn’t be appropriatefor me to give exact timelinesthat we’re dealing in. But, cer-tainly there is an expectationthat we’ll start to see somechanges in the very near future,”the official said when asked ifthe Trump administration hasset a time line for progress inaction being taken by Pakistanagainst the terrorist groups.

The official was respondingto a series of question on thestatements coming out ofPakistan, which are generally instrong opposition to theTrump’s South Asia strategy.

“How do you see Pakistan’sreaction? Do you think thatthey would be, given thesekind of reactions that’s comingup in public domain, think theywill be cooperating this timewith you on counter-terrorismissues?” the official was asked.

“I think the President wasvery clear that we are going totake a different approach to thatstand. There’s a lot of frustra-

tion (in the US) with the con-tinued safe havens in Pakistan.But we believe there is hope forgreater cooperation fromPakistan on these issues.

It’s Pakistan’s choice.Pakistan has much to benefitfrom by cooperating with theUS and cracking down onsome of these groups,” the offi-cial said.

And Pakistan has much tolose if it fails to do so, the offi-cial warned.

“We’re not going to talkabout the precise steps that theUS is considering with regardto its relationship with Pakistan.

We’ll reserve that for our privatediscussions on Pakistan. We’lljust simply say that it’s extreme-ly important to this adminis-tration that Pakistan take tan-gible steps against the groupsthat continue to support attacksagainst US service membersand US officials inAfghanistan,” the official said,adding that the US will beworking very closely withPakistani officials to achievethat objective.

Pakistan’s Foreign MinisterKhawaja Asif is soon expected tovisit the US and meet Secretaryof State Rex Tillerson. PTI

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Washington: The US is look-ing at ways to “more activelysupport” India’s membershipbid to the Nuclear SuppliersGroup (NSG) as the Trumpadministration considers it avery important matter, a topWhite House official has said.

A plenary meeting of theelite nuclear club in June failedto take a decision on India’sapplication for its member-ship, but decided to discuss inNovember the issue of entry ofnon-NPT signatories.

China, a key member of theNSG, has been stridently oppos-ing India’s bid primarily on thegrounds that New Delhi is nota signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Its opposi-tion has made India’s entry intothe 48-member group difficultas the NSG works on the prin-ciple of consensus.

“There is a meeting com-ing up shortly on this issue. TheUS is considering ways it canto support more actively India’smembership in the NSG,because it is something that’svery important to the US,” theWhite House official told PTI.

The official, speaking oncondition of anonymity, wasresponding to a series of ques-tions on what steps the Trumpadministration has taken so farto push India’s membership tothe NSG, which has been

blocked by China.“The US is very supportive

of India’s membership in theNSG. That continues to besomething very important, andin fact it came up during themeeting of Prime Minister(Narendra) Modi withPresident (Donald) Trump (atthe White House on June 26),”the White House official said.

“In terms of the specificinteractions with China, I’mnot aware if it’s been raised. It’ssomething certainly that the USdoes support,” the official said,insisting that the Trumpadministration is committed tosupport India’s case.

After India’s application forentry into the elite group whichcontrols the nuclear trade,Pakistan, the all-weather ally ofChina, too applied with the tacitbacking of Beijing.

A NSG statement after theJune meeting said the membershad discussions on the issue of“Technical, Legal and PoliticalAspects of the Participation ofnon-NPT States in the NSG”.

“The group decided tocontinue its discussion andnoted the intention of the chairto organise an informal meet-ing in November,” said theNSG statement issued at theend of the two-day plenarymeeting in the Swiss capitalBern. PTI

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Pakistan’s former presidentAsif Ali Zardari has been

acquitted by an anti-corruptioncourt in an old corruptioncase in which he was accusedof possessing illegal assets.

Zardari’s counsel Farooq HNaek requested for acquittal ofZardari and Justice KhalidMahmood Ranjha NationalAccountability Bureau (NAB)court accepted it.

He said that the most of thedocuments presented against62-year-old Zardari were inphotocopies and unacceptable.He also said that most of thewitnesses said that they did not

remember most of the detailsas it was an old case.

Finally, the judge quashedthe case and acquitted the for-mer president yesterday.

The case was launched in1999 but quashed in 2007along with five more suchcases against Zardari after apolitical deal between his nowslain wife Benazir Bhutto andformer dictator Gen PervezMusharraf.

However, the SupremeCourt rejected the deal andconsequent amnesty in 2009and ordered a probe but itcould not start a case againstZardari as he enjoyed immu-nity as president.

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Tal Afar: Iraqi forces were onSunday on the verge of fullyrecapturing the city of Tal Afarafter driving Islamic Stategroup jihadists from the centreof one of their last urbanstrongholds in the country.

Counter terrorism unitshave taken control of the cen-tre of the city, which includesits historic Ottoman citadel.

“They raised the Iraqi flag onthe citadel,” General AbdulamirYarallah, commander of militaryoperations in the battle for TalAfar, said in a statement.

The advance, less than aweek into an assault on thestrategic city, comes after Prime

Minister Haider al-Abadideclared victory in July over thejihadists in Iraq’s second cityMosul, where ISIS declared its“caliphate” in 2014.

Iraqi forces now hold “94percent of the city, 27 out of 29”districts including the centreand citadel, according to theJoint Operations Command(JOC) which coordinates theanti-IS operation in Iraq.

The announcement yester-day came as the French foreignand defence ministers visitedBaghdad to announce a loan of430 million euros ($512 million)to help the Iraqi economy in theface of low oil prices and the cost

of battling the jihadists. OnSaturday, units also battled ISaround Al-Ayadieh, 15 kilome-tres (10 miles) north of Tal Afarand strategically located on theroad between the city and theSyrian border, Yarallah said.

In the whole Tal Afarregion, “1,155 square kilome-tres of 1,655 square kilometres,or 70 percent of the area, havebeen taken” the JOC said.

Columns of smoke couldbe seen rising over the city afterthe Hashed al-Shaabi paramil-itary coalition fighting along-side Government troops seizedthe Al-Khadra and Al-Jazeeradistricts. AFP

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Bangkok: Thailand’s junta hascome under fire from conserv-ative allies following oustedPrime Minister YingluckShinawatra’s escape overseas,with many questioning how themilitary could have let her fleegiven she was heavily monitored.

Yingluck, whoseGovernment was toppled bythe military in 2014, pulled adramatic disappearing actbefore a scheduled court judg-ment on Friday in a criminalnegligence trial.

She faced up to ten years inprison and a lifetime politicalban if convicted. But insteadshe was a no show, with juntaand party sources saying shehad fled abroad.

Analysts say Yingluck mostlikely cut a secret deal with thejunta to exit the country — a

charge the military has denied.The leadership is desperate

to avoid instability as it digs infor a long stay.

The junta says it does notyet know how the country’sfirst female prime ministermanaged to slip the net.

But key conservative fig-ures, some of whom agitatedfor the coup that toppledYingluck and are seen as polit-ical allies of the junta, round-ed on the military in a series ofstatements over the weekend.

“It was clear that securityofficials followed her closely andtook photographs of her every-where she went, all the time. Butshe still was able to escape,”Panthep Puapongpan, one ofthe leaders of 2014 protestsagainst Yingluck’s Government,told reporters. AFP

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Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh):Bangladesh has detained andforcibly returned 90 Rohingyamigrants to Myanmar, policesaid Sunday, just hours afterMyanmarese troops on theother side of the border hadopened fire on people fleeingthe country.

Police intercepted a groupof 70 Rohingya late Saturdayafter they crossed the “zeroline” border zone, whereMyanmar soldiers earlier firedmortars and machine guns atvillagers making the dangerousdash from the northern state ofRakhine into Bangladesh.

The villagers were caughtroughly four kilometres insideBangladeshi territory en routeto a refugee camp inKutupalong, where thousandsof Rohingya already live in

squalid conditions, said localpolice chief Abul Khaer.

“All 70 were detained andlater pushed back to Myanmarby the border guards,” Khaertold AFP.

Police said some of thosedetained had entered Bangladeshvia the Ghumdhum border area— where the Myanmar forcesunleashed the barrage of fire justhours earlier.

“They were pleading withus not to send them back toMyanmar,” said one policemanon condition of anonymity.

Another 20 Rohingya werecaught Sunday and sent backafter crossing the Naf river, anatural border betweenMyanmar and Bangladesh,according to Ariful Islam, acommander with Border GuardBangladesh (BGB). AFP

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London: Scotland Yard onSunday arrested a second manin connection with an allegedterror incident nearBuckingham Palace.

Three police officers wereinjured as they arrested a manbrandishing a 4ft sword whorepeatedly shouted “AllahuAkbar”.

The Metropolitan Police isstill questioning the suspect.

On Sunday, a 30-year-oldman was detained at an addressin west London, where a searchis being carried out, the MetPolice said. He was arrested onsuspicion of terrorism offences.

Earlier, a 26-year-old maninitially arrested on suspicionof grievous bodily harm (GBH)and assault on police was fur-ther arrested under the UK’sTerrorism Act 2000, theMetropolitan Police said onSaturday.

The man, from Luton inthe east of England, is believedto have been acting alone.AFP

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Houston: Hurricane Harvey,the most powerful to hit the USin 13 years, left a trail ofdestruction as it swept acrossTexas on Sunday, pummellingthe region with heavy rains andclaiming at least two lives sincemaking landfall on the US’ GulfCoast.

Harvey continued to batterTexas as rescuers grappled with

heavy rains to reach out to peo-ple stranded due to the hurri-cane. With winds topping 130mph, Harvey is the firstCategory 4 storm to makelandfall in the United Statessince Hurricane Charley struckFlorida in 2004, and the first tohit Texas since Hurricane Carlain 1961.

The hurricane dumped

more than 20 inches of rain inthe Houston area, causing “life-threatening catastrophic flood-ing” in southeastern Texas,The National Hurricane Centerreported.

By midnight, the authori-ties had reported two deathsthat appeared to be related tothe storm, one in Rockport andthe other in Houston, with up

to 14 people injured.The first fatality was

reported in the hard-hit coastalcity of Rockport, where the per-son died in a house fire duringthe storm.

Some eyewitness accountsstated that more people haddied and media reports hadearlier said three persons hadbeen killed in connection with

the hurricane.Forecasters warned that

Harvey’s onslaught was justthe beginning. In an advisoryyesterday, the NationalHurricane Center (NHC) inMiami said the storm wasalready producing “torrentialrains”, and it warned that “cat-astrophic flooding” was likelyin the days ahead. PTI

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Washington: Seven members of Donald Trump’scybersecurity team, including an Indian-origindata scientist, have resigned, accusing the USpresident of ignoring the pressing national secu-rity matters.

In a group resignation letter, the members ofthe National Infrastructure Advisory Council(NIAC), whose purview includes national cyber-security, cited both specific shortfalls in the admin-istration’s approach to cybersecurity, and broad-er concerns that have undermined the “moralinfrastructure” of the US, Fortune reported.

“You have given insufficient attention to thegrowing threats to the cybersecurity of the crit-ical systems upon which all Americans depend,including those impacting the systems sup-porting our democratic election process,” theletter reads.

They also cited his failure “to denounce intol-erance and violence of hate groups” when askedabout the “horrific violences in Charlottesville”

as one of the reasons why they left.Unite the Right’ march was organised on

August 12 to protest against the proposedremoval of a statue of General Robert E Lee, whocommanded the pro-slavery Confederate forcesduring the American Civil War. Violence brokeout after they were confronted by anti-racismgroups and later a car ploughed into one groupof anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville.

Trump had blamed both sides including the“alt-left” for the deadly violence.

The members, who were appointed underthe previous administration, resigned justbefore the panel was supposed to hold its quar-terly business meeting.

They include Obama-era officials: the firstever White House Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil,Office of Science and Technology Policy Chiefof Staff Cristin Dorgelo and White HouseCouncil on Environmental Quality ManagingDirector Christy Goldfuss. PTI

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London: Indians were amongsix men and two women killedin a major accident in whichtheir mini bus got crushedbetween two trucks on a high-way in southern England.

The crash occurred on thesouthbound M1 highway atNewport Pagnell inBuckinghamshire in the weehours of Saturday.

All those who died weretravelling in the minibus, whichgot crushed between the twolarger vehicles.

“We are extending all pos-sible assistance to those affect-ed by this tragedy,” the IndianHigh Commission in Londonsaid.

