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DELHI
CITY EDITION Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08
18 Pages ₹ 12.00 RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940

Vol. 14 앫 No. 119

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IN BRIEF
쑽
Why delay in uploading ED tells SC it has evidence
Modi, INDIA bloc
of Kejriwal’s hawala links
leaders cross
swords in Mumbai turnout data, SC asks EC Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
MUMBAI
Association for Democratic Reforms notes there was also an unusually sharp spike in figures from
Prime Minister Narendra Modi The Enforcement Directo-
and leaders from the INDIA the initial voter turnout percentages released by the poll panel, creating doubts about authenticity rate (ED) on Friday in-
bloc engaged in a showdown formed the Supreme
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

in Mumbai on Friday ahead of
the city heading to polls on
May 20. They exchanged barbs
over issues such as corruption
and Hindutva. » Page 4
JJP demands
disqualification
of two MLAs
GURUGRAM
The Jannayak Janta Party on
Friday wrote to the Haryana
Legislative Assembly Speaker
seeking the disqualification
of two of its MLAs for alleged
anti-party activities. » Page 5
Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
he Supreme Court
T on Friday orally
asked the Election
Commission (EC) to ex-
plain its inability to imme-
diately upload on its web-
site authenticated,
scanned and legible ac-
count of votes recorded
booth-wise after each
phase of polling in the Lok
Sabha election.
“Every Polling Officer
submits [voting records]
by the evening, after 6 or 7
p.m., by which time the
polling is completed. The
Returning Officer would
then be having the data of
the entire constituency.
Why don’t you upload it?”
Chief Justice of India D.Y.
Chandrachud, heading a
three-judge Bench, asked
the apex poll panel’s
counsel.
Rule 49S and Rule 56C
(2) of the Conduct of Elec-
tion Rules, 1961 require
the Presiding Officer to
prepare an account of
votes recorded in Form
17C (Part I) format.
The question from the
Bench was based on an ap-
plication filed by NGO As-
sociation for Democratic
Reforms, represented by
advocates Prashant
Bhushan, Neha Rathi and
Cheryl D’Souza, alleging
inordinate delay in the pu-
blication of voter turnout
data of the first two phases
of polling in the Lok Sabha
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
election. Court that it had un-
The NGO said that there earthed direct evidence of
was also an unusually “chats” between Delhi
sharp spike in figures from Chief Minister Arvind Kej-
the initial voter turnout
percentages released by
the EC. The development
riwal and hawala opera-
tors through whom kick-
backs in the liquor policy Seeking support: Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann at an
has raised alarm bells in case were paid. election campaign meeting in Amritsar on Friday. PTI
the public’s mind about Mr. Kejriwal countered
the authenticity of the that the Central probe its intention to do so. Laundering Act (PMLA).
polling data available and agency was making a last- However, the Supreme He is already out cam-
even whether the elec- ditch attempt to prejudice Court Bench of Justices paigning for the Lok Sabha
tronic voting machines the court against him. Sanjiv Khanna and Dipan- election on an interim bail
(EVMs) have been The submission by the kar Datta, while reserving allowed by the Supreme
switched. ED in the Supreme Court its judgment on the peti- Court on May 10. He has to
Senior advocate Manin- coincided with the Central tion filed by Mr. Kejriwal surrender on June 2. Bail
der Singh, for the EC, said agency filing a supplemen- seeking to quash his arrest under PMLA is applied for
the application was a de- tary chargesheet at Rouse on March 21, gave him the in the Special Court under
liberate attempt to disturb Avenue court, formally option to apply for bail in Section 45 of the Act.
the general election. Mr. naming Mr. Kejriwal and accordance with law. The An accused seeking bail
Singh said a judgment of the Aam Aadmi Party liberty was given to Mr. has to satisfy the stringent
the Supreme Court on (AAP) as accused in the Kejriwal notwithstanding twin conditions that he is
April 26 had discussed ev- money laundering case the fact that the verdict prima facie innocent and
ery aspect, including linked to the excise policy was reserved. is not likely to commit an
Form 17C, threadbare. change in the national Mr. Kejriwal, if he offence in the future.
capital. The chargesheet chooses, can apply for bail
CONTINUED ON was filed shortly after the under Section 45 of the CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 8 ED informed the court of Prevention of Money » PAGE 8

Spain blocks arms ship In a flash

RAPID STRIKE

Russian forces from Chennai to Israel

press ahead
with Kharkiv Dinakar Peri
Kallol Bhattacherjee
attack NEW DELHI
Spain has refused entry to
a ship carrying arms from
WORLD » PAGE 12
Chennai to Israel to dock
at one of its ports, its Fo-
reign Minister José Manuel
Albares has said.
The Denmark-flagged
cargo ship Marianne Dani-
ca sailed from Chennai on
April 8 and was headed to
the port of Haifa in Israel,
according to maritime
tracking portals and Span-
ish media.
Critical stand
Spain has been extremely
critical of the rising civi-
MP FILES CHARGES lian casualties due to the
Israeli offensive in Gaza
CM’s aide slapped me, says and, along with Belgium,
Maliwal; BJP’s pawn: Atishi has suspended arms ex-
port licences to Tel Aviv.
CITY » PAGE 3
Ministry of External Af-
fairs Spokesperson Rand-
hir Jaiswal only said that
they have seen the report
of the ship and will revert
with more information.
‘Consistent policy’
Mr. Albares had said,
“This will be a consistent
policy with any ship carry-
ing arms to Israel that
wants to call at Spanish
ports.”
“The Foreign Ministry
will systematically reject
such stopovers for one ob-
vious reason: the Middle
East does not need more
weapons, it needs more
peace,” he stated.
The ship was carrying
27 tonnes of explosives ac-
cording to local reports. It
was to make a port call at
Cartegena in Spain.
CONTINUED ON Fatal flooding: Water gushing through the Old Courtallam falls in Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, on Friday. Earlier in the day, a 17-year-old boy was
» PAGE 8 washed away in the flash floods triggered by a sudden downpour. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT (REPORT ON PAGE 4)

SC to hear
Hemant’s
Nearly 6 million trees disappeared from farmlands: study BJP’s freebie
offers are not
petition for Jacob Koshy
NEW DELHI
declining as the analysis
was specific to only large
satellite that has a coarser
resolution of 10 metres —
spot areas have lost up to
50% of their large farmland
sustainable,
interim bail In a mere three years, from
trees above a certain size.
The Forest Survey of In-
implying that they can tell
apart blocks of trees but
trees, with up to 22 trees
per square kilometre dis-
says Pandian
2019 to 2022, India may dia (FSI) conducts regular not individual ones. appearing. Smaller hotspot
Krishnadas Rajagopal have lost close to 5.8 mil- surveys of tree cover but areas of loss are also ob- Nistula Hebbar
NEW DELHI lion full-grown trees in only publishes data on the Hotspots served, such as in eastern BHUBANESWAR
agricultural lands, says a changes in acreage and not Trees detected by Rapi- Madhya Pradesh around
The Supreme Court has de- satellite-imagery-based individual trees. The latest dEye had an average crown Indore.” The Biju Janata Dal’s elec-
cided it would hear on analysis by researchers at FSI report says that India’s size (the leafy outgrowth of The tree loss estimate tion promise of free power
Tuesday a plea by former the University of Copenha- tree cover has increased in tree) of 96 sq.m and such a was on the “conservative” to 90% households in Od-
Jharkhand Chief Minister gen, Denmark, published 2021 over 2019. high loss rate of mature side and most of the losses isha has a sound financial
Hemant Soren for interim this week in the peer-re- The present analysis fo- trees over less than a de- were likely between 2018 reasoning backing it, with
bail to campaign in the on- viewed journal Nature cuses on farmlands and cade is “unexpected”, the and 2020, they noted. provisions made for it in
going Lok Sabha election. Sustainability. tracks individual trees, al- authors note. One of the authors told the State budget, party
Appearing before a Additionally, 11% of such beit only big ones, relying Green tracker: The study focused on Indian farmlands and it “The disappearance of The Hindu that the abso- leader and 5T chairman
Bench of Justices Sanjiv trees detected via satellite on maps from multiple ‘mi- tracked individual trees over the past three years. FILE PHOTO mature farmland trees was lute number of trees lost V.K. Pandian said on Fri-
Khanna and Dipankar Dat- during 2010-2011 were no cro-satellites’, and ma- observed in many areas, since 2010 could not be es- day. Speaking to The Hin-
ta, senior advocate Kapil longer visible when re- chine learning analysis to have been largely “over- ber from 2010 to 2022. but numbers rarely exceed timated as “.. images from du, he said that what had
Sibal, for Mr. Soren, said viewed from 2018 to 2022, estimate trends, beginning looked”, the authors say. These have resolutions of five to 10%, except for 2010 to 2011 are not always shocked him was the BJP’s
that his client was willing leading the researchers to in 2010. About 56% of In- For their analysis, the three to five metres, mean- areas in central India, in good and it was not a wall- poll promise of a ₹50,000
to surrender on June 2, just conclude that these trees dia is covered by farmland researchers combined sa- ing that the satellite can particular in the States of to-wall (tree) mapping “voucher” for two crore
ahead of the results. had “disappeared”. and 22% by forest. With the tellite-imagery from two “see” large trees, three to Telangana and Maharash- exercise”. women in the State.
However, this doesn’t largest agricultural area in repositories — RapidEye five metres apart, as indivi- tra, where we document
FULL REPORT ON necessarily imply that In- the world, changes in tree and PlanetScope — to esti- dual trees. The FSI relies massive losses of large CONTINUED ON INTERVIEW ON
» PAGE 8 dia’s overall tree cover is cover here, while critical, mate changes in tree num- on data from the Sentinel trees. Here, several hot- » PAGE 8 » PAGE 10
CM M ND-NDE
YK

2 Saturday, May 18, 2024
Police beef
up security
ahead of PM
Modi’s rally
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The Delhi police have
beefed up security in
north-east Delhi and de-
ployed over 2,000 person-
nel on the ground ahead of
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s rally in a DDA-
owned ground at Yamuna
Khadar on Saturday, offic-
ers said.
Delhi Police Commis-
sioner Sanjay Arora and
other senior officers on Fri-
day visited the area to take
stock of security arrange-
ments.
“Meetings were held
with other agencies res-
ponsible for the PM’s se-
curity. We are identifying
buildings and trees on all
possible routes where pol-
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
ice personnel can be de-
ployed to keep a strict vi-
gil,” an officer said.
EDUCATIONAL
GENERAL
PERSONAL
CHANGE OF NAME
I, PRADEEP S/o Shiv Narayan R/o WZ−
430 M/C−70 Naraina Village, South
West Delhi−110028 have changed my
name to Pradeep Bhindwar for all
documents and future purposes.
CM
YK
BJP says AAP, Cong. ‘looted’ INDIA govt. will ensure clean
Capital in its ‘chargesheet’ air in Capital, says Congress
Unfortunate that senior leaders of AAP, born out of an anti-graft movement, are now in jail, says BJP;
the 40-page document, ‘Partners in Plunder’, lists ‘scams’ by governments in Delhi over past 24 years
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
N
early a week before
Delhi is set to vote
in the Lok Sabha
poll, the Bharatiya Janata
Party’s (BJP) Delhi unit on
Friday issued a ‘chargesh-
eet’ against the Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) and the Con-
gress, stating how the two
parties “plundered” the
Capital over the past sever-
al years.
Indian National Deve-
lopmental, Inclusive Al-
liance (INDIA) bloc partn-
ers AAP and Congress are
fighting the Lok Sabha
election in Delhi together
against the BJP in a 4-3
seat-sharing arrangement.
After launching the 40-
EDUCATIONAL
THE HINDU
City
icy, health, education, pan-
ic buttons in buses, and the
Delhi Jal Board, which we
have detailed here,” Mr.
Sachdeva said.
Vijender Gupta, BJP
MLA and chairman of the
‘chargesheet’ committee,
said the document exposes
the “scams” committed
during the 15 years of Con-
gress rule in Delhi and the
past nine years under AAP.
The ‘chargesheet’ has
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, along with other party been divided into various
leaders, at the launch of the 40-page document. PTI sections, such as the “liqu-
or scam”, “Sheeshmahal”,
page document, ‘Partners corruption movement, are “failed education model”,
in Plunder’, Delhi BJP pre- in jail or facing charges of “anti-national forces”, and
sident Virendra Sachdeva corruption.” AAP’s “anti-Hindu face”.
said, “It is unfortunate that “There is a long trail of The BJP swept the last
the senior leaders of the scams committed by the two Lok Sabha polls in the
Aam Aadmi Party, which AAP government, includ- national capital and won
was born out of an anti- ing scams in the excise pol- all seats by huge margins.
GENERAL
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
Senior Congress leader and
Rajya Sabha member Jai-
ram Ramesh on Friday said
the Centre was responsible
for the bad air quality in
Delhi as it “had not taken
any effective steps” to
check pollution in the last
10 years.
He added that the Indian
National Developmental,
Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)
bloc parties would ensure
clean air in the Capital.
“The INDIA bloc is going
to get a clear and decisive
majority, form the govern-
ment at the Centre, and en-
sure that steps are taken to-
wards cleaner air and a
clean Yamuna river,” the All
India Congress Committee
general secretary said at a
media briefing.
He added that it was the
primary responsibility of
the Central government to
Congress’s Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh accused the
Centre of failing to check pollution in Delhi. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
control pollution, as the en-
vironmental issues of the
Capital cannot be dealt
with by the Delhi govern-
ment alone, given its prox-
imity with other States like
Haryana, Punjab, and Ra-
jasthan.
Mr. Ramesh said that
when he was Union Envi-
ronment Minister in the
erstwhile UPA government,
he had prepared plans to
address the pollution due
to the landfills in Ghazipur,
Okhla, and Bhalswa.
Delhi
“These three landfills have
now become dangerous
symbols of chemical con-
tamination under the
Centre,” he said, adding
that the Yamuna had also
been left in a “state of
neglect”.
He added that if they
came to power, INDIA bloc
parties would take up envi-
ronmental issues such as
reforestation of the Aravali
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
hills, elimination of illegal
mining, and revival of the
Yamuna Action Plan.
Tilak Nagar
firing: shooter
killed in police
encounter
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
A man allegedly involved in
firing at a car showroom in
west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar was
killed in an encounter with
the Delhi police near Shah-
bad Dairy, officers said on
Friday.
The shooter, Ajay alias
Goli, is said to have been a
part of the Portugal-based
gangster Himanshu Bhau’s
gang, officers added.
A senior officer said after
receiving a tip-off, police
teams intercepted the shoo-
ter in his car at 11.30 p.m.
on Thursday. “The accused
was signalled to stop, but he
opened fire indiscriminate-
ly on the police team. He re-
ceived injuries during reta-
liatory firing and was
rushed to hospital, where
he was declared dead,” the
officer added.
On May 6, the accused
had opened fire at a second-
hand luxury car showroom
in Tilak Nagar, injuring se-
ven people. He was named
in several cases related to
murder and attempt to mur-
der, the police said.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Saturday, May 18, 2024 3
Delhi
City

Slapped, kicked in the chest Harsh Malhotra’s candidature for

by CM’s aide, says Maliwal; East Delhi constituency represents
Atishi calls her BJP’s pawn the rise of the BJP karyakarta
Alisha Dutta (casteism), and they will
Police say the Rajya Sabha member was taken to the CM House to ‘recreate’ crime scene; Maliwal NEW DELHI vote for the former,” he
says AAP took a ‘U-turn’ two days after accepting that Bibhav Kumar had ‘misbehaved’ with her says with conviction.
The Bharatiya Janata Par-
ty’s (BJP) Shahdara office is ‘Big shoes to fill’
Alisha Dutta ternet shows Ms. Maliwal in festooned with a giant While East Delhi has voted
NEW DELHI the drawing room of the hoarding of Harsh Malho- the BJP to victory for the
CM’s residence and refus- tra, the party’s East Delhi last two terms, many irked

A
s details of the al- ing to leave the premises. candidate for the ongoing residents told The Hindu
leged assault of AAP She is seen telling the secur- Lok Sabha election. The that the incumbent MP, Mr.
MP Swati Maliwal at ity personnel that she has poster, which depicts him Gambhir, was seen more
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind called helpline no. 112, and standing between Prime on posters than on the
Kejriwal’s residence will only leave the premises Minister Narendra Modi field, souring their views of
emerged following an FIR after the police arrive, and and Union Home Minister the party.
filed by her, Delhi Minister if they still insist on making Amit Shah, partially ob- Mr. Malhotra dismisses
Atishi on Friday said it was her leave, then they had scures an older, dustier the claims, saying that it is
a part of the BJP’s ploy and better “pick her up and hoarding of the constituen- merely a narrative built by
that Ms. Maliwal was a throw her outside the cy’s incumbent MP, Gau- the Opposition to tarnish
pawn in this conspiracy. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal leaves the CM House at Civil house”. tam Gambhir. ty’s Delhi unit, and is cre- point for me,” he adds. the image of the BJP. “My
Ms. Maliwal has alleged Lines on Friday. ANI Mr. Malhotra is one of dited for spearheading predecessor played a big
that the CM’s personal as- ‘BJP conspiracy’ the six candidates the par- New Delhi MP Meenakshi ‘Can’t sway voters’ role in reducing the size of
sistant Bibhav Kumar Arvind Kejriwal’s house on ting her on the chest and Citing the video clip as evi- ty has chosen to replace its Lekhi’s campaign during Mr. Malhotra will square up the Ghazipur landfill. He al-
slapped her, kicked her in the morning of May 13. Swa- the pelvic area, dence, Ms. Atishi said the current MPs in Delhi. While the 2019 Lok Sabha against Aam Aadmi Party so expedited the Dehradun
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
the chest, dragged her and ti Maliwal was the face and “unprovoked”. allegations made by Ms. the 58-year-old notably election. (AAP) candidate and in- expressway project and
made threats, according to pawn of this conspiracy.” Ms. Maliwal was taken to Maliwal were a part of the lacks the “star power” of However, he says that cumbent Kondli MLA Kul- brought the fourth phase of
the FIR lodged by the Delhi According to the FIR, the CM’s residence to “re- BJP’s conspiracy to defame his predecessor, a former despite joining the RSS at deep Kumar, who is con- the Delhi Metro to East Del-
police on Thursday. On Fri- Ms. Maliwal had gone to the create” the crime scene, the Chief Minister. The Del- cricketer, a glance at his the age of seven, he never testing under the banner of hi,” he says.
day, she said AAP has taken CM’s Civil Lines residence said a senior police official. hi Minister said that though political career makes clear thought he would make it the INDIA bloc as part of But while he holds that
a “U-turn” two days after it on Monday to meet him. A senior Delhi Police officer in her complaint Ms. Mali- the message the BJP wishes to electoral politics. the seat-sharing arrange- he has “big shoes to fill”, he
accepted that Mr. Kumar She tried contacting Mr. Ku- told The Hindu that they wal had alleged assault, the to convey to voters — that it “I joined the RSS at an ment with the Congress. says there is plenty more
had “misbehaved” with mar but received no res- were tracing Mr. Kumar’s video clip showed her sit- rewards its karyakartas early age While Mr. that can be done for the
her. ponse. Subsequently, she location and scrutinising ting “comfortably” in the (party workers) for their since my play- Kumar, a constituency.
Commenting on the mat- informed the staff about the footage of the CCTV drawing room of the CM’s hard work on the ground. mates in the Dalit candi- “Clean drinking water, a
ter, Ms. Atishi, in a press her presence and sat in the cameras installed inside the residence. “She was also Born to migrant parents neighbour- date, has cleaner Yamuna with a ri-
conference, said, “Ever drawing room. The MP al- CM’s residence and collat- seen threatening Bibhav from Amritsar and raised hood had staked his verfront, better access to
since Arvind Kejriwal has leged that while she was ing statements of those who Kumar in the video. Her in Shahdara, Mr. Malhotra started at- claim to transport, and the imple-
got bail, the BJP is rattled. waiting, Mr. Kumar burst met Ms. Maliwal on the day clothes were not torn nor has steadily worked his tending events at the near- East Delhi by calling it his mentation of the ‘Jahan
Due to this, the BJP hatched into the drawing room and of the incident. was there any injury on her way from a volunteer at the by shakha (branch). The janmabhoomi (place of Jhuggi, Wahan Makan’
a conspiracy, under which started verbally abusing A purported video clip head as can be seen in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak organisation embedded in- birth), Mr. Malhotra coun- scheme are some of the
Swati Maliwal was sent to her. She accused him of hit- that has surfaced on the In- video,” she said. Sangh (RSS) to the upper to me a sense of national- ters him by stating that he promises I have made to
echelons of the party. The ism, which pushed me to is duty-bound to his kar- voters,” he says, calling
leader, who currently join the BJP,” says Mr. mabhoomi (place of work). himself a “soldier in Modi’s
serves as one of the three Malhotra. He also dismisses the army” who will deliver on

