21

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March
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`3.00 Ÿ Pages 12
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19°C - 36°C AQI 120 BSE Sensex 38,386.75 23.28 NSE nifty 11,521.05 11.35 happy Dhuleti R.N.I. No. : GUJENG/2007/22424

Prison time to take

colours of spring

the shine off Nirav

UK court rejects claw of law
fugitive jeweller’s Diamantaire to spend 9 days in prison

Holiday Notice
The offices and press of DNA
will remain closed today on
account of Dhuleti. There will,
therefore, be no edition of
the paper on Friday.
Afterhrs 
Zee Cine Awards 2019:
bail application
Mandy Clark & Sidhant Sibal
correspondent@dnaindia.net
London/New Delhi: A UK
court has rejected the bail
plea of fugitive celebrity jew-
eller Nirav Modi, who will
now spend the next nine days
in a jail, till the Westminster
Nirav Modi was arrested from a Metro Bank branch in London by
uniformed officers when he went to open a new account
He was represented by solicitor Anand Doobay, who is also
handling Vijay Mallya’s extradition case
Nirav has at least three passports; his Indian one was revoked in
February 2018
Devotees get drenched as part of Fuldol Utsav at Swaminarayan Mandir in Kalupur, Ahmedabad on Wednesday — Pravin Indrekar/DNA
What his lawyer said
n Nirav came to London in January
2018, before he was accused of PNB

New Goa CM proves Treat abuses like

The who’s who of
Hindi cinema walked Court takes up his case again scam, & has lived openly since
the red carpet at on March 29. The absconding
diamond trader responsible n He has offered to cooperate with UK
the biggest authorities since his arrival

majority in Assembly ornaments: PM

awards night for looting leading state-run
bank PNB was arrested by n He is employed by Diamond Holdings
the Scotland Yard from Lon- Ltd for a monthly salary of 20,000
Ballot battle in don’s Holborn area on Tues-
day after a bank clerk spotted
pounds (Rs 18.6 lakh) and pays
his council tax regularly

Guj is all about him and dialled the police.

Nirav, 48, is likely to be held
Panaji: Newly-minted Goa
Chief Minister Pramod
chief minister Manohar
Parrikar on Sunday.
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net

communities
in a separate cell in Her Maj-
esty’s Prison Wandsworth, in
south London. His inmates
ED starts extradition Sawant proved the majority
of his BJP-led government
in the Assembly on Wednes-
After winning the floor
test, Sawant appealed to
House members to “be pos-
New Delhi: Choosing a novel
path to counter the opposi-

process for Choksi

Gandhinagar: In May 2014,
Gujarat’s voters had intense
emotions attached to then
chief minister Narendra
Modi. The BJP succeeded in
giving momentum to the peo-
ple’s desire to see a Gujarati
leader at the helm and Con-
gress did not stand a chance.
However, the same party could
not score even a century in the
Assembly polls held in 2017.
Voters were influenced by
young leaders such as Hardik
Patel and Alpesh Thakor. Both
the leaders, directly or indi-
rectly, were connected to Con-
gress. Poll 2019, in Gujarat,
will be won or lost on the com-
munity card. Report, P2
will include the likes of al-
leged Dawood henchman Pa-
kistani-origin Jabir Moti, cur-
rently undergoing extradition
proceedings to the US.
The turn of events comes
days after he was spotted by
British newspaper Telegraph
walking the streets of London
in a Rs 9 Lakh ostrich-leather
jacket. Nirav was presented
before the court at 11.30 am
London time on Wednesday.
His counsel, George Hep-
burne-Scott, told the court
the case was politically moti-
vated and the condition of
Indian jails was dismal — ar-
guments rejected by the
court.  Turn to P4
Sidhant Sibal
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi:The Enforcement
Directorate has started the
extradition process for Mehul
Choksi, Nirav Modi’s mater-
nal uncle, and co-accused in
the Rs 13,500 cr Punjab Na-
tional Bank scam. Choksi,
owner of the Gitanjali group
that deals in Jewellery, fled the
country after the scam sur-
faced. Earlier this year, Chok-
si surrendered his Indian
passport to the High Commis-
sion in Guyana, and took up
the citizenship of Antigua &
Barbuda, a country in the Car-
ibbean Sea.
External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj had met with
Foreign Minister of Antigua
& Barbuda on the sidelines of
the United Nations General
Assembly last year and had
raised the matter.
Along with an extradition
request for Nirav Modi to UK,
India had also sent a similar
request for Choksi to Antigua
last year.
day, by comfortably winning
a floor test in the House.
When Deputy Speaker
Michael Lobo asked for the
division of votes, 20 MLAs
supported the confidence
motion in the two-day-old
government, while 15 legis-
lators opposed it. The effec-
tive strength of the 40-mem-
ber Assembly is now 36, af-
ter death of two mem-
bers and resignation
by two others.
The change in
leadership in the
coastal state was ne-
cessitated due to the
death of then
itive”, echoing a message
given by Parrikar earlier.
The special Assembly
session was convened by
Governor Mridula Sinha
to conduct the floor test,
after Sawant, who was ear-
lier speaker of the Assem-
bly, was sworn in as the
Chief Minister in the wee
hours of Tuesday. Besides
11 BJP members, three
each from the Goa For-
ward Party, Maharash-
trawadi Gomantak
Party and three Inde-
pendents supported
Sawant during the
head count. — PTI
tion’s ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’
jibe, Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi addressed lakhs of
security guards (chowkidars)
across the nation through
their mobiles. The Bharatiya
Janata Party sent text mes-
sages to lakhs of security
guards, asking them to wait
for a call between 4:30 and
9.30 pm on Wednesday.
At 5 pm sharp, PM Modi
saluted the guards and drew
parallels between his job and
theirs as ‘chowkidars’. He
praised them for doing exem-
plary work in extreme weath-
er conditions to keep various
places safe. “Be it your
child’s birthday or your par-
PM Modi spoke to security guards at
5 pm —Twitter/@narednramodi
ent’s need, you keep doing
your duty without holding
any grudges,” he said. “It is
possible that the people
where you work may not
know your name or remem-
ber your face, but they feel
safe with you. The nation
feels safe with you.”
The PM then encouraged
those tuned in to ask ques-
tions; the first one came from
Renuka, from Uttar Pradesh’s
Farrukhabad.  Turn to P4
 02
daily news & analysis I Ahmedabad I Thursday, March 21, 2019
It’s all about communities in Modi-Shah’s Guj
Poaching of Cong leaders is BJP’s strategy to ensure community votes go to the Saffron party; Cong too is hoping to use Hardik and Alpesh for the same
Chintan Acharya
chintan.acharya@dnaindia.net
Gandhinagar: In April-May
2014, the voters in Gujarat
had intense emotions at-
tached with the then Chief
Minister Narendra Modi, and
at the same time, Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) also suc-
ceeded to put its finger on the
right pulse by associating
people’s impulsion to see a
Gujarati leader becoming the
PM. The results of polls were
at par with the expectations
of the leader Modi, and Con-
gress could not even open its
account in the state.
Cut to March 2019, the
same party could not score
even a century in the Assem-
bly polls held 15 months back
in 2017, even though Modi-
Shah duo remained totally
focused over the home state’s
polls. The emotional wave for
Narendra Modi changed the
direction in Gujarat and vot-
ers were under the intense
influence of young leaders
like Hardik Patel and Alpesh
Thakor who ran the agita-
tions against BJP govern-
ment for their communities,
albeit the agendas were dif-
ferent. Both the leaders, di-
rectly or indirectly, remained
with Congress and the party
won over 77 seats in the As-
sembly polls.
But the story does not stop
here. The Congress party had
to face many embarrassments
after the polls as some of its
legislators defected to the BJP.
It was considered a master-
stroke by the strategist and
expert in social engineering,
the BJP chief Amit Shah. He
convinced Congress’ influen-
tial OBC leaders like Kunvar-
ji Bavaliya and Javahar
Chawda who became the min-
isters in CM Vijay Rupani’s
cabinet. Thus, to an extent,
BJP settled the score against
the loss sustained in 2017
polls. This is also a strategy of
BJP to recover the loss of
votes from the OBC commu-
nity in the state.
The BJP in Gujarat got all
26 seats in the last Lok Sabha
in brief
BJP leaders to
address poll
rallies in state
BJP leaders from Guja-
rat are going to address
poll rallies at each of
the 26 Lok Sabha seats
in the state from March
24 to 26. The poll rallies
have been named as Vi-
jay Sankalp Sammelan,
said the party spokes-
person Bharat Pandya
on Thursday. CM Vijay
Rupani, deputy CM Ni-
tin Patel, Gujarat BJP
chief Jitu Vaghani, Un-
ion minister Suresh
Prabhu and other lead-
ers are going to address
the poll rallies. The par-
ty has also appointed in-
charge of these rallies
to manage all sort of af-
fairs to make them suc-
cessful.
Asha Patel meets
dy CM Nitin Patel
The former Unjha MLA
Asha Patel who defected
to BJP recently met the
deputy Chief Minister
Nitin Patel on Thursday
at his office in Gandhi-
nagar. The former BJP
MLA from Unjha Naran
Patel has challenged
Asha Patel and made
the representation be-
fore the party leaders
recommending not to
give a ticket to Asha Pa-
tel for by-polls on Unjha
scheduled on April 23.
Asha Patel met Nitin
Patel seeking help from
him for the by-polls as
chances of her getting
ticket are believed to be
very high.
New ministers
meet Modi
The newly appointed
ministers in Gujarat
government Javahar
Chavda and
Dharmendrasinh
Jadeja on Thursday
reached New Delhi to
meet the PM Narendra
Modi. Chavda recently
defected to BJP and was
made cabinet minister
by the CM Vijay Rupani
while Jadeja joined BJP
in August 2017. The
meeting with the prime
minister was just a
formality and both of
them returned Gujarat
by the evening.