The two truck driversarrested from the scene of theaccident were charged withcausing death by dangerousdriving this morning. PTI

"�������������I*����������)����������������,3Beijing: Pakhar, the 14th

typhoon to hit China this year,Sunday made landfall in the cityof Taishan in Guangdongprovince bringing gales of up to33 meters per second, days afterHato left a trail of death anddestruction. Pakhar, named aftera freshwater fish that lives in thelower Mekong River, madelandfall four days after typhoonHato landed on Wednesday inZhuhai, some 80-km away fromTaishan. The meteorologicalcentre of Zhuhai said the citywould see rainstorms and fiercewinds on Sunday. PTI

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Canakkale (Turkey): Turkey’smain Opposition leaderKemal Kilicdaroglu vowed topress on with an intensifyingcampaign for justice in defi-ance of “threats” by PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of ruling as adictator.

Kilicdaroglu, head of thesecular Republican People’sParty (CHP), told AgenceFrance-Presse in an interviewhe believed that Erdoganfeared his movement and con-sequently was attacking himin nearly every public speech.

The CHP leader, who ana-

lysts until now rarely saw asposing a major challenge toErdogan, threw down a newgauntlet to the president thissummer with a nearly month-long march complaining ofinjustice in Turkey in thewake of the July 15, 2016failed coup bid. AFP

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Page 6: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

Despite political vicissitudes,despite the many layers of ourrelations over the decades,despite challenging phases aswell as promising ones, the

essentials of India and Myanmar relationscontinue to be based on civilisational fun-damentals — from the very ancient past tothe present times. Sacred strands ofSakyamuni’s hair bind the two countries foreternity as it were. The significance of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi visiting Myanmarat regular intervals in the last three years, hisupcoming visit — the first bilateral — in thefirst week of September this year, will fur-ther cement and impart new and contem-porary vigour to this ancient tie. Yangon,therefore, as a setting for the Samvad-II:Dialogue for Peace, Harmony and Security— A Global Initiative for Conflict Avoidanceand Environment Consciousness, was forthose who immerse themselves in trying todiscern civilisational parallels, highly sym-bolic and significant.

The leading and pre-eminent SitaguInternational Buddhist Academy, led by thevenerable Ashin Nyanissara, was the localhost and driving force, while the VivekanandaInternational Foundation, the Governmentof Myanmar, the Myanmar Institute ofStrategic and International Studies and theJapan Foundation extended their support andexpertise to make the event a meaningfulexercise in dialogue — Samvad. Daw AungSan Suu Kyi took special interest, closely fol-lowing the proceedings and despatching herNational Security Advisor for two days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi andPrime Minister Shinzo Abe sent their specialmessages for the occasion, each articulatingthe deeper theme and imparting an inaugur-al direction to the exercise. Modi’s call wasto “cut through deep rooted religious stereo-types and prejudices” through the mediumof Samvad and to address the fundamentalquestions facing mankind today, questionssuch as “how to avoid conflict”, “how toaddress a global challenge like climatechange” and “how to live in peace and har-mony and secure our lives.” Modi pointed outhow, “Asia’s oldest traditions of dialogue anddebate” can guide a 21st century world thatis increasingly “interconnected and inter-dependent” and is battling a “number of glob-al challenges, from terrorism to climatechange.” It was a “deep and prolonged dia-logue” which can “produce synergies andresolve contradictions”, he observed.

Prime Minister Abe’s message synchro-nised with the words and vision of PrimeMinister Modi. “Terrorism and violentextremism is expanding and trying to denythe existence of ‘others’ and to paint our worldin a single colour”, Abe observed, “Suchattempts should not be tolerated. In Asia, wemust let flowers of all different colours bloomin harmony. Finally, freedom, which brings

tolerance and diversity, is the source of growthand creativity. Asia’s significant developmentthat we enjoy today is based on freedoms ofthought, speech and commerce that thosebefore us have carefully nurtured. Free, open,diverse and tolerant Asia; Asia where nobodyis excluded; Asia, where sustainable growthis realised, these are the values that Japanwould like to realise.” Interestingly, Abe spokeof evolving a “Free and Open Indo-PacificStrategy” which would nurture and protectthe freedom of civilisational interaction andpositive exchange in the region and beyond.

The Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha wasrepresentated by the most sacred collectiveof Hindu Swamis led by MahamandaleshwarSwami Avdheshanand Giri Maharaj, saw thepresence of Swami Nirmalanandanatha,head of the Adichunchanagiri math, SwamiParamatmanandaji, Govind Dev GiriMaharaj, Swami Mitrananda, Lokesh Muni,Swami Chidananda Muni, the Jathedar of theiconic Takht Sri Patna Sahib gurdwara anda host of others who participated in the delib-erations and extensively engaged with lead-ers from other religions, in closed interactionsdiscussing various dimensions, challenges andthe way forward. Apart from a host of schol-ars presenting their thoughts on the princi-ple theme of Samvad, these intense andfocused engagements were crucial andformed the bedrock of the exercise.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath, himself a foremost representa-tive of the Nath Sampradaya, which is, as heobserved an “excellent example of the com-posite Hindu and Buddhist faiths and theirphilosophical religious traditions”, deliveredthe valedictory address, pointing out how hehad come from a state that was rich inBuddha’s and Ram’s legacy. GuruGorakhnath is regarded as one of the 84Siddhas of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition,

and is known as ‘Goraksh’ in the TibetanBuddhist tradition. In a moving and pow-erful address, Yogi Adityanath drew a deepcivilisational parallel, between the two reli-gions, and expanded on how their wisdomand traditions can indeed lay a distinct pathahead in addressing the major challenges ofthe world. Yogi Adityanath pointed out howIndia, and especially his State, was the inher-itor of the legacy of Ram, Krishna andBuddha and was committed to work for thewelfare of one and all through pursuing thepath of Sabka saath, Sabka vikas.

For the assembled international audienceand the large number of scholar monks, itwas indeed an interesting sight to see and tohear a monk from India —who embodiedin himself the dimensions of a spiritual leader,a popular political leader, a parliamentari-an and an administrator and whose actionsthrough renunciation seem to be giving himgreater impetus and dynamism. This was anew aspect of the Samvad effort. UttarPradesh Governor, the venerable Ram Naik,also participated in the deliberations, bothhe and Yogi Adityanath represented that theIndian State, which has one of the strongestcivilisational and historical association withBuddhism and Hinduism.

The 10-point Yangon Samvad declara-tion, jointly authored by the hosts and the par-ticipating organisations and country, amongother things, declared to stand firmly against“all kinds of hate speech, false propaganda,conflict and war under the pretext of religion”and strongly condemned “those who providesupport to any such activities.” The membersand leaders of different faiths and all thosegathered affirmed that they needed to “buildmutual understanding, respect and trust”among themselves in order to obtain a peace-ful, secure and prosperous human society.”They also resolved to “exercise restraint and

refrain from interfering in matters of otherreligions and to cooperate in building bridgesfor world peace.” It was also declared that col-lective projects and efforts will be initiated forenhancing environmental consciousness. Itwas particularly significant, especially in theglobal context, that the declaration, affirmedat the end that “all spiritual paths and reli-gious traditions are equally valid”, implyingthat there was no single path or single way.

The response from the people andfrom the intelligentsia in Myanmar wasextremely positive and forthcoming; therewas a great interest among them to be partof this initiative. The dimensions of civilisa-tion, of culture and the dimensions of tra-ditions and knowledge were activated to gen-erate a new grand narrative — a narrative thatis dharmik and aspires to create a contem-porary framework of civilisational engage-ment. One recalled Prime Minister Modi’swords while inaugurating the first Samvadin Delhi in 2015, where he had said, “Theysay that this century is going to be an Asiancentury. I am very clear that withoutembracing the path and ideals shown byBuddha, this century cannot be an Asian cen-tury!” One saw that in action in Yangon,where Buddha and Vivekananda mingled,where the principles of dharma were reiter-ated and articulated to shape that Asian cen-tury, guided by India’s civilisational wisdom,experience and their many manifestationsover the centuries.

The defining feature of Narendra Modi’svision of India’s civilisational outreach was infull display — it generated goodwill, confi-dence and an urge towards a greater synthe-sis of thought, of direction and of action.

(This is the second and final article in atwo-part series on Samvad. The writer isDirector, Dr Syama Prasad MookerjeeResearch Foundation, New Delhi)

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Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Yesto data privacy” (August 25). For thesecond time in a week, the SupremeCourt of India delivered a judgementthat will touch the lives of millionsof Indian in a positive manner. Afterits ruling on triple talaq, the apexcourt has now overturned two ear-lier rulings to hold that the right toprivacy is a fundamental right.

The ruling, while far-reaching,is bound to generate its share of legalimbroglios. Though, for now, theverdict has been welcomed, giventhat it is seen as likely to touchalmost every part of a people’s lives.Surely, the country could not havegot a better gift from the judiciaryfor its 70th year of independence.

Now it will turn the attention tothe Government and its conduct ofAadhaar. Privacy is the central chal-lenge to Aadhaar legally, and thefuture of it is yet to be decided.

J AkshayBengaluru

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Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Yesto data privacy” (August 25). TheSupreme Court judgment, declaringprivacy as a fundamental right givesIndian citizens space and relief.Overturning the two previous judg-ments on the issue, the apex courthas provided the citizen protectionagainst surveillance by the state.

It has put limits on the mightof an ever-expansionist and over-bearing state. The verdict obvious-ly seems a rebuff to the ModiGovernment, which had contend-ed before the court that the rightto privacy could not be extended

to ‘every aspect’ of privacy.Attorney General KK Venugopalhad argued that privacy at best isa “sub-species of liberty and everyaspect could not qualify as beingfundamental in nature”.

The issue of privacy violationrose over the state diktat to providepersonal information for Aadhaarand the poor repository of the datataken. Started as a well-meaning dig-ital initiative to make welfare andsubsidy payments transparent,Aadhaar has been made mandato-ry for a host of other activities,including financial transactions,bank and mobile accounts, and fil-ing of tax returns. The pervasive fearis that the Modi regime may misusepersonal information to target oppo-nents, or deny benefits to ‘undesir-ables’, apart from the under-playedthreat of pilferage of data.

Abhijit RoyJamshedpur

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Government’s OBC push” (August25). India being a secular democra-tic republic, the existingreligion/caste based quota system forgaining Government benefitsbrazenly violates the secular claus-es of the Constitution. Undoubtedly,our political intelligentsia is aware ofthis incongruity and remains close-lipped for self-serving purposes. Themove to raise the income limit fromsix lakh to eight lakh would havebeen welcome if it was for all peo-ple of the given economic strata.

TKM KumbalamchuvattilMuvattupuha

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Page 7: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

In the context of a smooth rollout of the Goods and ServicesTax (GST) in India, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, in hismonthly radio programme, ‘Mannki Baat’ commented that such a bigreform, at such a big scale, in sucha vast country is likely to becomea role model for the world.

That may very well be true. In fact, I would go a step fur-

ther to say that GST reform alsoserves as a role model to see howany development problem needs tobe approached.

The GST reform is not only atechnically sound solution to India’sproblem of indirect taxation butalso that such a solution is compre-hensive, transformational, uniform,

and is rolled out nationwide in a bigbang manner with careful attentionto details.

It also holds lessons on how anyreform process needs to be man-aged and the extent of preparationneeded for a successful implemen-tation of any programme. Theselessons can already be learned eventhough these are still early days ofthe GST implementation.

GST reform is comprehensivein nature. A comprehensive solutionis needed for solving any develop-ment problem effectively. Piecemealsolutions deliver limited value andfor a shorter duration.

To give an example, when theneed is for the larger health sectorreforms, strengthening of only diag-nostic services will create moredemand for clinical services, and ifthe supply of clinical services do notincrease commensurately, strength-ening of diagnostics will have lim-ited impact on health outcomes.

Similarly, when solution to theproblem of vehicular traffic in largemetropolis requires a multi-

pronged strategy, relying on any sin-gle strategy such as the odd-evennumber scheme will have a verylimited impact. It is here that theGST reform stands out.

To be fair, the nature of the GSTreform is such that it could not havebeen introduced in a piecemealfashion, nor could it have beenrolled out in a phased manner. Butnot all development problems lendthemselves to such a comprehensive solution.

Some reforms, such as in thehealthcare sector or in managementof city traffic, can potentially beintroduced in a series of steps. Whatis important is to think of a holis-tic solution and implement thatsolution in a sequenced manner,without much delay.