Maliwal hurled abuses, ‘CM should apologise general secretaries of the

BJP’s Delhi unit, was elect-
ed councillor from the ci-
The leader, who owns a
printing press that he set
up in 1986, says he juggled
possibility of the substan-
tial number of Dalit voters
in the area being “swayed”
every assurance.
The BJP candidate on
Thursday also released a
trying to implicate me: instead of moving ty’s Welcome ward in 2012,
and went on to become
his business with party du-
ties, including organising
by Mr. Kumar, adding that
the public “recognises me-
manifesto wherein he
vowed to build better in-

CM aide in complaint around with accused’ Mayor of the erstwhile East

The Hindu Bureau proceeding towards the
NEW DELHI building where Mr. Kejri-
wal resides, she created
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri- ruckus about which the se-
wal’s personal assistant
Bibhav Kumar on Friday
curity staff informed Mr.
Kumar.
lodged a police complaint The CM aide stated that
claiming that Aam Aadmi at 9.22 a.m., he reached
Party’s (AAP) Rajya Sabha the waiting area where Ms.
member and former Delhi Maliwal was present and
Commission for Women tried to pacify her.
(DCW) chief Swati Maliwal He alleged that the Rajya
“forcefully and illegally” Sabha member started
trespassed into the CM “screaming and shouting”
House on May 13 and creat- and “hurled abuses” at
ed “ruckus”. him.
Mr. Kumar also said that Soon after this, the com-
Ms. Maliwal had “falsely plaint adds, Ms. Maliwal
implicated” him in the as- “pushed the complainant.
sault case. She then angrily sat on the
In his complaint, which sofa and dialled the PCR
was emailed to the Civil and started making bla-
Lines police station, Mr. tantly false allegations re-
Kumar said Ms. Maliwal en- garding the complainant.”
tered the CM House pre- Mr. Kumar requested
mises around 8.40 a.m. the police to investigate the
When the security per- events and her interactions
sonnel stopped her from with leaders of the BJP.
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
Union Finance Minister Nir-
mala Sitharaman on Friday
slammed Delhi Chief Minis-
ter and AAP national con-
vener Arvind Kejriwal for
not speaking against the al-
leged assault of Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha
member Swati Maliwal. Ms.
Sitharaman said the Delhi
CM is “shamelessly” mov-
ing around with accused
Bibhav Kumar.
Addressing a press con-
ference at the BJP head-
quarters, Ms. Sitharaman
demanded that the AAP
chief make a statement on
the matter and tender an
apology. She said AAP MP
Sanjay Singh had promised
action in the case, but Mr.
Kejriwal was seen the next
day in Lucknow with the ac-
cused, a close aide. “This is
Nirmala Sitharaman at a press
conference on Friday. ANI
the height of shameless-
ness,” she said. The BJP
leader cited past allegations
against several AAP lead-
ers, including its New Delhi
Lok Sabha candidate Som-
nath Bharti, and termed
AAP an “anti-women”
party.
The Minister claimed
that Madhu Bhaduri, a
former IFS officer and a
founding member of AAP,
had quit the party saying
women were not treated as
“humans” in it and that it
had a “khap panchayat”
mindset.
Delhi Municipal Corpora-
tion in 2015. He has also in
rallies and doing ground-
work, long before he began
contesting elections.
rit”. “The people of Delhi,
thanks to PM Modi, know
the difference between
frastructure, facilitate the
construction of a monorail
from Shastri Park to Mayur
the past been in charge of “Getting a Lok Sabha good governance and the Vihar, and build a law col-
the training cell of the par- ticket has been a turning governance of jaativaad lege in East Delhi by 2027.
BJP Mahila
Morcha protests
near Kejriwal’s
residence
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
Delhi BJP’s Mahila Morcha
members staged a protest
near Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal’s residence on Fri-
day morning over the al-
leged assault on AAP Rajya
Sabha member Swati Mali-
wal by his aide Bibhav Ku-
mar. The protesters, led by
Mahila Morcha president
Richa Pandey Mishra, de-
manded the Chief Minis-
ter’s resignation.

Timings
DELHI
SATURDAY, MAY. 18
Najafgarh warmest in country,
RISE
RISE
05:29
14:32
SET 19:07
SET 02:25
sizzles at 47.4 degrees Celsius
SUNDAY, MAY. 19
RISE 05:29 SET 19:08 Press Trust of India place in the country. Meanwhile, the
RISE 15:25 SET 02:51 NEW DELHI mercury settled at 46.5 degrees Celsi-
MONDAY, MAY. 20 us in Mungeshpur, 46.2 degrees in
RISE 05:28 SET 19:08
South-west Delhi’s Najafgarh record- Aya Nagar, 45.9 degrees in Pusa and
RISE 16:18 SET 03:18
ed the highest temperature in the Jafarpur, 45.8 degrees in Pitampura,
country — 47.4 degrees Celsius — on and 45.1 degrees in Palam.
Friday amid the brutal heatwave that An orange alert has been issued as
swept north-west India. conditions are expected to worsen,
According to the India Meteoro- with the severe heat wave predicted
logical Department (IMD), till 7.30 to continue for the next five days,
p.m., Najafgarh was the warmest said an IMD official.

Three major
fires break out
across Capital
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI

Three major fire incidents

took place in different parts
of the city on Friday, said
0 Delhi Fire Services officials,
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CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
4 Saturday, May 18, 2024

States Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽 Modi, INDIA bloc leaders cross swords
days ahead of Lok Sabha poll in Mumbai
Headlining a Mahayuti rally at Shivaji Park, PM focuses attack on Congress, Uddhav Thackeray, accuses them of stalling Mumbai’s development; at
a rally just kilometres away at BKC ground, the Sena (UBT) president says Friday’s speech was Modi’s ‘last speech as PM’ in the Maharashtra capital

Abhinay Deshpande never do that,” he said. He

MUMBAI also condemned Mr. Modi
Kanhaiya Kumar assaulted rime Minister Na-
for holding a roadshow at
the site of the Ghatkopar
while campaigning in Delhi
Congress Lok Sabha candidate for North East
P rendra Modi and
leaders from the
INDIA bloc, including Shiv
hoarding collapse, which
claimed 16 lives, saying,
“You were dancing and
Delhi Kanhaiya Kumar was allegedly assaulted Sena (UBT) president Udd- singing even before the last
while campaigning in New Usmanpur on Friday. hav Thackeray, Congress rites of those who died
Mr. Kumar’s team told The Hindu that an chief Mallikarjun Kharge, were performed.”
unidentified assailant “raised his hand” on the and Delhi Chief Minister Mr. Kharge said there is
Congress leader on the pretext of garlanding him Arvind Kejriwal, engaged an undercurrent against
while he was on the campaign trail. Several in a showdown in Mumbai the Modi-led government
others allegedly got involved as the violence on Friday ahead of the city and that is why he is afraid.
escalated, said his team. The police said a heading to polls on May 20.
complaint had been filed by AAP councillor They exchanged barbs ov- Kejriwal’s pitch
Chhaya Sharma. Mr. Kumar’s team blamed his er a plethora of issues such Mr. Kejriwal, who is cur-
political opponent, actor-turned-politician Manoj as corruption, Hindutva, rently out of jail on interim
Tiwari, for the incident. the ‘real’ Shiv Sena, Article bail till June 1 to campaign
370, and the Constitution. for the Lok Sabha poll,
In a bid to invigorate the Rallying point: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a Mahayuti rally at Shivaji Park; (right) Shiv Sena claimed at the rally that if
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
ruling Mahayuti’s cam- (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray speaking at a public meeting of the Opposition INDIA bloc at BKC ground on Friday. EMMANUAL YOGINI/PTI Mr. Modi won, he would
BJP’s Hoshiarpur candidate paign, Mr. Modi, address-
ing a packed gathering at come here to give what any extent to save itself. tra Navnirman Sena chief chief said Friday’s speech
put NCP (SP) chief Sharad
Pawar, Mr. Thackeray, Ta-
faces protest by farmers the historic Shivaji Park in Mumbai deserves,” the “Its Maoist manifesto is Raj Thackeray shared the was Mr. Modi’s “last mil Nadu CM M.K. Stalin,
Dadar, said ‘dream city’ Prime Minister said. eyeing gold from temples dais with Mr. Modi. speech as Prime Minister and other Opposition lead-
BJP’s Hoshiarpur candidate Anita Som Parkash Mumbai is going to play a and the mangalsutra of wo- in Mumbai”, as the BJP is ers behind bars.
on Friday faced farmers’ protest when she was huge role in the mission of ‘10-year report card’ men. It also plans a 50% in- ‘PM directionless’ going to lose the ongoing The Delhi CM also ac-
on her way to a village to canvass for the Lok Viksit Bharat by 2047. He Mr. Modi said he has a 10- heritance tax... the party is Mr. Thackeray, who ad- Lok Sabha election and the cused the PM of finishing
Sabha poll. A group of farmers led by Kirti Kisan alleged that the previous year report card and a 25- planning an X-ray of your dressed the INDIA bloc ral- INDIA bloc will emerge vic- the political careers of sev-
Union district president Jagtar Singh Bhinder Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) year road map, and the IN- property and handing it ly at BKC ground, barely 7 torious. “On June 4, the eral BJP leaders, including
staged a protest at the Barian Kalan-Bahowal link government led by Mr. DIA bloc has nothing but as over to their vote bank, km from Shivaji Park, hit country will be ‘de-Modi- Mr. Fadnavis, former Mad-
road. They asked the BJP candidate the reason Thackeray halted all deve- many prime ministerial which speaks of vote ji- back, stating that this is the fied’,” the former Maha- hya Pradesh CM Shivraj
why the Centre had not enacted a law on lopment projects in Mum- candidates as the number had,” the PM said. first election where Mr. rashtra Chief Minister said. Singh Chouhan, and form-
minimum support price (MSP). Ms. Parkash bai, including the bullet of partners in the alliance Maharashtra Chief Mi- Modi is not finding direc- “You call my Sena nakli er Rajasthan CM Vasund-
assured the farmers that their demands would be train, Mumbai metro, and and no plans for the deve- nister Eknath Shinde, his tion for his campaign. He (duplicate). I challenge hara Raje. “I am not seek-
considered after the formation of the BJP the container terminal at lopment of the country. two deputies Devendra said voters will throw the you... try to bring down ing votes for myself, but
government at the Centre. She then proceeded to Jawaharlal Nehru Port. The Congress, he said, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, BJP government out of Uddhav Thackeray, and begging you to save the
the Barian Kalan village to continue her election “They were taking revenge was fighting a battle for Union Minister Ramdas power this election. Maharashtra will teach you country,” the Aam Aadmi
campaign. PTI from Mumbai. Modi has survival and could go to Athawale, and Maharash- The Shiv Sena (UBT) a lasting lesson. You can Party chief said.

Tamil Nadu: 17-year-old boy In the middle of LS election, all eyes on Gandey
washed away in flash floods bypoll as Kalpana Soren makes electoral debut
The Hindu Bureau Tenkasi Collector has for a swim with his friends. Amit Bhelari rolling when sitting MLA to be decisive in this seat
TENKASI announced a ban on The police said Satish RANCHI Sarfaraz Ahmed vacated it with a combined share of
bathing in waterfalls Kumar of Andipatti in The- in January this year to around 40%.
A 17-year-old boy was ni district worked as a fire- Kalpana Murmu Soren, make way for her. Political While Ms. Soren hopes
till further orders
washed away in flash man-driver in the Depart- wife of jailed Jharkhand circles in Ranchi have it to secure their support,
floods at the Old Courtal- ment of Fire and Rescue Mukti Morcha ( JMM) lead- that a change of guard may Mr. Verma is banking on
lam Falls in Tamil Nadu’s Services, Tambaram. He er and former Chief Minis- take place in Jharkhand the Other Backward Class-
Tenkasi on Friday as he Even before everyone had come home to take ter Hemant Soren, will be and Mr. Champai Soren es, particularly Yadavs and
was taking a bath along could get to safety, the wa- part in a temple festival. looking to take forward the may have to make way if Kushwahas, who are sizea-
with his relatives. The re- ter submerged the steps On Thursday, while swim- Soren family’s political she wins the election. ble in number, apart from
cent rain, induced by the leading from the waterfalls ming with his friends at a reputation when the Gan- While Ms. Soren has reject- the personal appeal of
weather system over the to the car park. check-dam near Vaigai dey Assembly seat bypoll ed such speculation on sev- Prime Minister Narendra
Gulf of Mannar and Kanni- Only when the tourists Dam, he went missing. His takes place on May 20 dur- eral occasions, she has Modi.
yakumari, has brought wa- managed to come out did friends informed the pol- ing the fifth phase of the quickly created a power
ter into the Main Falls, the they realise that Ashwin, a ice, who alerted the Fire Lok Sabha election. centre for herself in the ‘Confident of win’
Five Falls, and the Old Class 11 student of NGO Co- and Rescue Services. Ms. Soren, who has en- JMM. She was invited to at- Asked about the possibility
Courtallam Falls for the lony in Palayamkottai, had As Satish could not be tered the political arena for tend the INDIA bloc rallies of Ms. Soren becoming the
past couple of days, draw- been washed away. located on Thursday, the the first time, is banking in Mumbai as well as Delhi. CM if she wins the bypoll,
ing a large number of District Collector A.K. search resumed on Friday upon the sympathy vote JMM leader Kalpana Soren during an election campaign for Gandey JMM spokesperson Manoj
visitors. Kamal Kishore and Supe- morning and the body was for her husband, who is in Assembly bypoll in Giridih district of Jharkhand on Friday. PTI Sections of support Pandey said while “she is
rintendent of Police T.P. found trapped between prison in connection with Since the formation of the capable of handling any
Sudden rain Suresh Kumar reached the two boulders along the riv- an alleged money launder- has become a high-profile trail as the reputation and State, there has been a post”, the party is so confi-
Around 2.30 p.m., when a spot immediately, along er. It was sent for a ing case. At every meeting, seat with leaders of the In- prestige of the Soren family triangular contest in Gan- dent of her win that it is
group of tourists was tak- with Fire and Rescue Ser- post-mortem. she makes it a point to dian National Democratic, is at stake in the byelec- dey seat among the BJP, more focused on the Lok
ing a bath in the Old Cour- vices personnel, to launch The Tenkasi District Col- mention how her hus- Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) tion. She is up against Bha- Congress, and JMM candi- Sabha seats.
tallam Falls, sudden rain in a search operation. Ash- lector announced that band’s incarceration is part bloc campaigning in her ratiya Janata Party (BJP) dates. In 2019, this equa- However, BJP spokes-
the Western Ghats trig- win’s body, trapped bet- bathing has been banned of a conspiracy by the BJP support apart from Jhark- candidate Dilip Verma, tion changed when AJSU person Pratul Sahdev
gered flash floods. Many ween rocks about 500 in all the waterfalls of Cour- and Union government. hand Chief Minister Cham- who is backed by alliance and BJP contested sepa- pinned the blame on the
tourists screamed for help. metres from the falls, was tallam — Main Falls, Five pai Soren. partner All Jharkhand Stu- rately and JMM benefited 2019 defeat on the AJSU
Some of the police person- retrieved at 5.10 p.m. Falls and Old Courtallam Centre of attention Armed with an MBA de- dents Union (AJSU). by winning the seat. contesting separately. “Kal-
nel deployed near the wa- In Theni, a 33-year-old Falls — until further orders, More than the Lok Sabha gree, Ms. Soren, a mother It is a high-stakes elec- In Gandey, Muslims and pana Soren will start her
terfalls and shopkeepers man was washed away in in the wake of the ‘Orange seats in the State, Gandey of two children, has gone tion for Ms. Soren. The by- tribals play an important political career with a
rushed to their rescue. the Vaigai, where he went alert’ issued by IMD. is the talk of the town as it all out on the campaign poll to Gandey seat was set role and they could prove thumping loss,” he said.