polls that were held in 2014,
and the clean sweep by the saf-
fron party was only because
of Modi wave that prevailed
in that times. The situation is
bit different this time as the
BJP’s vote bank has now di-
vided into different communi-
ties and the party has been
trying hard to keep the flock
intact. In short, the polls in
Gujarat will be held, won or
lost on community card.
Congress kicks off
campaign from Gujarat
The opposition party Con-
gress also seems to be focused
on Gujarat as it is the home
state of Modi-Shah duo. This
could also be the reason for
the party’s campaign launch-
ing from Gujarat as the first
ever poll rally after the an-
nouncement of elections was
held in the state’s capital
Gandhinagar. An entire ar-
ray of top-brass from Con-
gress including president
Rahul Gandhi and general
secretary Priyanka Gandhi
addressed the voters in the
state during this rally.
The Congress party has
been trying to appeal the vot-
ers of Gujarat on the issues
like the agrarian crisis, farm-
ers’ debt, unemployment,
GST and demonetisation.
These are the same issues
that the party raised during
Gujarat polls too and could
help Congress win some
more seats. However, the
party was not able to form the
government in the state as
the urban voters remained
with the incumbent BJP.
BJP suspects scoring
26-0 this time
The BJP leaders in Gujarat
have been given the target of
winning all 26 seats in Guja-
rat by their party supremos
but the state leaders also have
categorised five seats as weak
seats. The BJP, therefore, is
very cautious while selecting
the candidates on these seats
so as the party does not lose
the score on a silly point. Am-
reli, Anand, Banaskantha,
Junagadh and Patan are the
High Court notice to Godhra train burning case: Yakub Pataliya gets life term
state govt over rules
regulating acid sale
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
The Gujarat High Court
sought a reply from the state
government after a public in-
terest litigation (PIL) seeking
effective implementation of
the rules related to the sale
and use of acids came up for
hearing.
The petitioner—Gujarat
Scientific Association—de-
manded the court’s interven-
tion to put an end to acid at-
tacks, on Wednesday.
Notably, the division
bench of Acting Chief Jus-
tice AS Dave and Justice
Biren Vaishnav issued a no-
tice to the state government
directing it to file its reply in
the matter by April 16.
As per the petitioner-or-
ganisation, the Supreme
Court had directed the Union
government in 2013 to frame
rules to regulate the sale of
acid in view of the rampant
acid attacks across the coun-
try.
The Centre framed the
Model Poison Possession and
Sale Rules under the Poisons
Act, 1919, and directed the
states to notify the said rules
to the states.
In November 2014, the
state government notified the
Considerate move The facility will be available to staff hired temporarily too
Govt staff on poll duty to get cashless health cover
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Gandhinagar: The health
department of Gujarat gov-
ernment has issued a resolu-
tion on March 7 that any staff
been engaged for election duty
will get cashless health cover.
The staff, in case of any illness
or injury sustained during
poll duties, will get all medical
facilities for free at govern-
ment or private hospitals.
The chief electoral
officer(CEO) in Gujarat Dr S
Murali Krishna said, “The
cashless health cover has
been provided to staff en-
gaged in poll duties, as per the
guidelines by the election
Modi-Shah likely to contest from Guj?
There are strong mur-
murs in political circles
that either PM Narendra
Modi or BJP chief Amit
Shah could contest
Lok Sabha polls from
Gujarat. Gandhinagar
seat, so far represented
by veteran BJP leader
LK Advani, it is believed
may be given to Shah or
even Modi for the 2019
Lok Sabha Polls. Those
in the know say either
of them contesting from
Gujarat will be a big
morale booster for the
BJP cadre in the state
Date of polls
April 23, 2019
(in a single phase)
51,709
Total booths
Seat wise
26 0BJP Congress
63.60% 67.17% 59.69% 59.1% 32.9% 8%
Voter turnout
seats where the agrarian cri-
sis or community card will
play the major role and the
party is putting extra efforts
on these seats.
Defection before polls
The Congress party in Guja-
rat faced a major jolt just be-
fore the Lok Sabha polls as
five MLAs defected to BJP.
rules but allegedly gave ex-
ception to manufacturers
and wholesale dealers of ac-
ids from its applicability.
It is the petitioner’s claim
that the exclusion of manu-
facturers and wholesale deal-
ers in the rules go against the
intent of the Supreme Court
behind issuing the directions
to the Centre.
The petitioner-organisa-
tion has also alleged that the
retail traders are hauled up
every time any acid attack
takes place despite the poison
or acid having been sold by
the dealers engaged in the
wholesale business.
It also claimed that it has
raised several objections in
the draft rules issued by the
state government. However,
its objections were not enter-
tained.
commission. This facility will
be available to all the govern-
ment employees from admin-
istrative services, police, driv-
ers, cleaners and other.”
“Besides this, the service
has been extended for the staff
like drivers of private vehicles
been requisited for election
duty, videographers and other.
All these staffs will get the
medical treatment at govern-
ment hospitals and dispensa-
ries, medical colleges and hos-
pitals running on government
grants. If it is required to get
the treatment from a private
hospital in emergency cases,
the same also will be available
to all the staff after permis-
sion by concerned district
Modi-Shah duo remains focused on their home state for upcoming Lok Sabha polls
4,47,46,179 TOTAL Voters
Lok Sabha polls 2014 results
Male
The saffron party also tried
to defect Alpesh Thakor and
three of his colleagues in As-
sembly but things did not
materialise. There is yet one
more possibility that heavy-
weight OBC leader and Limb-
di MLA Somabhai Koli Patel
could switch his loyalty for
Lok Sabha ticket from Suren-
dranagar seat and BJP lead-
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
A special SIT court on
Wednesday sentenced a man
to life imprisonment for his
role in the 2002 Godhra train
carnage case. The court of
special SIT Judge HC Vora
convicted sexagenarian
Yakub Pataliya, who was part
of the mob that torched the
S-6 coach of Sabarmati Ex-
press near Godhra Railway
Station on February 27, 2002,
Badruddin threatens legal action if
Pirana solution not found in 2 mths
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
To bring a solution to the
garbage on Mt Pirana, the
former leader of the opposi-
tion party of AMC, Badrud-
din Shaikh has written a
letter to the municipal com-
missioner Vijay Nehra ask-
ing him to solve the issue as
soon as possible.
“I have written a letter to
him and if no solution is
brought, then I will file a
court case after 60 days,”
said Shaikh.
“We are demanding to
conduct a health survey of
people who are staying
Gujarat CEO Dr S Murali Krishna addressed a press conference on Wednesday
election officer(collector),” the
CEO added. The election com-
mission has also facilitated
Divyang voters. Special voters
2,32,56,688
2,14,88,437
Female BJP
ers are reportedly in contact
with him. These defections
can prove lethal on the mo-
rale of Congress workers in
the state.
‘Vikas’ mantra of BJP
The BJP has adopted the
same agenda for the cam-
paign in these polls and that
is ‘Vikas’ (development). The
killing 59 passengers, mostly
‘karsevaks’ returning from
Ayodhya. The incident trig-
gered state-wide communal
riots in Gujarat.
Pataliya, who was ab-
sconding for a long-time, was
arrested by the Godhra police
in January 2018, nearly 16
years after being booked in
the train carnage case. His
trial was held in a special
court set up at the Sabarmati
Central Jail.
Earlier, the special court
AMC has been criticized several
times regarding the landfill site
close to the dumping site.
Also, we want the munici-
pal corporation to discon-
tinue dumping waste and
start processing the solid
waste,” Shaikh added.
It is to be noted that the
civic body has been criti-
photo identity cards, voters
slips, guide, and ballot papers
printed in braille script for
visually impaired voters. Be-
ah
www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia
Male
Female
1,054
Third Gender
Vote share
Congress Others
party has been claiming to
have succeeded in changing
lives of poor people in last
five years through many of
the central government
schemes such as Ujjvala Yo-
jana, Ujala, PM JAY, pension
scheme, Kisan Sanman Ni-
dhi, PM Fasal Bima Yojana,
sanitation campaign and oth-
ers. The party in Gujarat is
S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express
was torched on February 27, 2002
had convicted 31 people in the
case on March 1, 2011. While
20 of them were awarded life
cized several times regard-
ing the landfill site by many
authorities like Gujarat Pol-
lution Control Board, Na-
tional Green Tribunal etc.
Badruddin Shaikh also al-
leges that the Ahmedabad
Municipal Corporation is not
following the scientific meth-
od to discard waste, which is
becoming harmful to the en-
tire city with respect to land
and air pollution. When con-
tacted for comments, AMC
director solid waste manage-
ment Harshad Solanki said,
“We are working. We are do-
ing Karma and not waiting
for the result, this is what
taught in the Geeta.”
sides this, the Divyan voters
will not have to wait in queue
for their turn on polling days.
Special parking facilities for
vehicles and protruding
ramps also will be available for
them. If informed to the poll-
ing staff in advance, they will
get the transportation facility.
The CEO also informed
that he received 22 complaints
of breach of model code of
conduct so far and all had
been disposed of. Whereas the
static surveillance teams and
flying squad keeping watch
on transportation of cash re-
ceived Rs 1.40 crore during
their checks across the state.
Out of this, Rs. 44.61 lakh
were returned to the owners.
edabad
also presenting the rosy pic-
ture before the voters by
showcasing PM Narendra
Modi-led government’s sup-
port to Gujarat by giving per-
mission for fitting piers on
Sardar Sarovar Dam in fif-
teen days of taking charge at
Center, Bullet Train Project,
AIMS in Gujarat, interna-
tional airports in Rajkot and
Surat, metro rails in
Ahmedabad and Surat,
world’s tallest Statue of Uni-
ty and many others.
Community factor
Gujarat’s politics was dom-
inated by the Patel commu-
nity before the rise of Nar-
endra Modi and the influ-
ence of the Patidar or Pa-
tels was more in BJP as
they remained loyal to the
party. However, Modi gave
equal importance to OBC
communities in the state by
giving them equal represen-
tation in the party and his
government. This was his
strategy to weaken the base
of Congress in Gujarat as
OBC community was the
vote bank for Congress in
Gujarat.
Patel community, however,
showed a swing in the mood
and their political tending re-
mained with Congress under
the influence of quota agita-
tion by Hardik Patel. The BJP,
however, has managed to re-
gain the confidence of Patidar
voters with the formula of
announcement of Economi-
cally Backward Class(EBC)
quota in government jobs and
education announced by PM
Narendra Modi, and EBC
commission established by
Gujarat government.
Two major OBC communi-
ties Koli in Saurashtra and
South Gujarat and Thakor in
North Gujarat are the key
factors that will decide the
fate of both the parties in the
state. The community show-
ers vote on the candidate who
is one of them, and therefore
the cherry-picking exercise
in candidate selection for
both the parties will remain
crucial here.
imprisonment, the remain-
ing 11 were given death sen-
tence. Those convicted ap-
proached the Gujarat High
Court against the sentence
awarded to them by the SIT
court. Later in October 2017,
the high court commuted the
death sentence of 11 convicts
to life imprisonment. How-
ever, it upheld the life impris-
onment awarded to the 20
convicts by the SIT court.
Interestingly, the special
SIT court sentenced two per-
Pradipsinh appears
before HC in Ahmed
Patel poll victory case
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Minister of state for home
Pradipsinh Jadeja on Wednes-
day deposed before the Gujarat
High Court as a witness of BJP
leader Balvantsinh Rajput who
has challenged the Rajya Sab-
ha poll victory of Congress
leader Ahmed Patel. He was
cross-examined by Patel’s law-
yers for over 3 hours before the
single-judge bench of Justice
Bela Trivedi, which is conduct-
ing the trial in the case.
The minister submitted to
the court in an affidavit that
when former Jamnagar (ru-
ral) MLA Raghavji Patel was
showing his ballot to Con-
gress leader Shaktisinh Go-
hil, the latter got up from the
chair and tried to snatch it
from Raghavji. Jadeja sub-
mitted that Raghavji was
stunned with Gohil’s behav-
iour and immediately put his
vote in the ballot box. Nota-
bly, Raghavji during his depo-
sition before the High Court
as a witness of Rajput in the
case had made the same sub-
mission.
Answering the questions
asked by Ahmed Patel’s law-
yers, the minister said that
Congress legislators Ra-
ghavji Patel and Bholabhai
did not show their votes to
anyone except Gohil; and
Mitesh Garasiya showed his
vote to Gohil and Arjun Mod-
hwadia. This was opposed by
BJP’s Shankar Chaudhary.
Similarly, the minister said
that Shailesh Parmar had
shown his vote to several oth-
Hardik-Alpesh-Jignesh
with Cong
The community leaders like
Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor
and Jignesh Mevani are with
opposition party Congress. It
is likely that all these three
may contest the polls from Gu-
jarat on Congress’ ticket. Con-
gress may play the trump card
of these three leaders to woo
the voters from their commu-
nities. It is, however, up to vot-
ers of Gujarat who have the
nature to keep the cards close
to their chest giving no clue to
political parties.
Internal clash in
Congress
Those MLAs who left Con-
gress recently and those who
were to leave (like Alpesh
Thakor) complained internal
clash in Gujarat Congress.
This is the issue that Con-
gress in Gujarat has been fac-
ing since they were out of the
power in the state. Many lead-
ers and few workers in the
party are again a challenge
and internal rift among the
leaders have divided the en-
tire party into different fac-
tions. Congress’ loss in Guja-
rat is also because of the
same reason and that would
prevail in Lok Sabha polls
again. The same may become
more intense when the party
would give the mandate to a
particular candidate disap-
pointing others from a rival
faction within the party.
All is not well in BJP too
It is not like there is no voice
of retaliation on BJP. Many of
the leaders faced a great dis-
appointment when defecting
Congress MLAs were made
ministers within a few hours
of joining BJP. The party lead-
ers expressed their disagree-
ment before the state leader-
ship in different ways. These
dissidents may throw a chal-
lenge to party during Lok
Sabha polls but the value of
self-discipline that their lead-
er Narendra Modi has incul-
cated in them through differ-
ent ways and that would not
let them cross the party line.
sons — Farooq Bhana and
Imran Sheri — to life impris-
onment in August 2018 and
acquitted three others identi-
fied as Hussain Suleman Mo-
han, Kasam Bhamedi, and
Faruk Dhantiya.
All of them were arrested
by different law enforcement
agencies between 2015 and
2016 and put on trial at the
special court set-up at Sabar-
mati Central Jail.
Eight accused in the case
are still absconding.
Minister of state for home
Pradipsinh Jadeja
ers, which was opposed by
Rajput. However, the election
officer did not entertain their
objections as a result of
which I had raised an objec-
tion against the same in writ-
ing, the minister said.
When he was questioned
about his knowledge on Ra-
jya Sabha elections and how
the counting of votes is done,
the minister said that the
counting of votes in Rajya
Sabha is a complicated pro-
cess and he is not aware of
the same, except for the fact
that the legislators are sup-
posed to vote in the order of
their preference for the can-
didates contesting the poll.
The minister also said he
was a polling agent during
the election and the entire
election proceeding was vide-
ographed by the election
commission. He also said
that Congress MLAs who had
left the party and joined BJP
were given election tickets
based on their popularity and
geography of the constitu-
ency, and the decisions in this
regard were taken by the par-
liamentary board.
 ah
www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia
in brief
Guj Media club
writes to DGP over
scribe’s killing
Taking note of the slow
pace of investigation in
the murder of Chirag Pa-
tel, a TV news journalist
working in Ahmedabad,
the Gujarat Media Club
sought a swift probe into
the case. In a letter to the
DGP, the body which rep-
resents media profession-
als in the state, said that
it takes a strong stand
against crimes against
journalist. “We urge you
to fast-track investiga-
tions and take required
measures to identify and
capture the perpetrators
of the crime,” president
of the club, Darshan De-
sai, wrote in a letter. In
addition, the Ahmedabad
Police commissioner
transferred the investiga-
tion of the case to the
Crime branch.
Nirma Varsity to
host transnational
litigation event
A two-day seminar begin-
ning March 23 on Trans-
national Litigation will
be held at Institute of
Law – Nirma University
(ILNU) by the Centre for
Alternative Dispute Reso-
lution (ADR) of ILNU, in
collaboration with Inter-
national Court of Arbi-
tration (ICC), Penn State
International Arbitration
Group, and Gujarat
Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (GCCI). Sen-
ior advocate of Supreme
Court of India Dushyant
Dave will be the Chief
Guest for the seminar.
1 dead, 8 injured
in road accident
A car jumped a divider on
the Isckon bridge and
rammed into another car
late on Tuesday night,
leading to the death of
one person. Eight others
were injured in the inci-
dent. The deceased has
been identified as Vipul
Patel, a resident of Bopal
was a builder. A com-
plaint has been registered
at the SG Highway-2 traf-
fic police station.
Promising to help clear ATKT
exams, 4 friends rape 20-yr-old
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Four men have been booked
for raping a 20-year-old sev-
eral times in exchange for
arranging for her to pass
ATKT (Allow To Keep Terms)
exams in college.
According to Ramol po-
lice, where the complaint has
been filed, the incident took
place eight months ago in a
guest house located in the
area. The complainant is a
college students and the ac-
cused are her friends.
According to the com-
plaint, the survivor had con-
tacted the four eight months
ago when she came to know
that they have contacts with
certain officials and with
their help, she can pass the
exams. With the promise of
getting her ATKT exams
cleared, the accused took her
to a guest house in Ramol,
where they repeatedly raped
her. After the incident, the
four allegedly blackmailed
her and raped her on further
three occasions.
“The girl later got preg-
nant and narrated the inci-
dent to her parents. However,
she refused to register a com-
plaint,” said a police officer.
However, on February 28,
the survivor was admitted to
LG Hospital when she faced a
power to you Rehnuma Sodawala creates system that enables control of devices with movement of eyes
Auto-rickshaw driver’s daughter wins startup competition
Rehnuma Sodawala
edabad
Bank NPAs rise by 70% in 3 yrs
Bad loans for Oct to Dec 2018 stands at `38,520 cr; rise of 9.37% in 3 quarters of 2018-19
Keyur Dhandeo
keyur.dhandeo@dnaindia.net
Bad loans of banks in Guja-
rat grew about 70 per cent in
three years, a report of the
State Level Bankers Commit-
tee (SLBC) for the October to
December quarter of the fis-
cal 2018-19 says.
Gross Non Performing As-
sets (NPAs) of banks stood at
Rs 38,520 crore, 11.45 per cent
higher than Rs 34,563 crore in
the corresponding quarter in
the previous fiscal and 70 per
cent higher than Rs 22,659
crore in the corresponding
quarter of 2015-16. Market
players say this indicates that
the ability of bank clients to
repay loans has dropped
sharply over the years.
While the NPA has
dropped marginally over pre-
vious quarter’s gross NPA of
Rs 39,289 crore or 6.88 per
cent of total advances, over-
all it has risen by 9.37 per cent
`95 lakh unaccounted AMC seals tax defaulters, spares
cash seized ahead of LS big fish, says Congress leader
Gandhinagar: The Income
Tax department has seized
over Rs 95 lakh cash during
its ongoing drive to curb the
use of black money in the up-
coming Lok Sabha polls in
Gujarat, officials said on
Wednesday.
Talking to reporters, Guja-
rat Chief Electoral Officer
(CEO) S Murali Krishna said,
the I-T department seized Rs
1.40 crore from various parts
of the state in the last one
week. “While Rs 44.61 lakh
were returned to the owners
upon the production of valid
proof, Rs 95.43 lakh unac-
counted cash was seized by
the department,” he said.
Giving further details
about the seizure, Joint Di-
rector of Income Tax depart-
ment’s investigation wing,
Pankaj Shrivastava, said that
two lockers were also found
in the last one week.
“Our teams are working in
all the 33 districts to keep a
It is a very sensitive case. The girl’s condition
is critical. We have the names of the
accused but we are trying to confirm their
identities by showing their photos to the survivor
Aksaray Makwana, DCP Zone V
medical emergency. The foe-
tus died during delivery and
was later cremated. At the
hospital too, the girl’s parents
refused to register a com-
plaint. Eventually, on March
19 the girl agreed to file a
complaint while she was still
in the hospital.
Aksaray Makwana, DCP
Zone V, said, “It is a very sen-
sitive case. The girl’s condi-
tion is critical. We have the
names of the accused but
right now we are trying to
confirm their identities by
showing their photos to the
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
A 21-year-old engineering stu-
dent and the daughter of an
auto-rickshaw driver emerged
as the winner of herSTART
programme, initiated by the
Gujarat University Startup
and Entrepreneurship Coun-
cil (GUSEC). The programme,
herSTART, aims at promoting
women-led startups and sup-
port women entrepreneurs.
Rehnuma Sodawala’s win-
ning concept was that of a
virtual hand — an HID (Hu-
man Interface Device) that
during the fiscal. Sagar Ra-
bari, founder president of
Gujarat Khedut Ekta Samiti
said that the constant rise in
NPA indicates an overall
slowdown in the economy
and earnings of farmers and
industrialists, depleting
their ability to repay loans.
“First, demonetisation and
then Goods and Service Tax
(GST) has adversely hit earn-
ings of the masses. This has
reduced their purchasing
power consequently reducing
production and thereby cre-
ating joblessness,” said Ra-
bari.
Prabodh Patel, president
of Federation of Industries
Association – Gujarat (FIA)
said that as such slowdown is
not evident in Gujarat as
more and more industries are
coming up in Dahej, Vapi and
other industrial estates. How-
ever, overproduction because
of intense competition may
have hurt earnings and
watch on black money and il-
legal cash movements. In the
last one week, we have recov-
ered Rs 95.43 lakh in unac-
counted cash.
While around Rs 45 lakh in
cash were seized from two an-
gadia firm employees in Surat,
Rs 50.43 lakh were recovered
from a person in Ahmedabad,”
Shrivastava said during a joint
press conference with the Gu-
jarat CEO here.
As per the guidelines is-
sued by the Election Commis-
sion, poll candidates or party
leaders cannot carry cash
above Rs 50,000, Krishna said.
“Any amount more than
Rs 50,000 will be seized by the
authorities. Further, a vehi-
cle found carrying gifts
worth over Rs 10,000 can also
be seized if the authorities
suspect that they are meant
to lure voters. Star campaign-
ers can keep Rs 1 lakh in cash
for his personal use,” he add-
ed. —PTI
survivor.”
As per police, the girl is
also facing physical and men-
tal distress and is changing
her statements. She identi-
fied an accused in one of the
photos showed to her but
when he was taken in front of
her, she said he isn’t the one.
“We are trying to identify
the place where the incident
took place and why the com-
plaint was not registered
earlier. Things will clear up
once the accused are identi-
fied and arrested,” Makwa-
na said.
allows one to control devices
through the movement of the
eyes, just like a mouse con-
trols a pointer on a computer.
Through the virtual hand,
Rehnuma, who hails from
Bharuch, aims to make the
disabled more independent.
Rehnuma, who studied en-
gineering at SVMIT college in
Bharuch, is no stranger to
struggle, having seen difficult
times throughout her child-
hood. Sharing her journey, she
said, “We have always had fi-
nancial troubles and it was
extremely difficult for my fa-
ther to raise me and my sib-
therefore the ability to repay
loans, he said.
He admits that strict envi-
ronment regulations have
restricted production of
chemical units in Gujarat.
KT Patel, former president of
FIA and former vice presi-
dent of Gujarat Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
(GCCI) said that actual rea-
sons for a rise in NPA need to
be found out. “Only indus-
tries should not be blamed for
bad loans. One should also
see what action has been
taken against bankers who
had approved these loans,
whether banks have been
able to recover high value
loans,” said Patel.
Bankers in the know of
things said it is because of
rising NPAs that the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) had initi-
ated Prompt Corrective Ac-
tion (PCA) against certain
banks.
Full report on: www.dnaindia.com
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
In an example of selective work
being done by the civic author-
ity, the Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC) sealed sev-
eral commercial units but
spared the big fish, alleged for-
mer Leader of Opposition in
the AMC and Congress leader,
Badruddin Shaikh.
Alleging a tax scam, Shaikh
said that sports company Tran-
Stadia has not paid property
tax worth Rs 5.15 crore and is
still operating its business,
while small-scale business op-
erators are being caught by
AMC officers.
“They are sealing offices
and commercial units which
have not paid Rs 12,000 tax,
while defaulters whose arrears
run into crores remain un-
touched. TranStadia, which
has not paid Rs 5.15 crore prop-
erty tax is not yet in the radar
(Clockwise from top left) Kids play Holi in the city; Devotees look on at a celebration of the festival in Swaminarayan Temple; Devotees circle the Holi fire in
Kubernagar area as part of the festival ritual; Youth pose for a photo following a gala time at the Riverfront —Pravin Indrekar/AFP
the ‘herstart’ program
„„In all, five startup ideas, from among over 100 submitted
by aspiring women entrepreneurs, were awarded Rs 10 lakh
under the herSTART program
ling. He could not even afford
my engineering fees so I com-
pleted my studies on a student
loan. During my final year, I
spoke to my parents about my
startup idea. They immedi-
ately agreed to support my
idea in every way possible,
except financially. I knew then
that I had to work hard on the
project and secure funds.”
Gross NPA
has risen over
the years
n NPA n %NPA
Gross NPA in Rs crore
Source: SLBC - Gujarat Reports
The drainage line of Cambay Hotel
being disconnected on Wednesday
of the civic body,” said Shaikh.
“There is more negligence
on part of the tax department
in the case of a particular
property which they have clas-
sified as ‘self ’ occupied, while
actually it is rented. In case of
rented property, the tax almost
doubles up. But the officials
will not take any action be-
cause the proprietors of the
property have close links with
the BJP,” alleged Shaikh.
On the other hand, the civic
holi frolic
Rehnuma started her com-
pany, Skynet Computeronix,
with her friend, Ajay Bhard-
waj, in July last year with the
help of initial funding of Rs
75,000 through an event or-
ganised by Gujarat Knowl-
edge Society. “My first prod-
uct was a wireless solar power
bank, which charges itself
with sunlight. While in col-
Ahmedabad I Thursday, March 21, 2019 I daily news & analysis
6.79%
6.9%
6.59%
5.48%
34563
30698
22659
38520
Oct-Dec Oct-Dec Oct-Dec Oct-Dec
2018 2017 2016 2015
misri-making
unit sealed
A day before Holi festival,
the health flying squad
of Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC)
sealed a misri-making
unit finding the place
unhygienic. They were
making patasha, misri
and other sweets
boy continued sealing proper-
ties of tax defaulters. After seal-
ing the Cambay Hotel on Thurs-
day last week, they cut off the
drainage and water connection.
In a press release, the depart-
ment mentioned that they have
disconnected the drainage line
over tax dues. Of the total due,
the hotel is supposed to have
paid Rs 44.79 lakh, while Rs 5.50
crore is pending. One party plot
was sealed for defaulting on a
payment of Rs 25 lakh.
lege, I would often visit NGOs
for project work. I had the op-
portunity to interact with sev-
eral specially-abled people.
Since then, I wanted to make
something to help them.
Through this product, the
disabled can switch on or
switch off the fan, or any oth-
er electronic devices using
the movement of their eyes.”
In all, five startup ideas,
from among over 100 submit-
ted by aspiring women entre-
preneurs, were awarded Rs 10
lakh under the herSTART
program. Over 650 partici-
pants applied for the pro-
03
Parents protest outside Calorx Public school on Wednesday
Parents approach
cops against school
over LC to students
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
A group of disgruntled par-
ents on Wednesday submit-
ted a complaint with the
Ghatlodia police station
against Calorx Public school
for handing leaving certifi-
cates to some students and
withholding results for non-
payment of fees.
Nearly 50 parents on
Wednesday met the police
inspector and complained
of harassment of their
wards by school authorities.
The parents even went to the
District Primary Education
Officer requesting him to
take action against the
school.
Speaking about the same,
one of the parents said, “The
school is violating all norms
laid down by the Fee Regula-
tory Committee (FRC). At
first, the school submitted
wrong documents to the
FRC. While they charge Rs
32,000 from us, they told the
FRC that they charge Rs
52,000. The FRC then re-
duced the fees to Rs 32,000.
We haven’t received any real
benefit from the FRC. As per
the FRC order on February
26, the school had to immedi-
ately refund the admission
fee charged from new stu-
dents but the school has not
yet returned the money. For
one class, fees of all students
differs.”
“We are paying according
to what FRC says but the
gram, out of which, 120 were
selected for a two-day boot-
camp. The bootcamp was fol-
lowed by a pitching session,
based on which, 35 ideas were
selected for pre-incubation
support.
We are paying
according to
what FRC says
but the school pressured
and threatened students.
Those who did not bow
down were given the LC
A parent present at the
protest outside the school
school pressured and threat-
ened students. Those who
did not bow down were given
the LC. In our application,
we have demanded action
against the school for giving
LC to students, not following
the FRC order on admission
fee and for withholding the
result.”
Clarifying the school’s
stand, in an official state-
ment, the authorities stated
that the fees are being
charged as per FRC guide-
lines. “These are a few trou-
blesome parents who have
not paid fees for the past two
and three years.
“They are not paying the
FRC-approved fees and want
to pay only Rs 15,000, Rs
25,000 and Rs 27,000. We are
continuing with our previ-
ous commitment since the
beginning of this school
eight years ago – discounted
fees, which are even lower
than fees approved by the
FRC. The matter is still sub-
judice in Supreme Court.”
Man held in
`1.65-crore
Rajpath Club
cheating case
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Late on Tuesday night, a man,
identified as Hitesh Desai,
wanted in the Rs 1.65 crore
Rajpath Club cheating case
was arrested. The accused, an
employee of the club, would
sell membership of inactive
members to new members
and dupe the club.
Desai surrendered himself
to Vastrapur police after he
got to know of the complaint
having been filed against him.
A primary probe into the case
revealed that he had used the
money to go to Bangkok. He
later returned to Ahmedabad
and hid at his relative’s place.
Inspector MM Jadeja said,
“During interrogation, he re-
vealed that he was the only
person who was involved in
the racket and denied the in-
volvement of other staff. But
we suspect that there must be
more people involved as the
entire scheme cannot be done
by one person alone and we
have started an investigation
in that direction.”
A complaint was lodged
with the Vastrapur police on
February 14 by Amit Patel,
General Manager of the Raj-
path Club. Patel had noticed
that memberships of dead
members appeared as active
in the club’s data. It was later
revealed that new members
were holding the old inactive
memberships.
Hitesh Desai
 04
daily news & analysis I Ahmedabad I Thursday, March 21, 2019
in brief
56 km Hyderabad
metro second
largest in India
Hyderabad: A 10-km
stretch of Hyderabad
Metro Rail between
Ameerpet and Hi-Tec
City was inaugurated
Wednesday, covering 56
km of the 72 km long el-
evated Hyderabad Metro
Rail project, becoming
India’s second largest
network. With the 56 km
length operational, it
has now become India’s
second largest Metro
Rail network, next only
to Delhi, Hyderabad
Metro Rail Limited
(HRML) officials said.
Governor of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana
E S L Narasimhan
flagged off the metro
rail services to Hi-Tec
City at Ameerpet Metro
station.
Nipah virus alert
sounded in Tripura
Agartala: Tripura gov-
ernment on Tuesday
sounded an alert after
the death of five mem-
bers of a family in
Nipah virus attack in a
Bangladesh village bor-
dering West Bengal, an
official said here.
The Tripura govern-
ment issued a notice to
all district chief medical
officers Monday to stay
sensitized.
Death toll reaches 5 Vadra moves HC, seeks
in Dharwad collapse quashing of land case
NDRF personnel search for survivors the day after an under-construction
multi-storey building collapsed in Dharwad district of Karnataka on Tuesday
Bengaluru: The death toll in
the building collapse at Dhar-
wad in north Karnataka
mounted to five Wednesday
as rescuers pulled out two
more bodies from the debris
and one person succumbed to
injuries at hospital, police
said.
Rescuers had pulled out 55
people from the rubble of the
four-storeyed under con-
struction building, which col-
lapsed on Tuesday evening at
Kumareshwaranagar in the
heart of Dharwad, about 400
km from here.
“Five people have lost
their lives while 55 people
have been rescued. We fear
that some 15 to 20 people are
still trapped inside the rub-
ble,” said M N Nagaraj, Hub-
balli-Dharwad commissioner
of police.
He said no arrests have
been made. “We have regis-
tered a case. Arrests will also
follow but our focus at pre-
sent is on the rescue opera-
tions,” Nagaraj added.
Police said rescue opera-
tions had been intensified to
extricate people believed to