The GST is a transformationaland not incremental reform. TheGST is a new system that complete-ly replaces the old system that hadlong outlived its utility.

Tweaking the existing systemwould have delivered limited eco-nomic gains whereas, the new sys-

tem promises huge economic ben-efits. GST reform is expected toboost economic growth throughseveral ways: Better and higher taxcompliance, digitisation of econo-my, higher tax revenues which willcreate scope for reduction in taxrates overtime and hence, reductionin prices, better data quality whichwill enable Government to sharpen its tax policy, higher for-eign investment due to simplerand transparent tax system, and so forth.

Further, the GST system isfuturistic in its design as it is fullydigitised with built-in excess capac-ity which is expandable to accom-modate any increase in tax base,without compromising on the sys-tem performance. Such a durablesolution is bound to last for a longtime to come.

The GST reform is an excellentexample of how any reforms processneeds to be managed. Whether it ispolitics of reform in getting the par-liament and State assemblies sup-port it or holding a series of meet-

ings/consultations for finding atechnically sound solution which iswell-adapted to the context;whether it is about advocacy strat-egy for key stakeholders or educa-tion the general public. On all ofthese accounts, the GST reformoffers valuable lessons.

GST reform is also a perfectexample of implementation pre-paredness. A lot of preparatorywork happened in terms of creatingthe entire eco-system and gettingthe system ready prior to the GST launch.

Designing and testing theInformation Technology (IT)-sys-tem was critical part of implemen-tation preparedness; and so wastraining of officers on GST, includ-ing the use of IT system. As a result,large scale trainings were conduct-ed. Training material was devel-oped, institutions were accreditedto impart training to officers andthe business community on a con-tinuous basis.

Further, mass awareness cam-paigns were conducted through

various channels (workshops, townhalls, interaction programmes,media articles etc) to educate allstakeholders, including the gener-al public. Creating FrequentlyAsked Questions, the GST ratereckoner, having a dedicated web-page for all GST-related informa-tion were essential part of theinformation education and commu-nication campaign. Similarly, hawk-eyed monitoring of the programmein its initial stage is an important element of the imple-mentation preparedness.

Undoubtedly, the GST standsout as a role model for reforms. Itis likely that the world will take noteof it and derive a lesson or two fortheir own benefit.

But how well these lessons andinsights can be quickly used byIndia itself to usher pendingreforms both at the Central andState level, remains to be seen.

(The writer is a developmenteconomist, formerly with the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation and theWorld Bank)

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Many young Indianswould not be familiarwith the term, ‘privypurse’. However, itmay be recalled that

British India comprised of certaingeographical areas that were direct-ly administered by the BritishGovernment, while more than one-third of the subcontinent was undermore than 560 princely States.

The princely States ranged fromlarge States with considerable rev-enue to small principalities withmeager revenues. Princely Stateswere arranged in hierarchy and thenumber of gun salutes determinedtheir status in this hierarchy.

With the passage of the IndianIndependence Act, 1947, the BritishGovernment granted independenceto the areas that were ruled directlyby them and left the choice to theprincely States to decide their futurecourse of action.

By the eve of independence,most States, which had a predomi-nant Hindu population, had signedinstruments of accession with India.Only a few like Travancore, Bhopal,Jodhpur, Hyderabad, Junagarh andKashmir were held out. It took thepersuasive skill of Sardar VallabhbhaiPatel and his able civil servant VPMenon to get Travancore, Bhopaland Jodhpur to join the IndianUnion before 1947, and the remain-ing three after 1947.

In consideration of such prince-ly States signing the instrument ofaccession, the Government of Indiagranted to them a ‘privy purse’,which was a specified sum of moneythat was payable annually to therulers of such States. The quantumof the ‘privy purse’ payment wasdetermined by the States revenue —the gun salutes it was entitled to etc.Such payments were free of tax andwere guaranteed by a provision in theConstitution of India. (Article 291 ofthe Indian Constitution).

The quantum of the ‘privy purs-es’ ranged from �5,000 per annum to�26 lakh per annum. States such asMysore (26 lakh), Hyderabad (20lakh), Travancore (18 lakh), Jaipur (18 lakh) and Patiala (17 lakh) were amongst the highest receipients,while several small princely States gotamounts as low as �5,000 annually.

Payments of ‘privy purse’ to theformer rulers was often questionedas a relic of the past. Attempts weremade to do away with this system ofpayment. The motion to abolish the‘privy purse’ system in India and theofficial recognition of the titles wasbrought before Parliament in 1969and passed in the Lok Sabha. But itdid not get the required two-thirdmajority in the Rajya Sabha, 149voted for it and 75 against.

The abolition of ‘privy purse’ hadto wait till 1971 and was successful-ly passed as the 26th Amendment tothe Constitution of India in 1971.The then Prime Minister, IndiraGandhi, argued the case for abolitionbased on equal rights for all citizensand the need to reduce theGovernment’s revenue deficit. TheConstitutional Amendment recorded the following as its objec-tives and reason:

“The concept of rulership, withprivy purses and special privilegesunrelated to any current functionsand social purposes was incompat-ible with an egalitarian social order.The Government, therefore, decid-ed to terminate the privy purses andprivileges of the rulers of former Indian States. It was necessary forthis purpose, apart from amendingthe relevant provisions of theConstitution, to insert a new articletherein so as to terminate expresslythe recognition already granted tosuch rulers and to abolish privy purs-es and extinguish all rights, liabili-ties and obligations in respect ofprivy purses. Hence this Act.”

Given this historical background,it is worthwhile examining whetherwe have actually done away with thispractice or not. In this context, it isalso worth examining whether ournew democratic rulers enjoy suchprivileges or not. What are theperquisite attached to a retiringPrime Ministers, Presidents etc.

Consequent to the rout in the

2014 general election, former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh had tovacate the Race Course Road resi-dence for the new Prime Minister.Singh shifted to a spacious type-VIIIbungalow set in a sprawling three-acre plot in the heart of New Delhi.

The new house of Singh, whichis situated at 3, Motilal Nehru place,has well maintained lawns and officespace to meet the requirement of aformer Prime Minister.

Singh and his wife are entitled tooccupy the house for their lifetime.The bungalow is home to about 40full-grown trees, including peepal,arjun, goolar, marorfalli, jamun,neem, mango and semal, whichshelter about 60 species of birds and mammals.

Similarly, on his retirement, for-mer President Pranab Mukherjee,after a stay at the palatial RashtrapatiBhavan, has moved to a new address— 10, Rajaji Marg, a sprawling11,776 square feet house, which hasa l ibrar y and an attached reading space.

Mukherjee will get a lifetimemonthly pension of �1,50,000. Theincrease in pension came after thePresident’s salary was increased from�1.5 lakh to five lakh rupee permonth, following the salary revisionunder the Seventh Pay Commission.

Under the President’sEmoluments and Pension(Amendment) Act, 2008, Mukherjeeis entitled to free travel anywhere inIndia, accompanied by a person by the

‘highest class, by air, rail, or steamer’.Mukherjee, who rode in a bullet-

proof Mercedes as a President, willnow be entitled to a car for lifetimeand staff expenses of �60,000 a year.

His secretarial staff comprises ofa private secretary, an additional pri-vate secretary, a personal assistantand two peons.

Mukherjee will also get two tele-phones — one for Internet andbroadband connectivity and a mobilephone with country-wide roamingfacility, besides free medical atten-dance and treatment.

Former Vice Presidents receive�1,25,000 per month as pension, andthey get free accommodation intype-VIII houses with free electric-ity and water, telephone facilitiesequivalent to an a Member ofParliament, free medical aid and freetravel by highest class anywhere inIndia accompanied by one person.

Spouses of former Presidentsand Vice Presidents receive 50 percent pension, they get free accommo-dation in Type-VII houses, a tele-phone, 250 litres of petrol and stafffor free medical aid and free travela dozen times anywhere in India.

Are these privileges consistentwith socialist principles? Are theyconsistent with the idea of an egal-itarian social order? Or is this thenew privy purse that we had abolished 45 years ago?

(The writer retired as a seniorofficial with the Comptroller andAuditor-General of India)

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Page 8: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

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Ahead of the pronounce-ment the sentence on rape

convict Gurmeet Ram RahimSingh, two ashrams of DeraSacha Soudha in Bengaluruand Mysuru have been closedand police have made elaboratesecurity arrangements.

The ‘Param Moksha’ashram set up by GurmeetRam Rahim Singh atSiddalingapura near Mysuruon the Bengaluru Highway,following his arrest on chargesof rape had around 30 to 40devotees. The controversialGod man came here in 2008fearing his life and stayed forfew days.

The ashram, spreadacross 3.5 acres on the busyMysuru-Bengaluru Highway,was set up in 2008. Since theland was reportedly pur-chased directly from farmers,permission was not given toconstruct any structures, asper the exist ing rules .However, a big meditationhall has been built, where the‘Satsang’ is held every Sunday.Around 8-10-foot compoundwall surrounds the entire plotwith only one entry/exitpoint. The ashram has con-siderable devotees comingfrom few distr icts of

Karnataka and attends sat-sang every Sunday. Theashram now is locked andpolice have made elaboratesecurity arrangements to pre-vent any untoward incident.

A devotee who attends hisSatsang said “ I strongly believemy guru will be absolved of allcharges and emerge victorious.”According to sources, migrantworkers, software professionalsand others from north visit hisashram regularly.

According to MysuruPolice CommissionerSubramanyeshwara Rao theyhave not received any ordersfrom the Union Home Ministryregarding sealing of the ashramin Mysuru. But ready to deploypolice if needed.”

Meanwhile South WesternRailway has cancelled someNorth bound trains followingthe outbreak of violence inPunjab and Haryana after theconviction of self-proclaimedgodman Gurmeet Ram RahimSingh in a rape case.

Dera has an Ashram atPeenya in North Bengaluruwhere more number ofmigrants live. The ashram wastill Friday was bustling withactivities and fallen silent afterhis arrest. According to policehis supporters have vacatedand the Ashram is locked.

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Call it an election gimmickor a real concern for the

deprived. Lingayat strongmanand state BJP president BSYeddyurappa is going to host33 Dalit families from acrossthe state for lunch on August28. For Yeddyurappa it’s areturn gift and concern as hehad breakfast with them whenhe toured the state as part of hisJan Sampark Abhiyan.

He has invited them to hisposh home at RMV extensionin Bengaluru a gesture seen asa move to appease Dalits aheadof assembly polls which is cru-cial for both the BJP and theruling Congress.

A Press release issued byBJP in Bengaluru confirmedthis and stated” Having invit-ed them for lunch on August28, Yeddyurappa will be host-ing them at his home in DollarsColony. He will be welcomingthe Dalit brethren” with greataffection at his home, have aninformal chat with them, servethem lunch and “personally”see them off ”.

However the ruling con-gress was quick to react andridiculed his food politics andsaid “ it is just a gimmick notout of any love for the dalits.”The congress also said it was anopportunistic politics.

Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah came down onYeddyurappa and saidYeddyurappa’s new found lovefor Dalits is nothing more thanopportunism.

BJP Chief Yeddyurappahad got into a controversy ear-lier this year when he alleged-ly ate idlis at a Dalit family’shome got it from a hotel.

Senior Dalit leader and

state Congress President GParameshwara, was very sar-castic and chided the move asfood politics. He said “”Byinviting Dalits to his home,Yeddyurappa must be thinkingthat it a great achievement.When he was in power,Yeddyurappa never invited anyDalit family to his home but isshowing this sudden affectionnow.” He went on to chideYeddyurappa by questioningwhether the food he will servewill be from a nearby hotel orhome cooked.

After the visit of nationalpresident Amit Shah, the stateBJP is going in full throttle totake on the congress led bySiddaramaiah who is playingthe appeasement politics tothe hilt. BJP which is bankingon Yeddyurappa to garner awin has leaving no stone unturned as an opportunity. As anew policy after the experimentin UP, the BJP has started lur-ing Dalits to its fold inKarnataka. They have also talk-ing about making CongressMukth Karnataka to enterSouth in a big way.

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Dera Sacha Sauda of con-troversial Gorman

Gurmeet Singh Ram Raheemhad planned to set up anashram in Nalgonda district ofTelangana, about 100 kms fromHyderabad.

Gurmeet Singh, who hashit the headlines after a courtconvicted him of rape andwhose hundreds of thousandsof followers went on rampagein Haryana, Punjab and Delhi,had purchase 59 acres of landat Veliminedu village underChityala Mandal in Nalgonda.District over a period of sevenyears from 2008.