Raj Thackeray’s MNS could be both a boon and bane for the BJP in a crowded contest
NEWS ANALYSIS dra Modi, has begun vigo- his proposed Ayodhya visit the Ajit Pawar-led NCP,” tary and Assembly elec- ik to challenge the Shiv Se-
rously campaigning for the in June 2022 after Brij Mr. Raj Thackeray had said tions left the party in utter na (UBT). Here, a problem
ruling Mahayuti’s candi- Bhushan Singh, the BJP in Pune. disarray, with the slide for the BJP is that the Sena
Shoumojit Banerjee dates, his distinctive ora- leader from Uttar Pradesh, Last week, while cam- continuing through the (UBT) still holds the loyal-
PUNE torical skills in full display warned that he would not paigning for the CM’s son, 2017 civic election as well ties of a section of Marathi
during public addresses permit Mr. Raj Thackeray Shrikant Shinde, in Kalyan, as the 2019 State and na- speakers, while the Mahay-
As the fifth and final phase lampooning his oppo- to enter the temple town Mr. Raj Thackeray had spo- tional elections. uti’s sharp anti-minority
of the Lok Sabha election nents, particularly Shiv Se- unless he apologised for ken of Thane being “a hub Following its rout in the rhetoric has also driven
in Maharashtra moves to na (UBT) chief Uddhav his mistreatment of north of infiltrators and terrorist 2019 Maharashtra Assemb- Muslim, Christian, and Da-
Mumbai city and its outly- Thackeray and NCP (SP) Indians. operatives”, while zoning ly election, an atrophied lit voters towards Mr. Udd-
ing areas, the ruling Bhara- chief Sharad Pawar. in on Mumbra, the As- MNS had changed its ideo- hav Thackeray.
tiya Janata Party (BJP) faces Strong language sembly segment held by logical direction from its Mr. Bhavsar observed
a litmus test in its decision ‘Psychological boost’ In his recent speeches in NCP (SP) leader Jitendra nativist stance by veering that the MNS today is
to take the Maharashtra While the BJP leadership Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray addressing Pune and Kalyan while Awhad, a Sharad Pawar towards Hindutva politics, viewed as a ‘directionless’
Navnirman Sena (MNS) led feels that having a Thacke- the ‘Gudi Padwa’ rally at Shivaji Park, Mumbai. FILE PHOTO: ANI campaigning for the Ma- loyalist. signalled by Mr. Raj Thack- party, distrusted even by
by Raj Thackeray on board ray clan member on their hayuti’s candidates, Mr. According to political eray’s 2020 adoption of a Marathi-speaking voters.
its crowded bandwagon, side is an undeniable gressively champion the the MNS’s dallying with the Raj Thackeray alleged that analyst Vivek Bhavsar, Mr. saffron flag incorporating “The MNS, which was once
which already includes “psychological boost” cause of the Marathi ma- BJP, with its predominantly ‘fatwas’ were being issued Raj Thackeray’s rhetoric Chhatrapati Shivaji’s royal championing the rights of
Chief Minister Eknath against the Sena (UBT), ob- noos (Marathi-speaking north Indian voter base in by maulvis from mosques against minorities could seal or ‘Rajmudra’. the Marathi-speaking peo-
Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit servers feel that the MNS ‘sons of the soil’). He broke Mumbai, has created ap- to vote for the Congress well boomerang on the BJP ple against the north In-
Pawar’s Nationalist Con- could well hamstring the away from the Shiv Sena prehensions both among and for the Shiv Sena and the Mahayuti in Mum- ‘Directionless MNS’ dians, is now seen hobnob-
gress Party (NCP). BJP in the six Lok Sabha led by his firebrand uncle Mr. Raj Thackeray’s cadre (UBT). bai, given that the poll at- Despite the MNS not hav- bing with the BJP, whose
While the BJP has not gi- seats in Mumbai city and Bal Thackeray following and among BJP workers, gi- “Accordingly, I, too, am mosphere is already polar- ing a single MLA or MP prime voters are north In-
ven Mr. Raj Thackeray any those in the Thane area, strong leadership diffe- ven that the MNS had run issuing a ‘fatwa’ that all my ised by the speeches of the across Maharashtra, the dians across the six Mum-
Lok Sabha seat for his par- which go to polls on May rences with his cousin Mr. aggressive anti-north In- Hindu mothers, brothers, PM and other BJP top brass BJP hopes to make use of bai constituencies. It re-
ty to contest, the MNS 20. Uddhav Thackeray, who dian campaigns in the and sisters should cast like Home Minister Amit Mr. Raj Thackeray’s still ex- mains to be seen whether
chief, who announced his Mr. Raj Thackeray esta- headed the party after Bal past. their vote in favour the BJP Shah. tant Marathi-speaking vote Raj Thackeray, for all his
“unconditional support” blished the MNS as a nati- Thackeray’s death in 2012. In fact, the MNS chief and its allies, the Eknath The MNS’s twin deba- bank in Lok Sabha seats in rhetoric, can make any im-
for Prime Minister Naren- vist party in 2006 to ag- According to analysts, had been forced to cancel Shinde-led Shiv Sena and cles in the 2014 parliamen- Mumbai, Thane, and Nash- pact,” the analyst said.
Published by Nirmala Lakshman and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRP Act).
ISSN 0971 - 751X

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
Saturday, May 18, 2024 5
Delhi
States

INBRIEF
쑽 Solar scam returns Kerala braces
for another
JJP writes to Speaker
to disqualify 2 MLAs
to haunt LDF, UDF season of
infectious for ‘anti-party activities’
diseases
coalitions in Kerala The Hindu Bureau
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Controversy over which alliance blinked first in the political stalemate
over the demand for Oommen Chandy’s resignation as CM in 2013 Kerala is bracing for yet
another season when in-
Court stays proceedings in fectious diseases are ex-
Manjummel Boys dispute G. Anand pected to peak and any
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM slackening in adoption of
The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed for a precautions can lead to
he solar scam that loss of lives, according to

T
month the proceedings in a cheating and forgery
case against actor-cum-producer Soubin Shahir, rattled the Oom-
producer Shawn Antony and Soubin’s father, men Chandy go-
Babu Shahir, in connection with a dispute over vernment in 2013 and con-
the hit Malayalam film, Manjummel Boys. The tinued to make waves for
case was registered after a complainant claimed years resurfaced on Friday
that he invested money in the production of the to bedevil Kerala’s ruling
film, but was not paid any profits. The stay order front and the Opposition
came on a petition filed by Babu Shahir. alike.
A retired journalist sal-
vaged the controversy
from political oblivion by
RMP leader K.S. Hariharan suggesting in an article that
the Left Democratic
arrested for sexist remark
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
Health Minister Veena
George.
In a statement here on
Friday following a high-le-
vel meeting of Health De-
partment officials, Ms. Ge-
orge said all departments
had to undertake mea-
sures for the upcoming
monsoon season in a coor-
V.S. Achuthanandan leading the protest in 2013 demanding dinated manner as the in-
resignation of the then-Kerala CM Oommen Chandy. FILE PHOTO tense heatwave and the
summer showers that fol-
After the BJP and the JJP called off their alliance in March, almost
half of the JJP’s 10 MLAs have been skipping internal meetings and
rallies, fuelling speculation of a split in the party. FILE PHOTO
The Hindu Bureau candidates to the Speaker
GURUGRAM and sought their disqualifi-
cation under the anti-de-
The Jannayak Janta Party fection law,” said Mr.
( JJP) on Friday wrote to the Singh.
Haryana Legislative As-
sembly Speaker seeking
He said the two were al-
so served legal notices, but

Front’s mammoth siege of
the government Secreta-
The police on Friday arrested Revolutionary riat in August 2013 de-
Marxist Party (RMP) leader K.S. Hariharan in manding Chandy’s resigna-
connection with the alleged sexist remarks he tion was a political
made about Communist Party of India (Marxist) charade. The journalist,
leader K.K. Shailaja and actor Manju Warrier. The John Mundakayam,
action was taken based on a complaint filed by claimed that political deal-
the All India Democratic Women’s Association. It making and behind-the-
was during a recent public speech that Mr. scenes manoeuvring pre-
Hariharan made the remarks. He later apologised ceded the protest, which
for them. RMP and the United Democratic Front saw Communist Party of
leaders had criticised him for the remarks. India (Marxist) workers,
with little access to basic fa-
cilities, squatting on the
road and sleeping rough
Accused in Hubballi murder around the Secretariat for
nearly a day.
case nabbed in Davangere The LDF called off the
“indefinite siege” and
Girish Sawanth, accused in the murder of Anjali dropped its demand for
Ambiger, was nabbed in Davangere, Karnataka, Chandy’s resignation after
after he attempted to jump off a moving train. He the Congress-led United
was identified by one of the Railway police Democratic Front govern-
officers as the accused in the Hubballi murder ment agreed to institute a
case. The police took custody of the accused. judicial inquiry into the
Anjali, 22, was stabbed to death on May 15 at her scam and bring the Chief
house by Girish, who was reportedly enraged Minister’s Office (CMO) un-
because she had spurned his marriage proposal. der the probe’s ambit.
Leading political players
privy to the 2013 events
conceded on Friday that
both sides had met halfway
to break the deadlock. Ho-
wever, they vehemently
disagreed on which side
blinked first.
According to the then-
Home Minister Thiruvan-
choor Radhakrishnan,
Cherian Philip, then with
the LDF, and CPI(M) leader
John Brittas, MP, set the ne-
gotiations in motion at the
LDF’s instance. He said the
LDF yielded ground by
dropping its demand for
Chandy’s resignation.
At a press conference in
Kannur, Mr. Brittas
claimed that Mr. Radhak-
rishnan had initiated the
negotiations. He said the
UDF had no recourse but
to agree to a judicial probe
covering the CMO.
Mr. Philip, now back
with the Congress, said CPI
(M) leaders were sceptical
about indefinitely besieg-
ing the Secretariat but had
bowed to the then-Leader
of the Opposition V.S.
Achuthanandan’s pres-
sure. Mr. Philip said Mr.
Radhakrishnan was eager
to stave off the LDF’s de-
mand for Chandy’s resig-
nation and avoid a law-
and-order situation under
his watch.
Bharatiya Janata Party
State president K. Suren-
dran portrayed the contro-
versy as another example
of the opposing fronts’
symbiotic relationship and
politics of compromise. He
said the CPI(M) called off
the solar protests as a quid
pro quo for the Congress’
help in diluting the Revolu-
tionary Marxist Party lead-
er T.P. Chandrasekharan
murder case probe. He
said the BJP was the real
Opposition in Kerala.
lowed could possibly lead
to an unusual spike in all
infectious diseases in the
next few months.
The Minister said secon-
dary infections were being
reported in many who con-
tracted hepatitis A, which
could turn dangerous.
Those who are affected by
hepatitis should necessari-
ly take rest for six weeks
and follow the health advi-
sory issued by public
health officials, she said.
IMD warning
Meanwhile, a Friday even-
ing update from the India
Meteorological Depart-
ment (IMD) said Palakkad
and Malappuram are on
orange alert for isolated
heavy-to-very heavy rain-
fall on Saturday.
Rainfall is expected to
strengthen significantly ov-
er Kerala from Sunday, it
said.
disqualification of two of
its MLAs for alleged anti-
party activities.
JJP’s office secretary
Randhir Singh said the par-
ty’s Narwana MLA Ramni-
was Surjakheda and Bar-
wala MLA Jogi Ram Sihag
had sought votes for the
Bharatiya Janata Party’s
Lok Sabha candidates and
shared stage with them.
“When our party candi-
dates are contesting, the
two should campaign for
us and not for the others,”
said Mr. Singh. He said that
Mr. Surjakheda had cam-
paigned for the BJP candi-
date in Narwana and Mr.
Sihag had sought votes for
BJP’s Ranjit Chautala in Hi-
sar.
“We have submitted vi-
deo clips of their inter-
views to news channels, on
social media platforms and
statements to the print me-
dia in support of the BJP
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
they did not respond to it.
When contacted, Mr. Si-
hag told The Hindu over
phone that he had sought
votes for the BJP candi-
dates as for him the “na-
tion came before the par-
ty”.
‘Fundamental right’
He also argued that every
citizen had the fundamen-
tal right to support and
seek votes for the candi-
dates of their choice and
there was nothing wrong
in it. Mr. Sihag had relin-
quished all party posts for
“personal reasons” last
month.
After the BJP and the JJP
called off their alliance ov-
er sharing of seats for the
Lok Sabha poll in March,
almost half of the JJP’s 10
MLAs have been skipping
the party’s meetings and
rallies, fuelling speculation
of a split in the party.

14 held after Woman power Patriarch of Antioch Seized turtles

Mandya police released into
bust female suspends Knanaya A.P. reservoir
foeticide Church Metropolitan The Hindu Bureau
racket The Hindu Bureau Patriarch of Antioch. He
RAMPACHODAVARAM

KOTTAYAM continued anti-Church ac- The Forest Department of-

The Hindu Bureau
BENGALURU
Despite a crackdown on il-
legal abortions in Karnata-
ka over the past few
months, female foeticide is
going on unabated.
A recent police case
booked in Mandya district,
where a Health Depart-
ment employee and an am-
bulance driver of a State-
run hospital were in-
volved, is testimony to this.
Shockingly, the racket was
being run from the depart-
ment’s staff quarters in
Pandavapura.
While the Health De-
partment has dismissed
the two contract staff, the
Mandya police are search-
ing for the people who are
part of the illegal abortion
racket. Till now, 14 people
have been arrested.
A leadership crisis has en-
gulfed the Malankara Syr-
ian Knanaya Church after
the Patriarch of Antioch
has placed the Metropoli-
tan of the Chingavam-
headquartered Church un-
der suspension.
An official statement by
Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem
II said that the actions of
Mar Severios Kuriakose
Metropolitan “amounted
to challenging the authori-
ty of the Holy Throne of
Antioch”. It had earlier
stripped Mar Severios of
his title of ‘Archbishop and
Chief Metropolitan of the
Knanaya Archdiocese in
Members of Kudumbashree, the women empowerment programme of the Kerala government, attend its 26th anniversary event in Kochi on India’ after he acted con-
Friday. To mark the event, it is setting up a platform ‘Ennidam’ for its members’ socio-cultural and artistic activities. THULASI KAKKAT trary to the orders of the
tivities resulting in his sus-
pension, the statement
noted.
The suspension order
was issued after the Pa-
triarch, during an online
meeting on Thursday,
sought an explanation
from the Metropolitan.
The statement noted
that the Metropolitan was
“unable to satisfactorily ex-
plain his lack of concern
and culpable inaction on
the issue of Indian Ortho-
dox priests conducting
passion week services in
Knanaya parishes in the
U.S.”
The clergy and believ-
ers, meanwhile, have
come out in protest against
the suspension.
ficials on Friday released
1,426 Indian Flat-shelled
Turtles (Lissemys punctate)
into the Musurumilli reser-
voir on the outskirts of
Rampachodavaram in Al-
luri Sitarama Raju district
of Andhra Pradesh.
On May 16, the Folkspe-
ta Forest Range staff seized
1,589 turtles while two per-
sons were transporting
them in a van from Rama-
chandrapuram to Malkan-
giri district in Odisha. The
turtles were packed in gun-
ny bags.
“As many as 163 turtles
have died in the van itself.
The rest have been re-
leased into the Musurumil-
li reservoir,” Folkspeta For-
est Ranger Karunakar said.

Contract staff involved

In an incident that has be-
latedly come to light, based
on a tip-off, a team of pol-
ice along with Health De-
partment officials on May 5
raided the residential quar-
ters of ‘D’ group employee
Ashwini R., 32, working as
assistant in the labour
ward in Pandavapura go-
vernment sub-divisional
hospital. The police found
a four-month pregnant wo-
man in her residence. Ms.
Ashwini had apparently gi-
ven the woman five tablets
to abort the foetus. The
woman was bleeding pro-
fusely when the search
team reached there, the
police said. The woman
was hospitalised.
The police arrested Ash-
wini, her husband, work-
ing as ambulance driver,
two assistants and nine
others. The patient’s hus-
band too was arrested.
CM
YK
Family court reunites couple 14 Archaeologist finds first evidence of rock
years after divorce in Alappuzha art in form of footprints in Mangaluru city
The Hindu Bureau
ALAPPUZHA
A couple from Alappuzha
who got divorced 14 years
ago have reunited follow-
ing an intervention by the
family court.
Krishnakumari P., 49,
and Subramanian V., 58,
applied for the registration
of their remarriage on May
16. Ahalya S. Nair, 15-year-
old daughter of the couple,
is thrilled to live with her
mother and father.
According to Ms. Krish-
nakumari, the couple de-
cided to reunite for Aha-
lya’s sake. “We will start
living together from May
20,” she added.
The couple got married
in August 2006. The initial
years of their marriage
Happy reunion: Subramanian and Krishnakumari with their
daughter Ahalya S. Nair in Alappuzha on Thursday. SURESH ALLEPPEY
were good. However, as
time went on, the relation-
ship began to show signs of
strain and they divorced in
March 2010.
Ms. Krishnakumari later
moved the family court,
Alappuzha, demanding ali-
mony for their daughter
and Mr. Subramanian
moved the Kerala High
Court against the decision.
The court directed the fa-
mily court to settle the is-
sue amicably.
When the family court
counselled the couple,
they agreed to reconcilia-
tion. They restored their
relationship at the same
court which granted them
divorce.
The Hindu Bureau
MANGALURU
The first evidence of rock
art in Mangaluru city has
been found near Boloor
Panne Koteda Babbu Swa-
my shrine, according to T.
Murugeshi, retired Asso-
ciate Professor, Ancient
History and Archaeology,
MSRS College, Shirva.
Mr. Murugeshi said the
rock art is in the form of a
pair of human footprints,
found on a natural stone
boulder near the shrine.
These footprints might
have been created in the
first or second century
A.D.
“This will make us reth-
ink about the origin of Bab-
bu Swamy, a revered le-
Rock art in the form of a pair of human footprints was found in
Mangaluru. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
gend of the region,” he
said.
This discovery, Mr. Mu-
rugeshi said, is part of the
work of recreating history
of Babbu Swamy, taken up
in association with Minchi-
nabavi Kordabbu Trust, Pa-
dubidri, Udupi district.
“This discovery gives a
clue to search for similar
art forms near other
shrines of Babbu Swamy,”
he told The Hindu.
Rock art, he said, is re-
ferred to paintings and
rock paintings, which were
unquestionable cognitive
evidences of illiterate so-
cieties.
He discovered a rock
site in Buddhanajeddu in
Udupi district in 2009,
which, he said, was an im-
portant rock art site of
coastal Karnataka. In this
site, he found more than
20 footprints on laterite
surface, and it belonged to
the first or second century
A.D. There was evidence of
pottery and stone tools of
neolithic period at the
Buddhanajeddu site.
The rock art form disco-
vered near Babbu Swamy
shrine in Boloor does not
have any relative evidence.
M ND-NDE