Income Tax to auction
Nirav’s paintings, cars
173 works of arts, 11 luxury vehicles of the fugitive will be up for grabs
Mumbai: A special court un-
der the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act (PMLA) has
granted permission to the In-
come Tax Department (I-T) to
auction the paintings and
cars of Nirav Modi, the fugi-
tive businessman whom the
Scotland Yard arrested on
Tuesday afternoon (local
time) in London.
“A special PMLA court has
allowed Income Tax Depart-
ment’s application to auction
some paintings from the col-
lection of Nirav Modi. All
those paintings have been
seized by the Enforcement Di-
rectorate (ED),” said sources.
I-T Department had filed
an application to seek per-
mission from the special
court as it had already pub-
lished the auction notice.
Modi is also a defaulter for
the Income Tax Dept.
“Through the auction, I-T De-
partment wishes to make
some recovery,” they said.
Sources said the court has
allowed I-T to go ahead with
the auction by the end of this
month, but “all the proceeds
of this auction are to be de-
posited in the special PMLA
court.”
be still trapped beneath the
debris.
In addition to 10 ambu-
lances and five fire tenders
deployed for relief and res-
cue operations, three teams
of the National Disaster Re-
lief Force (NDRF) have been
engaged, two from Ghaziabad
and one from Bengaluru.
“Two more teams of
#NDRF are being airlifted
from Ghaziabad in addition
to one team which was moved
from Bangalore in connec-
tion with Dharwad building
collapse,” the NDRF tweeted
earlier in the day.
About 150 police, fire and
emergency personnel too
have joined the rescue opera-
tions.
Former Karnataka minis-
ter and Congress leader from
the region Vinay Kulkarni
had said Tuesday that one of
the partners in the building
was his relative and that who-
ever was involved should face
action. An eye-witness had
alleged that the building did
not have the capacity to bear
four storeys whereas an extra
floor was being added.
It is said 173 paintings and
11 cars of Modi will be auc-
tioned. Nirav Modi was ar-
rested in Holborn. He ap-
peared in custody at West-
minster Magistrates’ Court.
The fugitive diamond mer-
chant Modi is wanted for his
alleged involvement in Rs
13,000 crore Punjab National
Bank (PNB) loan default case.
A non-bailable warrant
(NBW) has also been issued
against Ami Modi, wife of
Nirav, under the Prevention
of Money Laundering Act
(PMLA), said ED sources.
New Delhi: Robert Vadra on
Wednesday moved the Delhi
High Court seeking quashing
of a money laundering case
lodged by the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) in which he
has been questioned by the
probe agency.
Vadra, brother-in-law of
Congress President Rahul
Gandhi, has also sought that
various provisions of the
Prevention of Money Laun-
dering Act (PMLA), 2002 be
declared unconstitutional.
His plea, in which he has
sought quashing of the ED’s
FIR lodged in 2017, has been
listed for hearing on March
25. The ED case relates to al-
legations of money launder-
ing in the purchase of a Lon-
don-based property at 12,
Bryanston Square, worth 1.9
million pounds. The property
is allegedly owned by Vadra.
A trial court had on Tues-
day extended Vadra’s interim
protection from arrest till
March 25 in the case.
In his plea, Vadra has
sought that Sections 3 (of-
Prison time to take the shine off Nirav Modi
From P1
The Ministry of External Af-
fairs reacted to the arrest of
Modi, saying, “We welcome
the fact that Nirav Modi has
been arrested by the United
Kingdom authorities pursu-
ant to the arrest warrant is-
sued by the Westminster
Magistrate Court.” It added,
“The Government of India
continues to actively follow
up this matter with the au-
The arrest of Modi comes
days after the fugitive busi-
nessman was tracked down
to a 33-storey Centre Point
Apartment complex in Lon-
don’s Theatre district.
The tower was an office
complex and was converted
into luxury residences with
prices ranging from PS2 mil-
lion to PS55 million all with
superb views over the city of
London.Modi was believed to
be living in a property worth
PS8 million apartments in
the tower. The rent for a simi-
lar apartment in the tower
Robert Vadra
fence of money laundering),
17 (search and seizure), 19
(power to arrest), 24 (Burden
of Proof), 44 (offences triable
by special courts) and 50
(Powers of authorities re-
garding summons, produc-
tion of documents and to give
evidence, etc) of the PMLA be
declared ultra vires or uncon-
stitutional.
The ED had told the trial
court that it lodged the mon-
ey laundering case against
Manoj Arora after his role
thorities concerned in the
UK, with a view to have
Nirav Modi extradited to In-
dia at the earliest.”
District Judge Marie Mallon,
presiding over the hearing,
said that she was not in-
clined to accept Nirav’s bail
plea due the “high value
amount” attached to the al-
legations against him and
that he would have “every
incentive” to evade surren-
dering before the court.
Fancy items
„„The ED will put on
sale the 173 paintings of
Modi which are valued at
Rs 57.72
„„Vehicles that will be
auctioned Rolls Royce,
Porsche, Mercedes
and Toyota Fortuner. A
public auction will be
held later this month
„„Court said it has also
allowed I-T to sell another
68 paintings seized it, as
part of its separate probe.
comes to approximately
PS17,000 a month, as per me-
dia report.
One of the prime accused
in the PNB scam in India,
Modi is the subject of an extra-
dition request by India, along
with an Interpol Red Corner
Notice being issued against
him. Modi is the prime ac-
cused in Rs 13,000 crore PNB
loan fraud case, along with his
uncle Mehul Choksi. Choksi
was granted citizenship of An-
tigua and Barbuda on January
15, 2018. —Agencies
London properties
The ED case relates to
allegations of money
laundering in the purchase
of a London-based
property at 12, Bryanston
Square.The property is
allegedly owned by Robert
Vadra. Besides Vadra,
Manoj Arora, his close
aide and an employee of
Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality
LLP, has also filed a similar
petition in the high court.
came up during the probe of
another case by the Income
Tax Department under the
newly enacted Black Money
Act and tax law against ab-
sconding arms dealer Sanjay
Bhandari.
It alleged that the London-
based property was bought
by Bhandari for GBP 1.9 mil-
lion and sold in 2010 for the
same amount despite incur-
ring additional expenses of
approximately GBP 65,900 on
its renovation.
There are substantial
grounds to believe that you
would fail to surrender before
the court if bail were to be
granted,” the judge noted. In-
dia, which is being represent-
ed by Jonathan Swain from
the Crown Prosecution Ser-
vice (CPS), had approached
Interpol regarding Nirav in
July 2018 and a red-corner no-
tice was issued against him.
An RCN makes it difficult for
the accused to to get bail.
www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia
Effigies of Azhar, Saeed
to be burnt in ‘Holika’
Patna: Residents of a neigh-
bourhood in the Bihar capital
this time have put up effigies
of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief
Masood Azhar and Mumbai
attack mastermind Hafiz
Saeed in the streets for torch-
ing them as part of Holika-
dahan ritual.
The effigies have been
mounted on top of a huge pile
of timber and broken twigs
on a street in Kadam Kuan’s
Nawal Kishor Road, and
would be burnt on Wednes-
day night to mark ‘Holika
Dahan’ or the eve of Holi.
The pile faces a shop on
the street side, selling col-
ours, ‘pichkaris’ (water toy
guns) and fancy masks, while
an image of a jawan in com-
bat fatigue and pointing a
gun, has been put up on an
electric pole in the corner of
the road.
“People from the local area
have put effigies to show soli-
darity with the spirit that ter-
ror activities originating
from Pakistani soil would not
be tolerated by India and its
people.
“Pictures of both the ter-
rorists have been pasted on
the faces of the effigies,” a
local shopkeeper, who did not
wish to be named, said.
While Saeed, the head of
the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and
mastermind of the Novem-
ber 2008 Mumbai terror at-
Treat abuses like
ornaments, says PM
From P1
She said she was hurt by Con-
gress President Rahul Gan-
dhi’s ‘chowkidaar hi chor
hai’ comment, saying she felt
it mocked her humble back-
ground and cast aspersions
on her integrity. “Army men
who guard our country are
also chowkidars,” she said,
“they have also been branded
chors (thieves).”
“Had he said this to me
personally, you would not
have been hurt,” the PM said,
“But he could not muster the
courage to attack me. People
who feel rejected tend to hurl
such abuses, but this should
not bother you. Instead, you
should feel happy that the
whole nation is now with you
by calling itself chowkidar.”
Attacking the Gandhi fam-
ily further, he called them
“Naamdars” (affluent people)
will keep saying such things,
as against “Kaamdars (work-
ers)” like him and her, “who
will have to bear this and
work for the betterment of
the country”. He asked the
security guards to fight the
Nirav had fled the country
in January 2018 when the
Punjab National bank PNB
first reported the scam. In
February, India revoked his
passport and last August,
New Delhi sent two extradi-
tion requests to the UK —
one from the CBI, and an-
other from the ED.
Top govt sources told
WION that New Delhi has
already sent relevant mate-
rial to the British govern-
tenders & Notices
indi
Bonfires are put up on the eve of Holi as a part of a festive ritual to
symbolically burn ‘Holika’ by setting afire wood, dried leaves, twigs and
other inflammable articles—PTI
No plastic diktat
In Patna, the piles,
locally called ‘agja’
have been put up on
various prominent roads
and inner streets to
mark the festival. State
pollution authorities have
appealed to people to not
burn plastic objects or
polythene bags as part of
the bonfire.
tack is a designated terrorist,
a fresh move has been made
at the UN to designate JeM
chief Azhar as a global ter-
rorist.
The fresh proposal to des-
ignate Azhar under the 1267
Al Qaeda Sanctions Commit-
pain of the jab by treating the
“abuse” as an ornament.
The next caller, Santosh
Kumar from Cuttack in Odi-
sha, praised the PM’s befit-
ting reply to Pakistan after
the Pulwama terror attack
and told him not to worry as
the entire country is stand-
ing by him. PM Modi said the
Opposition was unable to un-
derstand the nation’s mood
after the forces attacked Paki-
stan. “If Pakistan gets hurt,”
he said, “some people start
crying. The country should
not forget such people and
must teach them a lesson.”
To another caller, Modi
said, “it is the best gift to me
when you equate me with a
chowkidar.”
ment concerning his extradi-
tion, and it was up to the
Westminster Court to decide
if the extradition demand
was genuine. At a later stage,
a CBI representative might
go to London, the source
said. Earlier this month, the
UK Central Authority of
Home Office had sent India’s
extradition request to the
Westminster Magistrate
Court District Judge for fur-
ther proceedings.
tee of the UN Security Coun-
cil was moved by France, the
UK and the US, in the wake of
the Pulwama terror attack in
Jammu and Kashmir in
which 40 CRPF personnel
were killed.
A placard each have also
been slung around the necks
of the two effigies, bearing
the slogan ‘Pakistan
Murdabad’.
At the bottom of the effi-
gies a placard reading, “Paki-
stan this is just a trailer...”,
has been kept. The message
in Hindi is apparently a refer-
ence to the recent air strike
by India on terror camps in
Pakistan’s Balakot region
that had escalated tensions
between the two countries.
—PTI
24 suffer eye
infection after
botched surgeries
Kurukshetra: At least 24 pa-
tients, including some wom-
en, suffered severe eye infec-
tion allegedly due to botched
cataract surgeries at the Lok
Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan
Civil Hospital here.
The Kurukshetra district
health authorities have sus-
pended eye surgeries at the
hospital till Friday.
The patients who were op-
erated upon at the hospital
over the past three weeks
have been referred to the Post
Graduate Institute of Medi-
cal Education &
Research(PGIMER) in Chan-
digarh.
The PGIMER confirmed
that its Advanced Eye Centre
(AEC) received 24 patients of
post cataract surgery en-
dophthalmitis, an inflamma-
tion of the interior of the eye,
in last couple of weeks.
“At AEC, PGIMER, till
now 19 patients have been op-
erated... All the patients are
doing well on topical and sys-
temic antibiotics. Their vi-
sion is gradually improving.
None of the patient has com-
plete loss of vision. Eleven
patients have been dis-
charged and advised regular
follow up,” it said in a state-
ment.
On Wednesday, a team of
doctors led by Director
Health Services, Haryana, Dr
Arshudeen visited the hospi-
tal to investigate the cases.
Civil Surgeon Dr Sukhbir
Singh said an investigation
was on to ascertain the cause
of the infection and fix re-
sponsibility.
A senior eye surgeon had
performed around 100 cata-
ract surgeries between Feb-
ruary 27 and March 11, he
said.—PTI
 J&K dilemma Brush
with film
70K 717 428 300 students

ball t
para troops sought by companies of para companies of para companies of para forces

05
J&K for simultaneous troops could not forces were deployed deployed during last LS
polls; the reason state be met when entire during 2014 J&K As- polls in J&K; situation by Congress President
polls were deferred country goes to polls sembly elections then had improved Rahul Gandhi during
an event at the Manipur

ballet
State Film Development
It is unfortunate that National conference considers Society Auditorium in
Jammu and Kashmir as its own estate. When (ex-CM) Imphal on Wednesday.
He also interacted with
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed brought Congress in J&K, they the students of the soci-
called them worms of dirty drain (as a Delhi’s party) ety and took potshots at
PM Modi. —PTI
Mehbooba Mufti, PDP chief & former chief minister

lok sabha election 2019 BJP’s Central poll panel meets for the third time on Wednesday evening to finalise candidates

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poll trivia
Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM)
president Kamal Haasan
releases candidates list for the
upcoming Lok Sabha elections,
in Chennai, Wednesday —PTI
Rlys to withdraw
tickets with PM pic
New Delhi: The Railway
Wednesday decided to withdraw
tickets carrying photographs of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
which was part of an advertise-
Mayawati opts out of poll race ‘EC scanning
BSP chief says options open on fighting partiamentary bypolls later; to campaign extensively
Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj
Party chief Mayawati Wednes-
day announced that she will
not contest the upcoming Lok
Sabha polls, but kept open the
option of fighting a parlia-
mentary bypoll later.
“In view of the present cir-
cumstances and the need of
the country and the interests
of the party, the movement
and the public, it is the need
of the hour that I do not con-
test the LS polls. And this is
the reason that I have decided
not to contest the Lok Sabha
polls,” Mayawati said here.
But she added it would not
be a problem if there is a need
for her to enter Parliament
later. “If it so happens that I
have to get elected to LS later,
I can contest from any seat by
getting it vacated and become
an MP. I will not face any prob-
Mayawati @Mayawati: When I became UP CM
social media’
New Delhi: IT Minister Ravi
lem,” she said. first time in 1995 I was not member of either UP BSP leader from Shankar Prasad Wednesday
Assembly or Council. Similarly is provision at the
She claimed that all she
has to do is to go and file nom-
Centre where a person have to be a LS/RS member within 6
Amethi joins BJP sounded a warning to social
media companies not to allow
ination papers and her party New Delhi: Bahujan Sa- their platforms to be abused
workers will ensure her vic- months of holding office of minister/PM. Don’t disheartened maj Party leader from to influence elections, and
tory. from my decision not to contest LS poll now Amethi and former MLA said the Election Commis-
The BSP chief suggested Chandra Prakash Mishra sion is maintaining vigil on
that if she contests, the party ‘Matiyari’ on Wednesday the issue.
workers will focus on her Samajwadi Party and seats that are now with Con- joined the BJP here and Stating that the purity of
seat even if she forbids the Rashtriya Lok Dal gress leaders Rahul and Sonia said he would work to en- Indian democracy is “too sa-
them, affecting the have entered an alli- Gandhi. sure the defeat of Con- cred”, the minister said while
campaign in other ance in UP for the The Congress, in turn, said gress president Rahul the use of social media for IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
constituencies. April-May LS polls. it will leave seven UP seats for Gandhi from his Lok campaigning was okay, plat-
“Hence, winning The Congress is the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, an Sabha constituency. He forms should ensure that the
each and every LS
seat is more impor-
not part of this pact,
but the alliance has
offer that was spurned by
Mayawati.
joined the party in the
presence of ministers J P
data is not abused under any
cimcumstances. What People’s
tant than my per-
sonal victory,”
said it will not field
candidates in
Mayawati, considered a
Dalit powerhouse, had a mis-
Nadda and Smriti Irani,
with Irani expressing
Asked if the IT ministry
was monitoring the situa- Act 1951 says
Maya said. Amethi and erable outing in 2014 polls hope that Mishra’s pres- tion, he said the Election Section 126 of the Act
T h e Raebareli, when her party failed to win a ence will help BJP win. Commission (EC) is already prohibits advertising
BSP, the the two single seat in the 80-seat state. monitoring it and also has and campaigning on TV
the power to take action. and other electronic me-

NCP hopes Raj stand

Prasad said, “the EC is al- dia during the silent pe-
ment campaign by a Union pranams, to bhakts & critics ready monitoring it (situa- riod, which is 48 hours
ministry. The “suo motu” deci- tion). Let them monitor it... before the end of polling.
sion of the Railway not to use They held a meeting...it is A meeting of the EC

will benefit it in polls

the tickets came a day after the
Trinamool Congress approached
the Election Commission, alleg-
ing that the use of such tickets
was violative of the model code
of conduct, which came into
force on March 10 following the
announcement of the Lok Sabha
elections, Railway sources said.
Stalin plea to elect
‘beautiful candidate’
Chennai: DMK chief M K Stalin’s
son Udhayanidhi, while seeking
votes for his party’s woman
nominee in South Chennai
constituency here, said people
should not fail to send such a
‘beautiful’ candidate to Parlia-
ment. Seeking votes for 56-year
old Tamizhachi Thangapandian,
making her electoral debut, the
DMK leader in the same breath
said he did not refer to her physi-
cal appearance but only to her
attributes like commitment to the
people and party.
Mumbai: The NCP feels that
MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s
latest diatribe against the
BJP and Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi would eventually
benefit the Congress-NCP
combine in Lok Sabha polls,
at least in some urban pock-
ets in Maharashtra.
The NCP optimism stems
from the appeal made by
Thackeray Tuesday in which
he said the Lok Sabha elec-
tions is a fight between Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and
rest of the country.
Thackeray met NCP chief
Sharad Pawar here Wednes-
day. The Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena (MNS),
which tried hard to be part of
the Congress-NCP front
ahead of the polls, has al-
ready announced not to con-
only appropriate and desira- with social media majors
ble that the EC must monitor, on Tuesday had dis-
co-ordinate and lay the cussed evolving a ‘notifi-
ground rule for working of cation’ mechanism by
social media during elections. social media platforms
where it helps “On my side, I can only for acting upon the viola-
make this observation that tions of Section 126 of
NCP believes MNS
the purity of Indian democ- Representation of the
support will help in
racy is too sacred, and social People Act, 1951, and pre-
constituencies such as
media please ensure that the venting misuse of these
Mumbai north-east, Thane,
data is not abused to influence platforms.
Kalyan-Dombivli, Nashik
election. If someone wants to
and some other pockets
Actor Vivek Oberoi, characterised as Prime use social media for cam-
in Konkan belt, where the
Minister Narendra Modi, gestures during the paigning I have no problem.” Representatives of the In-
latter has some base.
trailer launch for upcoming biopic ‘PM Narendra The comments come a day ternet and Mobile Associa-
Modi’, in Mumbai on Wednesday. Speaking after the social media inter- tion of India (IAMAI) and
seat. Maharashtra will vote about playing the titular part, Vivek said, “I took mediaries and the internet social media platforms such
in four phases next month. less than 30 seconds to say yes to this film and mobile association Tues- as Facebook, Twitter and
Disgruntled BJP MLA when producer Sandeep Singh approached day told the Election Commis- TikTok had been called by
from Dhule, Anil Gote also me. I am not an extreme person. I am a very sion that they would shortly the poll panel to discuss the
called on Pawar at his resi- balanced person. So I respect the bhakts and come up with a draft ‘code of issue of evolving mechanism
dence on Wednesday. also respect the critics of Modiji. I look at him ethics’ for the industry as part to prevent abuse on social
When asked about the as an inspiration.. The struggle that Narendra of a mechanism to prevent media platforms. The EC also
meeting between Thackeray Modiji has gone through, my struggle is abuse of social media plat- wanted to ensure that elec-
and Pawar, an NCP leader nothing.” —AFP forms during the Lok Sabha tions are insulated from out-
said, “The meeting augurs polls beginning April 11. side influence. --PTI
well for our party. The MNS
enjoys influence in some ur-