A compound wall was alsobuilt around the property andthe plans were being drawn tobuild an Ashram, a hotel, a col-lege and an old age home.

The plans were in thepipeline for quite some time.However, their was resistancefrom the local people followingthe allegations that the landpurchased include assignedland allotted to the poor whichcannot be sold to any other per-son.

Following the growingpressure from the villagers todemolish the compound walland recover the assigned landthe revenue departmentauthorities took up the enquiryand found the irregularities.

Manda Revenue officer ChVijayalakshmi said, “ourinquiry has shown that part ofthe land was encroached uponby the Trust”, adding that thegovernment will initiate the

steps to recover the land”. The entire land was regis-

tered in the name of one ShyamLal, DSS representative of DSSin Hyderabad and four otherindividuals Puroshottam Lal,Satbeer, Chandrakant andChandrababu.

Villagers say GurmeetSingh had invited the Sarpanch(elected head) of the village toSirsa in Haryana two years backand donated �100000 to the vil-lage for the construction of atemple, a cycle stand in gov-ernment school and installinga statue of Swami Vivekananda.He had also discussed theplans of setting up Ashram inthe village, a few kms off thebusy Hyderabad-Vijayawadahigh way.

However the latest turn ofevents has put a question markover the plans and majority ofvillagers have a sigh of reliefthat such a controversialAshram did not materialise.But there were also people inthe village who regret that thevillage did not get the projectspromised by Gurmeet Singh.

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After the fury of the highestrainfall of this monsoon

over the weekend leftHyderabad city battered andinundated, the two Telugustates of Telangana and AndhraPradesh were bracing for morerains over the next 48 hours.more than 12 cm rain wasrecorded in Madhapur area ofthe city in 15 hours.

Indian MeteorologicalDepartment in Hyderabadforecast heavy rain under theinfluence of upper cycloniccirculation over Bay of Bengaland coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Weather officials said thesystem was likely to intensifyinto low pressure causing heavyrains over coastal Andhra.

Sky in Hyderabad wasovercast on Sunday eveningand daylight was dimmed bythe thick black clouds threat-ening to burst.

Several colonies in andaround Hyderabad were inun-dated after the heavy rains. Thecity recorded 16 CMs of rains

on Friday and Saturday bring-ing normal life to a halt. Thetorrential rains damaged theroads washing away the blacktopping at many places and cre-ating obstacles for the traffic.

As many as 27 main drainsacross the city were overflow-ing bringing lots of water intothe Hussain Sagar lake in theheart of the city. As the watercrossed the full tank level of513.53 feet authorities openedits flood gates. Water had stag-nated at 395 places. Such wasthe fury of the thunder stormthat it brought down 65 trees.

Greater HyderabadMunicipal corporation com-missioner Janardhan Reddysaid that 200 emergency teamswere deployed to deal with the

situation. Citizen faced a lot of woes

specially in the areas whereroads were different up for var-ious works including laying ofpipelines.

Some flyovers also had tobe closed as water had stag-nated at their entry points.

Panic spread in DharaniNagar colony in Kukatpally astoxic froth over flew from acanal of Parkhi Chervu. Whilelocal people alleged that thetoxic depth was the result ofindustrial aff luents fromJeedimetla area entering thelake the Pollution ControlBoard officials said that thesewage was causing the prob-lem and they were spraying antifoaming solution.

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The Kerala Police havelaunched a cyber offensive

to defeat the public relationsexercises of Islamic State (ISIS)through social media plat-forms for luring youths fromthe State even as the force is inpossession of enough clues tobelieve that at least 14 Keraliteswho had joined the terror forcehad been killed since Februarythis year in Syria andAfghanistan.

The strategy used in theoffensive, jointly byCyberdome, the Kerala Police’stechnological research anddevelopment centre, and itsIntelligence wing, is said to bethree-pronged: Constant sur-veillance, deletion of informa-tion being circulated amongpeople suspected to be in theterror network and postingpositive messages in place oferased content.

The police’s plan is to bringall social media collectives sus-pected to have mysterious linksunder observation. Some 50 to60 groups active over the socialmedia are said to be under thesurveillance of the police andthese groups include not justthose related to ISIS but also toother such movements andLeft extremists.

The police have learnedthat the ISIS has alreadyreached its messages to hun-dreds of youths in Kerala

through its social media groupslike Message to Kerala, admin-istered earlier by ShajeerAbdullah Mangalassery fromKozhikode, believed to be oneof the earliest ISIS recruitsfrom Kerala.

One of the methods of thepolice’s operation is said to beto subject open posts as well asmessages directed to individualmembers of groups on socialmedia networks to intenseobservation. Cyber experts inthe police say that false newsand fake videos intended at dis-rupting communal harmonyare being exchanged over suchplatforms in a big way.

According to the police,most of the people indulging inthis cyberspace propagandaare using false IDs and most ofthem are living abroad.Tracking them down accu-rately “in an ocean of data andtraffic” is literally impossible,they say.

However, there are people

– even within the police com-munity – who hold that such astrategy would not have legal ormoral sanctity, especially in thecontext of the recent SupremeCourt verdict upholding rightto privacy. Many cyber expertsand rights activists believe thatthe very existence ofCyberdome is perhaps illegaland unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, the KeralaPolice’s Intelligence wing hasreceived enough clues tobelieve that at least 14 KeraliteISIS recruits have been killed inbattles and that most of thesedeaths had occurred inencounters with the Syrianarmed forces. ShajeerMangalassery, known as thehead of the Kerala wing of theISIS, is said to be one amongthose killed in Syria andAfghanistan.

Shajeer, according to theKerala Police and the NationalInvestigation Agency, wasbehind the Malayalam medium

websites and social mediagroups floated on behalf of theISIS for luring Keralites into theterror outfit. The sites thatwere believed to have beenunder his control are no morefunctional, according tosources.

The ISIS recruits killed sofar in Syria and Afghanistaninclude four from the group of21 persons from Kasaragod andPalakkad, including six womenand three children, who hadgone missing from the countrylast year and were feared tohave joined the ISIS. Three ofthem were from Kasaragoddistrict and one, Yahia, fromYakkara in Palakkad.

The Intelligence wing ofthe police has also receivedinformation that among thosekilled were four persons fromKannur district, one fromKozhikode, one fromMalappuram and two fromPalakkad. However, one ofthese two persons fromPalakkad, Abu Tahir, was saidto be a recruit of an Al Qaedawing in Syria.

If reports are to be believed,a minimum of 80 Keralites,including women and chil-dren, are in the camps of ISISin Syria and Nagarhar inAfghanistan. Apart from them,many more persons fromnorthern Kerala have alreadybecome ISIS sympathizers andseveral of them are said to beabroad.

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The need of the hour forpeople is to stay united,

shun violence and worktowards equality in all aspectsto enable India progress, VicePresident M Venkaiah Naidusaid today.

After inaugurating an exhi-bition “New India – resolve toachieve” to mark the platinumjubilee of the Quit India move-ment at Anna University here,he said seven decades after thecountry had achieved inde-pendence, issues like poverty,illiteracy, gender inequalityand caste discrimination werestill prevalent. “We mustall resolve to fight these evilsand work towards the country’sprogress,” said Naidu, who wason his maiden visit to the cityafter taking over as VicePresident.

He also urged the politicalleadership at the central andstate levels to work to fightthese evils.

“There is no place for vio-lence in a democratic societyand it must be curbed. We haveto stand united against it. If vio-lence takes place, people are thelosers,” he said while referringto violence in some parts of the

country.He also said that people

will have to stand united

against terrorism in any form.Naidu also batted for find-

ing ways to make agriculture

profitable and sustainable forthe farming community andsaid “we are a huge population.

We cannot sustain on import-ed food alone and need to pro-duce our own food.”

“We have to make farmingprofitable and sustainable anda long-term solution has to befound to help farmers,” he said.

The Vice President alsosaid that the time has come tobridge the urban-rural divideand ensure equality for all.

He termed the recentSupreme Court verdict on‘triple talaq’ as a historic oneand said it would go a long wayin ending gender discrimina-tion.Naidu said it was imperative to preserve the freedom won after a long strug-gle.

He exhorted the people toresolve to eliminate casteism,communalism, corruption,gender bias, illiteracy andpoverty.

Earlier, on his arrival,Naidu was given a warm wel-come by Governor ChVidyasagar Rao, Tamil NaduDeputy Chief Minister OPanneerselvam, BJP State unitchief Tamilisai Soundararajanand Rajya Sabha MP IlaGanesan.The Governor pre-sented a copy of the Telugu ver-sion of “Tirukkural” (Tamiltreatise)” to Naidu.

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Panun Kashmir, a represen-tative body of migrant

Kashmiri Pandits, on Sundaydemanded revocation of thecontentious Article 370 whichgives special status to Jammuand Kashmir, and the creationof a separate homeland for thecommunity within the State.

At the body’s annualnational convention here, sev-eral resolutions were passedwhich besides revocation ofArticle 370, also called forpolitical reorganisation of theState and creation of a central-

ly-administered union territo-ry north and east of the Jhelumriver for the return and reha-bilitation of Kashmiri Pandits,a statement said.

Pledging to continue itsstruggle for a homeland, the

delegates unanimously adopt-ed the resolution seeking abo-lition of Article 370 of theConstitution.

“A resolve was made tosupport all efforts leading torepealing of the Article 370 andArticle 35A of the Constitution.Panun Kashmir realises thatunless Article 370 is abolished,the movement for repeatedpartitions of India will remainalive and potent,” the statementsaid.

Former BJP leader HariOm termed Article 35A as a“discriminatory and unconsti-tutional provision” and cau-

tioned the Government andpeople against settling ofRohingyas and BangladeshiMuslims in Jammu region.

“The ongoing demograph-ic attrition in Jammu needs tobe reversed at every cost, asJammu is the backbone of theNation in the State,” he said.

Convener of PanunKashmir, Agnishekhar calledupon the youth of the com-munity to keep working on“novel instrumentalities ofstruggle” for a homeland inexile, and to awaken the worldagainst the “Jehad” beingunleashed.

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Aprofessor of IIT Kharagpurgot drowned in a large

water filled ditch on Sundaywhile trying to rescue his 4-year-old child who had falleninto the waterbody near the IITcampus in Kharagpur Ruralarea of West Midnapore districttoday, police said.

Local people took JoydipBhattacharjee, a faculty mem-ber of Department of NavalArchitecture and OceanEngineering, and his son out ofthe water and took them tohospital where the professorwas declared brought dead.

IIT sources said the 40-year-old professor was taking astroll with his two children out-side the campus when onechild fell into the ditch whiletrying to take a selfie.

Bhattacharjee tried to pullout his son from the water butlost balance and fell into theditch.

Registrar Pradip Ghoshsaid, “He went outside to spendthe Sunday with his two chil-dren. We are shocked to hearthe news about his death.”

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Page 9: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

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Fissures appeared in theGorkhaland Movement

Coordination Committee, anumbrella body of 30 pro-Gorkhaland outfits after anumber of parties like CPRM,Jan Andolan Party decided notto join the State Governmentsponsored all-party meetingon August 29.

The meeting was calledfor a speedy solution to theongoing crisis in the Hillswhich has seen two districts ofDarjeeling and Kalimpong wit-nessing indefinite bandh, ram-pant violence, bombing, arson-ing and several deaths for thepast 80 odd days on the issueof a separate Gorkhaland State.

Wondering as to “why theparties like Gorkha NationalLiberation Front wrote to theState Government seeking talkswithout consulting the other

constituents,” leaders of CPRMa splinter group of the CPI(M)and the third largest party inthe Hills, JAP and other partiessaid they would not take partin the August 29 meeting.

A meeting of the GMCCscheduled for Sunday was can-celled as the delegates refusedto join questioning the arbi-trary decision by the GNLF towrite to the State Governmentby-passing the umbrella body.

Notwithstanding, the lead-ers of both GNLF and theGorkha Janmukti Morchawhich is the largest outfit in theHills have decided to join themeeting where they are likelyto raise the issue of separateGorkhaland State and “nothingelse.”

A five-member delegationof the GJM led by senior leaderBenay Tamang is likely toattend the all-party meetingwhere it will raise the issue of“Gorkhaland only,” sourcessaid.

With consecutive high-intensity blasts at several placesat Darjeeling and Kalimpongmuch along the lines of Maoistattacks have made the August29 meeting all the more impor-tant.