6 Saturday, May 18, 2024
Dangers of divisiveness
Pitting citizens of the North against
southern parties is a hazardous ploy
W
ith polling over in 379 of the 543 con-
stituencies after the fourth phase in
the general election, the electoral
campaigns of parties have reached closer to the
end point. Deep into the campaign calendar,
though, the disconnect between the concerns of
the electorate and campaign rhetoric — especially
that of BJP lynchpin and Prime Minister Narendra
Modi — remains, unfortunately, intact. While job
creation, inflation and development have been
emphasised by voters as primary issues, Mr. Mo-
di refuses to be driven by the idea of contesting
mainly on his government’s record over 10 years
of rule and focusing on measures to ameliorate
the main concerns. Instead, he seeks to do what
he has always revelled in — attacking the Opposi-
tion with truths, half-truths, and non sequiturs.
Mr. Modi’s recourse to this is also helped by the
shrill noise of television and social media being a
useful tool to distract from concerns with the rhe-
toric that he has used, be it hate speech against
Muslims or dog whistles to rev up support from
Hindutva adherents. Other parties, including the
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
Congress and its public face, Rahul Gandhi, are
also — even if not to the same extent — guilty of
raking up identity issues such as those related to
caste politics. But Mr. Modi and some of his col-
leagues have taken vituperation as a campaigning
device to new levels. In his rally in Jaunpur, he ac-
cused the Opposition in Uttar Pradesh, the SP
and the Congress, of silence when their southern
allies used “absurd and abusive language” for the
people of U.P. and “sanatana dharma”.
Some of the northern parties in the INDIA bloc
have publicly disagreed with DMK leader Ud-
hayanidhi Stalin’s comments on “sanatana dhar-
ma” while emphasising their stances on social
justice and taking on the issue of caste hierarchy.
There is more that unites the politics of federal-
ism and social justice espoused by these parties
than what divides them — questions related to lin-
guistic nationalism such as the need for English
as a link language — but that is to be expected
from coalitions made up of different political par-
ties. Mr. Modi should focus on the differences in
emphasis on how to tackle socio-economic issues
between the BJP and the INDIA bloc. But, in-
stead, his use of half-truths as a weapon to rile the
Hindi heartland against southern parties is pro-
blematic, at a time when there is greater north-
south economic integration, with working class
citizens from the north migrating to the south for
employment. Recently, the BJP inducted Manish
Kashyap, a YouTube content creator who had
been jailed in Tamil Nadu for spreading false
news about Bihari migrants being attacked in the
State. Such actions could foment divisive politics
that does not help the Indian nation as a whole.
Stay invested
India should not tailor its ties with Iran
to U.S. foreign policy changes
B I
y signing a 10-year agreement with Iran
to develop and operate the Chabahar
port, India has taken its infrastructure
and trade partnership with the Islamic Republic
to the next level despite tensions in West Asia. In-
dia will invest $120 million and offer a credit facil-
ity of $250 million to further develop the termi-
nal it operates in Chabahar’s Shahid Beheshti
port and related projects. However, after the deal
was signed, the U.S. State Department said enti-
ties considering business deals with Iran “need to
be aware that they are opening themselves up to
and the potential risk of sanctions”. In the past,
American sanctions on Iran had delayed the pro-
ject. Conceived in 2003, the project did not take
off for years after the U.S. and the UN imposed
sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme.
India signed a memorandum of understanding in
2015 after Washington eased sanctions on Iran
following that year’s nuclear agreement, and in
2016, the contract was executed during Prime Mi-
nister Narendra Modi’s Iran visit. The U.S.’s un-
ilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018
and reimposition of sanctions on Iran raised
questions on India’s continued cooperation with
Tehran. But India managed to win a carve-out
from U.S. sanctions that allowed it to operate the
port through ad hoc measures.
The Chabahar port is critical for India’s con-
nectivity plans. First, it offers an alternative route
to Afghanistan and Central Asia by bypassing Pa-
kistan, allowing better trade with Central Asia.
And, Chabahar is expected to be connected to
the International North-South Transport Corri-
dor (NSTC), bringing India closer to Europe
through Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia. An alterna-
tive to the Suez route, a fully operational NSTC
would reduce the time and money spent on inter-
continental trade. The port, roughly 200 km
from Pakistan’s Gwadar, where China is develop-
ing a port as part of its BRI, would also help India
expand its geopolitical influence in Central Asia.
But the U.S. seems to have taken a narrow view of
the project over its hostility with Iran. America’s
interests in the region have also changed. In 2018,
when U.S. forces were backing the Islamic Repu-
blic government in Afghanistan, it gave a sanc-
tions waiver to India as Kabul also stood to bene-
fit from the port project. Today, U.S. troops are
out of Afghanistan, the Taliban has replaced the
Islamic Republic, and the U.S.’s focus is on con-
taining Iran. India, in the past, had taken U-turns
in its Iran engagement depending on the policy
changes in Washington DC. It should not do that
any more. It should stay invested in Chabahar
and seek to improve its trade and connectivity
projects with Central Asia, which is essential for
India’s continued rise.
CM
YK
THE HINDU
Editorial
After the civil war, the stifling impasse in Sri Lanka
A
decade-and-a-half cannot heal the
deep wounds from a protracted civil
war. Tens of thousands of people
perished across Sri Lanka’s north and
east even as it witnessed enormous destruction.
Concerns of truth, accountability and justice
linger, while questions of past and future political
choices loom large. In this context, the
emergence of a new generation should at the very
least begin to change the social, economic, and
political landscape of a war-torn region. However,
economic reconstruction has hardly progressed,
with subsequent crises setting back development
further. Politics remains polarised and fraught
without a political settlement. The social
aspirations of the Tamil middle class remain
wedded to somehow joining the diaspora, even as
the working people living in the island’s north
and east remain destitute with few options. How
does one explain this post-war impasse? And,
what is the way out for Sri Lanka’s war-torn
people?
Derailed reconstruction
Trains that were not seen by generations in the
north resumed a decade ago. Banks and
supermarkets were built along the carpeted
roads, even as plush hotels opened for tourists
and the Tamil diaspora began visiting Jaffna town.
Yet, beneath this seeming prosperity, just a few
miles into the countryside, the travails of the
masses were evident in their desperation for
stable livelihoods. Just as some rural communities
began overcoming these challenges, when their
fields, home gardens and coconut trees began
bearing fruit, Sri Lanka descended into chaos
again.
The Easter terror bombings of April 2019
shook the country, followed by the COVID-19
pandemic and now the economic crisis, the worst
since Sri Lankan Independence. For a population
that was surfacing from the dredges of war and
dispossession, and turning its focus towards the
education of its children and the employment of
its youth, the current moment signals the loss of
another generation.
Economic misery is seen nation-wide, as is
outmigration with the long circling lines outside
the passport office. For the deprived and the
landless among the war-torn people, migration is
out of question, economic opportunities are next
to nil, and hunger is the new normal. Yet, there is
no one to listen to them, much less to provide
them support. Sinking in its crises, now
compounded by International Monetary
Fund-prescribed austerity measures, the state has
abandoned them.
The myth of reviving the war-torn regions with
the Tamil diaspora’s deep pockets stands exposed
by the meagre flow of investment funds. The
international donor development projects that
focused on infrastructure after the war have
hardly revived the local economy. In fact,
individualised assistance by non-government
The hyperpoliticisation of Indian higher education
ndian higher education has always been
political. Politicians started colleges and
universities to advance their careers and
build support. State and central government
authorities sometimes placed new post
secondary institutions in politically advantageous
locations. Many of them were established to cater
to the demands of the electorate based on various
socio-cultural factors as well. The naming and
renaming of universities, especially by State
governments, are often influenced by politics.
Academic appointments or promotions were
sometimes made for reasons other than the
quality of the professor, vice-chancellor or
principal. And, especially in many undergraduate
colleges, the norms of academic freedom were
not always firmly followed — and teachers were
careful in what they taught or wrote.
Yet, overall, Indian higher education,
especially in the universities, adhered to
international norms of academic freedom.
Generally, professors were free to teach without
fear of being disciplined or fired for their views.
They were able to do research and to publish
their work freely, and to speak and write in public
forums and the media. The universities, while
often mired in bureaucracy, occasionally faced
allegations of political interference in the
recruitment of faculty members. However, they
enjoyed relative autonomy when it came to the
promotion of existing faculty.
Fundamental political change
It is fair to say that Indian higher education has
become fundamentally politicised. This is a grave
danger to academic institutions, the academic
profession, and intellectual life generally. These
trends can, of course, be seen as part of the
“illiberal” trends in society generally — and, of
course, India is not alone in these developments.
And, at some point, the rest of the world,
including India’s potential academic partners,
will notice this deterioration in academe, and it
may affect their decisions at a time when India
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
An illegality has rightly reinforced the
The Supreme Court of India, sacrosanct principles of law.
by invalidating the arrest of It was in breach of Article 22
Prabir Purkayastha, a senior of the Constitution and it is
journalist, under the surprising that the
draconian Unlawful Magistrate Court and the
Activities (Prevention) Act, Delhi High Court upheld this
on the ground that he was illegality. The top court
not informed immediately should not have omitted to
of the reasons for his arrest impose costs as it was a
organisations has only disempowered families
and trapped them in dependence. Many families,
especially women, have been pushed into
predatory microfinance debt.
Tamil politics across the spectrum has been
negligent about the concerns of local livelihoods,
Ahilan as they are beholden to their class and social
Kadirgamar interests, with one foot in the Tamil diaspora.
Politicians who talk big on accountability,
is a political
economist and Senior especially to international actors, hardly engage
with ordinary people. They peddle the myth of
Lecturer, University of
Jaffna, Sri Lanka diaspora remittances sustaining war-affected
communities, when, in reality, such remittances
only reach a very small segment of the urban
Tamil middle class.
Polarisation and the minorities
For the economic and political trajectory in the
North and East after the war, it is the Rajapaksa
regime that must take much of the blame for its
jingoistic war victory celebration, a continued
militarisation and the vulgar projection of Sinhala
Buddhist nationalism. That said, it is unfortunate
that Tamil nationalist politics continues to mirror
its Sinhala counterpart in its self-sustenance
through a polarising discourse. Little has changed
in its dominant clamour for Tamil rights, as it
harks back to the rhetoric of the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam, basks in enfeebling victimhood,
and an unending faith in the international
community. The regular post-war pilgrimages to
the UN Human Rights Council by the political
actors, social allies in civil society, and the
virulent sections of the Tamil diaspora, conjure
bombastic hopes in the Tamil public sphere. For
them, this so-called accountability process is
predicated on delivering international
intervention.
In the meantime, political actors in the South
and the North have hardly built social and
economic bridges between the communities
towards political reconciliation. Devolution of
power to the regions and power-sharing at the
centre have been repeatedly dumped for political
expediency by those wielding power in Colombo.
Indeed, that was the case with regime change in
2015, when a major opening towards a political
settlement was lost in the rivalry between then
President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe. The persisting
intransigence of the national leadership, along
with the takeover of lands owned by the Tamil
The future of and Muslim minorities by the state, and ongoing
the Tamil attacks on memorialisation of the war dead
people is reflect a grim reality.
dependent on There was the historic opportunity with the
election of the first Northern Provincial Council
forging a new
in 2013, but it ended its tenure with utter disgrace
vision for
in 2018, where the Tamil nationalist leadership
themselves and
had nothing to show even in terms of political or
the entire economic vision for its constituencies. The racism
country, based and arrogance of the political elite in Colombo
on equality and the hollowness of the Tamil political
and freedom leadership have been the bane of Sri Lankan
seeks to join the top levels of global higher
education.
Examples of change
Not long ago, Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi
made some comments about politically
Philip G. Altbach appointed vice chancellors— and received much
is Distinguished criticism. But the fact is that Bharatiya Janata
Fellow at the Center Party (BJP) authorities throughout the country
for International have been replacing university vice chancellors
Higher Education at with politically pliable appointees, many of
Boston College, U.S. whom have little or no higher education
experience. And, these appointees have been
reshaping the universities with politically allied
faculty and through other changes. This is the
first time in India’s post-independence history
that such direct interference in academe has
become common. It is so egregious that the
non-BJP governments in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West
Bengal and Punjab are trying to remove the
centrally-appointed State Governors as
chancellors of the State universities, which give
them power to control the vice-chancellor
appointment process.
Academic freedom is also under attack.
Perhaps the most sinister aspect is that
self-censorship has become common, especially
in the social sciences and humanities. Even senior
academics are afraid to publish work that they
think might create problems for them from state
authorities or pro-BJP media. There have been
several widely reported cases where well-known
professors have published controversial material
and their universities have not protected them. It
was reported that in his resignation letter to
There is a grave Ashoka University in 2021, prominent political
threat to scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta wrote that his
academic public writing in support of a politics that tries to
honour constitutional values of freedom and
institutions, the
equal respect for all citizens was perceived to
academic carry risks for the university.
profession, and Respected journals known for their
intellectual life independence have become off limits. The fact
in general that these pressures are being felt even at the top
constitutional omission by is a precious right and the Sunil Chhetri, to hang up his
the agency. In future, if freedom of speech should boots will bring down the
persons are arrested in be safeguarded. curtain on the illustrious
violation of due process, N.G.R. Prasad, career of one of the finest
courts should impose costs Chennai footballers India has
and action should be taken produced. (‘Sport’ page,
against erring officials. It is Peerless footballer May 17). Chhetri was a
also time that the UAPA is The decision of ace delight to watch as he wove
removed from the statute footballer and former circles around the rival
books. The right to speech captain of the Indian team, defence and scored goals,
Delhi
politics. Within the North and the East,
Tamil-Muslim relations remain strained. The
Northern Muslims evicted in an act of ethnic
cleansing by the LTTE in October 1990 have
hardly been reintegrated into Jaffna. The Hill
Country Tamils of Indian origin, or Malaiyaha
Tamils, who were displaced from the plantations
to the North during successive pogroms, and
following their disenfranchisement, found little
solidarity in the North. They became bonded
labour, then the cannon fodder for the civil war,
and many to this day remain landless or settled in
land unsuitable for agriculture. Caste oppression
in Jaffna is now reconsolidating by stealth around
the temples funded by the Tamil diaspora, while
some groups are attempting Hindutva-styled
communal mobilisations.
Future of the Tamil people
Reflecting on the misery and dispossession of our
people today, one is reminded of the powerful
words of the Tamil leftist, V. Karalasingham. In
his book titled, The Way Out for the Tamil
speaking people, he had the following to say in
1963, just 15 years after Independence.
“We now come against a strange paradox. The
Tamil speaking people have been led in the last
decade by an apparently resolute leadership
guided by the best intentions receiving not
merely the widest support of the people but also
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
their enthusiastic cooperation and yet the Tamil
speaking people find themselves at the lowest
ebb in their history. Despite all their efforts the
people have suffered one defeat after another,
one humiliation after another. How is one to
explain the yawning gulf between the strivings of
the people and the virtually hopeless impasse in
which they find themselves?”
No one would have imagined six decades ago,
how much worse the situation of the Tamil
people could become, and to what decrepit
depths Tamil politics could descend. The future
of the Tamil people is dependent on rejecting
bankrupt Tamil nationalism and forging a new
vision for themselves and the entire country.
In the great revolt of 2022 or the ‘Aragalaya’,
where Sri Lankans from different ethnic and
religious backgrounds came together to chase
away a President, who had claimed the status of a
supreme war hero and custodian of
Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism, there is inspiration
for what our country can be.
Despite the authoritarian and economic
repression today, the years ahead could take us
on a different path, charted by the struggles for
social and economic justice confronting the most
formidable economic crisis in close to a century.
The Tamil people must rethink their strategies,
depart from the isolationist and suicidal politics
that has reduced them to historical irrelevance,
and join forces with all the peoples to determine
not just their own future but also the democratic
future of the country, based on equality and
freedom.
of India’s academic system says a lot about the
situation throughout Indian higher education
Professor Sameena Dalwai, a faculty member at
the O.P. Jindal Global University, encountered an
online smear campaign recently, orchestrated by
right-wing groups alongside the lodging of a
police complaint against her.
Even students have become embroiled in
campus politicisation. Recently, the Tata Institute
of Social Sciences (TISS) suspended a PhD
student over alleged “anti-national activities”.
However, the Progressive Students Forum,
formerly led by the student, claimed that his
suspension was due to participating in a protest
march against the central government’s
“anti-student policies”.
Of course, traditional campus politics
continues, although rightist organisations such as
the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad are more
active than in the past even at traditionally leftist
universities such as Jawaharlal Nehru University.
But what is new is that students are reporting to
campus administrators on their professors if they
disagree with the content of their classes. And,
sometimes, this leads to faculty members being
disciplined
The implications
These trends are extraordinarily dangerous for
Indian higher education and civic life in general.
Most important, an independent and free
academic sector is important for any society. The
academic profession must be free to engage in
unfettered research and have the ability to
publish, and to speak out, in areas of their
academic expertise. This is as true for the “soft
sciences” as it is for STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics) fields. This may
be especially the case in India, where many top
intellectuals and analysts are in the universities.
Further, as India seeks to build world-class
universities and to engage with the best
universities worldwide, academic freedom and
autonomy is a necessary prerequisite.
at times from
unconceivable angles. India
has been blessed with great
talent in football. There is
hardly any doubt that
Chhetri deserves a place in
this pantheon of all time
greats of the game.
C.V. Aravind,
Bengaluru
M ND-NDE