J&K pact: Cong 2, NC 1; friendly fight in 3 seats

BJP finalises Kerala
seat-sharing pact
New Delhi: The BJP Wednes-
day finalised its seat-sharing
deal with the BDJS and Kerala
Congress in the southern state
for the Lok Sabha polls, party
leaders said. The BJP will field
candidates in 14 seats in Kerala,
while the Bharat Dharma Jana
Sena (BDJS) will contest in five
seats and PC Thomas-led Kerala
Congress will fight in one, said
Muralidhar Rao, national general
secretary of the BJP.
16 file papers for
LS polls in K’taka
Bengaluru: Sumalatha Amba-
reesh, wife of late actor-politician
Ambareesh, is among 16
candidates who filed their nomi-
nations in Karnataka Wednesday
for the Lok Sabha polls. A total
of 17 nominations have been
received from 16 candidates on
Wednesday, poll officials said,
adding that cumulative nomina-
tions received stands at 28 from
22 candidates.
29 FIRs against
parties in Delhi
New Delhi: Twenty-nine FIRs
have been registered against
various political parties in Delhi,
including three each against the
AAP and the BJP, for violating the
model code of conduct, Delhi’s
chief electoral officer said on
Wednesday. Special CEO Satnam
Singh said that the poll body has
also removed more than 1.8 lakh
hoardings, banners and posters
since the enforcement of model
code of conduct.
test Lok Sabha polls. Though
the NCP was in favour of tak-
ing MNS on board, the Con-
gress opposed any such move
citing the MNS’ aggressive
brand of politics.
In 2014 elections, the MNS
had drawn a blank. In the as-
sembly elections held that
year, the party won only one
Sharad Pawar with daughter Supriya Sule arrive to attend the wedding
ceremony of Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray recently —FILE Photo
Former Maha NCP MP Ranjitsinh Patil joins BJP
Mumbai: In a setback to
the Sharad Pawar-led NCP
in Maharashtra, former
party MP Ranjitsinh Mo-
hite Patil joined the BJP
here Wednesday.
Ranjitsinh, son of sen-
ior Nationalist Congress
Party leader Vijaysinh Mo-
hite Patil, joined the BJP in
presence of CM Devendra
Fadnavis.
Vijaysinh Mohite Patil
is NCP’s Lok Sabha mem-
ban pockets. Though the
MNS is formally not a part of
the proposed grand alliance,
the position Thackeray took
will eventually benefit us”.
Addressing MNS workers
here, Thackeray had
slammed PM Modi over “ris-
ing unemployment” and oth-
er issues. —Agencies
ber from Madha constitu-
ency and a former deputy
CM of Maharashtra.
Ranjitsinh, who was a
Rajya Sabha member of
the NCP, said he was disap-
pointed with top NCP lead-
ership. This is the setback
to the Congress-NCP com-
bine, after Sujay Vikhe Pa-
til, the son of Maharashtra
Leader of Opposition Rad-
hakrishna Vikhe Patil
joined the BJP recently.
Jammu: Sealing an alliance dullah said. “I will contest
after days of hectic parleys, from Srinagar seat,” he said. ‘win-win pact’
the Congress and National State Congress chief Gu-
„„Congress leader
Conference Wednesday an- lam Ahmed Mir and AICC Gulam Azad said the tie-
nounced they will fight two General Secretary Ambika up will ensure there is no
and one Lok Sabha seats re- Soni were also present. division of secular votes
spectively, while agreeing on The state sends six Lok and BJP is not benefited.
a “friendly contest” on the Sabha MPs.
rest three constituencies of Azad said, “Friendly con- „„Live and let live. This
Jammu and Kashmir. test means that we will not go is the best decision
At a joint news conference hard against each other and taken in national
here, Congress leader Ghu- at the same time will make a interest. If either the
lam Nabi Azad and NC pa- joint effort to defeat the op- Congress or National
tron Farooq Abdullah told ponents. Whether they (NC) Conference wins, it is
the media that while the Con- win or we, it will make no dif- National Conference President Farooq Abdullah and senior Congress leader a win-win situation for
gress will contest on the Jam- ference because the (seats) Ghulam Nabi Azad address a news conference in Jammu Wednesday —PTI both, Azad said.
mu and Udhampur seats, the will add to the national kitty.”
National Conference will Had the two parties entered fer votes.” He said, “We have the opponent.” “The alliance „„He said all Congress
fight from Srinagar. the fray separately in Jam- some MLAs in Anantnag and has been finalised in national leaders will campaign
There will be a “friendly mu, Azad said, it would have Baramulla and (by friendly interest and will strengthen for Abdullah on Srinagar
contest” between the two par- benefited the BJP. “And in contest) we will be able to the secular forces in J&K as Parliamentary seat, which
ties on the Baramulla, Anan- Kashmir, if we fought sepa- maintain our turf. Our fight the state faces threat from he currently represents
tang and Ladakh seats, Ab- rately, it is difficult to trans- will be a joint effort to defeat Pakistan,” Azad said.
The NCP downplayed
all eyes on vijaysinh’s next move the exit of Ranjitsinh Mo-
n Ranjitsinh’s switch over to the BJP hite Patil, saying the devel-
is believed to be with the “consent” of opment would not affect its
his father Vijaysinh who is said to be poll prospects in Madha,
sidelined by the party brass. represented by his father
and party stalwart Vijay-
n Vijaysinh, a former deputy CM, sinh Mohite Patil.
has not opened his cards on next Terming the develop-
move. ment “unfortunate”, NCP
state president Jayant Patil
There is speculation tion as LOP to Congress said the party had decided
that Radhakrishna Vikhe president Rahul Gandhi on to renominate Vijaysinh
Patil tendered his resigna- moral grounds. from Madha constituency.

ride with pride Only In 2014, transgenders were 1st enrolled as voters with Males & females

Transgenders find political space, this poll season Pune: The ensuing Lok Sabha
polls have brought a ray of hope
for transgenders with many from
their community being roped in
by several political parties for
various posts.
Sonali Dalvi, a transgender ac-
tivist who was recently appointed
general secretary of Congress
women’s wing, Pune, said, “Our
voices will get amplified if given
a political platform. There is a
dire need to get the transgender
community inducted into the
mainstream.”
“I will work hard to get things
done for my community. It is sad
Apsara Reddy (extreme right) after being appointed the first transgender National that even now we do not have peo-
General Secretary of Mahila Congress recently —File photo/ Twitter ple who can resolve our problems
Transgender activist
is EC's ambassador
In a first, transgender activist
Gauri Sawant has been ap-
pointed as one of the goodwill
ambassadors of the Election
Commission in Maharashtra.
which we face in the society,”
Dalvi said.
Echoing similar sentiments,
Chandni Gore, the newly induct-
ed deputy president of the NCP
Pune women’s wing, said she
aims at resolving issues faced by
the community. “I have chosen
NCP because of Supriya Sule
(NCP MP). She is the only MP who
raised our issues in Parliament
for getting us justice,” Gore said.
Avinash Bagave, the city presi-
dent of Pune Congress, said, “My
party has always felicitated equal-
ity. In the past, we had inducted
Apsara Reddy as general secre-
tary of AICC women’s wing. And
now in Pune, we have so many
transgenders working in different
party positions.”
Last week, Mayawati’s BSP
had said it will be fielding Kajal
Nayak, a transgender, from the
Korei seat for the upcoming As-
sembly polls in Odisha. —Agencies
 06
Ahmedabad I Thursday, March 21, 2019
 opini n
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daily news & analysis

Balakot strike & deterrence
The political objective of military preparedness is to warn hostile neighbours against any misadventure

Follow the code

Balakot has been
in the news for the
past few days and
perhaps such over-
Social media platforms must carry out EC’s instructions kill makes me
wonder if the

T
his poll season, the Election Commission has a formidable place still exists.
task at hand: Ensuring that leaders, political parties or their ‘Reduced to ashes
supporters do not misuse social media platforms. The poll or damaged be-
Rajiv Williams yond recognition’,
watchdog has asked Facebook, Twitter, Ticktock, and the likes as per claims made
to formulate their own model of conduct. Recall that Section by many after the 12 Mirage strikes on
126 of the Representation of People Act prohibits advertising February 26, needs to be discussed from
and campaigning on TV and other electronic media during the a slightly different perspective. I will
silent period, which is 48 hours before the end of polling. The focus on three issues, ie, ‘Target selec-
code and a robust tracking mechanism will enable these net- tion’, ‘Use of a strategic resource’ and
the importance of the critical ‘Element
working sites to crack down on violators. The Commission’s of National Power’ – ‘The National Will’.
concerns are justified. This time there are 15 million first-time To avenge the loss of our 40 CRPF
voters in the age group of 18-19. This population, highly active personnel killed in one of the most das-
on the Internet, can be gullible, thus falling prey to fiction or tardly acts of terrorism at Pulwama in
false narratives. Moreover, the march of the Internet in India the Kashmir Division of the state, po-
has been relentless. With over 460 million internet users, India litical pundits spelt out the target for the
Indian Air Force to launch a deep strike
is the second largest online market, ranked just below China. mission. The target selected after carry-
By 2021, there will be about 635.8 million internet users in the ing out adequate deliberation was the
country. This means that the battle for minds and eyeballs has terrorist camp established in the higher
shifted to the virtual world. The propagation of fake news — in reaches of Balakot town in Mansehra
other words, dangerous propaganda techniques — has the po- District in Pakistan (NOT PoK). The
tential to destabilise the biggest electoral exercise in the world’s largest Jaish-e-Mohammad training In-
stitute in Balakot is Madarsa Syed Ah-
most populous democracy. The EC is also extremely wary of mad Shaheed, as described in the book
outside influences. The last US presidential election was marred Jihad-e Kashmir and Afghanistan by
by allegations of Russian interference in the poll process. In Muhammad Amir Rana. Access to the
India, though the EC does a sterling job of ensuring free and camp is along a very narrow path, five
fair polls, its writ in the virtual world is limited. Hence, it has km from Atr Sheesha village located on
called upon social media intermediaries and the Internet and the road from Mansehra to Balakot
town. It is after an arduous trek that the
Mobile Association to come up with a bulwark against any kind camp is reached and entry is strictly
of misuse. The EC has emphasised on a process that makes controlled even for Jaish cadres. The Pakistani residents walk on a bridge in the mountainous area of Balakot where IAF launched a raid on February 26 —AFP
tracking of complaints and redressal of grievances swift and complex is huge with a very imposing
effective. Transparency in expenditure of political advertise- entrance like that of a castle capable of share more convincing information, it is equally important that the quality
ments is another cause for concern for the poll body, which has housing up to 2000 mujahideens. like the damage assessment report. This of military leadership has a direct rela-
warned social media giants not to allow political advertise- Keeping in mind its importance, per- perhaps was grossly missed out when tionship on national power.
haps the target was selected by the NSA we discussed the narrative, resulting in To conclude, I really wonder if the ‘na-
ments without the prior approval of certification committees and the task given to Air Chief Marshal misplaced authentication inserts. There tional will’ displayed in the media was
set up in the districts. The worldwide web is an untameable Dhanoa, with a caveat that damage be was a need for joint press briefings and overstated with the intent to support the
beast, and that makes it extremely dangerous in a country like restricted to the terrorists camp and regular Government updates. ruling party in vote-bank politics or
India where sharp divisions in society on religious and caste training Institute with no military or Was such a target strategic or could would such trends lead to negative poli-
lines have led to a spate of violence and loss of lives in recent civilian casualties being acceptable. As it be classed as a tactical military target? ticking? If the objective was on the lines
years. Despite robust laws, people can sneak in propaganda a military target it seemed attractive I would think the latter since the objec- of ‘Operation Babylon’, the surprise Is-
and within reach at the planning stage. tive was limited to containing terrorism raeli air attack deep into Iraq on June 7,
material during the silence period, 48 hours before the polls. However, due to the difficult terrain and under the prism of ‘Assured limited 1981, when the Israeli Air Force destroyed
However, harsh punishment for violators can act as a deterrent dense foliage, the after-attack require- Military Response’ and at the same time and become a primary weapon in inter- the ‘Osirak nuclear reactor’ and returned
for these people. Now that the EC is taking every possible pre- ments of authentic early damage assess- ensuring that Pakistan’s threshold level national struggles for power. However, it back safely after a three-hour-long opera-
caution, it should also invest in cutting-edge technology and ment would make the task difficult. was not crossed. Hence was there a need must be understood that both must coex- tion, then I suppose the operation would
rope in experts to become even more effective. It’s heartening Approximately 80 km deep inside Pa- for strategic resources being used mere- ist and it is in their combined use that perhaps be more justified. Projecting the
to know that the EC in Karnataka has roped in some college- kistan, the Balakot Jaish camp could ly to convey to a larger audience that ‘No victory can be assured. The political air arm with immense risks and as just
well be hit and as per the Chief of the more’ terror attacks will be acceptable? objective of military preparedness is to another tool for achieving partial politi-
goers who are expert at detecting violations in social media. Air Staff ’s confirmation, the mission With our military capability and exper- deter neighbouring countries from us- cal objective, I feel seems rather suspect,
The EC’s reputation depends on how well it can nip mala fide was successfully accomplished and the tise, I am sure we could have used other ing military force by making it too risky which lacks of ‘National Will’. I believe
content on the web in the bud. Social media majors too have target neutralised. However, equally im- means, to include specific ‘Seek and de- for them to undertake any kind of mis- we have the military capacity to selec-
their jobs cut out. Their reputation is also on the line. portant was the need to share the dam- stroy’ missions with immediate damage adventure. Hence the need of constantly tively hit the enemy at a place of our
age assessment report, although selec- assessment reports available to con- upgrade the military in all forms and choosing and it is in such well rehearsed
tively, for the public to believe that the vince the nation that the political leader- maintaining high morale of the Armed calculated response that deterrence will

Celebrating dry holi

strategic resources used have been effec-
tive and impactful. While many a media
report, and rightly so, supported the Air
Chief ’s statement, there was a need to
India is staring at a drought this year
ship will act across borders to protect Forces must remain the quintessence bring about the change required to bring
the sovereignty of the country. for ensuring success. My observation is about peace in our region.
It is conceivable that political warfare that political interference on matters Author is a former Brigadier.
will selectively replace military warfare military should be minimal and I believe Views are personal.

I
ndia is the throes of a severe water crisis this year and wast-
ing water in Holi will aggravate the woes in both urban and QUOTE HANGER slowburn
rural areas. According to a NITI Aayog report released last
year, some 600 million people are facing acute water shortage.
Twenty four out of 29 states need to take drastic measures while
Raveesh Kumar
@MEAIndia
Omar Abdullah
@OmarAbdullah
China’s cloned dogs to fight crime
C
21 cities may run out of groundwater despite a surge in demand. hina’s taste for the bizarre is taking and costs as much as 500,000 yuan
When every drop matters, Indians will have to use water judi- Sharing the pain! INS It takes a special kind of hilarious proportions. In order to ($105,000), with no guarantee of success.
fight rising crime, Beijing has invest- The paper also cited an animal expert at
ciously. Erratic monsoons, scorching summers, deforestation, Sujata is in cyclone-hit Mozambique hubris to roam around Oxford Street ed in the cloning of a top shot dog. the Yunnan Agricultural University.
rampant extraction of groundwater and faulty agricultural extending immediate Humanitarian without a care in the world the way Sources say that the skin of a veteran South Korean scientists created the
practices have contributed to this gargantuan crisis. While it Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) #NiravModi was. police dog, credited with helping to solve world’s first cloned dog in 2005.
is impossible to tell how much water is wasted during the fes- many murders, has been used to create
tival of colours, a small town’s profligacy can run into millions to the affected people. its younger clone. Officials hope that the
of litres. The shortage of clean water is another point of con-
K9 cloning programme will drive down
cost and time required for dogs’ train-
Brain connects with
Shailesh Gandhi
cern. The NITI Aayog report stated that around 200,000 Indians
die every year as they have no access to clean water. The crisis @shaileshgan MS Dhoni always
ing. By cloning veteran dogs, we can
greatly improve the success rate and the
earth’s magnetic field
A
is not restricted to India as global water shortages are threaten- Expense Limit for Lok number of quality Kunming police dogs group of scientists, including a geo-
ing the existence of mankind. A dry holi this year will give us guides us bowlers. When the available, bolstering national security physical biologist, a cognitive neuro-
some sort of reprieve till the monsoon, especially for drought- Sabha election 70 lacs. It is well wicketkeeper supports as a result,” Wei Hongjiang, a professor scientist and a neuroengineer, has
prone states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, known that most serious candidates at Yunnan Agricultural University, found proof that the human brain is
you like that, it which participated in the cloning, said, capable of detecting Earth’s magnetic
Orissa, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The future looks dry as a bone will spend over 5 crore. according to a RT report. The cloned field despite previous conflicting re-
and unless India undertakes sustainable water management, becomes easier avatar is a Kunming wolfdog, a breed sults. The results of their research were
it will be hit by food crisis. The looming water crisis poses a
Mahesh Bhatt for the bowler. I similar to a German shepherd. Kun-
ming dogs are widely used in China by
published on the website Science Alert.
The discovery shows that humans
serious challenge to agriculture, which consumes about 78 per
cent of the freshwater available in the country. India needs to @MaheshNBhatt make sure to ask the military, police, border guards and haven’t entirely lost the mechanism of
firefighters. Kunxun just started basic orienting themselves using the mag-
adopt water-saving technologies with modern irrigation tech- There is another kind of him for guidance. training course, and police say that she netic field, which many other animals
niques such as sprinkler and drip irrigation systems. This Holi, loneliness. It’s called solitude. In that demonstrated “good aptitude” in pass- enjoy. The discovery comes amid the
let’s take a solemn pledge. It’s the collective responsibility of
— Kuldeep
ing tests. According to China Daily, news that the focal point of the Earth’s
the people to enjoy responsibly. We cannot allow a day’s pleasure
enchanted space one learns that Yadav, Indian training usually takes about five years magnetic sphere is constantly shifting.
to endanger the lives and livelihoods of millions of people. silence too has a vocabulary. cricketer
send your feedback to editor@dnaindia.net

The platform to showcase new talent has shrunk

For over 10 years,
I have been creat-
ing, curating and
executing small
and large scale
events in an indi-
vidual capacity,
where the focus
was to assist char-
Nanni Singh itable causes and
corporates. The
concept has always been to first under-
stand the vision of the client, and the
event goals. Then to create an innova-
tive concept and work plan so that on
the day of the event everything is exe-
cuted flawlessly and professionally.
Organising events has not been
much of a challenge. What makes
things unworkable and exceptionally
difficult for us in the events industry is
always the financial implications in-
volved. The cost of the event, whether a
musical or any other, can be varied, de-
pending on the type of the event, and
the fee of those involved, the various
vendors and service providers. It is
their livelihood. While executing any
event, be it a conference, a corporate
event or a musical, my prime intent is
to ensure that all stakeholders are well
compensated. This can only happen if
the there are good sponsors. If there’s
good funding support, be it corporate,
individual or government, the events
industry will be able to grow and devel-
op and bring out the best that otherwise
might and will get missed for sure. This
is a big gap which needs to be filled.
Many corporates and individuals
like to step in for charity as they are
then able to get their necessary tax ex-
emptions and rebates. That too has re-
duced now as the focus has shifted
heavily towards marketing and brand-
ing and publicity. The response to-
wards events, of any sort, is so poor
and weak, despite offering customized
deliverables. This hesitation needs to
go…the trust factor needs to come in.
An area that is seemingly hard to
penetrate, is to be able to promote the
exceptional talent in our country. No
one wants to step forward and sup-
port unknown or lesser known art-
ists. This is so unfortunate as the
struggle to showcase their talent be-
comes more intense. As an events per-
son, when we approach for funding
whether for charity or for a commer-
cial event, the ask is always for a big,
known name. I strongly feel that this
is very sad and unfair to those artists
who have phenomenal talent but will
never be known because of this limi-
tation and attitude.
India has a rich cultural heritage,
but to promote the music, art and cul-
ture from any specific region is a hard
task.
Sponsorships are becoming harder
and this restricts people like us to be
able to exhibit super talent which lies
in our country’s legacy.
I started executing fundraiser
events for two charities as Head of
Events; organised regular Fundraisers
to support critically ill, under-privi-
leged children. I did small and big
events, but purely with a mission to
raise funds. This included music festi-
vals and musical evenings. I feel music
creates positive and happy vibes and is
a happy meeting ground for both the
musicians and the audience. In this
journey, I came in contact with a lot of
amazing musicians and felt that inde-
pendent and traditional music needed
a serious voice and representation.
Our first traditional production is a
musical showcase of the legendary fam-
ilies of Rajasthan who, in a completely
curated set, presented the different fla-
vours of Rajasthan-LIVE. This show
has 18 musicians from different parts of
Rajasthan and from families that have
either made these instruments or have
passed the talent down the generations.
The show showcases sensitive instru-
mentation and folk vocals.
We are searching for corporates and
individuals who believe in true music
and talent and will step in, unhesitat-
ingly to promote this and a lot more in-
dependent music, with us. Unfortu-
nately, the first question that comes
our way is who is the artist and on
hearing unknown names the response
becomes weak.
We want to start and take on this
change of mindset to be able to bring
forward a positive response from the
Industry of sponsors, supporters and
music lovers, who can help build this.
Also those that believe in good quality
of events which do require certain
funding.
In India today, there is no dearth of
good talent and good quality service pro-
viders. Thus the part of doing events be-
comes non-challenging. The biggest
challenge is the financial constraints,
which then discourage people to do
things which will enhance and show-
case our culture and traditional arts.
This gap needs to filled and this
should not be an events challenge any-
more.
Author is Founder and Chief Executive of
ShowCase Events