“This meeting is importantfor many reasons. On the suc-cess of this meeting will dependthe future of Darjeeling and itspeople. We will attend themeeting to raise the demand fora separate Gorkhaland Stateandnothing less,” Tamang said.

Reacting to the proposedmeeting State CPI(M) secretarySuryakanto Mishra said “thereshould be a tripartite meetinginvolving theCentre, the Stateand the people of Darjeeling.”State BJP president Dilip Ghoshhoped a “positive outcome”from the meeting adding his-party was always ready to helpin finding a solution to thevexed issue.

����� 3;93 �

In what is suspected as thefirst instance of cow vigilan-

tism claiming a victim inMamata Banerjee’s Bengal, twoalleged cow smugglers were-lynched by a mob at Dhupguriin Jalpaiguri district of NorthBengal.

A third person who wasalso travelling with the victims,however, managed to escape.He was later arrested by thepolice. Two persons HafizulSheikh and Anwar Husseinwere beaten to death when theywere ferrying animals, police atDhupguri said refusing tocoment on whether this was apart of cow vigilantism.

The two victims who wererushed to the hospital by thepolice where they weredeclared brought dead, sourcessaid. “It is not certain and weare investigating the case,” saida senior police officer, addingthere were strict orders tothwart attempt to commu-nalise the region ahead ofBakr Id.

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At least five civilians includ-ing a minor and woman

were injured in fresh incidentof ceasefire violation inShahpur Kerni area of Poonchlate Sunday evening.

According to reports Pakarmy initiated ‘unprovoked’firing on forward Indian postsand civilian areas of Shahpurkerni in Poonch around 6.00p.m.

Pak army also targetedcivilian areas by lobbing mor-tar shells in which five civiliansreceived splinter injuries.

The local police and vil-lagers struggled hard to shiftthe injured to the nearby hos-pital in Poonch.

Till late evening only twoinjured were rushed to thehospital amid intermittentexchange of firing. DefenceSpokesman was not availablefor comments.

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In an effort aimed at fosteringthe spirit of co-operative fed-

eralism and promoting theconcept of ‘Pradesh-Mein-Videsh’ in the country, Ministerfor External Affairs SushmaSwaraj on Sunday inauguratedan integrated CommonPremises ‘Videsh Bhavan’ forfour all subordinate offices ofher Ministry, in Mumbai.

Speaking at the inauguralfunction, Swaraj said: “Fosteringthe spirit of co-operative feder-alism, Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA) shall work inclose coordination with StateGovernments based on conceptof ‘Pradesh-Mein-Videsh’. Thisinitiative is a step in direction tomake citizen friendly ‘door-step’ service delivery and pro-mote Good Governance”.

“All the services, includingpassport services, consular ser-vices, by the MEA be housed

under single roof in Mumbai,”the Minister said, as she reit-erated the Government’s com-mitment for effective andspeedy service delivery.

Swaraj said that till 2014,there were only 77 PassportSeva Kendra in the entire coun-try “However, there are now251 Passport Seva Kendra inthe country. Of these, 235 weremade functional in last sixmonths,” she said.

The Minister said thatrules and Acts have beenreviewed and simplified tostreamline procedures andmake more relevant for the pre-sent times.

Emphasising that not onlyeffective but sensitive andresponsible approach was takenup by the Government, the min-ister said that more than 80,000distressed Indians had been res-cued from countries across theworld in last three years.

Being a first pilot project,

four offices of Ministry ofExternal Affairs in Mumbai --- Regional Passport Office,Protector of Emigrants Office,Branch Secretariat and Regionaloffice of Indian Council forCultural Relations —have beenassimilated and brought underone roof. The newly construct-ed modern, fully equipped,state – of-the-art office has allamenities for the public atBandra-Kurla Complex (BKC)in north-central Mumbai.

Speaking on the occasion,Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis congratu-lated the MEA for its initiative.“Mumbai, the economic andfinancial capital, has one of thestrongest diplomatic commu-

nities. I am confident that theVidesh Bhavan will strengthenthe Government’s relationshipwith diplomatic community.Students and young entrepre-neurs will be benefitted withthis integrated service delivery”.

Fadnavis said that tech-nology would enable hassle-free procedures like the policeverification and offered hisgovernment’s full cooperationthe MEA’s new initiative.

Minister of State forMinistry of External Affairs,Gen. (Dr.) V.K. Singh (Retd.)said this integration of region-al offices and services was in linewith the Government’s motto of‘Maximum Governance,Minimum Government’.

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Four insurgents of thebanned National Liberation

Front of Tripura (NLFT) havesurrendered to BSF atRaisyabari, a remote border vil-lage in Dhalai district of thestate, police said on Sunday.

BSF handed over the insur-gents to the police on Saturdayand during preliminary inter-rogation they revealed thatthey fled from the outfit’s hide-out at Chittagong Hill Tract ofneighbouring Bangladesh,Gandacherra sub-divisionalpolice officer Jawhar Debbarmatold reporters.

“The insurgents living inthe hideouts are reeling undersevere food and financial cri-sis,” Debbarma quoted theultras as saying.

The outfit, he said, hasstarted fresh recruitment pos-sibly for subversive activitiesbefore the assembly electionsslated for February next year.

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In order to encourage entre-preneurship qualities among

the students, officials of CentralBoard of Secondary Education(CBSE) and facultiesE n t r e p r e n e u r s h i pDevelopment Institute of India(EDII), Ahmedabad will forma working group which wouldcome out with recommenda-tions on entrepreneurshiptraining for the secondary stu-dents within two months.

Talking to The Pioneer,CBSE chairman RK Chaturvedisaid two senior officials fromCBSE and couple of facultiesfrom EDI would jointly dis-

cussed on the future roadmapon the vocational training anddevelopment of entrepreneur-ship qualities among studentsin lines with the CentralGovernment’s Start-Up initia-tive.

‘’Of the 90,000 odd CBSEschools across the country,mere 512 schools are equippedto impart vocational training to

students. The idea is to intro-duce courses related to voca-tions for class 11th and 12thinitially. Later on such courseswould be introduce right fromclass 6th,’’ said Chaturvedi onthe side-lines of a function atEDII campus on the outskirtsof the state capitalGandhinagar.

The members of the work-

ing group from CBSE as well asEDII would discuss of courses,course materials and train thetrainers programs for teachersentrepreneurship and voca-tional education, said EDIIdirector Sunil Shukla.According to Shukla, the idea isto come out with the long termstrategies on entrepreneurshipeducation and how to apply rec-ommendations of workinggroup effectively in curriculumsfor secondary students.

Meanwhile Chaturvediwho interacted with the schoolprincipals from Gujarat,Maharashtra, Madhya Pradeshand Rajasthan on the subject ata function at EDII said that the

education department was inthe process to form NationalTesting Agency to conductcompetitive examinations likeJEE, NEET and others.

On the issue of higher feesby the CBSE affiliated schools,he clarified that the schoolswere obliged to follow thenorms laid by the state gov-ernment, including rulings ofthe Fee Regulatory Committee(FRC) with regard to fee struc-ture. He made it clear that thenorms of the state govern-ment were applicable to CBSEschools (where ever the CBSEschools are functioning) alongwith that of State board schools.

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Hundreds of Rohingya mus-lim families camping in

and around different residen-tial colonies of Jammu arestaring at an uncertain futureahead.

Ever since the Ministry ofHome Affairs (MHA) hasannounced that illegal immi-grants staying in Jammu andKashmir would be deportedsoon after completing theiridentification process thesepoor families have been spend-ing sleepless nights fearing fortheir ‘livelihood’ and ‘safety’.

Majority of these Rohingyamuslims have been campinghere since last 8-12 years andearning their livelihood byselling scrap, collectinggarbage, working as locallabourers, sweepers, factoryworkers etc.

When this correspondentvisited one of the clusters ofRohingya muslims on the out-skirts of Jammu on Sundaylarge number of them were sit-ting in small groups discussingthe possible fallout of the MHAdiktat to the State Government.

Imam Hussain, in his earlythirties, told The Pioneer, “ihave been earning livelihood byimporting fresh variety of fish

from Mumbai. He said i visitMumbai thrice a month andimport fresh variety of fish forsale in the local market”.

At least half a dozen otheryouth travel with him andbook their consignments onrail luggage and sell fresh fishin the market.

“We are earning well.Noone here so far created any hur-dle nor disturbed us. But if weare forced to move out i mayhave to think about earning mylivelihood and safety of mychildren. The situation inBurma is not conducive that itake them back home”, ImamHussain told The Pioneer.

Another Rohingya muslimKamal Hussain, working as adaily wage labourer said, “eventhough I am struggling tomake both ends meet but i amhappy i am alive and feedingmy children here. I am notready to return to Burma”,Hussain asserted. “I do notwant to loose my children atthe hands of state violence inBurma”,he added.

According to the data col-lected by the J&K HomeDepartment around 5700Rohingya muslims have beenstaying in Jammu for past sev-eral years on the outskirts ofJammu.

Children of these familieshave been admitted in the stategovernment run schools inBhatindi and Narwal Bala areaof Jammu while others areadmitted in ‘Madrassas’(Islamic schools).

Referring to the decision ofthe central government to sendthem back home 55 year oldShabir Ahmad said, “ None ofus camping here are willing toreturn home. He said if we areforced to vacate the place wewill have to do the same but onour own we do not want to gohome”.

Sadam Hussain, anotheryoung man earning his liveli-hood by selling waste materi-al told The Pioneer,” if theGovernment will send us homewe cannot fight against them.He said only problem inBurma is prevailing securitysituation. He said my parentsare living in Burma and i keepreceiving inputs how muslimswere being hunted down andeliminated.

Maulana Oli Ollah, teach-ing here at Madrassa TulMahjreen, Sunjwan appealed tothe Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to speak todemocratically elected leadersin Myanmar to facilitate theirearly and safe return.

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The ongoing agitation by1.5 lakh cine workers took

a controversial turn on Sunday,as the city police preventedMumbai Congress chief SanjayNirupam from meeting veter-an actor Amitabh Bachchan toplead their case and seek thelatter’s support to the 12-day-old strike.

Nirupam, who had earlierin the day tweeted saying thatthe police had prevented himfrom coming out of his hometo lead a lead a delegation ofagitating cine workers toBachchan’s Juhu residence“Jalsa”, said in the evening: “Iwas taken to the Versova PoliceStation where I was detained till6.30 pm with the sole purposeof preventing me from leadinga delegation of cine workers toBachchan’s residence”.

Nirupam had on Saturdayannounced his plans to take amorcha of the agitating workersowing affiliation to Federation ofWestern India Cine Employees(FWICE), an umbrella organi-zation of more than 22 differentunions, to Bachchan’s residenceto seek the actor’s support to theongoing strike.

Talking to media personsafter he came out of theVersova police station,Nirupam said, “Together witha delegation of cine workers, Iplanned to meet Bachchan torequest him to support the agi-tation. Bachchan is role modelfor the film industry and hissupport to the agitation wouldmake a lot of difference”.

“But by preventing me tomeet the senior actor, the policeconducted themselves likemere pawns in the hands of theruling BJP functionaries. I have

a strong reason to believe thatthe BJP is trying to break thelegitimate agitation of FWICEworkers,” the MumbaiCongress chief said.

“Despite our pleas, Bach-chan continues to shoot for theupcoming ‘Kaun BanegaCrorepati’ show in Film Citywith police security. This isshocking and we shall contin-ue our protest,” Nirupam said.

The cine workers com-prising spot boys, juniorartistes, technicians, camera-men, art-directors, set design-ers, style photographers, fightmasters, make-up persons anddress suppliers besides othershave been agitating August 14and demanding among otherthings eight-hour shifts, healthinsurance and job security.Meanwhile, a posse of policepersonnel was deployed outsideBachchan’s residence “Jalsa”.

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Page 10: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

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����������Infosys ex-CFO VBalakrishnan has said newChairman Nandan Nilekanishould continue his stint for 2-3 years to chart out a propersuccession plan and ensurethat efforts of the company tobe professionally-managed donot “fail again”.

Balakrishnan, who hasbeen one of the most vocal crit-ics flagging alleged erosion incorporate governance stan-dards at Infosys, also stuck tohis demand that co-chair-turned- independent directorRavi Venkatesan step downfrom the Board.

“...It was a big experimentthat happened in 2014 withprofessional board handlingthe company, CEO replacingthe founders but because theBoard has not functioned well,that experiment failed. So the

experiment should not failagain,” he told the news agency.