Saturday, May 18, 2024
Delhi
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
A forest fire in Nainital district in Uttarakhand on May 6, 2024. Since November 2023, when forest fires began to rage, there have been 1,038 incidents in the State. SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
The burning hills
of Uttarakhand
Five people were killed in May in forest fires that have been raging in Uttarakhand since last November. The
forest department attributes the fires to out-migration, high-tension wires, and the abundance of pine trees,
while the State government has said in the Supreme Court that the fires are completely manmade. Ishita
Mishra travels across the State and finds that villagers, mostly women, are helping extinguish the flames
n May 2, Gyanu Chalaune and his wife
O Basanti trudged up the hills in Sunra-
kot village in the scenic district of Al-
mora in Uttarakhand to collect resin
from the chir pine trees in the forest. The couple
had moved from Nepal to Uttarakhand just last
year for a better life and education for their three
children. The temperature that morning was
above 30°C. They worked to extract the resin,
called leesa in the hills, for Ramesh Bakuni, a con-
tractor. They earned ₹50,000-60,000 if they
worked for 10 hours a day for six months.
As they were getting ready to leave, the couple
heard a scream. They saw a man running on the
hilltop, desperately trying to shake off flames that
had engulfed him. They realised with horror that
he was Deepak Pujara, a friend. The Chalaunes
scrambled to the hilltop and found Pujara’s wife,
Tara, lying on the ground, half burnt. Quickly,
they broke a green branch off a nearby tree and
began hitting Pujara, even as their clothes caught
fire. Before anyone could help them, the four vic-
tims were severely burnt. All of them succumbed
to injuries in hospital.
Bakuni did not have the courage to break the
news to Chalaune’s children for days. “They have
been playing in my garden for months. I didn’t
have the heart to tell them what had happened,”
says Bakuni, who is worried that people will no
longer work for him. The children are now under
the care of their uncle in Nepal’s Bajhang district,
from where they came.
Five people have been killed and four injured
in forest fires in Uttarakhand this year. According
to a 2019 report of the Forest Survey of India, Ut-
tarakhand has a recorded forest area of 38,000
square kilometres, which is 71.05% of its geo-
graphical area. Since November 2023, when for-
est fires began to rage, there have been 1,038 in-
cidents that have gutted 1,385.5 hectares (ha) of
forest land till May 10. While authorities have dis-
missed these as “annual affairs” in the hills, the
cost of these fires has been borne by the people
whose lives depend on the mountains.
Flame of the forest
A booklet on the Uttarakhand forest department
website says increasing migration of people from
here to other States, which has left the hills bar-
ren; high-tension wires; and the abundance of
chir pine trees, which are highly inflammable in
nature, are the main reasons for forest fires.
While the youth don’t know how to tackle forest
fires because the current academic curriculum
does not educate them about the environment,
older generations, who predominantly populate
the hills, are unable to climb the hilltops to con-
trol the fires, the booklet says.
“People in [the] hills are now getting cooking
gas under [the] ambitious Ujjawala scheme of the
Central government and hence, villagers have
stopped going to forests in [the] hills to collect
wood for cooking, which is also a reason for in-
creasing forests fires,” it adds.
Dhananjai Mohan, who is in charge of the
Head of Forest Force in Uttarakhand, says surfac-
es have become drier because of an excessive dry
spell and less snowfall than usual this year. This
has caused fires to spread faster in the forests,
which are full of pine trees. According to the for-
CM
YK
THE HINDU
GROUND ZERO
est department website, Uttarakhand has
In an
environment
already
3,94,383.84 ha of chir pine forests. Chir pine
trees constitute 15% of the 13 varieties of trees in
the State.
“In this environment already conducive to
fires, forest fires spread quickly when villagers
conducive to burn stubble in the fields. Villages and forests are
fires, forest interspersed in the State. Forest fires also occur
fires spread when people leave burnt cigarettes in the forest
quickly or set forests on fire to clear the land in the belief
that it will boost the growth of fodder,” he says.
when
villagers Dousing fires for a mango drink, biscuits
burn stubble It is May 6. In Almora’s Sitlakhet, located 1,900
in the fields. meters above sea level in the Kumaon Himalayas,
DHANANJAY the hills, laden with tall trees, which were once
MOHAN green, are not visible from the balconies of
In-charge, Head of homes in the villages; they have disappeared un-
Forest Force in
Uttarakhand der a thick cover of smog.
The trees are now black, and the ashes of
burnt pine leaves cover the forest floor. The
mountains, which always promise clean and cool
air, radiate heat. Instead of the aroma of flowers,
the smell of burnt wood lingers in the air.
Around 20 women from Sitlakhet and the
nearby Bhakar village come down from a hilltop
after dousing a forest fire. Using green bushes,
their only weapon against the towering flames,
they worked hard for 10 hours. Their clothes are
soaked in sweat and ash; they look exhausted.
The women belong to a 300-member group in
Sitlakhet called ‘Jungle Ke Dost (friends of for-
ests)’. Their mentor is Gajendra Pathak, 56, a
pharmacist in a local healthcare centre who
brought these women and some men together in
a community initiative last year to tackle forest
fires. On his call, the members of the group,
mostly women, set out to put out fires.
In return for their effort, the women are of-
fered nothing but a 125 millilitre tetra pack of
In return for their efforts, the women of Jungle Ke Dost, a community-led initiative to extinguish forest fires, are offered a 125 millilitre tetra
pack of Frooti and some biscuits. SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
Frooti, a popular, sweet mango-flavoured drink;
and some biscuits. Pathak has ordered these, and
the forest ranger, Manoj Lohani, has paid for
them. The women tie the packets to the corner of
their sarees to take home for their children.
One of them, Indumati, a housewife, is desper-
ate to go home. “Sir, please take me,” she says to
Pathak, who is with them. “My six-month-old
child must be hungry. I breastfed him at 10 a.m.
before coming here. It’s 6:30 p.m. now,” she says,
as she wipes her worn-out slippers.
Pathak stops a Jeep passing by and asks the
women to sit inside. Lohani gives a few of the wo-
men a gardening rake before they climb into the
vehicle They use this to clear the forest line so
that fires can be stopped early.
“These women are the reason you see some
greenery around. Otherwise, the forest fires
would have ruined everything. It is sad that we
are not in a position to do anything for them.
They risk their lives to save our mountains,” says
Pathak, who feels that the government must pro-
vide life insurance for the people of the State who
help mitigate forest fires.
On being asked why there are more women
than men in the group, Debuli Devi, 65, says, “Ye
aadmi hi to jungle main aag lagate hain. Woh kya
ise bhujayenge? (It is the men who set the forest
on fire. How will they douse the fire?)“
Similarly, in Patwa Dagar village of Nainital dis-
trict, Sunil Rawat says he has helped extinguish
more than 20 forest fires since April 19. “Sitlakhet
is not the only place where this happens. Villag-
ers across the State come in large numbers to
support the forest department, which has now
woken up from a deep slumber, to control these
incidents,” he says.
The District Forest Officer of Nainital, Chandra
Shekhar Joshi, says the forest department has
sent a proposal to the State government asking
for remuneration for the villagers who help miti-
gate fires. Nainital district, with the largest forest
area (70.67%) in the State, has around 300 forest
fire watchers on its rolls. Half of them are women.
Of the recorded forest area of 38,000 sq km in
Uttarakhand, the forest department manages
26.5 lakh ha of reserved forests where human in-
tervention is banned, while van panchayats, or
community-led forest managers, manage 7.32
lakh ha. As per a forest department bulletin,
there is greater damage to reserved forests than
to the area managed by the van panchayats.
After the recent fires, the State government an-
nounced insurance cover of ₹3 lakh for 4,000
contract employees of the forest department.
Playing politics
On May 8, the Uttarakhand government said in
the Supreme Court that “all the instances of for-
est fires are manmade.” It informed the Court
that 388 criminal cases had been registered
7
These women are the reason you see some
greenery around. Otherwise, the forest fires
would have ruined everything. They risk
their lives to save our mountains.
GAJENDRA PATHAK
Head of ‘Jungle Ke Dost’
across the State against those found setting the
forests on fire. In most cases, people who were
arrested had attempted to burn stubble, but had
failed to control the fires which spread due to
strong winds, the government said.
The 380-page interim status report submitted
by the government in Court said that a section of
the media had reported that 40% of Uttarakhand
was burning, which was “misleading”, and that
only 0.1% of forest cover was affected by fires.
The State informed the Court that the State Disas-
ter Response Force and the National Disaster Res-
ponse Force had been deployed to tackle the for-
est fires. The Indian Air Force was using Bambi
Buckets (collapsible containers that hang from a
helicopter and release large amounts of water in
targeted areas) to douse the flames, it said.
The government added in the report that the
Uttarakhand Forest Fire Mitigation Project 2023-
28 was pending with the Central government.
The report also said that forest fires were not
“new” in the State and that there was no longer
an “emergency” situation.
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
The government informed the Court that it is
tying up with IIT Roorkee to explore the option of
cloud seeding to increase precipitation and trig-
ger rainfall. Dismissing this solution, the Court
said “cloud seeding or depending on [the] rain
gods is not the answer” to forest fires.
The next day, after rains, the government
claimed credit for having “controlled” the forest
fires completely. But fires have raged on. On May
17 alone, 11 forest fires were reported.
On the same day, the Court adjourned the case
to September 2024 after expressing satisfaction
with the State’s response on the measures it was
taking to tackle the problem. The State said that it
had used the entire Compensatory Afforestation
Fund for firefighting and fire prevention and was
filling up vacant posts at the field level in the for-
est department, among other things.
The Congress was quick to use this issue in its
Lok Sabha election campaign to target the State
government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP). “While fires continued to burn the forests
in April, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was
busy travelling to other States to campaign for
BJP candidates. Even the Forest Minister, Subodh
Uniyal, was campaigning in Assam,” said Garima
Dasauni, the spokesperson of Congress.
After completing his campaign, Dhami met
with officials and ordered the police to charge
those found setting the forests on fire with the
Gangster Act and the Uttarakhand Public and
Private Property Damage Recovery Act, 2024.
Where solutions lie
Pathak believes that great injustice is being done
to the chir pine tree, which many people in Utta-
rakhand hold as the main culprit of the fires.
“This tree, which hardly needs maintenance, is a
major source of timber and fuel wood. Its trunk is
used to make furniture. Its leaves are used for
decoration. Its bark is a source of charcoal, resin,
and coal tar, which are not just used by villagers,
but also sold to earn money,” he says. “Is there
any other tree which gives us so much?”
The State has developed a concept to generate
electricity from pine needles, which fall from the
trees from mid-March until the onset of rains in
July every year. But the low price offered for the
collection of these needles is not helping.
This year, Dhami announced the start of a
scheme, Pirul Lao-Paise Pao (bring pine leaves
and get money), under which the State purchases
pine leaves at the rate of ₹50 per kg, much higher
than the ₹3 per kg, which has been the rate so far.
Pathak suggests that the government focus
more on community participation to mitigate for-
est fires. He also believes that the Assisted Natural
Regeneration (ANR) technique should be adopt-
ed across the State. This simple and low-cost for-
est restoration method involves facilitating the
natural regeneration of degraded or deforested
lands by providing favourable conditions for the
growth of indigenous tree species. It involves a
range of techniques such as the removal of inva-
sive species, the creation of microsites for esta-
blishing seedlings, and the protection of natural
regeneration from grazing and other disturbanc-
es. “ANR will not even cost half of what the go-
vernment spends on planting trees. And finally,
what we see of the government’s initiative is not
even 10% of the total saplings planted,” he says.
Establishing a fire line across the mountains is
crucial to mitigate fires, he adds.
The forest fires in Uttarakhand have also ignit-
ed communal flames after a video emerged of
young men celebrating, even as fires raged be-
hind them. Some people accused Muslims of set-
ting the forests on fire to “take revenge” on the
State government which introduced a Uniform
Civil Code and embarked on an “anti-encroach-
ment drive” in Haldwani in February, which
sparked riots. The police arrested the men, who
hailed from Bihar and claimed to have recorded
the video to gain some ‘likes’ on Instagram.
While the fires are being doused, Hemant
Dhyani, from Ganga Avahan, an NGO which
works to save the river Ganga, worries about the
snowball effect of recurring forest fires. “Forests
get burnt in fires. This reduces the strength of the
mountains and the soil. When it rains, the loose
soil fails to retain water and impacts ground wa-
ter rejuvenation, causing flash floods. As the
loose boulders crash and water also gushes
down, landslides occur,” he explains
Ravi Chopra, an environmentalist from Utta-
rakhand, says the forest department in the State
has “very few or no capabilities” to control forest
fires. “Nothing can be done to mitigate forest fires
unless they empower the local people and take
them into confidence,” he says.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
8 Saturday, May 18, 2024