Vol 12 n Issue No. 136 RNI: GUJENG/2007/22424. Printed and Published by Prashant Saxena on behalf of Diligent Media Corporation ltd. Printed at Bhaskar Printing Press, Survey No.148 P, Nagdevta Mandir, Changodar, Bavla Highway, Sanand, Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Published at Diligent Media Corporation
Limited, Venus Atlantis Building, Unit No. 201 to 208, 2nd Floor, 100 Feet Road, Prahladnagar, Satellite, Ahmedabad 380015. Phone: 079 4060 2000. Editor: Deepak Lokhande Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act.
 w rld
www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia
NZ carnage livestream: 2nd man held
Accused known for Nazi-themed branding of his company; PM calls for global response to dangers of social media
Christchurch: A 44-year-old
man has become the second
person charged with sharing
a gruesome livestream video
of the deadly attack at a
Christchurch mosque, as
New Zealand Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern called for a
global response to the dan-
gers of social media.
Philip Arps, 44, was ar-
rested by New Zealand Police
on Tuesday, four days after
28-year-old Australian Bren-
ton Tarrant went on a ram-
page at two mosques in the
southern city, killing 50 peo-
ple and wounding dozens
more.
The livestream video was
shot by Tarrant, who is fac-
ing one initial charge of mur-
der for the killings at Al Noor
and Linwood mosques.
Arps was charged with
two counts of distributing
objectionable material under
the Films Act, and was re-
manded in custody after ap-
pearing in Christchurch Dis-
trict Court on Wednesday.
Arps, who is due back in
court on April 15, has attract-
ed controversy for owning a
company with Nazi-themed
branding. The firm’s logo is a
sunwheel, which was appro-
priated by the Nazis.
A teenager appeared in
court earlier this week on the
same charge.
Facebook said the lives-
tream was viewed fewer than
200 times but it has had to
remove a staggering 1.5 mil-
lion videos as footage of the
slaughter went viral.
Ardern said Wednesday
that while her focus was on
the people of New Zealand,
there were issues world lead-
ers needed to confront col-
lectively.
“We cannot, for instance,
just simply deal with some
of the issues we face with
our social media to be dealt
with on a case by case ba-
sis,” she said.
“There is an argument
there to be made for us to take
a united front on a global is-
sue. —AFP
in brief
People watch as a woman is
whipped by Sharia police
Indonesia’s Aceh
whips amorous
couples publicly
Banda Aceh: A group
of unmarried couples
were whipped in Indone-
sia’s Aceh province on
Sumatra island on
Thursday after they
were caught behaving
amorously— a crime un-
der the conservative re-
gion’s Islamic law.
The five couples flogged
Thursday received be-
tween four and 22
strokes from a rattan
cane outside a mosque
in the provincial capital,
Banda Aceh, after they
served several months
in prison.
Kazakh renames
capital ‘Nursultan’
Astana: Kazakhstan’s
parliament on Wednes-
day voted to rename the
country’s capital in hon-
our of long-time ruler
Nursultan Nazarbayev, a
day after he resigned as
president. “Astana is
now officially renamed
Nursultan,” the state-
owned Kazinform news
agency said after a par-
liamentary vote. The
new interim president
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
proposed renaming the
capital after he was
sworn in following Naz-
arbayev’s shock resigna-
tion on Tuesday.
Official calls Hitler
‘good leader’ in US
Madison: A New Jersey
sports official is apolo-
gizing for telling student
athletes that Adolf Hit-
ler was a “good leader”
with “bad moral charac-
ter and intentions.” Nut-
ley High School athletic
director Joe Piro made
the remark while ad-
dressing Madison High
School during an assem-
bly aimed at promoting
positive leadership.
(Clockwise from top) Zaid Mustafa, son and brother of mosque victims Khaled and Hamza Mustafa, leaves after
their funeral, the first funerals of the 50 victims, at the Memorial Park Cemetery; Students rehearse a haka before
the arrival of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Cashmere High School; Ardern meets one of the first responders
who was at the scene of the shooting, in Christchurch, New Zealand on Wednesday —Reuters
Staffer in Dubai deported
for ‘celebrating’ the attack
Dubai: An employee at a
Dubai-based security com-
pany was fired and deported
for celebrating the deadly
New Zealand mosque at-
tacks under a fake identity
on Facebook, the group said
Wednesday.
“Over the weekend, a
Transguard employee made
inflammatory comments on
his personal Facebook ac-
count celebrating the deplor-
able mosque attack in
Christchurch, New Zealand,”
the Transguard security
group said in a statement.
“Despite posting under a
false name, the employee re-
sponsible for last weekend’s
inflammatory (Facebook)
Lion Air crash: Pilots
were frantic for a fix
Jakarta/Paris: The pilots of
a doomed Lion Air Boeing 737
MAX scoured a handbook as
they struggled to understand
why the jet was lurching
downwards, but ran out of
time before it hit the water,
three people with knowledge
of the cockpit voice recorder
contents said.
The investigation into the
crash, which killed all 189
people on board in October,
has taken on new relevance
as regulators across the globe
grounded the model last
week after a second deadly
accident in Ethiopia.
Investigators of the Lion
Air crash are considering how
a computer ordered the plane
to dive in response to data
from a faulty sensor and if the
pilots had enough training to
respond to the emergency.
The captain was at the
controls of the JT610 when
the new jet took off from Ja-
karta, and the first officer
was handling the radio, ac-
cording to a preliminary re-
port issued in November.
Just two minutes into the
flight, the first officer report-
ed a “flight control problem”
to air traffic control and said
the pilots intended to main-
tain an altitude of 5,000 feet,
the November report said.
The captain asked the first
officer to check the quick ref-
erence handbook, which con-
tains checklists for abnormal
jumbo story orphaned by poachers, drought, or in conflict with encroaching humans
At Kenyan orphanage, baby elephants find a new life, love
Orphan elephants are fed with milk by keepers at the David Sheldrick
Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage in Nairobi in Kenya —AFP
comments has been identi-
fied, terminated as per
Transguard policy and hand-
ed over to the authorities.”
Transguard, which is af-
filiated with the Emirates
Group that includes Emir-
ates Airline, said the man
had been deported by the
UAE government.
It did not name him or re-
veal his nationality.
An Australian white su-
premacist shot dead 50 Mus-
lims praying at two mosques
in Christchurch, New Zea-
land on Friday.
The attacks sparked global
revulsion and drew condem-
nation from the United Arab
Emirates. —AFP
Cockpit voice recorder of JT610 that
crashed into sea in Oct REUTERS
in public domain
„„It is the first time the
voice recorder contents
from the Lion Air flight
have been made public
events, the first source said.
For nine minutes, the jet
warned pilots it was in a stall
and pushed the nose down in
response. A stall is when the
airflow over a plane’s wings
is too weak to generate lift
and keep it flying.
The captain fought to climb,
but the computer, still incor-
rectly sensing a stall, contin-
ued to push the nose down us-
ing the plane’s trim system.
Normally, trim adjusts an air-
craft’s control surfaces to en-
sure it flies straight and level.
“They didn’t seem to know
the trim was moving down,”
a source said. “They thought
only about airspeed and alti-
tude. That was the only thing
they talked about.” —AFP
Turkey Prez remarks trigger spat
with Australia and New Zealand
Ankara: Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cam-
paigning for votes in local
elections this month, has
sparked a diplomatic spat
with New Zealand and Aus-
tralia by portraying the
Christchurch mosque shoot-
ing and a World War I battle
as targeting Islam.
Australian Prime Minis-
ter Scott Morrison sum-
moned Turkey’s ambassador
on Wednesday and demanded
that Erdogan take back com-
ments suggesting that Aus-
tralians and New Zealanders
had sent troops to fight Tur-
key in the WWI Gallipoli
campaign motivated by an
Vietnam outrage
over $8 fine for
sexual assault
Hanoi: Vietnamese citizens
were outraged after a man was
fined $8 for forcibly kissing a
woman in an elevator, a rare
public outburst in a country
where sexual assault is scarce-
ly spoken about openly.
The #MeToo movement
never took off in Vietnam, a
conservative communist
country where gender-based
violence is widespread but
remains a taboo topic.
Citizens took to social me-
dia this week after a man was
fined 200,000 dong, or $8.61,
for forcibly kissing a woman
in an elevator in her Hanoi
apartment building.
CCTV footage showed the
man chatting to the woman
before cornering her and sud-
denly jumping on her before
she scrambles out of the ele-
vator as he grabbed her arm.
The footage quickly went
viral, stoking public anger.
“The fine... was a mockery
and humiliation against the
dignity of Vietnamese wom-
en,” said Facebook user
Duong Dai Trieu Lam. Office
worker Nguyen Trang said:
“It’s ridiculous, I can’t accept
this... I’m worried for my kids.”
Unlike rape, sexual as-
sault is not a criminal offence
in Vietnam, but is considered
an administrative violation
falling under the category of
“indecent speech and behav-
iour”. The maximum fine for
sexual assault is $13. —AFP
Luggard, a lively three-year-
old, limps behind the rest of
his ragtag troupe of orphan
elephants, halting to graze or
rub against a tree.
When he was just five
months old, Luggard was
found struggling to keep up
with his herd in Kenya’s
Tsavo East National Park.
He had been shot twice.
One bullet pierced his left
front foot, and another shat-
tered his right, hind femur
just above the knee joint.
The calf was discovered
“too late for succesful sur-
gery,” said Edwin Lusichi, 42,
head keeper at the Sheldrick
Wildlife Trust (SWT) elephant
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
opposition to Islam.
In more inflammatory
comments, Erdogan has also
said that Australians and
New Zealanders traveling to
Turkey with anti-Muslim
sentiments would be sent
back in coffins, “like their
grandfathers” were in the
May requests Brexit extension till June
London: Prime Minister
Theresa May requested a
three-month delay to Brexit
on Wednesday after her fail-
ure to get a deal ratified by
parliament left the United
Kingdom’s divorce from the
European Union in turmoil.
Three years after the UK
voted to leave the EU and nine
days before the formal exit
deadline, British politicians
are still arguing over how,
when or even if the world’s
fifth largest economy should
leave the bloc it joined in 1973.
A woman walks up stairs painted in the Leipzig International Book Fair’s sign, in Germany. Czech Republic will be
the country in focus at the fair which will see 2,547 exhibitors from 46 nations present their novelties —AP
nursery in Nairobi National
Park, Luggard’s new home.
With the rest of the gang
of 20 elephant babies in this
unusual orphanage, Luggard
comes charging with
great enthusiasm, though
hobbling heavily on his de-
formed leg, out of the bush
for a 9:00 am feeding.
The calves greedily slurp
from oversized “baby bot-
tles”, trumpeting excitedly as
they ingest the special mix of
human baby formula, water
and vitamins.
Each calf at the nursery
has a tragic story: orphaned
by poachers, drought, or in
conflict with humans en-
Ahmedabad I Thursday, March 21, 2019 I daily news & analysis
Gallipoli campaign.
Morrison’s government is-
sued a travel advisory warn-
ing people visiting the Gal-
lipoli battlefields for remem-
brance ceremonies during
the anniversary of the cam-
paign next month to exercise
caution. Morrison said “all
options are on the table” if
Erdogan does not withdraw
his comments.
Turkish Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu later held a
telephone a conversation with
his Australian counterpart,
Marise Payne, Turkish For-
eign Ministry officials said.
They did not provide further
details about the call. —AP
When May set the March
29 exit date two years ago by
serving the formal Article 50
divorce papers, she declared
there would be “no turning
back” but parliament’s re-
fusal to ratify the withdrawal
deal she agreed with the EU
has thrust her government
into crisis.
Now, May has written to
European Council President
Donald Tusk to ask for a de-
lay until June 30.
“As prime minister I am
not prepared to delay Brexit
fair game
Killing for tusks
About 20,000 African
elephants per year — 55
per day — are killed,
mainly for their tusks,
according to the WWF.
croaching ever further into
the few wild places left.
“We rescue them from just
a few days old,” DSWT ad-
ministrator Kirsty Smith
said. The youngest in the cen-
tre’s care is Larro, 10 months.
She was found lost and
alone in the Maasai Mara
game reserve, likely after her
family clashed with humans.
07
EU fines Google
1.49 bn euros for
anti-trust breach
Brussels: The EU’s powerful
anti-trust regulator slapped
tech giant Google with a new
fine on Wednesday over unfair
competition, in Europe’s latest
salvo against Silicon Valley.
In its third major decision
against the search engine be-
hemoth, Brussels sanctioned
Google’s once popular Ad-
Sense advertising service, say-
ing it illegally restricted client
websites from displaying ads
from ad service rivals.
Google and the EU have
been at loggerheads about the
monopoly of Google over in-
ternet search in Europe since
2009 and the AdSense case was
the only complaint still open.
The original complainant
in the decade-long case was
Microsoft, but the US software
giant later pulled out of the
case in a truce with its US
arch-rival.
“Today the commission has
fined Google 1.49 billion euros
($1.69 billion) for illegal mis-
use of its dominant position in
the market for the brokering
of online search adverts,” EU
Competition Commissioner
Margrethe Vestager said.
“The misconduct lasted
over 10 years and denied other
companies the possibility to
compete on the merits and to
innovate - and consumers the
benefits of competition,” Ve-
stager said.
The fine brings Google’s to-
tal tab with the EU to 8.2 bil-
A 3D printed Android mascot Bugdroid seen in front of a Google logo;
(Inset) Google CEO Sundar Pichai —Reuters
any further than the 30th of
June,” May told a rowdy ses-
sion of parliament. “I have
therefore this morning writ-
ten to President Tusk, the
president of the European
Council, informing him that
Enkesha, a two-year-old,
was found trapped in a snare.
He was rescued and after a
long rehabilitation, now uses
her badly-scarred trunk al-
most as normal. The nursery
keeps babies like Enkesha
until they are three. They re-
ceive 24-7 care with a bottle
feeding every three hours.
The babies sleep in single
wooden rooms at night.
“We have to make sure
that they are well-covered
with a blanket, to keep them
warm... They keep waking up
for the milk... We are around
for reassurance and for com-
pany, just to make sure they
don’t feel lonely.” —AFP
No more console?
Now, a streaming
platform for games
New York: Google on
Tuesday unveiled a vid-
eo-game streaming plat-
form called Stadia, posi-
tioning itself to take on
the traditional video-
game business.
The platform will
store a game-playing ses-
sion in the cloud and lets
players jump across de-
vices operating on Goog-
le’s Chrome browser and
Chrome OS, such as Pixel
phones and Chrome-
books. —AP
lion euros in less than two
years, which amounts to far
less than the maximum fine of
10 percent of Google’s annual
turnover, Vestager said.
In July 2018, the US giant
was ordered to pay a record
4.34 billion euros for abusing
the dominant position of An-
droid, its smartphone operat-
ing system, to help assure the
supremacy of its search en-
gine. A year earlier it slapped
Google with a fine of 2.42 bil-
lion euros for abusing its dom-
inant position by favouring its
“Google Shopping” price com-
parison service in search re-
sults. —AFP
the UK seeks an extension to
the article 50 period until the
30th June,” she said.
She said she planned to
ask parliament to vote a third
time on her departure deal,
which lawmakers have voted
down twice. She didn’t say
when the vote would happen.
The Labour Party said by
choosing a short delay May
was forcing British lawmakers
to decide between accepting a
deal they have already rejected
twice or crashing out of the
EU without a deal.  —Reuters
Lab is top US
dog breed for
28th yr in row
New York: The loyal and
dependable Labrador Re-
triever hung on for the 28th
year in a row to the title of
America’s most popular dog
in 2018, the American Kennel
Club said on Wednesday.
The top 10 dog breeds in
the United States in 2018 re-
mained unchanged from last
year except for the rise of the
German shorthaired pointer
and the decline of the York-
shire terrier, which swapped
ninth and tenth ranks, said
the AKC, the world’s largest
purebred dog registry, based
in New York City.
After the Labrador, Amer-
ica’s nine most popular dogs
in 2018 in descending order
were the German shepherd,
Golden retriever, French
bulldog, standard bulldog,
beagle, poodle, rottweiler,
German shorthaired pointer
and Yorkshire terrier, accord-
ing to the organization that
registers more than 1 million
dogs and litters a year. “Labs
make wonderful companions
— intelligent, friendly and
great with children,” AKC’s
Gina DiNardo said.
The ranks are based on
AKC registrations, with the
Lab the most registered ca-
nine in 2018, said AKC spokes-
woman Jessica Rice D’Amato.
The Labrador’s run as
most popular breed eclipses
the 22-year record held by the
poodle in the 20th century.
The Labrador’s popularity
comes despite a dearth of pres-
tige in the AKC’s show circuit.
In 143 years of competition, a
Lab has never won Westmin-
ster Dog Show’s revered Best
in Show grand prize.  Reuters
21
Thursday
March
2019
Ahmedabad
www.dnaindia.com
Sensex
38386.75 23.28 p
Gold 10 gram 31810.00
US $ 68.83 0.13 q
news in numbers
market
diary
Sensex up,
Nifty down in
listless trade
DNA Money Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: Key equity
benchmark indices on
Wednesday witnessed a
mixed trend with a slug-
gish bias as investors
stayed ahead of a public
holiday and the US Federal
Reserve meet. Extending
gains for the eight straight
sessions, the Sensex ended
the session, rising 23.28
points, or 0.06%, to close at
38386.37. The gauge had
rallied about 1,500 points
in the previous seven ses-
sions. The broader Nifty,
however, finished at
11521.05, losing 11.35
points, or -0.10%.
The broader market
also had a disappointing
session, as both the BSE
Midcap and Smallcap indi-
ces ended 0.36% and 0.33%
lower, respectively.
Sector-wise, BSE Realty
(2.21%), Information Tech-
nology (0.93%) and Teck
(0.55%) were the top gain-
ers while Oil and Gas
(-2.26%), Utilities (-1.84%)
and Power (-1.54%) were
the biggest underperform-
ers on the 30-share index.
Infosys, HDFC Bank,
YES Bank, L&T and Sun
Pharma were the biggest
contributors on Sensex
pack, surging as much as
2.36%. While, NTPC,
ONGC, Coal India, Tata
Steel and Maruti Suzuki
were the biggest laggards
falling as much as 4.29%.
ST smart
REC gets nod to
raise `90,000 cr
REC Ltd Wednesday said
its board has approved a
proposal to raise Rs
90,000 crore under
different debt segments
for the financial year
2019-20. The board of
directors of REC
approved...market
borrowing programme
under different debt
segments for the
financial year 2019-20, the
company said in a
regulatory filing.
Approval has been
accorded to raise Rs
78,000 crore through
instruments such as
domestic bonds/
debentures, external
commercial borrowings
(ECBs) and capital gains
tax exemption bonds, the
company added.
IT sector created
8.73L jobs in 5 yrs
Information technology
minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad Wednesday said
the IT sector has created
8.73 lakh new jobs in the
past five years, as he
accused the Congress of
spreading blatant
“falsehood” on the
employment data. Citing
the data by apex industry
body Nasscom, he said
the IT sector has spawned
8.73 lakh jobs in the past
five years under Prime
Minister Narendra Modi-
led government and
currently provides
employment to 41.40 lakh
persons directly and 1.2
crore persons indirectly.
‘India set to reach
$5 trn economy’
The rapid economic
growth and
developmental strides of
India in the last five
years have been
transformational and the
country is all set to
emerge as a $5 trillion
economy in the next five
years, “We have made
huge strides in last five
years. I think it has been
transformational the
way we have grown,”
Shringla said.
Nifty
11521.05 11.35 q
145.00 q
EURO 78.13 0.18 q
6,590 tons- Silver purchases seen this year, a four year high demand over 6,442 tons bought in 2018
Vodafone Idea sets rights
issue at `12.50 per share
Issue is priced at a massive discount of 61% to Tuesday’s closing price
DNA Money Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: The Board of
Vodafone Idea, the country’s
largest telecom player in
terms of subscribers, have
approved the price at Rs 12.50
per equity share for its up-
coming rights issue worth Rs
25,000 crore. The rights issue
will open on April 10 and
close on April 24.
The issue price of Rs 12.50
per equity share (including a
premium of Rs 2.50 per eq-
uity share) is at a massive
61% discount to the previous
closing of Rs 32 per share, ac-
cording to analysts.
The rights entitlement ra-
tio has been fixed at 87 equity
shares for every 38 equity
shares held by eligible share-
holders of the company on the
record date i.e. April 2, 2019.
The company is raising funds
to counter an aggressive com-
petition from Reliance Jio,
which disrupted the telecom
sector per se and triggered a
wave of consolidation.
Airtel also has announced
plans to raise Rs 32,000 crore
capital, including through a
rights issue.
In January this year, the
board of directors of Voda-
fone Idea had approved Rs
25,000 crore fund-raising
plan by way of a rights issue
to the existing eligible equity
shareholders, following
which the company received
FIIs sell $844 mn
of bonds in Feb
DNA Money Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: Foreign investors
exited the Indian bond mar-
ket in February, pulling out
$844 million last month amid
rising tensions after India
conducted air strikes against
a militant camp in Pakistan
territory.
However, the sentiment
witnessed a turnaround in
March, as overseas funds have
bought $921 million so far this
month on rising hopes the in-
cumbent government may
form government at the cen-
tre for the second term in the
upcoming election.
Even as India witnessed
fund outflows in February,
elsewhere in Asia foreign in-
vestors were net buyers in
the bond market.
Foreigners turned net buy-
ers of Asian bonds in Febru-
ary, however, the flows were
uneven as political uncertain-
ty in parts of the region
dampened optimism that the
United States and China were
inching toward a trade deal.
Foreigners bought a net
$1.95 billion worth of bonds
media churn With FOX, Disney could add Marvel’s X-Men and Deadpool, along with shows on other channels
Disney closes $71 bn deal for Fox entertainment assets
Los Angeles: Disney has
closed its $71 billion acquisi-
tion of Fox’s entertainment
business, putting “Cinderel-
la,” ‘’The Simpsons,” ‘’Star
Wars” and “Dr. Strange” un-
der one corporate roof.
The deal is likely to shake
up the media landscape.
Among other things, it
paves the way for Disney to
launch its streaming service,
Disney Plus, due out later
this year.
It will also likely lead to
layoffs in the thousands,
thanks to duplication in Fox
and Disney film-production
staff.
By buying the studios be-
hind “The Simpsons” and
X-Men, Disney aims to better
compete with technology
companies such as Amazon
Silver kg 37705.00 265.00 q
British pound 91.06 0.56 q
Idea shareholders
28.9%
Aditya Birla Group
26.0%
25,000cr 32,000 `4,974
` %
Vodafone Idea’s rights issue size
a cabinet nod for foreign di-
rect investment (FDI) infu-
sion in February.
The promoter sharehold-
ers, Vodafone Group and Adi-
tya Birla Group, have already
announced their plans to
pump in up to Rs 11,000 crore
and up to Rs 7,250 crore, re-
spectively, in the rights issue.
In case the rights issue is
under-subscribed, each of
the promoter shareholders
reserves the right to take up
part or whole of the unsub-
scribed portion, subject to
stipulated norms.
10-yr govt bond
yield in %
7.42 7.36
Jan 1, 19 Mar 20, 19
last month, after selling $3.26
billion in January, data from
central banks and bond mar-
ket associations in Malaysia,
Thailand, Indonesia, South
Korea and India showed.
However, the bulk of the
money flowed into Indone-
sian bonds. Foreigners pur-
chased $2.33 billion worth of
Indonesian bonds amid ex-
pectations that its central
bank may begin easing poli-
cy soon after last year’s ag-
gressive tightening. Over-
seas investors purchased
Malaysian bonds for the first
time in four months, helped
by a stronger ringgit and re-
ceding political tensions.
(With inputs from Reuters)
and Netflix for viewers’ at-
tention - and dollars. Disney
needs compelling TV shows
and movies to persuade
viewers to sign up and pay
for yet another streaming
service.
It already has classic Dis-
ney cartoons, “Star Wars,”
Pixar, the Muppets and some
of the Marvel characters.
With Fox, Disney could
add Marvel’s X-Men and
Deadpool, along with pro-
grams shown on such Fox
channels as FX Networks
and National Geographic.
Fox’s productions also in-
clude “The Americans,”
‘’This Is Us” and “Modern
Family.” The deal helps Dis-
ney further control TV
shows and movies from start
to finish - from creating the
FTSE 100
7324.00 24.81 p
Brent Crude
Shareholding
pattern
as on December 31,
2018
Airtel plans to raise capital
UK’s telecom firm Voda-
fone holds 45.1 stake in the
combined entity, while Ku-
mar Mangalam Birla-led Adi-
tya Birla Group controls 26%
and Idea shareholders own
28.9%.
Earlier, the experts said
the proposed plan of an eq-
uity infusion of about Rs
25,000 crore in Vodafone Idea
will keep competitive inten-
sity high in the sector, delay-
ing the average revenue per
user (ARPU) recovery.
During the July-Septem-
ber quarter, Vodafone Idea
Embassy Reit
IPO subscribed
1.2 times
New Delhi: Embassy Office
Parks’ public issue, the coun-
try’s first real estate invest-
7.70 ment trust (Reit) offering,
has been subscribed 1.20
7.58
times so far on the final day
7.46 of bidding Wednesday.
The REIT issue received
7.34 bids for 8,54,49,600 units