Balakrishnan added thatNilekani should focus on get-ting a good chairman “when-ever he leaves in the future” toensure that the “Board is in safehands”.

“I think for 2-3 years heshould be there because he hasseveral things to do...Boardrecast, get a CEO, handholdhim for sometime and createsuccession plan for chairmanpost. The (earlier) Board wasweak, it was not able to com-municate well... The Boardwas a big let-down,” he said.

It has been two weekspacked with action and esca-lated tension for India’s secondlargest software firm.

A year-long stand-offbetween the founders and themanagement culminated in

the sudden resignation of CEOVishal Sikka as well as that ofChairman R Seshasayee andtwo other Board members.

The developments also sawco-chair Ravi Venkatesan mov-ing to the role of independentdirector and co-founder andAadhaar architect NandanNilekani coming in for a sec-

ond innings at Infosys.“...The first priority for

him should be to recast theBoard because whatever hap-pened in the past, the positionof some of the board membersis untenable, like (that of)Ravi,” Balakrishnan said.

He added Nilekani willlook at all the issues, consult

with the stakeholders and“bring everything to conclu-sion”.

Balakrishnan said the re-constitution of the Board, andhaving checks and balances inplace will create a lot of com-fort for the incoming CEO.

Asked if the companyneeded to make its stance clear

on the reports of law and auditfirms on the Panaya acquisition-- which was the bone of con-tention between the foundersand management --Balakrishnan said Infosysshould make the investigationreports public.

“I think the companyshould publish it,” he said.

In the same breath, headded that Nilekani has justtaken over and should be givenadequate time to look at all theissues, including the Panayadeal.

Nilekani, on his first dayback at Infosys, had said he isreaching out to key clients andemployees, even as he soughtmore time to provide an updateon his strategy and companyperformance.

One of the most crucialaspects of Nilekani’s task wouldbe to find a CEO for the over$10-billion IT firm. Nilekanihas said the company will casta wide net to look at internaland external candidates, aswell as Infosys “alumni”, to fillthe top position.

Asked if he would beinterested in taking up theCEO or a Board position at

Infosys, Balakrishnananswered in the negative.

“No. I left three yearsback. I am running a venturefund now, I am not interest-ed... There are others... AshokVemuri, BG Srinivas,Mohan... Infosys has a largealumni base, all good hands,”he said.

There have been reportsthat officials like interim CEOPravin Rao, CFO RanganathD Mavinakere, president anddeputy COO Ravi Kumar Sand BFSI head Mohit Joshi arein fray for the top job.

With Infosys now looking atalumni as well, the contenderscould include Mohandas Pai(former CFO and HR Head),Ashok Vemuri (formerAmericas Head and Boardmember) and B G Srinivas (for-mer President). ���

2���������������"�������"�����5-6�"��������������������7�/�������������Shrugging off a week-long upheaval at the board, Infosysemployees stepped in to restoreclient confidence through a videosaying they continue to focus onthe “next big idea”, unperturbed bythe recent events at the company.

The video, which wasshared on Infosys’ official Facebookpage, received over 1,50,000 viewsand more than 2,100 likes. It had

also been shared 786 times as onAugust 26.

The said video -- posted onthe same day (August 24) Infosysappointed Nandan Nilekani as itsnew Chairman -- starts with thecaption: “The world is focusing onInfosys, what are you focusing on?We ask the Infoscions.”

Infosys, which has over twolakh employees, has been hogging

headlines as the founders and themanagement engaged in a war ofwords -- often publicly on allega-tions of governance lapses at thecompany.

Last week saw the foundersstaging a dramatic coup, bringingback co-founder NandanNilekani as its Chairman, replac-ing R Seshasayee.

The entire episode has also

seen exits of CEO Vishal Sikkaand two other independent boardmembers.

The company has rushedinto a damage control mode.Apart from the video featuringemployees, Infosys also heldmarathon investor calls and apress meet within hours ofNilekani taking over on theevening of August 24. ���

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����������The Serious FraudInvestigation Office (SFIO)now has powers to arrest peo-ple for violations of companieslaw, with the Government noti-fying relevant provisions amidthe crackdown on illicit fundflows.

The shot in the arm for theprobe agency also comes at atime when the Government iscracking the whip on suspect-ed shell companies being usedfor illegal activities, includingmoney laundering and tax eva-sion.

While the Companies Act,2013 provides powers of arrestto the SFIO, which comesunder the corporate affairsministry, the provision hasbeen notified only now.

Most provisions of the Actcame into force on April 1,2014.

The SFIO is a multi-disci-plinary organisation havingexperts for prosecution ofwhite-collar crimes and fraudsunder the companies law.

The ministry has notifiedthe rules pertaining to arrestsin connection withInvestigation by the SFIO andthey came into effect fromAugust 24.

The director as well asadditional or assistant director

level officials at the SFIO canarrest a person if they believehe or she is guilty of anyoffence with regard to the casebeing probed, the ministrysaid in a notification.

According to the ministry,the reason for arrest should berecorded in writing.

“In case of an arrest beingmade by additional director orassistant director, the priorwritten approval of the direc-tor SFIO shall be obtained,” asper the notification.

The SFIO director wouldbe the competent authority forall decisions pertaining toarrest.

The arrest of a person inconnection with a governmentor a foreign company underinvestigation can be made bythe SFIO only “with prior writ-ten approval of the central

government”.Besides, such arrest should

be intimated to the managingdirector or the person in-charge of the affairs of theGovernment company.

In case the person arrest-ed is the managing director orperson in-charge of a govern-ment company, then the sec-retary of the administrativeministry concerned should beintimated by the arresting offi-cer, the ministry said.

A Government source saidthe decision on whether a casehas to be probed by the SFIOis taken by the ministry andonce an investigation islaunched, then the agency haspowers to decide whether aperson need to be arrested ornot.

On the delay in notifyingthe particular provision that

provides the SFIO with powersto arrest, the source said themodalities were in the worksand now the agency is readywith them.

According to the ministry,the SFIO would maintain anarrest register which wouldhave entries about particularsof the arrestee, date and time ofarrest as well as other relevantinformation pertaining to everyarrest made by the agency’sofficers.

“The provisions of theCode of Criminal Procedure,1973 (2 of 1974), relating toarrest shall be applied mutatismutandis to every arrest madeunder this (Companies) Act,”the ministry said.

The SFIO probed 366 casesin the last three financial years,with 111 of them coming underthe scanner in 2016-17, theministry informed the RajyaSabha last month.

Among others, the SFIOdirector has to preserve thecopy of arrest order togetherwith supporting materials for aperiod of five years.

The period would startfrom the date of judgement orfinal order of the trial court, incases where the said judgementhas not been impugned in theappellate court. ���

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����������Public sector bankshave taken loan recoveryaction under Sarfaesi lawagainst 5,954 wilful defaultersowing about �70,000 crore tothe lenders.

At the end of March 31,2017, 21 banks together havetaken action against 5,954 wil-ful defaulter underSecuritisation andReconstruction of FinancialAssets and Enforcement ofSecurity Interest (Sarfaesi) Act,as per data collated by theFinance Ministry.

The country’s largestlender SBI has taken action

against 1,444 such defaulterswith outstanding loan of�20,943 crore.

Remaining 20 banks havetaken action against 4,510 wil-ful defaulters with outstandingloan of �48,496 crore.

Total outstanding loansdue to public sector banks bywilful defaulters amounted to�92,376 crore, according to thefinance ministry data.

The total outstandingloans by wilful defaulters roseto �92,376 crore at the end offinancial year 2016-17, from�76,685 crore at the end of fis-cal 2015-16 -- up 20.4 per cent.

At the same time, there hasbeen close to 10 per centincrease in the number of wil-ful defaulters on annual basis.It increased to 8,915 at the endof March as against 8,167 inthe previous fiscal.

Out of 8,915 cases of wil-ful defaults, banks have filedFIR (first information report)in 1,914 cases with outstand-ing loans of �32,484 crore.

During 2016-17, 27 publicsector banks, including SBIand its five associates, hadwritten off �81,683 crore, thehighest in the last five fiscals.The amount was 41 per cent

higher than that in the previ-ous fiscal.

Gross NPAs of the publicsector banks rose to �6.41lakh crore at the end of March2017 as against �5.02 lakhcrore a year ago.

In order to check inci-dences of wilful default, RBIhas tightened the norms andmade it clear that promoter ofthe defaulting company cannotescape from his responsibilityeven if he is not a whole-timedirector.

As per earlier guidelines, abank couldn’t label a non-whole-time director of a com-

pany as a wilful defaulterunless there was conclusiveevidence that the individualwas aware of the wilful defaultby the company and had notobjected to it.

A wilful default occurswhen a borrower does nothonour an obligation despitehaving the capacity to pay orsiphons off funds by disposingof assets without the knowl-edge of the bank, according toRBI.

RBI has allowed banks toname and shame wilfuldefaulters by publishing theirphotographs. ���

�������� Raising the issue ofincreasing airport charges andlevies along with high taxation, JetAirways Chairman Naresh Goyalhas said such factors continue to“shackle” the airline industry.

Goyal, in the airline’s annualreport for 2016-17, sent to theshareholders ahead of the compa-ny’s AGM next month, also said theexisting airport infrastructure hasnot been able to match with therapid growth in passenger volumesand aircraft movement.

The Jet Airways Chairman,however, maintained that thedomestic aviation sector remainsrobust and holds out significantopportunities to the players in thespace.

“For aviation to truly realise itspotential, several areas must beaddressed. Escalating airport levies,surcharges and high taxation con-tinue to shackle the industry, “Goyal said.

The current airport infra-structure is unable to keep pacewith the breakneck growth incapacity and traffic, he said adding,“addressing these issues is themost urgent need of the hour.”

However, these challengesnotwithstanding, the domesticaviation market is set for a brightfuture, he added.

Goyal also said government’sUDAN scheme will further boost

air connectivity across the coun-try.

Under ‘Ude Desh Ka AamNagrik’ (UDAN) scheme, air-fares have been capped at �2,500for a one hour flight and it aimsat providing air connectivity to theunserved airports and addingflights to the underserved aero-dromes.

Unserved airports are theone where there is no flight where-as the underserved airports havebeen categorised as the oneswhich have three or less flights perweek.

Significantly, Goyal’s JetAirways along with some otherdomestic carriers did not participatein the first round of bidding foroperating flights under UDANscheme.

In the first phase, five air oper-ators --Alliance Air, SpiceJet, TruJet,Air Deccan and Air Odisha- baggedthe flying rights to operate on 128routes connecting over 30 under-served airports under the scheme.

“I am convinced that theIndian aviation sector remainsrobust and holds out significantopportunities with political andeconomic stability, growth inGDP, higher disposable incomesand a young and aspirational pop-ulation contributing largely to thepotential of aviation,” Goyal saidin the report. ���

��������*�����������EmbattledSahara group is in talks with a largeMiddle-Eastern enterprise for saleof its majority stake in two primeNew York hotels -- including theiconic Plaza which was onceowned by Donald Trump -- esti-mated to command a billion-dol-lar valuation.

Sahara holds 85 per cent inNew York’s Dream Downtownhotel and 70 per cent in the Plaza,where Trump -- then a real estatetycoon and owner of the luxuri-ous property -- married his secondwife Marla Maples in December1993.

Name of the interested buyerfrom Middle East could not beascertained but those havingshown interest earlier include aQatar-based sovereign investmentfund and also some investorsfrom China and the US.

Sources said talks are under-way and could be concluded soonfor sale of stake in the two hotelsheld by Sahara, which is raisingfunds by selling various assets inIndia and abroad for depositingmoney in a special investor refundaccount set up under SupremeCourt orders.

Market sources pegged thecombined estimated valuation ofthe two hotels, which wereacquired by Sahara in 2012 in twoseparate transactions within

months, to be in excess of $1 bil-lion in a sale deal despite thedepressed real estate sector.

The 110-year-old Plaza is sit-uated off Central Park and its own-ership has changed hands severaltimes. The hotel, which has 282rooms in addition to several high-end condos, restaurants and shops,hosted the famous Plaza Accordto devalue the US dollar in 1985.

When contacted, a Saharagroup spokesperson declined todisclose any deal value at this stageor the name of the interested buyerbut confirmed that the talks areunderway with a Middle-Eastentity.