News Delhi

From Page One SC to hear Hemant’s plea Not biased against

any community, says
Why delay in uploading
turnout data, SC asks EC
for interim bail on May 21 Manipur government
The former Jharkhand Chief Minister was arrested by the ED in January; he is seeking relief The Hindu Bureau even roofings and other es-
Mr. Bhushan countered that the EVM case judg- similar to that granted to Arvind Kejriwal for campaigning, and says he will surrender on June 2 NEW DELHI sential commodities in
ment had not dealt with the Form 17C point. their respective camps,” it
The court listed the case for May 24. Responding to an editorial said, adding that both the
The petition said the voter turnout data for the Krishnadas Rajagopal Mr. Sibal said he was published in The Hindu on Mizoram and Manipur go-
first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections were NEW DELHI keen to address the court May 15 titled “Lame excus- vernments are conducting
published by the EC on April 30, after 11 days of on these points. However, es: On Manipur and the the deportations only after
the first phase of polling held on April 19 and four he Supreme Court Mr. Raju said he would ethnic conflict”, on the N. taking the consent of the
days after the second phase of polling held on
April 26. T has decided that it
will hear on May 21
a plea by former Jhark-
need time to prepare.
The court has listed the
case for hearing before a
Biren Singh-led govern-
ment’s insistence to blame
“illegal immigration” for
refugees and in particular
areas where normalcy
seems to have returned.
Sharp increase hand Chief Minister He- Vacation Bench on May 21. the ongoing ethnic con- It added that the mea-
The data published by the EC in its April 30 press mant Soren for interim bail The ED was given time till flict, the Manipur govern- sures to collect biometric
release had shown a sharp increase (by about to campaign in the ongoing Monday to submit its reply ment on Friday doubled data of illegal immigrants
5-6%) from the initial percentages announced by Lok Sabha election. to Mr. Soren’s plea. down on its position, say- were only taken in Febru-
it on the polling day. Initially, on April 19, after the Appearing before a ing in a press release that ary 2023, after a Cabinet
first phase of polling, the EC had issued a press Bench of Justices Sanjiv Judicial delays the government’s drive to sub-committee cleared it.
note stating that the tentative figure of voter tur- Khanna and Dipankar Dat- In the previous hearing, identify illegal immigrants The DIPR said that al-
nout across 21 States/Union Territories reported ta, senior advocate Kapil Election appeal: Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED in January Mr. Sibal had said that Mr. had bothered them and leged illegal immigrants
was over 60% as of 7 p.m. Sibal, for Mr. Soren, said on money laundering charges. FILE PHOTO Soren’s rights were being this was “one of the rea- had refused the govern-
Similarly, after the second phase, on April 26, that his client was willing trampled on. “The High sons for the violence that ment’s offer of being
the EC had said the turnout was at 60.96%. to surrender on June 2. wal was arrested on March long to him. Mr. Sibal chal- Court had kept the pro- broke out in Manipur”. placed in shelter homes
“The inordinate delay in the release of final vo- Additional Solicitor 21, days after the Model lenged the ED to show nouncement of the judg- In a press release issued and “it was one of the rea-
ter turnout data, coupled with the unusually high General S.V. Raju, for the Code of Conduct came into proof that the land in ques- ment pending for long. by the Department of In- sons for the violence that
revision [of over 5%] in the EC press note of April Directorate of Enforce- force, and was then grant- tion belonged to Mr. Soren. The judgment in my case formation and Public Rela- broke out in Manipur”.
30 and the absence of disaggregated constituency
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
ment (ED), said that there ed interim bail by the same He said that all the ED had against my arrest was re- tions (DIPR), it said, “The The State government
and polling station figures in absolute numbers, was no question of grant- Bench of Justices Khanna were statements to the ex- served by the High Court in Manipur State government said that the Cabinet sub-
has raised concerns and public suspicion regard- ing interim bail for Mr. So- and Datta on May 10, so tent that “some people” February. Finally, we had is not biased against any committee had identified a
ing the correctness of the data… These apprehen- ren, who was arrested in that he could campaign for were saying “this is Mantri- to appeal to the Supreme ethnic community and total of 2,187 illegal immi-
sions must be addressed and put to rest,” the peti- January as part of the agen- the Aam Aadmi Party in ji’s land”. Court with a petition for in- identification of illegal im- grants in 41 locations of the
tion has said. cy’s investigation into mo- the election. The top court “That is why we asked terim bail, saying the High migrants is not limited to State, following which in
ney laundering charges had ordered him to surren- whether you [Mr. Soren] Court was not pronounc- only one community. The May this year, it had de-
linked to a land grab case. der on June 2. are in possession of the ing its verdict,” Mr. Sibal State has a firm stand on il- clared that over 5,000
In Mr. Soren’s case, the land. They have found a had explained. legal migration, and it has such illegal immigrants
‘Have proof of Kejriwal’s Similar to Kejriwal case
The relief sought by Mr. So-
Bench said that relief of in-
terim bail would require
person on the land who
says it is your land. As soon
The High Court’s judg-
ment, on May 3, had re-
been monitoring the issue
as per the directions and
had been detected in the
Kamjong district. It also cit-
chats with hawala group’ ren is identical to the one the former Jharkhand as the probe began, some- fused to quash the case instructions of the Central ed a letter by Phungyar
given to Delhi Chief Minis- Chief Minister to prima fa- body came up and said against Mr. Soren while ob- government.” MLA, Leishiyo Keishing,
ter Arvind Kejriwal, who is cie satisfy the court that the that the land is his...” Jus- serving that he cannot “The immigrants are be- which claimed that illegal
During the hearing, the ED said it had evidence also facing money launder- land in question — which tice Khanna raised the wriggle out of the “mess” ing provided with basic immigrants had started
that ₹45 crore in “kickbacks” out of ₹100 crore in ing charges linked to the li- the ED says is the proceeds points put forth by the pro- by invoking the spectre of needs like food grains, wa- outnumbering local popu-
“bribe” went to AAP coffers to campaign for the quor policy case. Mr. Kejri- of the crime — does not be- secution against Mr. Soren. political vendetta. ter supply, power supply, lations in many areas.
Goa Assembly elections in 2022. Additional Solic-
itor General S.V. Raju alleged the kickbacks were
sent via hawala operators and Mr. Kejriwal was
the “kingpin” behind the scam.
Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for Mr. Kejriwal,
countered that the Central agency had nothing to
show that any money came to his client or was
Mob sets
Patna school
Namesakes join election battle in Uttarakhand
govt. pledges
used in the Goa election campaign.
afire after boy constituencies across West Bengal to combat
‘No new evidence’
He submitted that the ED had no new evidence found dead forest fires
against Mr. Kejriwal, except “zero-weight” state- Moyurie Som a 48-year-old former Com-
ments recorded from accused-turned-approvers Press Trust of India KOLKATA munist Party of India (Mar- The Hindu Bureau
till July last year. There were multiple statements PATNA xist) worker. He has been NEW DELHI
recorded from the same people earlier in which Trinamool Congress candi- assigned the symbol of an
they had denied any links between Mr. Kejriwal A school was set on fire al- date Biswajit Das is set to almirah. “Contesting the The Supreme Court on Fri-
and the liquor business. He said it was obvious legedly by a mob in Patna’s face stiff competition from election will give me a day recorded the assu-
they had cracked under extreme pressure from Digha area on Friday after Union Minister Santanu chance to fight against the rance given by Uttarak-
the agency. Mr. Singhvi asked why the ED had a four-year-old student was Thakur of the BJP on May injustice and crimes perpe- hand Chief Secretary
waited from July 2023 till March 2024 to arrest Mr. found dead on the cam- 20 with West Bengal’s con- trated by the Trinamool, Radha Raturi that she and
Kejriwal. pus, police said. tentious Bangaon consti- including the incidents at her fellow officers were
The senior lawyer accused the ED of suppress- The boy did not return tuency going to polls in the Sandeshkhali,” he said. personally looking into ef-
ing evidence against Mr. Kejriwal. when sacro- home from school on fifth phase of the general Trinamool Congress candidates are facing an added issue in several The TMC candidate in forts to prevent and com-
sanct rights of life and liberty were at stake. Thursday. When the family election. constituencies in West Bengal. FILE PHOTO Joynagar constituency, Pra- bat forest fires in the State.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the ED, approached the school to Adding to Mr. Das’s chal- tima Mondal, shares her A Bench of Justices B.R.
pitched in that the senior lawyer was being “eco- know if he was there, the lenges, however, are two dates are grappling with Hindu. name with two Indepen- Gavai and Sandeep Mehta
nomical with the truth”. authorities denied it, they Independent candidates namesake Independents. ‘Another’ Biswajit Das, dent candidates, both asked the Chief Secretary
The court asked for the case records leading to said. In the night, his body who share his name, con- Speculation is rife that 37, is a businessman from farmers from South 24 Par- to meet with Solicitor Gen-
the arrest of Mr. Kejriwal. was found on the campus testing from the same con- the namesakes have been Haringhata in Nadia dis- ganas district. eral Tushar Mehta and the
as his family searched for stituency under their un- fielded by the party’s rivals trict who runs a decorators Similarly, in Serampore, court’s own amicus curiae
him everywhere. ique symbols. to confuse voters and cut business, according to his three-time TMC MP Kalyan to work out the modalities
“Angry family members Bangaon is not unique the TMC's vote share. election affidavit. An Inde- Banerjee is fighting not just to resolve the problem of
Spain blocks arms ship and locals gathered out- in this phenomenon. In at Mr. Das accused the Op- pendent, he has been as- BJP’s Kabir Shankar Bose forest fires.
side the school on Friday least seven constituencies position parties, including signed the symbol of air and CPI(M)’s Dipsita Dhar, The Bench had asked
from Chennai to Israel morning and set the build- set to vote in the last three the BJP, of fielding dummy conditioner. “I am cam- but also namesake Inde- the Uttarakhand Chief Se-
ing on fire. They also tried phases of the election —Joy- candidates. “Ultimately, paigning vigorously, and pendent candidates Kalyan cretary to be present in
The incident comes amid an ongoing row bet- to block the traffic by burn- nagar, Serampore, How- voters press the button for getting a good response Paul and Kalyan Samanta. court on May 17 to explain
ween Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s ing tyres on the road,” said rah, Mathurapur, Kanthi, party symbols, not for from voters,” he said. Serampore goes to polls on the level of preparedness
party and his coalition partners over another a police officer. and Barasat — TMC candi- names,” Mr. Das told The The third Biswajit Das is May 25. in the face of forest fires.
ship, Borkum, that was due to dock at Cartegena
port on Friday over allegations that it was carrying
arms meant for Israel. However, the Spanish go-
vernment has said that the arms it is ferrying are
meant for the Czech Republic.
Belgium had suspended two arms export li-
Delhi HC
quashes its
We hope India will attend Excise policy case: ED
cences to Israel.
own order in peace meet: Swiss official names Kejriwal, AAP
Nearly 6 million trees
SpiceJet case in fresh chargesheet
Suhasini Haidar bring Russia and Ukraine
disappeared, says study The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
NEW DELHI to the table together],” he
added, pointing out that
Ishita Mishra
NEW DELHI
which is scheduled for con-
sideration on Saturday.
India has not “determined the Swiss conference, slat- This is the first time that
“Trees may be missed due to bad image quality. The Delhi High Court on its attendance” at next ed in the resort town of The Enforcement Directo- Mr. Kejriwal and a political
An absolute number would thus have a high un- Friday quashed its July 31, month’s Ukraine Peace Burgenstock on June 15-16, rate (ED) on Friday filed party have been named as
certainty. We trust the images from 2018 to 2022, 2023 order upholding an Conference in Switzerland, would not work on a peace the seventh supplemen- accused in the ED’s char-
so if a tree was detected in 2010 but not over 2018- arbitral award asking Spi- repeated the Ministry of proposal per se, but build a tary chargesheet in the gesheet in the case.
2022, there is little uncertainty that it was lost. But ceJet and its promoter Ajay External Affairs, as Swiss framework or road map to money laundering case
not all trees in 2010 were mapped,” said Martin Singh to refund ₹579 crore Foreign Secretary Alex- start peace talks. linked to the now-scrapped Party’s counter
Brandt, of the University of Copenhagen and one plus interest to media ba- andre Fasel met with his New Delhi has made it Delhi excise policy and Reacting to the chargesh-
of the study authors. ron Kalanithi Maran. counterparts in Delhi for Alexandre Fasel clear that it will only clarify named Chief Minister Ar- eet, the AAP said the inves-
“Similarly for the 2018-2022 period: it’s not a The court passed the or- another attempt to secure its participation once the vind Kejriwal and the Aam tigating agency was func-
consistent thinning all over India, but often clus- der on appeals filed by Mr. India’s participation. played a role in bearing election process is over in Aadmi Party (AAP) as ac- tioning like a political wing
tered, with some areas losing a considerable num- Singh and SpiceJet chal- Speaking to The Hindu, messages to the Kremlin the first week of June. On cused in the case. The par- of the BJP.
ber of trees within a few years. You can see it vi- lenging the Bench’s order. Mr. Fasel said that it was on the Black Sea Grain In- Friday, Ministry spokes- ty and the AAP chief have The AAP said this was
sually on GoogleEarth using the historic images, It remanded the matter important for Switzerland itiative and about concerns person Randhir Jaiswal re- been booked under va- the first case in the ED’s
it’s unbelievable seeing how many large trees dis- back to the court to consid- that India and other over nuclear threats. peated the stand, saying, rious provisions of the Pre- history that after over two
appeared.”A plausible reason for large trees being er the plea challenging the emerging economy partn- “India and the fellow “We have received the invi- vention of Money Launder- years of investigation, over
lost was the conversion of farmland to paddy arbitral award afresh. ers of the BRICS grouping BICS [BRICS minus Russia] tation from the Swiss side, ing Act. The chargesheet 500 raids, and filing eight
fields. “A certain loss rate is natural, and the cut- “... The Section 34 peti- (Brazil-Russia-India-China- countries are in the situa- and we are yet to decide on has mentioned having evi- chargesheets, there was
ting of trees is also part of agroforestry manage- tions shall in consequence South Africa), minus Rus- tion where they have good our participation. dence that the money was not a single rupee of recov-
ment systems, and not every lost tree is related to stand restored upon the sia which hasn’t been invit- contacts with Russia and Even so, Mr. Fasel said sent to AAP via “hawala” ery from any of the AAP
climatic disturbances or human appropriation. Board of the appropriate ed, attend the summit, also with Western coun- he remained hopeful that channels. leaders. The entire case of
An observable trend is emerging in several areas court for being considered help by conveying messag- tries. They can act as ‘go- New Delhi would respond It has also claimed to the ED was built on state-
where established agroforestry systems are re- afresh and bearing in mind es to Moscow, and play a betweens’ that have the positively. “I am hopeful have found chats between ments of accused-turned-
placed with paddy rice fields, which are being ex- the observations rendered bigger role at a future trust of either side,” Mr. Fa- because there is this expec- Mr. Kejriwal and “hawala” approvers, all of whom
panded and intensified, a development facilitated herein above,” the Bench peace summit when both sel, State Secretary of the tation from the interna- operators. had links to the BJP. Whe-
by the availability of newly established water sup- said. Section 34 of the Arbi- Russia and Ukraine are at Swiss Foreign Ministry tional community on one The chargesheet was never the courts ques-
plies. Large and mature trees within these fields tration and Conciliation the table. In the past, Ex- said. side, and from [Switzer- filed in the court of Special tioned the ED on the verac-
are removed, and trees are now being cultivated Act deals with applications ternal Affairs Minister S. “They [BICS] will have a land] bilaterally, that we Judge (Prevention of Cor- ity of these statements, the
within separate block plantations typically with for setting aside arbitral Jaishankar has disclosed determining role when the need India to be there and ruption Act) Kaveri Baweja agency had no answers,
lower ecological value,” the authors noted. awards. that the government has situation becomes right [to to contribute.” of the Rouse Avenue court, the party claimed.
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
Saturday, May 18, 2024 9
Delhi

ELECTIONS 2024

EC pulls up made by Mr. Gangopadhyay JMM suspends Hembrom. Cong. moves EC

were found to be “improper,
former HC judge injudicious, beyond dignity in
over comments every sense of the term, in
bad taste and prima facie
쑽 violative” of the provisions of
the Model Code of Conduct.
The Election Commission (EC) The notice also reminded
on Friday issued a show cause Mr. Gangopadhyay about the
notice to former Calcutta High EC’s recent advisory, which
Court judge and BJP said that political parties and
candidate Abhijit candidates should refrain
Gangopadhyay for making from any deeds or action or
offensive comments against utterances that may be
West Bengal Chief Minister construed as being repugnant
Mamata Banerjee. to the honour and dignity of
The EC said the comments women.
Abhijit Gangopadhyay is the
BJP candidate from Tamluk in
West Bengal. ANI
Sita Soren,
another MLA
쑽 Independent candidate
Taking disciplinary action
against rebel leaders,
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
(JMM) chief Shibu Soren on
Friday suspended two party
MLAs for six years each.
Mr. Soren suspended his
daughter-in-law Sita Soren,
MLA from the Jama Assembly
seat, and Borio MLA Lobin
The action was taken after
Mr. Hembrom made a formal against Mohan
announcement to contest the Yadav’s remark
Lok Sabha election as an
쑽
against the party candidate
from Rajmahal seat, whereas In a The Madhya Pradesh The BJP
Ms. Sita Soren, who had quit democracy... Congress has lodged a that has split
the JMM and joined the BJP complaint with the Election
if you want to take two parties in
last month, is contesting the Commission (EC) against Chief
revenge for the Minister Mohan Yadav’s Maharashtra
Lok Sabha polls from Dumka
seat against JMM candidate cruelties done to you, alleged use of an offensive is the ‘tukde tukde
Nalin Soren. it can be taken through word for the party, and sought gang’, and people
Ms. Sita Soren had been a vote that he be banned from have not liked this
holding the post of central MEHBOOBA MUFTI election campaigning PAWAN KHERA
general secretary in the party. PDP chief immediately. PTI Congress leader

Congress hits
back at Modi
over remark
CAA, industries shape Bengal’s
on ‘bulldozer’ election discourse in fifth phase
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
After Prime Minister Na-
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP rendra Modi on Friday
Gorakhpur candidate Ravi Kishan greet supporters asked the Congress to
during a public meeting in the constituency. ANI learn from Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Yogi Aditya-
nath on “where to run bull-
BJP banking on dozer”, the Congress hit
back by saying that the
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
Seven constituencies across three districts will go to the polls on May 20; in 2019, the Trinamool won four of these seats
and the BJP bagged three, including Bongaon, the hotbed of the Matua movement seeking citizenship under the new Act
and the Trinamool’s Ra-
OVERVIEW chana Banerjee. Ms. Chat-
terjee was elected from the
Shiv Sahay Singh seat in 2019 and even 15
KOLKATA years after the Tatas pulled
he Citizenship
out of Singur, she is pro-
mising industrial develop-

Hindutva pull Chief Minister’s “bulldoz-

er” is against reservation
for Dalits, tribals, and
T Amendment Act
(CAA) and a lack-
lustre industrial climate
ment. Ms. Banerjee claims
that “smoke from chim-
neys” can be seen in the

amid discontent backward classes.

Addressing a rally, Mr.
Modi had alleged that the
along the banks of the
Hooghly river could be is-
sues that dominate polling
constituency, which
means the factories are
running, and credits the

in Gorakhpur Congress and Samajwadi

Party would run a bulldoz-
er over the Ram Temple if
elected to power and asked
Sobhana K. Nair them to take “tuition from
GORAKHPUR Yogi Adityanath on where
to run bulldozers”.
or over three decades, the Gorakhpur Congress general secre-
in the fifth phase of the Lok
Sabha election in West
Bengal on May 20.
Bongaon and Barrack-
pore in North 24 Parganas
district; Sreerampur,
Hooghly and Arambagh in
Hooghly district; and How-
manding citizenship under
the Citizenship (Amend-
ment) Act, 2019 (CAA).
On March 11, the Union
ter defected to the
Trinamool.
The CAA has been
raised during campaigning
mool, and State Minister
Partha Bhowmick. Mr.
Singh, who has the highest
number of criminal cases,
Trinamool for that. Trina-
mool heavyweights Kalyan
Banerjee, from Sreeram-
pur, and footballer-turned-
politician Prasun Banerjee,
from Howrah, are also in
the fray.

F Lok Sabha seat has been a BJP bastion,

with its Hindutva pull centred around
the Gorakhnath Math. In a brief interlude, the
tary Jairam Ramesh took to
X and cited an article on
Mr. Adityanath’s website to
rah and Uluberia in How-
rah district will vote in this
phase as the poll caravan
Home Ministry notified
Rules for the CAA so that
the Matuas could apply for
by the BJP leadership, in-
cluding Prime Minister Na-
rendra Modi and Home Mi-
93, among candidates con-
testing the election in West
Bengal, has an influence
Cong.-Left alliance
The candidates of the Left
parties and the Congress
Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party claim that it reflected the reaches the fringes of citizenship. Even though nister Amit Shah who have over jute mills in have put up an energetic
combine had emerged victorious in the 2018 RSS’s anti-reservation Kolkata. there has not been much accused Chief Minister Ma- Barrackpore. campaign across these se-
byelection, thanks to its superior caste mindset. “The ‘outgoing’ In 2019, the BJP had enthusiasm among people mata Banerjee of trying to Like Barrackpore, Sree- ven seats. The Congress
arithmetic. Six years later, the SP-Congress Prime Minister today said won Bongaon, Barrack- to apply for citizenship, obstruct its implementa- rampur and Howrah are lo- has fielded candidates in
alliance is hoping to repeat this success, amid that the INDIA Janbandhan pore, and Hooghly, while the CAA has dominated tion. The Trinamool lea- cated by the Hooghly and three constituencies, and
discontent fuelled by inflation and should learn from Uttar the Trinamool Congress politics in Bongaon and dership has dubbed the had once been the hub of the CPI(M) is contesting
unemployment, fatigue with Prime Minister Pradesh Chief Minister Yo- won Howrah, Uluberia, south Bengal. CAA as anti-minority and jute mills and small manu- from four.
Narendra Modi’s reign, and BSP voters gi Adityanath on where to Sreerampur, and Aram- In this constituency, Un- has said that Matuas are ci- facturing units. Of the 88 candidates in
looking beyond their traditional choice. run the ‘bulldozer’. See bagh. While Barrackpore, ion Minister of State and tizens and there is no need Hooghly, which had be- the fray, 14 are women.
The incumbent MP of Gorakhpur, BJP’s how Mr. Adityanath’s ‘bull- Howrah, and Sreeram- BJP MP Shantanu Thakur is for new citizenship. come synonymous with The fourth phase of vot-
Ravi Kishan, is once again in the fray. He faces dozer’ is against the reser- pur are urban constituen- seeking re-election and is the protest against forcible ing in the State witnessed
the Samajwadi Party’s Kajal Nishad, who has vation system for Dalits, cies, Bongaon, Arambagh, pitted against Trinamool In the jute hub of past land acquisition for Tata isolated incidents of vio-
been unsuccessfully contesting elections tribals, and backward Hooghy, and Uluberia are candidate Biswajit Das. Mr. The adjoining constituen- Motors’ small car factory in lence and the Election
since 2012. Both have a foot in the classes! The Prime Minister primarily rural. Thakur hails from the fami- cy of Barrackpore is wit- Singur during the Left Commission plans to de-
entertainment industry — Ms. Nishad is a TV should clearly say that he is Bordering Bangladesh, ly of the founders of the nessing a contest between Front regime, will see a ploy 650 companies of
actor and Mr. Kishan, a Bhojpuri superstar, supporting Mr. Adityanath Bongaon has been the Matua sect. Mr. Das had Arjun Singh, who switched fight between two actors- Central forces, more than
has earned acclaim for his recent roles in because of his views on re- hotbed of a movement by won the Assembly election to the BJP after being de- turned-politicians — the the previous phase, this
Mamla Legal Hai and Laapataa Ladies. The servation,” he said. the Matua community de- in 2021 on BJP ticket and la- nied ticket by the Trina- BJP’s Locket Chatterjee time.
commonalities end here though. The two are
running campaigns that are starkly different
in tone, tenor, and scale.