against the total issue size of
7.22 7,12,56,400 units, according to
NSE data till 1430 hrs. The of-
7.10
fering got subscribed 47% till
Tuesday. The offer is expected
to raise up to Rs 4,750 crore.
According to a regulatory
filing on Friday, Embassy Of-
fice Parks finalised alloca-
tion of 58,105,600 units to
anchor investors at Rs 300
per unit, totalling Rs 1,743.16
crore. The issue is in a price
band of Rs 299-300 per unit.
Axis Capital, Credit Suisse
Securities (India), Deutsche
Equities India, Goldman
Sachs (India) Securities,
HSBC Securities and Capital
Markets (India), IIFL Hold-
ings, JM Financial and Nomu-
ra Financial Advisory and
Securities (India) are manag-
ing the public offer.REIT is an
investment tool that owns and
operates rent-yielding real es-
tate assets. —PTI
programs to distributing
them though television
channels, movie theaters,
streaming services and oth-
er ways people watch enter-
tainment.
Disney would get valuable
data on customers and their
entertainment-viewing hab-
its, which it can then use to
sell advertising.
Nikkei 225
21608.92 42.07 p
$/barrel 67.32 0.41 p
UAE dirham 18.74 0.05 q
Vodafone
45.1%
%
Loss incurred by Vodafone
Idea in Jul-Sep quarter
loss after tax stood at Rs 4,974
crore, which included a one-
time charge of Rs 566 crore,
mainly due to integration
and merger-related costs.
The merger of Vodafone
India and Idea Cellular was a
result of consolidation trig-
gered by the entry of Reliance
Jio in September 2016 with its
free voice calls and dirt cheap
data offers for many months
before the company started
charging minimal amount
from its users. Vodafone Idea
entity got operational from
August 30 last year.
Essar Steel lenders told to
discuss fund distribution
New Delhi: The NCLAT
Wednesday asked the resolu-
tion professional of Essar
Steel to call a fresh meeting
of CoC to discuss distribu-
tion of Rs 42,000 crore com-
ing from ArcelorMittal’s
resolution plan.
A two-member bench
headed by Justice S J Muk-
hopadhaya has asked to re-
consider distribution of the
funds between financial and
operational creditors of Es-
sar Steel in the meeting.
Meanwhile, the appellate
tribunal also said that the
March 8 order of the Nation-
al company Law Tribunal
(NCLT) Ahmedabad-bench
approving ArcelorMittal
plan in ‘letter and spirit’.
“The resolution profes-
sional (RP) may call for the
meeting of the Committee of
Creditors for reconsidera-
tion of distribution of
funds,” the bench said.
The NCLAT was hearing
an urgent application moved
by Standard Charted bank,
an operational creditor of
the company.
The appellate tribunal has
directed to list the matter on
Disney CEO Bob Iger said
in an earnings call in Febru-
ary that Disney Plus and
other direct-to-consumer
businesses are Disney’s “No.
1 priority.” Cable and tele-
com companies have been
buying the companies that
make TV shows and movies
to compete in a changing me-
dia landscape.
‘Lenders to make every
effort to keep Jet flying’
New Delhi: SBI chairman
Rajnish Kumar Wednesday
said the lenders of Jet Air-
ways will make every effort
to keep the embattled air-
line flying.
Kumar met finance min-
ister Arun Jaitley along
with aviation secretary
Pradip Singh Kharola and
Nripendra Misra, principal
secretary to prime
minister.
“Will make every
effort to keep Jet air-
ways flying,” said Ku-
mar.
A source said banks
are trying to work out a re-
vival plan for Jet Airways
through a change in man-
agement. On getting a new
player in Jet Airways, Ku-
mar said, “No possibility is
ruled out”.
“The dialogue with Eti-
had is on. It is not that they
have conclusively decided
that they will go out. But
there are certain conditions
Mindtree defers buyback plan
New Delhi: The board of
Mindtree Ltd, which is fac-
ing Rs 10,800-crore hostile
takeover bid from Larsen &
Toubro, on Wednesday did
not take any decision on pro-
posed buyback of shares.
Promoters of the Bengalu-
ru-based IT firm have op-
posed the takeover bid.
In a filing to the stock
exchanges, Mindtree said
its board on Wednesday
debt
burden
`49,395 cr
Total dues of Essar Steel
March 27 for next hearing.
Standard Chartered
moved the National compa-
ny Law Appellate Tribunal
(NCLAT) against the plan as
its counsel contended that
the bank was being given
only 1.7% of its total dues on
Essar Steel, while other fi-
nancial creditors, forming
part of the Committee of
Although internet provid-
ers like AT&T and Comcast
directly control their cus-
tomers’ access to the inter-
net in a way that Amazon,
YouTube and Netflix do not,
they still face threats as
those streaming services
gain in popularity.
AT&T bought Time
Warner last year for $81 bil-
lion and has already
launched its own streaming
service, Watch TV, with
Time Warner channels such
as TBS and TNT, among
other networks, for $15 a
month. In addition to boost-
ing the Disney streaming
service, expected to debut
next year, the deal paves the
way for Marvel’s X-Men and
the Avengers to reunite in
future movies.
which they want to be ful-
filled and it is nothing but
that the airline should be
professionally managed
and without any interfer-
ence,” he added.
Etihad currently holds
24% stake in Jet Airways.
Keeping Jet Airways fly-
ing is in the interest of lend-
ers and consumers, the
source added.
The pilots union of
Jet Airways had on
Tuesday threatened to
stop flying from April 1
if their salaries are not
paid by March 31. The
Directorate General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) said only
41 aircraft of the Jet Air-
ways were currently availa-
ble for operation and there
may be “further attrition” of
flights “in coming weeks”.
Kumar further said that
taking Jet Airways under
the Insolvency and Bank-
ruptcy Code (IBC) is the last
option. —PTI
considered a share buyback
proposal. “Following de-
tailed discussions, the
meeting has been ad-
journed to a future date. No
decision has been taken in
relation to the proposed
buyback of equity shares,”
the filing said.
On Monday, diversified
conglomerate L&T Ltd
made an offer to buy up to
66% stake in Mindtree for
Creditors (CoC), were get-
ting over 85% of their dues.
ArcelorMittal’s resolu-
tion proposal provides finan-
cial creditors Rs 41,987 crore
out of their total dues of Rs
49,395 crore.
Operational creditors, un-
der the plan, would get just
Rs 214 crore against the out-
standing of Rs 4,976 crore.
If the ArcelorMittal plan is
implemented, Standard Char-
tered will only get Rs 60 crore
against its claims of Rs 3,187
crore from Essar Steel.Essar
Steel owns a 10-million-tonne
steel mill at Hazira in Gujarat.
This was was among the
first 12 cases selected by the
Reserve Bank of India to be
resolved under the Insolven-
cy and Bankruptcy Code
(IBC).
Essar Steel will give Mit-
tal a chance to enter the In-
dian steel market after previ-
ous attempts to set up mills
in the country failed to mate-
rialise. Lenders to Essar
Steel had in October ap-
proved Arcelor-Nippon’s of-
fer to pay Rs 42,000 crore in
an upfront cash payment to
the creditors. —PTI
Though Disney owns Mar-
vel Studios, some characters
including the X-Men had al-
ready been licensed to Fox.
Disney also gets a control-
ling stake in the existing
streaming service Hulu,
which it plans to keep operat-
ing as a home for more gen-
eral programming.
Family-friendly shows
and movies will head to Dis-
ney Plus.
No pricing has been dis-
closed for Disney Plus. The
streaming service will fea-
ture five categories of mate-
rial: Disney, Pixar, Marvel,
Star Wars and National Geo-
graphic. Disney charges $5 a
month for ESPN Plus, a ser-
vice that offers program-
ming distinct from the ESPN
cable channel. —AP
The dialogue
with Etihad
is on. It is not
that they have
conclusively decided
that they will go out.
But there are certain
conditions which
they want to be
fulfilled
Rajnish Kumar,
chairman, SBI
around Rs 10,800 crore.
L&T has entered into a
deal to buy Cafe Coffee Day
owner V.G. Siddhartha’s
20.32% stake in Mindtree
and has also placed an or-
der with brokers to pick up
another 15% of the compa-
ny shares from the open
market. Further, the group
would make an open offer to
buy an additional 31% stake
in Mindtree. —PTI
RBI says no
to IDBI Bank
name change
proposal
New Delhi: The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has
turned down IDBI Bank’s
proposal to change its name
following the transfer of con-
trolling 51 per cent stake to
insurance behemoth LIC
from the government of In-
dia.
The board of IDBI Bank
had last month sought RBI’s
approval for change in the
name of the lender to either
LIC IDBI Bank or LIC Bank
following the takeover by
Life Insurance Corporation
(LIC).
“The board of directors
has in its meeting held on
March 19, 2019, taken note of
RBI’s communication con-
veying their inability to ac-
cede to bank’s request for
change of name of IDBI
Bank Limited,” IDBI Bank
said in a regulatory filing.
However, the bank did not
elaborate on the reasons for
denial by the regulator for
changing the name.
Earlier this month, RBI
changed the categorisation
of IDBI Bank to a private sec-
tor lender from public sector
lender following acquisition
of majority stake by LIC.
Following the stake trans-
fer, the government holding
came down to 46.46% from
nearly 86% in September
2018, while LIC stake in-
creased from about 8% to
51% earlier this year.
In January, the insurance
behemoth completed the ac-
quisition of 51% controlling
stake in IDBI Bank, marking
the entry of the over 60
years’ old state-owned in-
surer into the banking space.
In August last year, the
cabinet had approved the ac-
quisition of controlling
stake by Life Insurance Cor-
poration (LIC) as a promoter
in the bank through a com-
bination of preferential al-
lotment and open offer of
equity.
LIC had been looking to
enter the banking space by
acquiring a majority stake
in IDBI Bank, as the deal is
expected to provide busi-
ness synergies despite the
lender’s stressed balance
sheet. —PTI
21
Thursday
March
2019
Ahmedabad
www.dnaindia.com
Basketball Stephen Curry scores
22 of his 36 points as Golden State Warriors beat out of next month’s
Minnesota Timberwolves 117-107 and regain first
place in the Western Conference in NBA
Boxing Asian Games gold-medallist Amit Panghal will make his competitive debut in the 52kg category at the Asian Championships
BALL GAME
SA beat SL in
Super Over
South Africa’s veteran
leg-spinner Imran Tahir
conceded only five runs
in a decisive Super Over
as they beat Sri Lanka in
their opening Twenty20
International on Tuesday
after both teams had fin-
ished their innings with
the same score. After
sending the tourists in to
bat, the home side re-
stricted Sri Lanka to
134/7, but then blew a
commanding position to
end with same total, leav-
ing the Newlands en-
counter to be decided by
a one-over Eliminator.
David Miller helped
South Africa blast 14
runs from their Super
Over, before the wily Ta-
hir restricted Sri Lanka
to only five in reply, two
of which were wides.
Brief scores: SL 134/7 in
20 ov (K Mendis 41; A
Phehlukwayo 3/25) vs
South Africa 134/8 in 20
ov (R van der Dussen 34,
D Miller 41; L Malinga
2/11). Super Over: SA
14/0 beat SL 5/0
Indian women
enter SAFF final
Four-time defending
champions India
stormed into the final of
the SAFF Women’s foot-
ball championship with a
resounding 4-0 win over
Bangladesh in Biratna-
gar (Nepal) on Wednes-
day. Dalima Chhibber
opened the scoring for In-
dia, which was followed
by a brace from Indum-
athi Kathiresan and an
injury-time strike by
Manisha as the defend-
ing champions took their
tally to 15 goals in three
matches in the tourna-
ment at the Sahid Ran-
gashala Stadium.
Indian shuttlers
lose in mixed team
HS Prannoy and the
men’s doubles pair of
MR Arjun and Shlok
Ramchandran’s valiant
effort went in vain as In-
dia suffered a narrow 2-3
defeat to Singapore in
their first match at the
Badminton Asia Mixed
Team Championships in
Hong Kong on Wednes-
day. The tie started off
in Singapore’s favour
when the mixed doubles
pair of Danny Bawa
Chrisnanta and Tan Wei
Han beat India’s MR Ar-
jun and Rutaparna Pan-
da 21-16 21-13. HS Pran-
noy beat Kean Yew Loh
21-8 12-21 21-17. After
Prannoy levelled the tie,
Arjun and Shlok beat
Loh Kean Hean and
Chrisnanta 21-16 21-18.
India U-23 hope to
break jinx
India will aim for a
maiden appearance in
the final round of the
AFC U-23 Championship
Qualifiers when they be-
gin their campaign at
the continental football
tournament starting in
Tashkent, Uzbekistan,
on March 22. India have
never made it to the fi-
nal round of the AFC
U23 Championship
until now.
on the tube
(All Live)
BASKETBALL
NBA
Sony Ten 1: 07:00
Oklahoma City vs Toronto;
05:00 (Fri) Atlanta vs Utah
HOCKEY
Star Sports Select 1: 13:30
FIH Pro League (Women),
China vs Argentina
TENNIS
Sony ESPN
20:30 ATP, Miami Open
FOOTBALL
UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers
Sony Ten 2: 20:30 Kazakh-
stan vs Scotland; 22:30
Cuprus vs San Marino
01:15 (Fri) Belgium vs
Russia; Sony Ten 1: 23:30
Kosovo vs Denmark (Intl
friendly)
‘India need Dhoni, the keeper and It won’t be easy
for India in WC,
mentor more than batsman Dhoni’ says Dravid
Sanjay Manjrekar,
former India batsman
and television
commentator, talks to
Taus Rizvi over
India’s chances for
World Cup, the vital
No. 4 slot, Dhoni and
players’ workload in
IPL. Excerpts:
„„ Who are your favourite
teams for the World Cup?
India, for sure. India is the
best team in the world skilled-
wise and temperamentally. I
see Australia emerging as a
force and because they know
what it takes to be a champi-
on. If they have three-four
good matches at the start,
they become strong contend-
ers. South Africa are always
interesting. England have tal-
ent and versatility but their
temperament is a big ques-
tion. New Zealand is the oth-
er team that seems to have
their bases covered. I don’t
see West Indies to be that
much of a force in 50 overs
cricket as much as they are in
20 overs format.
„„ India are having issues
at No. 4 in the recent
times. What is your take?
My current No. 4 would be
Vijay Shankar. Because a lot
of people were being tried, I
don’t blame the selectors for
it. The players could have
grabbed the opportunity and
not given the selectors a
chance to experiment. That
nobody has grabbed the op-
portunity with both hands is
a slightly disappointing
thing.
„„ Do you think Ambati
Rayudu was given a raw
deal after doing well in
the beginning?
He made a wonderful 90 in
New Zealand. And we
thought we found a good No.
4. In Asia Cup also he played
‘Workload is about managing my bowling’ Prajnesh needs to play well in
Shami will get bigger events, says Zeeshan
Chennai: India’s limited-
overs batsman and useful off-
spinner Kedar Jadhav said on
Wednesday that he will have
to manage his bowling to re-
main fit during the two-month
long Indian Premier League,
amid concerns around play-
ers’ workload ahead of the
upcoming World Cup.
“My workload is about
managing my bowling. In
Chennai Super Kings, I don’t
think I need to bowl as much
as I do in the Indian team,”
said Jadhav, who is expected
to share the responsibility of
the fifth bowler during the
World Cup starting on May 30.
“We all are professional
cricketers and we know how to
manage our bodies. How you
recover after every IPL game
really matters during this two-
month period. You can’t just
improve in one training ses-
sion,” Jadhav said.
The Maharashtra player
(From left) Sunrisers Hyderabad’s David Warner (L) gestures while sitting with teammates Shahbaz Nadeem,
Wriddhiman Saha and Sandeep Sharma at a press conference in Hyderabad on Wednesday —AFP
BADMINTON
Lee Chong Wei pulls
Malaysian
being given the all-clear after cancer, throwing
his 2020 Olympics dream into jeopardy
Former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (L) shares a laugh with his successor Virat Kohli. Sanjay Manjrekar feels that while India should not be pinning too
much hopes on Dhoni the batsman, he is still a crucial member for his wicket-keeping and mentoring roles in the World Cup
Sanjay Manjrekar
well. But then, following
those innings, the form has to
continue. Like you see Virat
(Kohli) or to an extent Rohit
Sharma. The form needs to
continue. Because the World
Cup is in England, there will
be occasional quality seam
bowling. That’s where the se-
lectors and the team manage-
ment feel that he may not be
up to the required standards.
And that is why I think the
Kedar Jadhav (L) with head coach
Stephen Fleming at a CSK event in
Chennai on Wednesday —TWITTER
said it was up to individuals
to handle the situation and
the players need to work in
tandem with the Indian
team’s trainers and physios as
well as that of IPL franchises.
“Obviously, it’s up to the indi-
viduals and we are smart
enough to handle the situa-
Open despite
search is still on.
„„ MS Dhoni’s absence was
felt when Rishabh Pant did
a shabby job behind the
wickets in the last three
ODIs against Australia re-
cently. Does Dhoni now
have a more crucial role?
I have maintained all
along that because India’s
game changers are now in the
middle along with (Jasprit)
Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and
Yuzvendra Chahal, they need
a good ‘keeper. Especially
with Kuldeep, it is important
to have a good ‘keeper. And
with what we saw of Pant’s
‘keeping, he just made Dho-
ni’s case stronger. So, India
need Dhoni the ‘keeper; India
needs Dhoni, the mentor.
And, India needs Dhoni, the
batsman down the order. But
we should not be pinning our
hopes too much on Dhoni, the
batsman. So it’s going to be
tion. We will work in tandem
with trainers and physios of
Indian team as well as the
franchises,” he said. “We have
got some notes (from the In-
dian trainers and physios)
and we have to follow them.”
Jadhav said it’s every
cricketer’s dream to play in a
World Cup, but for now his
focus will be on giving his best
for the Chennai outfit. “Basi-
cally every cricketer who
plays for India it’s a dream for
him to feature in a World Cup
team, and I’m no different to
that,” Jadhav said.
SA duo ruled out of IPL
South Africa pacers Lungi
Ngidi and Anrich Nortje will
miss the upcoming IPL due to
injuries. Ngidi of CSK sus-
tained a left side strain dur-
ing the fifth ODI against Sri
Lanka, while KKR’s Nortje
has been ruled out due to a
right shoulder injury. —PTI
more about Dhoni, the keeper
and mentor. And, if Dhoni,
the batsman comes good,
then it is great for India.
„„A lot has been spoken on
the workload of players in
the IPL before the World
Cup. What is your view?
IPL is a very unique tour-
nament. It’s the future of
sport. So, I don’t think the
cricket board should get too
involved with it. Let the own-
ers and players decide among
themselves. Because, the
players also know the World
Cup is the defining moment
for them to make a name. IPL
heroes are forgotten the next
year. A World Cup hero is re-
membered for a long time. It
should be left to the players
and the team owners. And, I
don’t think the cricket board
should be too involved in try-
ing to manage them because
every player has a different
adequate rest,
says Hesson
New Delhi: Mohammad Sha-
mi is keen to make an impact
for Kings XI Punjab in the
upcoming IPL but will be
given adequate rest in be-
tween matches, said Kings XI
Punjab coach Mike Hesson.
“It is going to be on a case
by case basis. I have had chats
with KL Rahul and Moham-
med Shami. They are keen to
make a big contribution for
KXIP and we are certainly
very keen to have them. We
will manage them like every
player throughout the tour-
nament, former New Zealand
coach Hesson said.
“If they feel little jaded dur-
ing the course of the IPL, we
will rest them. Whether they
need extra training or rest, I am
not sure for how many games
we will rest them. We also have
to see how the season goes for
the team but they both are very
keen to make a big contribu-
tion,” said the 44-year-old New
Zealander.
With the training camp
underway in Mohali, the
New Zealander is getting to
know the players and enjoy-
ing his cricket conversations
with captain Ravichandran
Ashwin.
“We have similar thoughts
around the way we want to
play the game. We have had
some good discussions on the
game along with the rest of
the support staff. Ashwin
reads the game well and is
very clear in his mind. We
just have to give him the best
group of players to work
with on the park,” said Hes-
son, who is determined to
guide KXIP to their maiden
IPL title. —PTI
threshold level. Somebody
likes to play a lot. Somebody
likes resting.
„„ Sourav Ganguly said
Rishabh Pant is his No.4.
Do you agree?
A few days back, he had
said Cheteshwar Pujara as
his No. 4. I can’t comment on
somebody who has a different
choice within 48 hours. I start
with Vijay Shankar and see
how it goes.
„„ There were doubts over
the ODI format. But the
stadiums in India were a
full house for the ODIs. Is
there a future for ODIs?
They (Spectators) like 40
overs (a side) better, I am guar-
anteeing you that. Because,
the few seats that are empty
will get filled up when they do
it 40 overs. See what happened
when they did 20 overs.
(Manjrekar is also an
ESPNcricinfo expert)
New Delhi: With age not on
his side, Prajnesh Gunne-
swaran must avoid the trap
of playing safe on the Chal-
lenger circuit to defend points
and should go full throttle in
search of wins at the biggest
tournaments, India’s Davis
Cup coach Zeeshan Ali sug-
gested on Wednesday.
Prajnesh recently broke
into the top-100 and also com-
peted in his maiden ATP Mas-
ters series event at the Indian
Wells. This week, he is trying
to make the Miami Masters
main draw and is one win
away from sealing his spot.
Teams willing to play Super Cup
if AIFF addresses their concerns
New Delhi: Six I-League
clubs including new champi-
ons Chennai City FC, on
Wednesday, expressed their
willingness to compete in the
Super Cup if the national fed-
eration addresses their con-
cerns about the impending
restructuring of the domes-
tic football leagues.
Several clubs are worried
that the I-League may be rel-
egated to the second tier in
the domestic restructuring
this coming season on the di-
rection of the Asian Football
Confederation.
These clubs have sought a
meeting with the All India
Football Federation (AIFF)
president Praful Patel to dis-
cuss the issues concerning
them. Some of them, includ-
ing former champions Min-
erva Punjab and Aizawl FC
as well as Gokulam Kerala,
did not turn up in the qualify-
Taus Rizvi
r_taus@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: Former India cap-
tain Rahul Dravid feels that
India will go in as favourites
despite losing to Australia in
their last ODI series at home.
After taking a 2-0 lead, In-
dia lost the next three to lose
the series 2-3 at home.
“I don’t find anything
strange from my perspective
watching the series (between
India and Australia). I still
feel that we are still going to
be one of the favourites. But
it’s going to be tough, it’s go-
ing to be competitive. I think
there was a bit of notion that
we are going to walk there
and win the World Cup. So it’s
a good thing that has hap-
pened. What it has reminded
us is that we have to play the
World Cup very very well,”
Dravid said at the launch of
ESPNcricinfo’s new metrics,
Superstats.
“In a way, I think it’s a
good balancing factor. India
has performed well in the
last couple of years. There
was a little bit of talk that we
are almost going to walk in
there and win the World Cup
very easily because we are
the No. 1 team and we have
been dominating one-day
cricket for the last couple of
years,” the India ‘A’ and U-19
coach added.
The upcoming Indian Pre-
mier League before the World
Cup has raised a debate about
the workload on the Indian
players who will be partici-
pating in the quadrennial
event. Dravid believes play-
The recent 2-3 series to Australia at home will remind the Indian team that
it has to play very very well in the World Cup, says Rahul Dravid
“Prajnesh, at this stage of
his career, does not have the
luxury of time and has to keep
making bold and tough choic-
es to get himself in a position
where getting main draw en-
tries in the big events are
ing round of the Super Cup
in Bhubaneswar.
The AIFF, through general
secretary Kushal Das, sought
confirmation from six I-
League clubs – East Bengal,
Mohun Bagan, NEROCA,
Churchill Brothers, Real
Kashmir FC and Chennai
City FC – on whether they will
take part in the Super Cup
main tournament which be-
gins on March 29 in Bhubane-
swar. These six clubs were
directly seeded into Round of
16 stage of the Super Cup.
Three of these and three
other I-League clubs – Min-
erva Punjab, Aizawl FC and
Gokulam Kerala – responded
in a letter, asking AIFF to
hear out their concerns first.
East Bengal, NEROCA and
Real Kashmir did not sign the
letter.
“While we are keen to par-
ticipate in the Super Cup, a
09
Rahul Dravid
It’s a good thing
that (2-3 loss to
Australia in
ODIs) has happened.
What it has reminded us
is that we have to play the
World Cup very very well
Rahul Dravid,
former India captain
ers are smart enough to deal
with the issue.
“Most players are smart
about these things. They
know how to handle their
bodies. I don’t think the play-
ers would put their body on
the line. I was reading Pat-
rick Cummins (Australia
pacer) saying that he feels
better bowling when he is
constantly playing rather
than having rested and com-
ing back,” he said.
“So for each player, it’s dif-
ferent. There cannot be a
blanket case that all should
be rested. We have to just
trust the players. They know
what needs to be done,” said
Dravid.
guaranteed,” Zeeshan said.
“The only way to make
large jumps in the rankings
is to play and do well in the
bigger events. A lot of players
sometimes make the mistake
of playing safe and protect-
ing their ranking and points
by playing smaller tourna-
ments,” he added.
“Playing the qualifying
round in Miami was a much
better decision than playing a
Challenger event where even
if he won the event, Prajnesh
would have only moved up a
few spots on the ATP rank-
ings,” Zeeshan said. —PTI
discussion about the future
of the I-League is equally im-
portant. We look forward to
your confirmation to our
meeting which will help us
confirm our participation.
“We request for a con-
firmed time with the presi-
dent of our federation for a
discussion on a subject which
is central to the existence of
the I-League and member
clubs,” the clubs said in a let-
ter to Das.
The AIFF is yet to state
clearly whether Minerva,
Aizawl and Gokulam will for-
feit their qualifying round
matches on March 15 and 16
but the letter suggested a
fresh start of the qualifying
round.
“All the undersigned
clubs...are eager to play the
Super Cup from the qualify-
ing round,” the six clubs
said. —PTI
21
Thursday
March
2019
Ahmedabad