“Sahara is in process of selling(stake in two US hotels) to onelarge enterprise of Middle East. Wewould not be able to share the dealvalue at this stage,” the spokesper-son told the news agency in replyto queries in this regard.

Asked about reports thatAshkenazy Acquisition Corp, aNew York-based investment anddevelopment company, alongwith Plaza’s minority ownerPrince Al-Waleed bin Talal ofSaudi Arabia looking to buyoutSahara from the property, thespokesperson said, “The newspertaining to one M/s AshkenazyAcquisition Corp buying outSahara stake is completelywrong.” ���

0���������!��������������.�������������������"7�2������)�"��

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����������The finance min-istry is open to providing cap-ital support for facilitatingconsolidation among state-owned banks, which are reel-ing under mounting bad loans,official sources said.

The Union cabinet hasapproved the setting up of analternative mechanism, or apanel of ministers, to decide onconsolidation proposals forstate-run banks.

On receiving a proposalfrom stressed banks, if theministerial panel finds thatthe merger is going to create astrong bank, it will not let it gofor want of fund shortage, thesources said, adding that acqui-sition will come at a cost.

“First, the merger propos-al should come from theboard,” said a source, who didnot want to be named.

“If the AlternativeMechanism finds the matchviable, the finance ministrycould provide capital supportto the acquiring bank if thereis a shortfall,” he said.

Sources said theGovernment is keen that atleast one mergerproposalreaches a logical conclusion bythe end of the current fiscal,which is next March-end.

Finance Minister Arun

Jaitley, after the Cabinet deci-sion last week, had said that thegovernment has not set anytarget for consolidation.

There are now 20 publicsector banks (PSBs) other thanSBI. These state-owned banksare grappling with Rs 6 lakhcrore worth of non-performingassets (NPAs) or bad loans,which is about 75 per cent ofthe total distress.

After in-principle approval

for consolidation, the bankswould take steps in accor-dance with the law and Sebirequirements. The finalscheme will be approved by theCabinet.

An official source said: “Itis not necessary that a largerpublic sector bank should over-take a small or mid-size lender.If there is synergy, two orthree banks can merge to cre-ate a bigger and stronger enti-ty so that the dependence onpublic exchequer is min-imised.”

Earlier this year, the gov-ernment had approved themerger of SBI’s five associatebanks with itself. In March, theCabinet also approved themerger of Bharatiya MahilaBank (BMB) with SBI.

Five associates and BMBbecame part of SBI on April 1,

2017, catapulting the country’slargest lender to among the top50 banks in the world. StateBank of Bikaner and Jaipur(SBBJ), State Bank ofHyderabad (SBH), State Bankof Mysore (SBM), State Bank ofPatiala (SBP) and State Bank ofTravancore (SBT), besidesBMB, were merged with SBI.

With the merger, the totalcustomer base of the SBIreached around 37 crore witha branch network of around24,000 and nearly 59,000ATMs across the country. Themerged entity began operationwith deposit base of more than�26 lakh crore and advanceslevel of �18.50 lakh crore.

SBI first merged State Bankof Saurashtra with itself in2008. Two years later, StateBank of Indore was mergedwith it. ���

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����������The Cabinet may thisweek consider issuing an ordi-nance to increase the cess onmid- size, large cars and SUVs to25 per cent from 15 per centunder the GST regime at present.

The GST Council, the apextax rate setting body under theGoods and Services Tax regime,had on August 5 approved rais-ing cess on SUVs, mid-sized,large and luxury cars that hadbecome cheaper post GST roll-out on July 1.

But, for raising the cessrequires an amendment to theSchedule of section 8 of the GST(Compensation to a State) Act,2017.

“The Cabinet will in next fewdays consider amending thatthrough the issue of an ordi-nance,” an official said.

Views of ministries like road,transport and highways andheavy industries will be takenbefore hiking of the cess, the offi-cial added.

An ordinance is issued whenParliament is not in session toapprove a legislation or change ina legislation.

The ordinance has to bereplaced with a proper legislationwith the approval of Parliamentwithin six months of its issuance.

Under GST, a cess was leviedon demerit goods like cars, tobac-co, and coal, to create a corpus forcompensating states for any lossof revenue from their taxes likeVAT being unified with centrallevies like excise duty and servicetax in the GST.

Cars attract the top tax rateof 28 per cent.

On top of this, a cess of 1 to15 per cent is levied for the cre-ation of the state compensationcorpus.

The official said after theintroduction of GST, the total taxincidence on motor vehicles(GST plus compensation cess)has come down when com-pared with the total tax incidencein the pre-GST regime.

To rectify the anomaly, theGST Council, headed by UnionFinance Minister Arun Jaitleyand comprising of representa-tives of all states, had on August5 recommended that the Centralgovernment move legislativeamendments required forincreasing the maximum ceilingof cess leviable on motor vehiclesto 25 per cent from present 15per cent. ���

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����������The Governmenthas notified the BankingRegulation (Amendment) Actunder which it can authorisethe RBI to issue directions tobanks to initiate insolvencyresolution process to recoverbad loans.

The banking sector is sad-dled with non-performingassets (NPAs) of over �8 lakhcrore, of which �6 lakh crore iswith public sector banks(PSBs).

Earlier this month,

Parliament had approved theAct, which replaced an ordi-nance in this regard.

The government in Mayhad promulgated an ordinanceauthorising the Reserve Bankof India (RBI) to issue direc-tions to banks to initiate insol-vency resolution process underthe Insolvency and BankruptcyCode, 2016.

Following the ordinance,the RBI had identified 12accounts each having morethan Rs 5,000 crore of out-

standing loans and accountingfor 25 per cent of total NPAs ofbanks for immediate referralfor resolution under the bank-ruptcy law.

The loan defaulters identi-fied by the RBI include, EssarSteel, Bhushan Steel, ABGShipyard, Electrosteel and AlokIndustries.

Under the BankingRegulation (Amendment) Act,2017, the RBI can issue direc-tions to banks for resolution ofstressed assets. ���

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Pacer Jasprit Bumrah took hismaiden five-wicket haul,enabling India restrict a

struggling Sri Lanka to 217 for ninein the third ODI of the five-matchseries here on Sunday.

Bumrah was brilliant bothupfront and in the death overs toend with figures of five for 27, sur-passing his previous best of four for22.

Sri Lanka, trailing 0-2 in theseries, once again put up an ordi-nary show with the bat, barring agritty 80 off 105 balls from LahiruThirimanne.

His 72-run stand for the thirdwicket alongsiside DineshChandimal (36) was the lonebright spot in the innings afterstand-in-captain ChamaraKapugedera opted to bat.

The hosts made two changeswith Thirimanne and Chandimalcoming in place of the injuredDanushka Gunathilaka and sus-pended Upul Tharanga. India,expectedly, didn't make anychanges.

After winning the toss for thefirst time in the series, Lanka sur-prisingly sent Chandimal to openwith Niroshan Dickwella (13).

The former had only openedtwice in his ODI career before,back in 2012 against New Zealand,and he watchfully added 18 runsfor the opening wicket.

Dickwella survived an LBWvia DRS in the fourth over, but fourballs later Bumrah got his man inthe same manner, LBW via DRSagain.

Due to Dickwella's dismissal,Lanka didn't make a flying startand were reduced to 28 for two inthe eighth over, with Kusal Mendis(1) caught at second slip. RohitSharma took a great diving catchto his right, plucking his 100thcatch in international cricket.

Chandimal and Thirimannethen calmed things down and puton a solid partnership in the mid-dle overs for a change. They did-n't score quickly though, as Lanka

only reached 37 for two in the firstten overs.

Later they brought up their 50-stand off 72 balls as Sri Lankacrossed the 100-mark in the 26thover. Chandimal was hit on hisright thumb fending a short deliv-ery off Hardik Pandya (1/42) in the17th over, and that incident part-ly hampered his ability to shiftgears.

Looking for some attacking

shots, Chandimal then holed outin the deep off Pandya in the 26thover itself.

India had a poor day in thefield with a lot of missed chancesand barring Rohit's attempt, theylooked far from a great fieldingunit.

Thirimanne used this to hisadvantage and reached his 17thODI half-century off 69 balls,inclusive of four fours. In total, he

collected five fours and a six.He put on 38 runs for the

fourth wicket with AngeloMathews (11), as they looked to upthe scoring rate against the spin-ners with Axar Patel (1/35) bowl-ing a tight spell.

Kedar Jadhav (1/12) then gotthe breakthrough, tappingMathews LBW in the 35th over.The big blow came when five overslater Thirimanne was caught at

midwicket off Bumrah off a slow-er ball.

Sri Lanka were reduced to 181for six in the 44th over with Patelbowling Kapugedara (14) as thelower order failed to kick on onceagain. It was a familiar story withAkila Dananjay (2) and MilindaSiriwardana (29) following him tothe pavilion shortly thereafter,both bowled by Bumrah on eitherside of a short rain break.

���� �7 3 �

Bangladesh had Australiareeling at 18-3 after scor-

ing 260 in its first innings onthe first day to take control ofthe opening test on Sunday.

With nine overs to survivebefore the close of play,Australian batsmen wereunable to deal with theBangladesh spinners on apitch that offered considerableamount of turn and bounce.

Opener Matt Renshawwas not out on 6 with captainSteven Smith on 3 to end thesee-saw day in which 13 wick-ets fell.

Opener David Warnersurvived a video review as theball touched his bat before hit-ting the pad but was dis-missed on the next ball off off-spinner Mehidy Hasan on 8.

Usman Khawaja was runout on 1 while nightwatchmanNathan Lyon got dismissedbefore opening his account,prompting Smith to see off theday.

Hasan and Shakib pickedup a wicket apiece.

Earlier, Shakib Al Hasanscored 84 and Tamim Iqbal 71in their 50th test asBangladesh recovered frompaceman Pat Cumminsonslaught to amass 260.

Cummins (3-63) rippedthrough the Bangladesh toporder in his first two overs toreduce Bangladesh to 10-3.

Shakib and Tamim com-bined for 155 runs in a fourthwicket stand before GlennMaxwell broke through todismiss the latter.

Offspinner Nathan Lyonthen equaled the wicket tallyof Richie Benaud (248),

removing Shakib with a deliv-ery that had extra bounceand spun sharply. He thenremoved Mehidy Hasan toget past Benaud to sit behindonly Shane Warne (708)among Australia's all-timebest spinners.

Shakib's 22nd half centu-ry included 11 boundaries.

Despite his carefulapproach, Tamim offered achance on 62 when fast bowlerJosh Hazlewood couldn't quitehold on to what would havebeen a brilliant catch off hisown bowling.

The Bangladesh openersmashed five boundaries andthree sixes in his innings,lasting for 144 balls, before hewas induced by the part-timeoffspinner Maxwell whoextracted maximum turnfrom his delivery.

With the pitch gettingslower, Ashton Agar and Lyoncleaned up Bangladesh tailafter a shower halted the gamefor 30 minutes.

Agar, coming back intothe side after four years andLyon took three apiece, givingaway 46 and 79 runs, respectively.

�'��� �����

West Indies recovered from theearly shock of losing two wickets

off the first two balls of the day to make427 all out and lead England by 101runs at tea in the second test onSunday.

Shai Hope went without adding tohis overnight score of 147 and ShaneDowrich was out for a first-ball duckas James Anderson opened the thirdday in dramatic style at Headingley.

But West Indies captain JasonHolder made an attacking 43 from 54balls and put together a partnership of75 for the eighth wicket with JermaineBlackwood (49).

West Indies was all out for 427when Shannon Gabriel was lbw to BenStokes a couple of minutes after themorning session was extended for anextra half-hour.

That total gave West Indies ahandy advantage in its quest to level thethree-match series and bounce backstraightaway from a humiliating inningsdefeat in the first test.

England was 68-1 in its second

innings at tea having lost Alastasir Cookfor 23. Holder was the West Indieswicket-taker and England was still 101behind. Mark Stoneman, in his secondtest, was 35 not out and Tom Westley4 not out.

England was all out for 258 in itsfirst innings, and West Indies was 35-3 in reply before a 246-run partnershipbetween Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite(134) swung the game in the tourists'favor.

Earlier, West Indies were bowledout for 427, a lead of 169 runs, in replyto England's 258, after lunch had beendelayed by 30 minutes with the tourists'nine wickets down.

It was a remarkable turnaroundgiven that the West Indies had lost 19wickets inside a day while being dis-missed for just 168 and 137 during lastweek's innings and 209-run defeat atEdgbaston in the first of a three-Testseries.