The campaign trails

Rows of red plastic chairs dot the small
ground between a railway line and a
Congress seeks to protect Rae Bareli bastion, Handing over
my son to you:
residential colony in Nandanagar, where the
stage is set by a three-member band playing a eyes bigger victory margin with SP on its side Sonia at rally
mix of devotional and BJP campaign songs.
Mr. Kishan arrives 90 minutes late. The
in Rae Bareli
crowd that had been standing indifferently on Mayank Kumar the Congress’s favour. maining three SP MLAs
the margins surges ahead and the excitement RAE BARELI Union Home Minister have been campaigning for Mayank Kumar
is feverish. Once the chaos settles, Mr. Kishan Amit Shah campaigned in Mr. Gandhi. LUCKNOW
starts speaking. In his baritone voice, further The dusty intersections of Rae Bareli for the BJP can- In most of her speeches,
accentuated by the background music, he roads in Rae Bareli have didate, Dinesh Pratap Ms. Vadra targets the BJP’s Congress leader Sonia
extols the governments of Mr. Modi and Chief been busy spots over the Singh, and headed to local candidate, Mr. Singh, for Gandhi on Friday said she
Minister Yogi Adityanath, mahant of the past 10 days as they are the Samajwadi Party MLA Ma- spreading terror in the dis- was handing over her son
Gorakhnath Math and a five-time Gorakhpur venues for a slew of small noj Pandey’s residence af- trict. “Today, the BJP has Rahul Gandhi to the peo-
MP. Whipping the audience into a frenzy, he election rallies, according ter the rally. In February, fielded such a candidate ple of Rae Bareli and added
asserts that India woke up after 2014 and to Saurabh Shah, a resi- Mr. Pandey resigned from who scares the people, that they would not be dis-
reduced Pakistan to a “leashed dog”. dent of Sarain Hardo vil- the post of the SP chief spreads terror. You have to appointed with him. “I am
Almost 20 km away, in a relatively bucolic lage in the Uttar Pradesh whip in the U.P. Assembly decide what kind of MP handing over my son to
setting, Mr. Kishan’s opponent, SP’s Kajal constituency. “This poll and cross-voted in favour you want,” she says at a you. Rahul will not disap-
Nishad, hobbles out of her SUV. The venue is campaign may stand out as of the BJP candidate in the meeting in Unchahar. point you,” Ms. Gandhi
a vacant land next to the village temple it is localised outreach with High on hope: Congress strategists believe that the caste and recent Rajya Sabha elec- said at a public meeting in
flanked by a cattle shed. “The roti cooked smaller meetings mostly social arithmetic in the Lok Sabha constituency, along with the tion. He is considered an ‘Will not run away’ Rae Bareli.
only on one side could burn or end up being by Congress,” says Mr. support of Samajwadi Party cadre, will benefit the party. PTI influential Brahmin leader Mr. Singh, who had an ear- The former Congress
half-cooked,” she speaks directly to the Shah, a BA graduate, as he in Rae Bareli, where Brah- lier stint in the Congress, president, who addressed
women. The government, similarly, has to be sips tea at a roadside stall. tion of politics for seva breached five years ago mins constitute about 11% contested the 2019 Lok the gathering with her son
changed every now and then, she says, Rae Bareli is the only [service]. Indira Gandhiji when Mr. Gandhi lost the of the electorate and have Sabha election against and daughter Priyanka
underlining that the region has not benefited parliamentary seat that the and Sonia Gandhiji served seat to the BJP’s Smriti traditionally supported the former Congress president Gandhi Vadra standing by
despite the uniformity in the ruling regime — Congress won in the coun- you, worked for the area’s Irani. Congress. Sonia Gandhi and lost by her side, highlighted the
its MP, the Chief Minister, and the Prime try’s largest State in the progress. We have many “The social fault lines about 1,67,000 votes. Ms. century-old ties that the
Minister are all from the BJP. “This is a an 2019 Lok Sabha election, decades-old ties with the The factors in play may not be visible, but it Gandhi, who represented Congress and the Gandhi
election between janata [people] and satta and is considered one of people of Rae Bareli,” Ms. “We are sure of registering might come into play,” says the seat for about two de- family shared with the con-
[government],” Ms. Nishaad reminds her the party’s safest seats in Vadra says, addressing a a landslide victory, the Vikas Pandey, a local resi- cades, polled 5,34,918 stituency, adding that Rae
voters. the Hindi heartland. Rae jan sampark meeting in margin in Rae Bareli will be dent. Scheduled Caste (SC) votes (55.80%) against the Bareli had always shown
However, it is not that straightforward a Bareli’s voters have voted the Sareni Assembly among the highest not only communities account for BJP nominee, who polled the way to the country and
choice for Gorakhpur voters. Ram Mandir in a Congress candidate in segment. in U.P. but across India,” about 30% of the electo- 3,67,740 (38.36%) votes. had made an invaluable
may not be a factor here in this election. 17 of the 20 Lok Sabha elec- The former U.P. Con- says Anil Yadav, U.P. Con- rate, while Yadavs account The BJP campaign is fo- contribution in streng-
Awdesh Paswan, a resident, nods along as his tions held here since Inde- gress in-charge is doing at gress general secretary. for 9% of voters. About 12% cused on the Congress can- thening democracy.
friend Prem Chand Paswan lists out the pendence, including by- least 10 such meetings dai- Congress strategists be- are Muslims, while 11% are didate, Mr. Gandhi, who Speaking before his
“broken promises” of the BJP government in polls. This time, it is ly, aiming to strengthen lieve that the caste and so- Rajputs. has also contested the Lok mother at the rally, Mr.
Delhi. “Mr. Modi came to power promising to garnering extra buzz as bonds with the voters cial arithmetic in the Lok Of the five Assembly Sabha election from Waya- Gandhi said the people of
remove poverty and instead in the past 10 Congress workers from through a personal touch. Sabha constituency will seats in the constituency — nad in Kerala. Mr. Singh India, particularly the
years, he has been working to remove the across the country are here Ms. Vadra has stationed benefit the party, with two Bachhrawan, Harchand- vows not to leave Rae Bare- youth from across the na-
poor,” Mr. Chand says. bolstering support for the herself in Rae Bareli for additional factors — the pur, Sareni, Unchahar, and li till his death. “Come tion, had made up their
Ramesh Nishaad had a litany of complaints party’s nominee, Rahul more than a week, though coordination with the local Rae Bareli — the SP won the what may I will not leave mind that they did not
— from high prices and shrinking Gandhi, with his sister Pri- she is also handling cam- cadre of the Samajwadi first four in the 2022 As- Rae Bareli, unlike the op- want a BJP government
employment opportunities to increased yanka Gandhi Vadra lead- paigning in neighbouring Party, and the traditional sembly election. Though ponent who ran away to and asserted that an INDIA
privatisation — underscoring the considerable ing from the front. Amethi, also a former fami- Brahmin-Rajput social Mr. Pandey has now Wayanad after defeat,” he bloc government would be
challenge before the BJP. “Rae Bareli has a tradi- ly stronghold that was fault lines — also working in switched loyalties, the re- says. formed after June 4.
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
10 Saturday, May 18, 2024

News Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽 ‘Naveen babu does not need BJP to form govt.’
BJD leader targets the BJP government at the Centre, asking what it has done to support Odisha’s language, culture, leaders, and economy; he says
the BJP’s poll promises will push back Odisha by 25 years as he defends the BJD’s promise of providing free power to 90% households in the State

INTERVIEW
V.K. Pandian
Report side effects of medical Nistula Hebbar
devices on time, says DCGI
iju Janata Dal (BJD)
The DCGI has called for timely reporting of
adverse events related to medical devices and B leader and 5T
chairman V.K. Pan-
Odia as a classical language nister. From 2000 to 2004, date”; Naveen babu won
just before the polls. But 10 they did against someone then and he will be taking
years of the NDA govern- else; from 2004 to 2011 oath again this time.
ment has not seen anyth- they hit Pyari babu [Pyari
ing in terms of promotion Mohan Mohapatra], but There have been
of the Odia language, whe-
reas they have done it for
they miss out on the larger
point of Naveen babu’s pre-
accusations that the BJD
is also going the freebie
Telugu, Sanskrit, Tamil, sence. This helps Naveen way with the free
etc. Second, Mr. Patnaik babu also, and I am happy electricity promise.
had moved a proposal re-
questing that Odissi music
to be the fall guy if that is
the case. The Odisha government

PTI
directed all licence holders and manufacturers to dian says his party’s elec- be given the tag of classical has the financial cushion to
report any adverse events related to life-saving tion promise of free power music. The Union govern- Your party has promise free power. For
equipment on the Materiovigilance Programme to 90% households in Od- ment did not respond. Just before elections, after between two leaders, to do maintained me, it is shocking the way
of India platform. In its circular, the regulator isha has sound financial Thirdly, a region’s iden- 10 years of somnolence, something substantial for equidistance from the the BJP has promised free-
said that the post-market surveillance (PMS) of reasoning backing it. He tity is also reflected in how you wake up and talk of the State and the country. BJP and the bies, despite declaring
medical devices is one of the important aspects says what has shocked him you honour the leaders of these things? Naveen babu does not Congress-led they are against the freebie
to ensure safety and performance of the medical is the BJP’s poll promise of that State. Biju babu [late The fourth aspect of re- need the BJP to form a go- Opposition. After the culture. They have an-
devices. “Timely reporting of the adverse events a ₹50,000 “voucher” for Chief Minister Biju Pat- gional pride is seen in how vernment and perhaps the polls, would you be nounced a funny scheme
allows for the identification of unidentifiable two crore women in the naik] is one the tallest lead- you also treat a State. From BJP also does not need Na- open to support either for Odisha in their manifes-
risks, analysing frequency of identified risks and State. The former bureau- ers not just in the country 2004, we are fighting for veen babu’s support. formation if called to? to, that they will come up
enabling the manufacturers and authorities to crat says the people of Od- but also internationally. coal royalty revisions; that with a ₹50,000 “voucher”
take appropriate measures to mitigate risks and isha would decide on the When he passed away, has not been done. The What is the guru mantra Right now we are in the for two crore women. First
safeguard public health,” it said. “outsider” tag given to flags of four countries were MCL [Mahanadi Coal- that Mr. Patnaik has middle of the elections and of all, what is a voucher?
him. Excerpts: laid on his body, including fields], which is a CPSU imparted to you in these are hypothetical We are not running a shop-
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

The BJP is making
much of its plank of
No rice for poor in Manipur Odia Asmita, or Odia
hill districts: rights group pride, with references
to the fact that you
The nexus between the officials and the are not an Odia.
transport contractors has deprived the poor in at
least two tribal hill districts of Manipur of rice It’s the people who have to
under a Prime Minister’s scheme for months, a decide who is an outsider. I
rights group has told Chief Minister N. Biren heard my inner call and
Singh. The Movement for People’s Rights Forum, took the plunge. Also, a
Manipur, on Friday sought the Chief Minister’s State or region’s pride is
intervention against the “unlawful conduct” of decided upon four or five
officials and a few contractors for paralysing the things, number one being
monthly rice distribution system under the language. In March 2014,
PMGKAY to hundreds of beneficiaries across the the then UPA government,
hills of the ethnic violence-scarred State. The after persuasion by Naveen
districts worst affected are Noney and babu [Chief Minister Na-
Tamenglong, the forum said. veen Patnaik], declared
from Indonesia, where he
had rescued freedom fight-
ers in his plane in 1947. His
contribution to India as a
country is huge, whether it
be preventing Indonesia
from deploying their Naval
units during the Bangla-
desh war, or instituting an
international award for the
popularisation of science.
He is the father of modern
Odisha, making it one of
India’s most progressive
States. The BJP has given
Bharat Ratna to many peo-
ple, and without going into
those who have been
awarded, they couldn’t
find anyone from Odisha?
[Central public sector un-
it], earns about ₹27,000
crore from Odisha and
contributes only ₹4,000
crore to the [State] exche-
quer. What have you done
for that? We have asked
that, just for disaster man-
agement, Odisha, due to its
geographical location,
needs to be given special
status, but there has only
been silence.
The BJP and the BJD
were in talks for an
electoral alliance. What
happened?
To be honest, it is a talk
terms of public life?
Keep your ears close to the
ground, and keep your
heart in the right place,
with the interests of the pe-
ople.
You are made out to be
this Machiavellian
character behind Mr.
Patnaik, guiding his
hand. How do you
deal with such
characterisation?
I am used to it. That is so-
mething the Opposition
has been doing for a long
time against the Chief Mi-
questions that need not be
answered.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has
made a sharp attack
against Mr. Patnaik in
the past week. That
seems unusual.
Mr. Modi said his party
would take oath on June
10. We found the actual
auspicious date and have
announced June 9 as the
date for the swearing-in of
Naveen babu. In 2019, Mr.
Modi had used the word
“farewell”, and this time
he used the word “expiry
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
ping mall. Plus, the outlay
for this would be ₹1 lakh
crore when your total bud-
get is ₹2 lakh crore! It’s a
mockery of developmental
economics. The BJP’s plans
will push back Odisha by
25 years.
The BJD has promised
free electricity for 90% of
households. Looking at
our revenue surplus of
₹25,000 crore, Odisha be-
ing one of the few States
with a revenue surplus, we
will take a hit of only
₹2,000 crore on this
scheme.
(Full interview at
bit.ly/vkpandian)

‘Congress, RJD want to All eyes on Naveen Patnaik in Odisha second phase
take Bihar to lantern era’
Amit Bhelari
RANCHI
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath on Fri-
day slammed the Opposi-
tion in Bihar, saying that
even as the nation is enter-
ing the ‘digital age’ under
the leadership of Prime Mi-
nister Narendra Modi, the
Congress and the Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD) want to
take Bihar back to the ‘lan-
tern era’.
He was addressing a pu-
blic meeting in support of
Saran Lok Sabha candidate
Rajiv Pratap Rudy at Dha-
rahra Khurd in Bihar. “The
people of the INDIA bloc
want to gain power by
creating conflicts among
castes and promoting ter-
rorism, Naxalism, and cor-
ruption,” he said.
The youth of Bihar,
which gave the world lead-
ers like the first President
of India Rajendra Prasad
U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath greets BJP candidate for Saran
Lok Sabha seat, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and party MLAs on Friday. ANI
and Jayaprakash Narayan,
now face an identity crisis
because of the Congress
and the RJD, he added.
Highlighting the deve-
lopment in his State, he
said Uttar Pradesh had also
suffered from the ‘mafia
disease’, but it has now
been completely
eradicated.
Starting his address in
Bhojpuri, Mr. Adiyanath
said with four completed
phases of the Lok Sabha
election, slogans of ‘Fir ek
bar, Modi Sarkar’ and ‘Ab-
ki Baar, 400 Paar’, are
echoing across the nation.
Targeting RJD chief Lalu
Prasad Yadav, Mr. Adiya-
nath said he issued state-
ments that reservation
should be given to Muslims
before making a U-turn,
and stressed that the Con-
stitution does not allow re-
servations on religious
grounds.
He accused Mr. Yadav of
disrespecting and mocking
the Constitution.
Satyasundar Barik
BHUBANESWAR
After a calm initial phase of
election in Odisha, the
State has entered a more
intense phase, with both
the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) and the Biju Janata
Dal (BJD) competing fierce-
ly as five Lok Sabha seats
and 35 Assembly seats go
to the polls on May 20.
The prominent conten-
ders in the second phase
include Chief Minister Na-
veen Patnaik, former Un-
ion Tribal Affairs Minister
Jual Oram, former Indian
hockey captain Dilip Tir-
key, former Union Minister
and hotelier Dilip Ray, and
BJP’s four-time Lok Sabha
member Sangeeta Singh
Deo.
As many as 40 candi-
dates are contesting from
five Lok Sabha seats, while
265 candidates are in the
fray for 35 Assembly seats.
The five Lok Sabha seats
for which voting will take
place are Aska, Kandha-
mal, Balangir, Bargarh and
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik with BJD candidates at a
public meeting in Deogarh district on May 15. PTI
Sundargarh. While the BJD
had won Aska and Kandha-
mal, the rest had gone to
the BJP in 2019. As the elec-
toral fight appears to be
closer this election, both
parties have resorted to
man-to-man marking.
Pre-poll violence
The pre-poll violence in
Ganjam, Mr. Patnaik’s
home district, that left one
BJP supporter dead and
the assault on the BJP’s
Berhampur Lok Sabha
candidate, Pradeep Pani-
grahy, forced the Chief
Electoral Officer to send 20
companies of Central
armed police force to the
district.
The BJP appears to fir-
ing on all cylinders by de-
ploying its Central leader-
ship. The Chief Ministers of
BJP-ruled States such as As-
sam, Chhattisgarh, and Ra-
jasthan are addressing ma-
rathon public meetings in
the State on Friday. Union
Home Minister Amit Shah
is touring Rourkela.
Railway Minister Ashwi-
ni Vaishnaw and BJP MP
Hema Malini are also in the
State seeking support for
their party candidates.
BJD’s star campaigners
The State BJD had submit-
ted a list of star campaign-
ers. However, most public
rallies are being addressed
by Mr. Patnaik and his
close aide V.K. Pandian. Si-
milarly, Congress presi-
dent Mallikarjun Kharge
and Wayanad MP Rahul
Gandhi had addressed two
meetings in Kandhamal
and Balangir.
Mr. Patnaik is running
for re-election from his
long-time Assembly consti-
tuency of Hinjili and the
newly selected Kantabanji
constituency.
By choosing Kantabanji,
a key transit point for fami-
ly migration, he has
brought significant atten-
tion to this issue in the
election. Consequently,
migration and unemploy-
ment have become the
most discussed topics in
this phase.
If Mr. Patnaik wins and
his party goes on to form
the government, he will
become Chief Minister for
the sixth straight time. He
will also become the lon-
gest-serving Chief Minister
in the country in the next
few months.
The personal attack on
each other’s leadership
dominated the campaign
in the run-up to the second
phase, putting issues like
price rise and underdeve-
lopment on the back bur-
ner.
The phase is particular-
ly important for the BJP as
the saffron party wants to
retain the seats of Bargarh,
Balangir, and Sundargarh
in order to improve its tally
in the State.
The Odisha police and
the paramilitary forces are
keeping close watch on the
Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat
which had witnessed left-
wing extremist activities
during the past couple of
years.