After
www.dnaindia.com

Varun Dhawan, who performed at the Zee Cine Awards, was in his element taking potshots at
Varun pulls Alia Bhatt, who has signed two big films, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Inshallah toplined by Salman
Khan and SS Rajamouli’s RRR. “Inshallah, mashallah, now that you are collaborating with big
Alia’s leg directors and actors, you won’t work with me!” Varun teased her. Looking at Ranbir Kapoor and
Ranveer Singh, he said, “After a couple of years, she won’t be working with either of you, too!”

Kesari opens to First Class is an

glowing reviews intense but fun song

Aditya Roy Kapur in a still

from the song in Kalank

First Class, the second song from Abhishek Varman’s Kalank, releases today. The track, which has been
Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra
in a still from Kesari
picturised on Aditya Roy Kapur, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and other actors, has been composed by
Pritam. The music composer describes it as ‘an Indian road song.’ He says, “It’s a full-on mohalla dance
number, but I have kept the melody romantic. So, though it has a lot of intensity, its essence is fun. The

E
ven as some in India in-
dulged in the
festival of colours (dhu-
li vandan)
yesterday, there were
others in the country
who displayed complete
faithfulness to the colour
orange (kesari). Yes, the
Akshay Kumar-starrer,
based on the Battle of
Shashank Khaitan,
director of Humpty
Sharma Ki Dulhania
(2014), Badrinath Ki
Dulhania (2017) and
Dhadak (2018), says,
“Kesari is a very powerful
film of courage and
sacrifice. Congratulations
to Anurag Singh who has
created an amazing world.
Set in 1897, writer-director Anurag lyrics depict a lot of heart-rending things, but eventually, they say, baaki sab first class hai. The track is
Singh’s period saga retells the story of emotional, but not negative. It will resonate with listeners because that’s our spirit — we have dreams and
the second bravest battle in the history are trying to find our destinations, but at the end of the day, it’s all good.”
even once, he showed the terrific, too. Don’t miss it.”
Kalank, presented by Fox Star Studios, is produced by Dharma Productions and Nadiadwala Grandson
aggression of a lion. The All praises for the Entertainment. The film releases on April 17.
madness in his eyes movie, which brings alive
in the climax fight was on screen a missing
brilliant.” chapter from Indian

Vicky irks Deepika by

Saragarhi, which opened The action sequences and Summing up the history, Vajir Singh, Editor,
yesterday, got glowing dialogue punches of the historical action drama Box Office India, a trade
reviews from the critics, film give you goosebumps.” that also stars Parineeti magazine, says, “Kesari is

calling her bhabhi!

trade pundits and Bowled over by Chopra, in a single word, all about honour, courage
audiences alike. Akshay’s portrayal of veteran trade analyst and valour told with
Set in India of 1897, Havildar Ishar Singh, Taran Adarsh calls it conviction. It’s a winner
writer-director Anurag who leads the small Sikh “Outstanding!” He at heart and the ticket

Singh’s period saga
effectively retells the story
of the second bravest
battle in the history. One in
which 21 Sikh soldiers took
on 10,000 Afghan invaders
to foil the enemies’ attempt
in capturing the fort of
Saragarhi.
battalion against
thousands of Afghans,
Shashank adds, “Akshay
has delivered one of his
best performances. He
brings alive the character
of Ishar Singh. He is such
a natural at action se-
quences. Without shouting
elaborates, “The film
brilliantly chronicles a
significant chapter from
history. Nationalism,
patriotism, heroism, scale
and soul — Kesari has it
all. Akshay has given a
career-best performance
and Anurag’s direction is
V
counters.” icky Kaushal, who hosted the Zee Cine Awards alongside Kartik Aaryan, was
having a gala time annoying Deepika Padukone. It so happened that Ranveer
Kesari, produced by Singh and his better half were on stage for a special moment when the hosts
Hiroo Yash Johar, Aruna made them take their pheras again as they had got married in
Bhatia, Karan Johar, Italy. The Padmaavat (2018) actors did it sportingly, after which Vicky started ad-
Apoorva Mehta, Sunir dressing the actress as Deepika bhabi! Every time he said it, Dippy got annoyed
Kheterpal and presented and chided him, but the Uri: The Surgical Strike actor loved baiting her, which had
by Zee Studios, released the audience in splits.
yesterday. Deepika Padukone

B-Town’s best dazzle at Zee Cine Awards 2019

The who’s who of Hindi cinema walked the red carpet at the biggest awards nite
Ashwini Sawant/DNA

T
he crème de la crème of
Bollywood came together to cele-
brate the best of Hindi
cinema on Tuesday night in
Mumbai. Alia Bhatt and Deepika
Padukone, who are friends more
than competitors, were all smiles for
the photographers, while Ranbir
Kapoor and Ranveer Singh struck
some trademark poses. Vicky
Kaushal and Kartik Aaryan twinned
in black suits and bow ties.
Meanwhile, Varun Dhawan went
down the casual comfort route
and sported sneakers for the do.
Ayushmann Khurrana paired
embellished gloves with his
evening wear, whereas Ishaan
Khatter chose to keep it
simple.
Sonam K
Ahuja, Janh-
vi Kapoor, Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Katrina Kaif,
Madhuri Dix-
it-Nene and
Kriti Sanon
caused a fren-
zy as they
posed
for the flash-
bulbs and left
shutterbugs wanting for more. Film-
makers Sanjay Leela Bhansali and
Karan Johar added heft (because of
their body of work, not their person-
al weight!) by
gracing the red carpet with their
presence. Indian cinema icon Hema
Malini was her elegant self as she
flashed her zillion-dollar smile. The
night witnessed brilliant perfor-
mances, passionate speeches and
candid moments galore. All of this
will be brought to the viewers on Ranbir Kapoor Alia Bhatt Deepika Padukone Ranveer Singh Varun Dhawan Kartik Aaryan Vicky Kaushal
Zee Cinema on Sunday, March 31 at
12 noon. Do remember to tune in...
Karan Johar

Disclaimer: Note to reader: Some of the content/coverage that appear in our special ‘feature’ page/s may be paid for by the concerned brands. Such page/s will be appropriately declared as ‘features pages’ (e.g. reader engagement feature, etc.)
 After
Leisure daily news & analysis
Ahmedabad I Thursday, March 21, 2019
11
Did The name “Canada”
comes from the word
Canada is the second largest
country in the world, right after
Joke Teacher tells Johnny,
“When your father sees

you
“Kanata” used by Russia. However, Canada is the 8th your report card, his hair
the Iroquois, a native
American tribe who lived
least dense country in the world,
with most people living in cities. of the will turn grey!”
Jhonny replies, “Cool,

know day
in Quebec in the 16th If it weren’t for immigration, it’s that will make him really
century. It means village or population would probably be happy. He’s been bald for
settlement. shrinking. years.”

pick your brain crossword hidato Baby Blues

Down French modernist
1 Ernie’s “Sesame composer - “rike”
Street” pal (4) anagram ? (4)
2 A short stocking 19 Case for needles
(4) (4)
3 Way of walking 20 Bite or nibble at
(4) (3)
5 Boil (6) 23 Direction indica-
6 Colour or tint (3) tor (5)
7 Take for granted 24 Sprang (5)
(6) 25 Reasons; grounds
9 Old name for or motives ? (6)
Tokyo (3) 26 Vulgarity (6)
11 Poetic feet of one 28 Shaft, beam (3)
kind (5) 29 Freudian terms The Pajama Dairies
12 Bamboo stick (4)
fencing (5) 30 Congo river (4)
15 The Mounties: 31 Airport sights,
Abbr. (4) abbr. (4)
16 SMS (4) 33 Feign (3)
18 ___ Satie :

Across 17 Observance of the law (9) 28 Comes round or gets back

1 Bollywood’s Bipasha ___ (4)
4 Respiration disorder (6)
8 Ms. West of Hollywood (3)
10 Hay stack (4)
13 Inaction (8)
14 Becomes fond of (5,2)
15 Beat (6)
21 Angel’s wish (3)
22 Tiny ___ : character from
Christmas Carols by Charles
Dickens ? (3)
23 Rock musician __ Rose (3)
26 Backed (9)
27 Opposite of acid (6)
(7)
32 Playfully mischievous person
(8)
34 Moistens, adds water (4)
35 Exclamation of dismay (3)
36 Lounge or sofa (6)
37 Animal doctors, in short (4)
The goal of Hidato is to fill the grid
with consecutive numbers that
connect horizontally, vertically, or
diagonally from first to the last
number in the grid. The first and last
numbers of a puzzle and some other Tina’s Grove
numbers are already filled in.

4x9+8-4/5+6-5=9 spellathon sudoku

numberchain To solve
a Sudoku
puzzle,
every
voted digit must
video, vied, void, vomit, vomited, vote, appear
move, moved, movie, ovate, veto, once in:
motivate, MOTIVATED, Each of
avid, avoid, diva, dive, divot, dove, the vertical
columns;
Each of the
spellathon
How good is your vocabulary? Spell out horizontal Tinkersons
2 Ameba, 3 Kopek, 4 Erose, 5 Dates. as many words of four or more letters rows; Each
8 Obese, 9 Makes. Down: 1 Carom, as you can from the letters in today’s of the
Across: 1 Caked, 6 Amora, 7 Repot, diagram. In making a word, each letter boxes.
wordbox must be used only once and each word
must contain the letter in the centre.
There should be at least one nine-letter
word! Plurals, foreign words, and
proper nouns do not qualify.
Rate yourself word search: Indian Instruments
16 Average; 18 Good; 20 Wow!
Can you find the words connected in one way or the other with
the theme indicated by the title in today’s Word Search?
The words may be read horizontally, vertically or diagonally
wordbox either forwards or backwards, but always in straight lines.
Use a ruler to cross them through as you find them.
Blondie
sudoku

Fill in the missing squares with letters to

make ten words crossword style.
noughts&crosses lockhorns
hidato numberchain

start
Starting at the point as per the arrow
marked, and moving clockwise, find one
way by which, if you insert all the four Bansuri Harmonium Sarangi Veena
arithmetical signs - two of them twice Dhol Kanjira Sarod Yazh
- in the blank squares and carry out all Dilruba Mashak Shehnai
the operations in sequence to obtain the Dotar Pepa Sitar
crossword
solutions answer given. Ektara Sambal Tabla
Ghungroo Santoor Tambura

Marjorie Orr
Your year ahead will be betwixt and between as you will be pulled between your head and your heart, especially where one close relationship is
IF IT’S YOUR concerned. Try not to jump to instant decisions. Take your time and consider all your options. You will focus your formidable energy on your personal
BIRTHDAY TODAY finances, and perseverance will pay off with improved security if you curb your spending. Hard work and heavy responsibilities will keep you busy.