Anderson, now three away frombecoming the first England bowler totake 500 Test wickets, led the attack withfive for 76 in 29 overs.

West Indies resumed on 329 forfive, a lead of 71.

Shai Hope was 147 not out.Together with opener Kraigg

Brathwaite, who made 134, he shareda stand of 246 for the fourth wicket onSaturday.

Their partnership was the WestIndies' highest for any wicket in a Testin England since Gordon Greenidge(214 not out) and Larry Gomes (92 notout) added an unbeaten 287 for the sec-ond wicket at Lord's in 1984.

But thoughts of Hope going on to150 ended when, without adding to hisovernight score, he was caught behindoff the opening ball of the morningfrom Anderson.

Hope, a 23-year-old Barbadian,batted for more than five hours andfaced 253 balls including 23 fours inwhat was his maiden Test hundred.

Next ball Shane Dowrich nickedAnderson to England captain Joe Rootat second slip and West Indies were 329for seven.

But Holder survived Anderson'shat-trick ball with a solid forwarddefensive shot.

The next over saw Blackwood, stillon his overnight 21, mistime a drive offStuart Broad only for Moeen Ali to dropa routine catch at mid-on.

The diminutive Blackwood and thetowering Holder bolstered their side'sposition with several excellent shots.

Holder pulled Broad resounding-ly for four to extend the lead beyond100. Holder eventually fell when he mis-cued a lofted drive off Chris Woakesand Ali, running back at mid-off, tooka well- judged catch.

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The jury is still out onwhether Mahendra Singh

Dhoni should be a part of2019 World Cup squad butVirender Sehwag stronglyfeels that the Indian team is"yet to find suitable replace-ment" of the former skipper.

"I don't think anyone canreplace Dhoni at this point oftime," Sehwag said in anexclusive interview.

"Rishabh Pant is good buthe would also need time toreplace him. But that can onlyhappen after 2019. It's thenwhen we should think aboutDhoni's replacement. Till thenlet Pant gain experience."

For one of India's greatestmatch-winners of all time,cricket lovers should pray thatDhoni remains as fit as he iscurrently rather than focus onhis lean patch with the bat.

"We should not worryabout whether Dhoni is scor-ing runs or not. We shouldonly pray that MS Dhoni is fittill 2019 World Cup. Theexperience that he has in themiddle and the lower middleorder, no one has that," saidSehwag, who is a part of Star

Sports panel for the upcominglimited overs series againstAustralia.

For Sehwag, Dhoni 'sentire career is a definition of'cycle of life'.

"Like life, the beauty ofsports is that no two periodsare identical. You will have todeal with it. There are dayswhen you make runs andthere will be a dry spell. Likein business, every year youdon't make profits," he said.

There is a school ofthought that KL Rahul couldbe seen with big gloves in caseDhoni is found wanting but'Nawab of Najafgarh' is com-pletely against that idea.

"I would never want aguy, who is not a natural'keeper. It's not keeping 20overs in Indian PremierLeague. During a 50-overmatch, one missed stumpingor missed catch can changethe course of the match. It'snot a risk worth taking," saidSehwag.

The swashbuckling open-er wants middle-order bats-men to be given more chancesso that everyone has close to100-match experience by thetime World Cup begins. The

core team should be set atleast one year before theWorld Cup.

"The middle-order thatwould play in the World Cupalong with the bowlers shouldbe given enough opportuni-ties, so by the time of WorldCup, they should have playedclose to 100 ODIs each. Theyshould be ready to handleeach and every challengingsituation thrown at them," he

said."Experience always

enables you to handle pressurebetter. They can then winyou matches in crunch situa-tions. If they are not given thatmany chances, they could bethe weak link. Next 3-6months, I hope that the coreis set."

Sehwag, a veteran of 104Tests and 251 ODIs, wouldideally like to see either Yuvraj

Singh or Suresh Raina in theEngland bound World Cupsquad.

"Let one of the middle-order slot be given to one ofthem while the other slot maybe rotated between KedarJadhav and Manish Pandey. Inthat way, you also have giventhese guys experience whileone seasoned player is alsothere in the set-up," heobserved.

Asked about 'rested'Ravichandran Ashwin playingCounty cricket forWorcestershire, Sehwag feltthat ideally he should havebeen rested after bowling closeto 200 overs in three Testsagainst Sri Lanka.

"I thought that he wasbeing given a break as he hasbowled a lot in the Test series.Ideally, he should have beengiven rest but then it's a deci-sion that Ashwin and teammanagement needed to take.I don't know what's in theirminds.

"May be they are focussingon winning the Test series inEngland next year and if that'sthe case, then so be it."

Asked about the upcom-ing limited overs series againstAustralia, Sehwag said that itwill be a tough one consider-ing quality of the opposition.

"Australia always gives atough fight and that's whyevery player wants to performagainst Australia.

“When you performagainst Australia, Englandand South Africa, you auto-matically earn more respect. Iexpect players to be chargedup," he signed off.

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Page 12: ’ ˝ RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No ... ‘BJP bhagao, Desh bachao ’ rally. But the RJD supremo and his kin focused more on attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

RAFAEL NADAL Age: 31

With winning 33percent of his returngames this season,Nadal has the second-highest rate on ATPTour. He is back at topof the rankings for thefirst time since 2014.He has been playing atan elite level this sea-son so should get toquarterfinals - or better- at Flushing Meadowsfor first time since 2013title. He still has neverfaced Roger Federer at US Open.

ROGER FEDERERAge: 36

He is back in New York aftermissing the tournament a yearago while taking off the last halfof the season to let his surgicallyrepaired left knee heal. Thetime off worked for Federer -No one has played better thisyear, including titles at the twomajors he entered, theAustralian Open andWimbledon. He sat out a hard-

court tuneup in Ohio aftertweaking his back. If he's fine,look out. If not, it's too much toask for him to win his first USOpen title in nearly a decade.

A L E X A N D E RZVEREV

Age: 20He is tied with

Federer for most titlesin 2017. He is fastestablishing himselfas the sport's "NextBig Thing." Aftershowing he can win aMasters title and com-pete with the elite,one thing remains toaccomplish: a deeprun at a major tour-nament. He is certainly capable of it, butwhen?

With many senior players reachingend stages of their careers, tennis con-noisseurs are looking to find the nextgreat star of the tennis world.

VENUS WILLIAMS Age: 37

She wil l bemaking her 19thUS Open appear-ance. She is theonly woman toreach at least thefourth round atpast six GrandSlam tournaments.Her appearances inFinals at AustralianOpen andWimbledon thisyear proved shecan still play at ahigh level.

GARBINE MUGURUZA Age: 23

She only won twoof her six careermatches at FlushingMeadows. But, she iscurrently the most in-form player on tour atthe moment, winning16 of past 18 matches,including Wimbledontit le. When she'srelaxed and confident,she is as good as it getsright now in women'stennis.

MARIA SHARAPOVA Age: 30

Sharapova, a wild-card entry, missed three ofthe past four US Opens,including last year becauseof a doping suspension. Thiswill be her first Grand Slamtournament appearance sincethe Australian Open in January 2016,when she tested positive for a newlybanned drug. She dealt with injuries toher left leg and left forearm as well.

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Their rivalry has stretched 13 years and 37matches but Rafael Nadal and RogerFederer have never met at the US Open,

an anomaly which seems certain to be correct-ed after a host of rivals limped out of contention.

Nadal, back on top of the world rankings forthe first time in three years, is a two-time winnerin New York, his 2010 and 2013 titles forming partof his 15-Slam portfolio which was embellished bya record 10th French Open in June.

Federer, the five-time US champion from 2004-2008, is bidding for a 20th major and

third of the year after capturing theAustralian Open and Wimbledontitles.

Victory in the men's final onSeptember 10 would also make the 36-

year-old the oldest US Open championof the modern era and oldest overall since

Bill Tilden in 1929.The path to the title for Nadal and Federer

has been eased.World number two Andy Murray, the 2012

champion, withdrew on Saturday after failing torecover from a hip injury.

Two-time winner Novak Djokovic has alreadyshut down his season to recover from an elbowinjury while defending champion Stan Wawrinkafaces knee surgery.

Nadal, 31, heads to New York on the back ofa quarter- final loss to Nick Kyrgios in Cincinnatiand a Montreal last- 16 defeat to Canadian

teenager Denis Shapovalov.The Spaniard said he would rather not

have Federer in his semi-final path,should they get that far.

"I prefer to play against anotherplayer, an easier one if it's possible,"said Nadal, who has not got past thefourth round since 2013 and starts hiscampaign against Dusan Lajovic,the world number 84 from Serbia.

"Finals are more special thansemi-finals. But anyway, meetinghim here in semi-finals, if that

happens that will be somethinggreat and amazing."

Federer, meanwhile, is look-ing to move beyond Pete

Sampras and Jimmy Connors byclaiming a sixth US Open and reacha first final in the city since his sen-sational 2009 loss to Juan Martin delPotro.

His record-blazing eighth Wimbledon title inJuly was followed by a Montreal final defeat toAlexander Zverev and a pull-out from Cincinnatiwith a back injury.

But with a 2017 record of five titles, 35 matchwins and just three losses, the evergreen Swissremains the sentimental favourite.

Federer said he would like nothing else thanto face Nadal in the semi-finals.

"It would be fun for everybody involved. Wehave our work cut out there. But, you know, I'd loveto play Rafa here in New York," said Federer, whomissed the 2016 US Open to rest a knee injury.

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Serena Williams is about to havea baby and Victoria Azarenka will stayhome with her infant son as she bat-tles for custody — leaving the USOpen women's field in total sus-pense over who might win.

Eight players have a chance toleave the year's last Grand Slamwith the world number one rank-ing, making the Flushing Meadowsfortnight that starts tomorrow atennis thriller, even without two ofthe sport's top stars.

Williams, who won her 23rdGrand Slam title at the AustralianOpen, announced in April shewas pregnant and would missthe rest of the year.

Former world numberone Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion,will play as a wildcard in herfirst major tournament sincea 15-month doping ban.

Czech world number oneKarolina Pliskova, Halep,Wozniacki, Wimbledonchampion and world num-ber three GarbineMuguruza, Ukraine'sfourth-rankedElina Svitolina,B r i t a i n ' sJ o h a n n aKonta allhave achance tob e c o m ew o r l dnumber 1.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr put on ashow in the last fight of his

spectacular career.

Conor McGregor didn't doso badly, either.

Mayweather figured out a50th opponent Saturday night,letting McGregor have the early

rounds before stalking him lateand leaving the mixed martialartist defenseless and exhaustedon the ropes in the 10th round.

It was a smashing end to a

career that earned Mayweathermore money than any fighterbefore him - including an esti-mated $200 million for his lastbout. "I think we gave the fans

what they wanted to see,"Mayweather said. "I owed themfor the (Manny) Pacquiao fight."

Mayweather batteredMcGregor around the ring in

the later rounds, finally stoppinghim at 1:05 of the 10th with aflurry of punches that forced ref-eree Robert Byrd to stop thefight.

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Before a pro-McGregorcrowd that roared every timethe UFC fighter landed apunch, Mayweather method-ically broke him down after aslow start to score his first realstoppage in nearly a decade.He did it in what he saidwould be his final fight, againsta man who had never been ina professional boxing matchbefore.

McGregor boxed surpris-ingly well but after landingsome shots in the earlyrounds, his punches seemedto lose their steam.Mayweather then went onthe pursuit. McGregorbackpedaled most of the way,stopping only to throw anoccasional f lurry asMayweather wore him down."I turned him into a Mexicantonight," McGregor said. "Hefought like a Mexican."

Though Byrd cautionedMcGregor for hitting behindthe head on two differentoccasions, there were no real

fouls in the fight. McGregorhad vowed to knockMayweather out within tworounds, and he won the earlyrounds with movement andpunches to the head. But thetide of the fight turned in thefourth round as Mayweatherseemed to figure out what hehad to do and began aggres-sively stalking McGregor.

Mayweather was creditedwith landing more than halfhis punches, as he solvedMcGregor's defense after a fewrounds. Ringside stats showedhim landing 170 of 320punches to 111 of 430 forMcGregor.

In a fight so intriguing thatit cost $10,000 for ringsideseats, McGregor turned in arespectable performance forsomeone in his first fight. Heswitched from southpaw toconventional at times and usedhis jab well, but Mayweather'sexperience and his ring savvypaid off as he executed hisgame plan to perfection.

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