ARIES TAURUS GEMINI CANCER LEO VIRGO

Mar 21 - Apr 20
Everyone should respond well
to your presence since you
are so warm and outgoing.
You bring a real breath of
sunshine into rooms when you sweep
in. Your constitution should feel stronger
than usual. Though if one close partner
is not entirely on your wavelength, don’t
stomp off in a huff. Maybe you need to
cajole them into fitting in with what you
have in mind. You will have to give in
the first instance, but it will be worth it.
Apr 21 - May 20
Regard this as a gestation
phase when you plan and
prepare for what is about to
come nearer your birthday.
Don’t be discouraged by what is not
working out as quickly as expected.
Nothing comes together spectacularly
well at this time of the year for you. Have
patience and what you want will all come
right soon. Finding the balance between
duty and pleasure, service you owe to
others and attention you owe yourself.
May 21 - June 21
You will be sorting out longer
term plans, so bounce your
ideas around and see what
feedback you get. Practical
advice will put you on the right lines.
Friends may be pulling you one way and
loved ones another, so you’ll need to divide
yourself between everyone. You have been
spending more time recently with your
wider circle of acquaintances but maybe
more intimate companions have been
feeling excluded, so cuddle up close ones.
June 22 - July 23
You are putting a good deal
of emphasis on your personal
reputation. You dislike more
than usual being passed over
for attention at work. You want to be
noticed, not made to feel one of the
crowd. At other times, all you want is
to tuck yourself out of sight in familiar
surroundings and be indulged. Your busy
schedule won’t allow you to play truant for
long, but you must take a break along the
way otherwise you will get overstretched.
July 24 - August 23
Maybe you are not being very
practical with the Sun in your
chart area of grand plans, but
you can always sort out what
is workable in a few days. There could be
travel muddles because you are not
concentrating very sensibly on where you
are going and when. You will constantly
change your mind about your plans. So
sit down at the start and write out a list
of destinations and times, and you might
even arrive at some of them.
Aug 24 - Sep 23
At times, it may seem like a
battlefield as confrontations
litter your way ahead. You may
complain about your difficult
path just now but it won’t last long. If you
are feeling more intense than usual, try to
stay with it. Most of the time, the pressure
of life pushes you into taking avoiding
action. Too tricky? Shrug. And off you go.
But getting cash arrangements sorted out
is vital, especially if you are feeling short
changed or not valued properly.

LIBRA SCORPIO SAGITTARIUS CAPRICORN AQUARIUS PISCES

Write to Sept 24 - October 22 Oct 23 - November 22 Nov 23 - Dec 22 Dec 23 - Jan 20 Jan 21 - Feb 19 Feb20 - March 20
Marjorie Blessed with tact and Maybe you are feeling resentful Don’t worry about voicing your If you can push heavier This is not the day to stick You will fight to defend your
diplomacy, there’s an because you are not given feelings. You really want to be chores at work to one side for yourself into tedious routines. rights and get your due, but
Orr
improvement in your social life higher rewards for your labours. applauded, so you will be a few days, it will help. Rather But watch that you don’t get don’t be too possessive. Flow
with your with the bounty of the universe
now. Your charming manner But at the end of the day, you’ll hamming it up madly at times, inward looking, you would like crossed lines along the way.
queries at and way of putting others at ease will be be better pleased doing a good job for its but so charmingly, everyone will clap even There could be communication or travel and it will flow back in your direction.
to feel more in touch with your soul. You
afterhrs@ attracting compliments and invitations. own sake rather than gaining success in the harder. Loved ones have been getting more know you have to find a better balance muddles if you don’t keep your eye on the Trying to be in control all the time can
dnaindia. Always pushed and pulled when the Full world. There are times when you are happy of your attention and affection of late, but between your head and heart. Success in ball. Try to pause for breath once in a while sometimes backfire. You may think you
net Moon is around, you may be especially to give to others, but there are also times you also want to be around more casual the outer world won’t be fulfilling unless and collect your wits. It’s important at the have to alter the way you share, but don’t
www. sensitive since today it falls in your own when you feel deprived because no one is acquaintances today. You may find you have a settled emotional base. But moment for you to be well regarded for decide anything on the spur of the
star4cast. sign, a once a year occurrence. Don’t leap reciprocating. Feeling resentful only means yourself spread a little thin but at least it equally you can’t find all your satisfaction your intelligence and way with words, so moment. Getting your own financial
com to instant decisions since your judgement you feel worse. Give yourself the odd treat won’t be boring. You need variety not in your intimate environment. So you you will need to acquire depth as well as security pulled together is something only
may be awry. to boost your spirits. forced to choose. need to get your thinking cap on. breadth of knowledge. you can do, and that needs to come first.

12 www.dnaindia.com I twitter.com/dna I epaper.dnaindia.com I facebook.com/dnaindia
snapshot
‘Media should
be myth busters
in these times’
Vice-President Venkaiah
Naidu — file
The media has an
1 important role in
promoting participa-
tory democracy through
enhanced voter turnout
which in turn broad bases
the foundation of democratic
governance.
One of the fundamen-
2 tal aims of elections
is to provide the
electorate with an opportu-
nity to exercise their political
rights and vote for candidates
of their choice. A meaningful
way for exercising this choice
requires a free and fair media,
and an informed citizenry.
Media organisations should
devote space and
3 time to report on
the antecedents of
politicians, their past work,
participation in debates in
state legislatures and Parlia-
ment. These facts should
be reminded to the people
so that they can make an
informed choice.
We must foresee that these
4Cs (cash, com-
4 munity, caste and
criminality) are com-
ing and must be careful.
It is the responsibility
5 of the media to act
like myth-busters
in such sensitive times
(chances of people propa-
gating fake news increases),
and report the absolute,
undiluted truth.
Jaitley for more GST
council-like bodies
New Delhi: Finance Minis-
ter Arun Jaitley on Wednes-
day made a case for setting
up GST Council-like federal
institutions to promote
healthcare, rural develop-
ment and agriculture sec-
tors, by optimally utilising
resources of the Centre and
states.
The successful experi-
ment of GST Council, a con-
stitutional body for making
recommendations to the
government on issues related
to GST, needs to be replicated
in other areas. He said agri-
culture, rural development
and healthcare are areas
where the central govern-
ment spends a lot of
money on, to create infra-
structure and building
health centres for the poor.
they said it
„„Arun Jaitley said
the GST Council must
be experimented in
other areas, including
healthcare, agriculture
and rural development
„„He called it an
“excellent federal
institution”, which has
decided thousands of
issues with consensus.
Vodafone Idea inks deal with Zee going under europe’s first underwater eatery sits on norway’s southern tip
Entertainment for ZEE5 content Fine dining’s new address: Bottom of ocean floor
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
Mumbai: Vodafone Idea Lim-
ited, India’s leading telecom
operator, and Zee Entertain-
ment Enterprises Limited
(ZEEL) have announced a
strategic partnership for
ZEE5, the fastest growing
OTT platform in the country.
Under the strategic partner-
ship, aimed at driving the
growth of the digital ecosys-
tem in India, the content port-
folio of ZEE5 will be available
to Vodafone Idea consumers,
on Vodafone Play as well as
the Idea Movies & TV app.
The association between
the two will create a beneficial
ecosystem for viewers, that
We will complete all ongoing
infrastructure projects in the state.
We will carry forward all the dreams
of Manohar Parrikar for Goa. That
is a priority
— Pramod Sawant, Goa Chief Minister
Cong insulted Indian Indian Navy swings into action,
rushes 3 ships to Mozambique
institutions, says PM
Hits out at Oppn for promoting dynastic politics, that
‘one family’s desire for power’ has cost the nation dearly
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a BJP CEC meeting on Wednesday — PTI
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi accused the
Congress of insulting key insti-
tutions like Parliament, judici-
ary, media and the armed forc-
es when it was in power, also
targeting the party over “dy-
nastic politics”.
In his blog post on Wednes-
day, Modi said one family’s de-
sire for power cost the nation
dearly and that people should
remember this while casting
their votes. “As you go to vote,
remember the past and how
one family’s desire for power
cost the nation so greatly. If
they could do it then, they can
surely do it now,” Modi wrote.
“Think wisely: From the press
to Parliament. From soldiers to
free speech. From the constitu-
tion to the courts. Institutional
insult is the Congress way.”
“Everyone is wrong, only
Congress is correct,” he added.
Modi said India has seen
that whenever dynastic politics
has been powerful, institutions
have taken a severe beating.
“The nation knows the numeri-
cal dynamics of both houses. It
The state governments are
also spending money on
these sector.
Jaitley said there is a need
for utilising the resources in
an optimal manner by en-
hancing coordination be-
tween the Centre and states
for essential developmental
activities. “I think a coordi-
nation body on a non-statuto-
ry basis, like the GST Coun-
cil, as a federal institution
can do that job (coordina-
tion),” Jaitley said in a video
message on Twitter.
“I strongly believe federal
institutions after the suc-
cessful implementation of
the GST Council must be ex-
perimented in the areas of
rural development, agricul-
ture and healthcare. This
will help the poorest section
of the population. We stand
as a political party also com-
mitted to enforce this,” he
said.
He said the GST Council is
an “excellent federal institu-
tion”, which in its 34 meet-
ings, has decided thousands
of issues with consensus
leading to benefits to traders
and people and developing
‘New India’. The GST Coun-
cil, chaired by the Union fi-
nance minister, comprises
finance ministers of all
states. — PTI
will drive the growth of video
viewing in smaller cities and
towns in times to come. ZEE5
content can be accessed by
customers across 12 languag-
es — English, Hindi, Bengali,
Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu,
Kannada, Marathi, Oriya,
Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Pun-
jabi — across genres like chil-
dren’s content, cineplays, Live
Every Congress
government has
seen multiple
defence scams. Began
with jeeps, and then
moved to guns,
submarines, helicopters.
Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister
is clear that when a non-dynas-
ty party (has a) higher number,
its tendency to work more is
visible... which were the forces
disrupting the House and why.”
Discussing freedom of ex-
pression, he alleged that dynas-
tic parties have never been
comfortable with a free and
vibrant press. “No wonder, the
very first constitutional
amendment brought in by the
Congress government sought
to curtail free speech. Speaking
truth to power, which is the
hallmark of a free press was
seen as vulgar and indecent,”
Modi wrote. — PTI
not a soul in sight
A Kashmiri woman walks outside a shrine as it rains in Srinagar on Wednesday. Authorities imposed restrictions in
parts of Srinagar on Wednesday after the Joint Resistance Leadership called for a shutdown. — AP
Social media to abide by poll code
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: A day after being
called out by the Election Com-
mission to rein in fake and vit-
riolic messaging from vitiating
the ongoing poll process, social
media platforms and the Inter-
net and Mobile Association of
India (IAMAI) on Wednesday
presented a ‘Voluntary Code of
Ethics for the General Election
2019’ to Chief Election Com-
missioner Sunil Arora and his
two colleagues, election com-
TV, health and lifestyle, etc.
Avneesh Khosla, operating
director - marketing, Voda-
fone Idea Limited, said, “Our
customers are constantly
seeking rich and diverse con-
tent options, and we aim to
provide enriched entertain-
ment to our customers by of-
fering high quality content on
Vodafone Play and Idea Mov-
ies & TV. We are happy to
partner with ZEE5 and bring
their library of content to our
customers. Our insights on
customer preferences, sali-
ence and relevance, along
with ZEE’s deep understand-
ing of the Indian content
viewership habits, are being
brought together through
this partnership.”
Priyanka asks
BJP to not take
people for fools
Varanasi/Mirzapur: Wrap-
ping up her three-day tour of
Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gan-
dhi Vadra called the upcoming
Lok Sabha elections a “new
freedom struggle”. In a blister-
ing attack on Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on the last day
of the trip, she asked him to
not treat people as fools.
“We fought for Independ-
ence and it was fought on the
basis of truth. Yeh naiyee
aazadi ki ladai hai (This is a
new freedom struggle),” she
said, also asking party workers
to deal with shortcomings
within the Congress. “There
are some shortcomings in our
organisation and we have to
mend them. Our ideology is
our strength,” she said.
“The Prime Minister has at-
tacked every institution in this
country for the last five years,
including the institution of
which all of you are a part. So
I think the PM should stop
thinking that people are fools
and realise that they see
through all this,” she said. She
also accused the BJP govern-
ment of “harassment”.
Later, Priyanka also visited
the ancestral house of former
prime minister Lal Bahadur
Shastri at Ramnagar. Criticis-
ing the Modi government here
again, she said farmers are suf-
fering as they don’t get fair
price for their crops and youths
are being left jobless. — PTI
code of conduct
‘Code of Ethics’ has been
developed to ensure free,
fair and ethical usage of
social media platforms to
maintain the integrity of
the electoral process.
missioners Ashok Lavasa and
Sushil Chandra.
The code of ethics has been
developed by IAMAI and rep-
resentatives of Facebook,
WhatsApp, Twitter, Google,
ShareChat, TikTok etc. “The
Bally (Norway): Europe’s
first underwater restaurant
opened on Norway’s south-
ernmost tip on Wednesday.
The restaurant, called Un-
der, which also means “won-
der” in Norweigian, looks
like a large concrete tube
partly submerged in the
North Sea.
Designed by the Norwei-
gian architectural firm firm
Snoehetta, which also creat-
ed the Opera house in Oslo
and the National September
11 Memorial Museum in New
York, the restaurant has
opened for family and friends
of the owners, while the pay-
ing public can start visiting
from April onwards.
“The fascination is just
Sumit Kumar Singh
singh.sumit@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: The Indian Navy
has decided to press its ships
into service to help people af-
fected by Cyclone Idai, which
has triggered a massive disas-
ter, causing widespread flood-
ing and devastation in Mo-
zambique, Zimbabwe and
Malawi. Mozambique Presi-
dent Felipe Nyusi called it a
“humanitarian disaster of
great proportions”, and said
over 1,000 people were killed
since the cyclone hit.
He also sought help from
the Indian government, fol-
lowing which ships of First
Training Squadron of Indian
Navy (Sujata, Sarathi and
Shardul) in the southern In-
dian Ocean were diverted to
Port Beira, Mozambique. INS
Sujata and ICGS Sarathi ar-
rived on March 18, while INS
Shardul arrived on March 19.
The trio is providing all neces-
sary support to the local ad-
Swami Aseemanand, 3 others acquitted
DNA Correspondent
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: Twelve years af-
ter the deadly Samjhauta
Express blast killed 68 per-
sons and wounded dozens
more, a special court in
Panchkula on Wednesday ac-
quitted all four persons,
including RSS activist
Swami Aseemanand.
The NIA court also
dismissed an applica- Samjhauta
Express
tion filed by Pakistan
national Rahila Wa-
blast
keel to depose in the case
as an eyewitness, which
brought in a curious twist to
the 2007 case.
NIA counsel RK Handa
told DNA that the court con-
cluded that the probe agency
code shall apply within the
existing legal framework in
India. In case of any conflict
between the voluntary frame-
work and the existing legal
framework, the legal frame-
work will prevail,” said the
code’s preamble.
The ‘Code of Ethics’ has
been developed to ensure free,
fair and ethical usage of so-
cial media platforms to main-
tain the integrity of the elec-
toral process for the Lok Sab-
ha elections. I comes into ef-
fect from immediate effect.
this movement from above
water to underwater through
the building. The big
window exposes the under-
water, not like an aquarium,
but the real thing,” said Snoe-
hetta founder Kjetil Traedal
Thorsen.
Entering Under initially
feels like going into a sauna,
as wooden planks cover its
upper section, but an eight-
metre flight of stairs leads
down to a large dining area
that sits about 40 guests,
walled by a gigantic transpar-
ent window to the ocean.
Traedal Thorsen said the
construction can cope with
very harsh weather and is
shaped in such a way that it
can withstand what he called
second
front
page
Ahmedabad I Thursday, March 21, 2019 I daily news & analysis
Over 1,000 people have been killed in Mozambique
ministration.
The ships have since com-
menced liaison work with lo-
cal authorities, and are work-
ing on evacuating locals af-
fected the cyclone. There are
also reports of abou 5,000
personnel marooned at Buzi
near Port Beira. Safe evacua-
tion of all affected personnel
is being done.
Disembarkation of HADR
had failed to prove
any connection of the
accused with the conspir-
acy and hence they deserve
benefit of doubt. “The court
observed that the evidence
placed on record had short-
comings. It acquitted Swami
Aseemanand, Lokesh Shar-
Pakistan pulls out of annual
maritime dialogue with India
Sidhant Sibal
correspondent@dnaindia.net
New Delhi: The Pakistan
Maritime Security Agency
(PMSA) has cancelled its an-
nual security dialogue with
India. The PMSA and India’s
Coast Guard were supposed to
meet for a three-day dialogue,
from March 19 to 21. However,
the Pakistani side has can-
celled it, citing the prevailing
security condition.
On February 26, India had
attacked Jaish-e-Mohammad
(JeM) terror camps in Bala-
kot in Pakistan. JeM is the
group responsible for the
February 14 Pulwama attack.
India and Pakistan had
held their first dialogue in two
years last year, when Coast
Guard director General Rajen-
dra Singh and PMSA chief
Rear Admiral Zaka Ur Re-
hman met in Delhi. Be-
fore that, the last meet-
ing had taken place in
Islamabad in 2016.
In the 2018 meeting,
release of Indian fisher-
man in Pakistani custo-
dy was the the key focus
for New Delhi. The Indian
Coast Guard had said in a re-
lease, “During the meeting,
the Indian side reiterated the
need for instituting standard
The dining area, with transparent windows, can seat about 40 — Reuters
The fascination is this movement from above
water to underwater through the building. A
big window exposes the underwater.
Kjetil Traedal Thorsen, Founder of Snoehetta
— AFP
stores, including food, medi-
cines and clothing to the Mo-
zambique defence authorities
have been completed. Ar-
rangements are in progress to
send potable water. Senior of-
ficer of the first training
squadron, Capt. Varun Singh,
is onboard INS Sujata, and
has indicated that no effort
would be spared in providing
humanitarian assistance.
ma, Kamal Chauhan and Ra-
jinder Chaudhary, saying no
charges could be proved,” he
said, adding that the agency
was brought in to investigate
only three years after the
blast in 2010. “NIA came into
the picture quite late, and so
missed out on the evidence
Image used for representational purposes only
maritime talks
The dialogue between
PMSA and Indian Coast
Guard is part of an MoU
signed between India and
Pakistan in 2005, but the
last time it took place was
in 2018 and that was after
a gap of two years.
operating procedures
(SOPs) for immediate
release and repatriation
of the fishermen who
cross the International
Maritime Boundary Line
(IMBL) inadvertently as the
issue needs to be approached
in a humanitarian context.”
In all, 483 Indian fisher-
state of fear
„„Mozambique president
Felipe Nyusi called it a
“humanitarian disaster of
great proportions”.
„„Houses along the port
city of Beira have been
destroyed, while flooding
is in many places
„„Indian Navy ships are
setting up medical camps
to provide food, blankets
and other relief items
Furthermore, Indian Navy
ships are also setting up med-
ical camps that provide food,
water, blankets and other nec-
essary relief items as re-
quired by the local authori-
ties. “The situation is being
monitored closely, and the In-
dian Navy is prepared to ren-
der all necessary assistance to
the local population in Mo-
zambique,” Indian Navy said.
one could have gathered dur-
ing the initial investigation.”
Aseemanand, the 67-year-
old preacher, was in court at
5.30 pm, when the acquittal
was sounded by the court. He
was earlier accused by the
anti-terror probe agency of
conspiracy in the 2007 Ajmer
Sharif Dargah blast and the
Hyderabad Mecca Masjid
blast. While the courts had
cleared his involvement in
the other two cases, this was
the only case pending
against him.
Meanwhile, Wakeel’s
counsel Momin Malik ex-
pressed his disappointment
with the acquittal verdict,
and said that there was a
chance that they will move
the high court.
men are in Pakistani custody
as per the list which was ex-
changed between the two
sides on January 1 as part of
a 2008 agreement. On Janu-
ary 17, PMSA fired upon an
Indian fishing boat near Mi-
tha port in Gujarat, in which
one Indian fisherman died
while six were rescued.
The dialogue is part of a
Memorandum of Understand-
ing (MoU) signed between India
and Pakistan in 2005. The heads
of ICG and PMSA also have a
hotline link, on the lines of In-
dia Pakistan DGMOs, which is
meant to facilitate regular ex-
change of information on non-
military maritime issues as per
the 2005 agreement.
“the wave of the century”.
The restaurant is laid out
so there are minimal reflec-
tions in the glass wall, which
fills the room with natural
light during the day, filtered
by the greenish colour of the
water. A full 18-course meal,
based on local ingredients
and seafood, can cost up to
3,700 crowns ($430) per per-
son including drinks.
“The goal is to get 50 per
cent of the guests who eat
there to spend the night in
the hotel as well. We expect
around 12,000 people eating
dinner every year,” said
Gaute Ubostad, one of two
brothers who own the restau-
rant and a nearby hotel.
— Reuters