To solve this puzzle online,

SCAN TO PLAY
SUDOKU
14178 get across to our crossword site. 쑽
@ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn
(set by Vidwan)

14 Filthy male in distressed surrounding (7)

Across
8 Durga fidgeted with a divine vehicle (6)
9 You'll meet kindred regularly for Christmas (8)
10 Stick used by someone with a handicap? Of course! (4,4)
11 One from Warsaw or Japan, say (6)
12 Instrument - playing, lovin' it endlessly! (6)
13 Excels in non-clandestine operations (8)
CM
YK
16 Rebel princess' honour? Yes! (7)
20 Active at a bull's early stage of embryo (8)
FAITH
쑽
23 Quietly come to lecture (6)
25 Season's special band! (6) The mature stage of yoga
26 Hot atmosphere diminishes main source of income for barbers
(8) Mind is the root cause of all our actions. A well-controlled
27 How an archer submits? (4,4) mind will achieve self-realisation. Valayapettai Sri Rama-
chariar said in a discourse that two terms, ‘Sanchalam’
28 Son going into 'lazy' position (6)
and ‘Asthiram’, are referred to in Sri Bhagavad Gita Chap-
Down
ter VI sloka 26. “Yato Yato Nischarathi Manas sanchalam
1 Works in so calm style with brevity of speech (8) asthiram”.
2 Idiot changed sides for a large bag (6) It denotes that the mind is fickle and unsteady and will
3 Standard kind of clean language (8) not stay in anything, including ‘Aatman’. When the wind
4 Do we bore you at start? You may raise this for disapproval! (7) blows, a lamp will flicker and will not glow.
5 Slip away, asleep, drunk! (6)
The subdued mind of a person who practices yoga
should be like a lamp that does not flicker in a windless
6 Street toilet somehow improves women's stature (8)
place.
7 A darling daughter stumps, occasionally makes sense! (4,2) One who fixes his mind in self-realisation will wipe out
Solution to previous puzzle Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku
15 As basic as erroneously missing a Cartesian coordinate of a his sins. When sins are eliminated, the Rajas and Thamas
point (8) (mental darkness and ignorance) qualities in him will di-
17 I am power - legitimate and absolute! (8) minish.
18 Create ET perhaps and rest (2,6) In verses 29 to 32 in Chapter VI, Sri Krishna explains to
19 Half of Manhattan, regularly turns to organised search for Arjuna the mature stage of yoga, which consists of four de-
fugitives (7) grees: He whose mind is fixed in yoga sees equality eve-
21 Mostly Apple redesigning confines to a computing device (6) rywhere; To that person who sees God in every self and
every self in God — the Lord says that He is not lost to him;
22 Motivate headless doctor in operating room (4,2)
The yogi who worships fixing his mind in oneness abides
24 Free poor substitute (6) in Him; He who sees the similarity of selves and sees the
pleasure and pain as the same is deemed as the highest.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Saturday, May 18, 2024 11
Delhi
Business

INBRIEF MARKETS
쑽 Manufacturing in Panagariya pitches 쑽

for job-intensive MARKET WATCH

India needs more investments in India

FRIDAY
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddddddd 73,917 dddddddddddddddddddddddddd 0.34
US Dollar dddddddddddddddddddddddd 83.37dddddddddddddddddddddddddd 0.15
Goldddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 73,900 dddddddddddddddddddddddd -0.20
% CHANGE

sophistication: FM
Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddddddd 83.37 dddddddddddddddddddddddddd 0.36

The Hindu Bureau was a historical reason be- NIFTY 50

NEW DELHI
Nirmala Sitharaman said India’s demographic dividend with the lowest
Making a strong case for
dependency ratio will bolster consumption; highlights opportunities more labour-intensive in-
hind India’s successful in-
dustries being in sectors
like IT and petroleum re-
fining. Wage costs account
PRICE CHANGE
Adani Enter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3060.50. . . . . . . . . . 18.85
Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1335.70. . . . . . . . . . -9.35
Apollo Hosp. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5953.05. . . . . . . . . . 21.35
Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2809.90. . . . . . . . . . -4.15
Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1141.35. . . . . . . . . . . . 2.05

IFC extends $500 mn to HDFC The Hindu Bureau

dustries in sectors like ap-
parel and footwear to re-
Bank for microloans to women NEW DELHI duce the concentration of
low-productivity employ-
for just 4% of total costs in
the auto industry and that,
he said, was very typical of
Indian industry.
Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 8780.70. . . . . . . . -91.15
Bajaj Finserv . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1584.75. . . . . . . . -11.25
Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 6727.40. . . . . . . . -19.75
Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1344.45. . . . . . . . . . -0.65
BPCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 628.30. . . . . . . . . . . . 9.55
Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5086.80. . . . . . . . -50.95

I
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has ndian manufacturing
provided a $500-million loan to HDFC Bank for must develop greater
extending microloans to “underserved women”. sophistication in its
HDFC Bank said it would use the funds for products and the govern-
on-lending to SHGs and joint liability groups ment will find ways to pro-
enrolled in the Sustainable Livelihoods Initiative. vide policy support in this
“IFC aims to promote greater inclusiveness of endeavour, Finance Minis-
underserved women borrowers by scaling up ter Nirmala Sitharaman
microlending to this segment,” said Imad said on Friday, dismissing
Fakhoury, IFC’s Regional Director for South Asia. “some economists’ advice
that India should no longer
look to ramp up
manufacturing.”
Zydus, MSN partner to make, “Manufacturing must
increase, and with the help
ment in agriculture, Six-
teenth Finance Commis-
sion chairman Arvind
Panagariya said that India’s
preference for businesses
that depend on capital or
skilled-labour was a legacy
from the “Nehru era”.
Noting that 45% of In-
dia’s workforce is still em-
ployed in agriculture
which produces about 15%
CII summit: Ms. Sitharaman ascribes India’s high growth to “policy of the GDP, he said there
stability” at the CII’s Annual Business Summit in New Delhi. ANI
“The focus generally in
our intellectual thinking…
and that goes all the way
back to the Nehru era, that
we started off with steel
mills, machinery indus-
tries... and that kind of in-
dustrialisation got hard-
wired at all levels if you
look at the political class,
the bureaucracy and the
businessmen,” he said at a
CII summit on Friday.
Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1399.05. . . . . . . . -22.05
Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 470.25. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.95
Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3910.75. . . . . . . . -20.40
Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5799.55. . . . . . . . -50.85
Eicher Motors . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4693.90. . . . . . . . . . 12.15
Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2423.65. . . . . . . . . . 51.05
HCL Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1333.20. . . . . . . . -14.95
HDFC Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1464.10. . . . . . . . . . . . 3.85
HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 570.20. . . . . . . . . . . . 3.15
Hero MotoCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5089.20. . . . . . . . -52.15
Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 655.45. . . . . . . . . . . . 2.10
Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2320.35. . . . . . . . -22.80
ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1130.50. . . . . . . . . . -0.55
IndusInd Bank. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1412.35. . . . . . . . . . . . 3.60
Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1444.30. . . . . . . . . . -9.05
ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 436.30. . . . . . . . . . . . 4.85
JSW Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 907.45. . . . . . . . . . 21.05
Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1696.55. . . . . . . . . . 24.50
L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3450.75. . . . . . . . . . -9.85
LTIMindtree Ltd. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4764.30. . . . . . . . . . -6.90
M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2514.60. . . . . . . . 142.85

market cancer drug for U.S. of policies, India must in- While the consumer pecially with bank and
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 12641.50. . . . . . . . 143.85

Start-ups sign up with

crease its share in manu-
Drugmakers Zydus Lifesciences and facturing and global value
Hyderabad-based MSN Laboratories have entered chains,” Ms. Sitharaman
into an exclusive licensing and supply agreement
for Cabozantinib Tablets, a generic version of
said, adding that this will
also help India be more
cancer drug Cabometyx, for the U.S. market.
Under the agreement, MSN will be in charge of
manufacturing and supplying the generic
self-reliant. Citing a recent
Capgemini Research Insti-
tute report, the Minister
version, following the receipt of regulatory said 65% of almost 760 se-
approval, while Zydus will exclusively market, nior executives surveyed in
distribute and sell the product in the U.S. the U.S. and Europe were
planning to increase manu-
facturing investments sig-
nificantly in India, with an
Wipro COO Amit quits, IT firm eye on reducing their de-
pendence on China.
names Sanjeev his successor Addressing the annual
business summit of the
Wipro’s chief operating officer Amit Choudhary Confederation of Indian In-
market presents a $2.9 tril-
lion opportunity, spending
on food is expected to rise
to $1.4 trillion while finan-
cial services will climb to
$670 billion by 2031, which
together would create
another $1.39 trillion of op-
portunities, the Minister
said, citing the S&P report.
‘Ramping up skilling’
“Skilling is really being
ramped up in India so the
demographic dividend,
which will persist for the
next 30 years [and] comes
with an added advantage
of a historically lowest de-
corporate balance sheets
“in the pink of health”.
Ascribing India’s consis-
tent high growth to “policy
stability, absence of flip-
flops, corruption-free deci-
sion-making” combined
with “facilitation in legisla-
tive and legal frameworks”
based on industry feed-
back for rapid changes in
the compliance regime,
Ms. Sitharaman said the
government looks at the
private sector as a partner
in development while act-
ing as a facilitator.
“We are confident
Prime Minister Narendra
ONDC as volumes
exceed 7 mn a month
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
ONDC Ltd., which operates
the Open Network for Digi-
tal Commerce, has signed
letters of intent with 125
start-ups, including Ease-
MyTrip, Livspace, Pristyn
Care, Cars24, and Policy-
and discovery platforms
compete with each other
for a place in any given
transaction.
The modalities of the
125 start-ups have not yet
been ironed out, but foun-
ders expressed optimism
that the “synergy” bet-
ween ONDC and the Start-
NestleIndia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2445.50. . . . . . . . -22.85
NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 365.45. . . . . . . . . . . . 4.00
ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 277.45. . . . . . . . . . -0.20
PowerGrid Corp . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 313.15. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.65
Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2871.40. . . . . . . . . . 20.70
SBI Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1434.20. . . . . . . . -18.00
State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 817.85. . . . . . . . . . . . 5.90
Shriram Finance
Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2371.60. . . . . . . . . . 32.90
Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1531.40. . . . . . . . . . -4.90
TataConsumerPro-
duct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1095.20. . . . . . . . . . -4.55
Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 945.70. . . . . . . . . . . . 9.30
Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 167.35. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.45
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3834.10. . . . . . . . -66.85
Tech Mahindra . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1305.40. . . . . . . . . . -2.55
Titan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3361.15. . . . . . . . . . 27.25
UltraTech Cement . . . .. . . . . . . 9890.35. . . . . . . . 181.25
Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 461.00. . . . . . . . . . -3.45
EXCHANGE RATES
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4
p.m. on May 17

has stepped down to pursue opportunities dustry (CII), Ms. Sithara- pendency ratio, means the Modi is coming back with a Bazaar, who have all com- up India programme will CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL
US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 83.14. . . . . . . . . . 83.46
outside the organisation. The IT major on Friday man also pointed to an S&P net benefit is going to be to- good majority. Soon after mitted to join the platform. lead to more participation. Euro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 90.13. . . . . . . . . . 90.48
announced the appointment of Sanjeev Jain as Global Market Intelligence wards more increase in the government is formed, ONDC is an effort pro- “We will see what we British Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 105.20. . . . . . . . 105.61
the new COO effective immediately. Mr. Jain assessment that the Indian consumption,” she said. we look forward to a more moted by the government, can do about market con- Japanese Yen (100) . . . . . . .. . . . . 53.34. . . . . . . . . . 53.55
Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 11.50. . . . . . . . . . 11.55
joined Wipro in 2023 as the Global Head of market could throw up tril- She emphasised that in- pointed engagement with but run ‘semi-privately’ in centration,” Department Swiss Franc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 91.41. . . . . . . . . . 91.76
Business Operations. He brings in over 30 years lions of dollars of oppor- vestments and expansion the CII to see what best can a consortium mode, to un- for Promotion of Industry Singapore Dollar . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 61.69. . . . . . . . . . 61.94
Canadian Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 60.95. . . . . . . . . . 61.18
of experience in leading large, diverse teams, tunities by 2031, with the plans to tap these oppor- be done in the July budget, bundle the e-commerce and Internal Trade Secre- Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 17.73. . . . . . . . . . 17.81
scaling up global operations, and deploying Lean consumer market expect- tunities can help push fas- which will be the full year value chain, by making lo- tary Rajesh Kumar Singh Australian Dollar . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 55.30. . . . . . . . . . 55.52

Six Sigma and design thinking principles. ed to double by then. ter economic growth, es- Budget,” she said. gistics providers, sellers told mediapersons. Source:Indian Bank

Keeping close watch ‘Creditors realised
on steel imports, says only 4% of claims
SAIL Chairman under IBC process’
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
SAIL, the country's largest
steel maker is closely
watching imports of the
commodity, the firm’s
Chairman Amarendu Pra-
kash said on Friday.
Mr. Prakash was reply-
ing to questions on the im-
pact of the U.S.’s tariffs on
Chinese items like electric
vehicles, batteries, steel,
and aluminium.
"We are keenly watching
imports," Praksh told PTI
at a workshop on 'Forging
Sustainability in Steel Sec-
tor' organised by the Minis-
try of Steel.
Recently, Tata Steel CEO
T.V. Narendran had also
voiced concern over rising
India became a net
steel importer in
FY24, with a 38%
surge in imports at
8.319 million tonnes
steel imports.
Official figures show In-
dia reported a 38% surge in
steel imports to 8.319 mil-
lion tonnes, becoming a
net importer in FY24.
Steelmakers have raised
concerns on rising imports
from some countries,
mainly China and sought
the Centre’s intervention.
Domestic players have
also demanded curbs on
imports and a review of
free trade agreements with
several countries.
The Hindu Bureau
MUMBAI
Only 17% yielded a resolu-
tion plan with the remain-
ing cases withdrawn post
National Company Law
Tribunal (NCLT) admission
as on March 31, and liqui-
dation for 960 corporate
debtors were completed
where creditors realised
only 4% of their total ad-
mitted claims under the In-
solvency and Bankruptcy
Code (IBC), ICRA said in a
study.
The NCLT approved a
record 269 resolution
plans under the IBC in
FY24, surpassing FY23 re-
cord of 189 cases, but the
rise in average duration of
the resolution process has
caused worries, ICRA said.
Creditor claims of ₹1.7
lakh crore were resolved
through resolution plan
approvals in FY24 against
₹1.5 lakh crore in FY23 and
haircut by lenders rose to
73% from 64%, it added.
Average duration to
close Corporate Insolvency
Resolution Process (CIRP)
rose to 843 days in FY24.
The number of CIRPs
closed through liquidation
orders continued to out-
pace those yielding a reso-
lution plan, ICRA said.
Abhishek Dafria, Group
Head, Structured Finance
Ratings at ICRA, said, “We
continue to find creditors
approaching the NCLT to
admit a defaulting debtor
with substantial delays.”
RBI Deputy Governors flag supervisory
concerns at asset reconstruction firms
The Hindu Bureau
MUMBAI
Amid various allegations of
their indulgence in unethi-
cal practices, including
providing backdoor entry
to defaulting promoters of
insolvent companies, the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
on Friday asked top bosses
of asset reconstruction
companies (ARCs) to focus
on governance and adhere
to ethical conduct while
doing business.
Deputy Governor J.
Swaminathan, while urg-
ing ARCs to foster a culture
of integrity and ethical
conduct, highlighted sev-
eral supervisory concerns
in the functioning of ARCs.
He asked the entities to
adopt a “regulation plus”
approach where “there is
compliance with both the
letter of the regulation and
also its spirit.”
“Boards should accord
due importance to assu-
rance functions, namely,
risk management, com-
pliance and internal audit,”
he said. “These functions
play a critical role in identi-
fying and mitigating risks,
ensuring compliance with
laws and regulations as
well as safeguarding the or-
ganisation’s reputation,”
Mr. Swaminathan added.
‘Sound governance’
Deputy Governor M. Ra-
jeshwar Rao highlighted
the importance of sound
governance which would
provide a strong founda-
tion for the ARCs to build a
robust business model.
“The onus in this regard
lies largely with the Boards
of the ARCs and the top
functionaries who will
have to develop a strong
and institutional culture
based on these principles,”
he said.
He also stressed the
need for responsible con-
duct in recovery process
and emphasised that ARCs
should follow transparent
and non-discriminatory
practices in line with the
comprehensive fair prac-
tice code put in place by
the Reserve Bank.
The RBI had on Friday
organised the conference
for the directors and MD/
CEOs of ARCs in Mumbai.

U.N. forecasts Govt. worried about job losses

2.7% growth
for world
economy
Press Trust of India
UNITED NATIONS
The United Nations report-
ed improved prospects for
the world economy since
its January forecast on
Thursday, pointing to a
better outlook in the U.S
and several large emerging
economies including India.
According to its
mid-2024 report, the world
economy is now projected
to grow by 2.7% this year,
up from the 2.4% forecast
in its January report – and
by 2.8% in 2025. A 2.7%
growth rate would equal
growth in 2023, but still be
lower than the 3% growth
rate before the pandemic.
CM
YK
due to AI, yet comforted by
reskilling prospects: MeitY secy.
Nihal Krishan
NEW DELHI
The Government is wor-
ried about the effects of
cutting-edge artificial intel-
ligence (AI) automation on
jobs and industry in India,
and a dearth of white col-
lar jobs that are the most-
affected by AI tools at the
moment, but comforted
that several science and
tech graduates could be
quickly retrained, a senior
government official said.
Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technolo-
gy (MeitY) Secretary S.
Krishnan said that besides
major retraining and re-
S. Krishnan
skilling efforts around AI,
the government was also in
support of helping manu-
facturing companies retro-
fit their supply chains with
Internet of Things (IoT)
devices that would collect
the information and data
needed for AI models to
work in industrial
scenarios.
“When you talk to com-
panies, many people feel
that the newer AI jobs, ma-
ny of those will get created
in India, for two or three
reasons. One, that we have
a large number of STEM
(science, technology, engi-
neering and mathematics)
trained graduates, many of
whom have exposure to AI
far more than any other
country in the world. And
they can be quickly re-
trained into that space,” he
said at a Confederation of
Indian Industry’s event on
Friday.
M ND-NDE

12
MOSCOW
Reports say 7 injured in explosion
at St Petersburg military academy
X X
Russian media on Friday reported an explosion at the Budyonny
Military Academy of the Signal Corps in St Petersburg. State news
agency RIA cited local officials as saying a resident had reported a
blast at the military academy. Baza, a Telegram channel linked to
law enforcement, said that seven people had been injured. REUTERS
‘China-Russia partnership is
not directed against anyone’
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
An emerging multipolar world is now taking shape before our eyes, says Russian President
Vladimir Putin as he concludes his two-day visit to China; he praises talks with Xi as substantive
Associated Press
BEIJING
R
ussian President
Vladimir Putin
concluded a two-
day visit to China on Fri-
day, emphasising the coun-
tries’ burgeoning strategic
ties as well as his own per-
sonal relationship with
Chinese leader Xi Jinping
as they sought to present
an alternative to U.S. global
influence. Mr. Putin
praised the growth in bilat-
eral trade while touring a
China-Russia Expo in the
northeastern city of Har-
bin. He met students at the
Harbin Institute of Tech-
nology, which is said to
work closely with the Peo-
ple’s Liberation Army.
Harbin, capital of Chi-
na’s Heilongjiang pro-
Adani wind energy project
challenged in Sri Lanka’s SC
Meera Srinivasan
COLOMBO
Adani Green Energy’s wind
energy project, coming up
in Sri Lanka’s northern
Mannar and Pooneryn dis-
tricts, has been challenged
in the island’s apex court
on grounds of potential en-
vironmental impact and
“lack of transparency”.
The Wildlife and Nature
Protection Society
(WNPS), one of Sri Lanka’s
oldest environmental or-
ganisations set up over a
century ago, on Thursday
filed a Fundamental Rights
Schauffele scintillates with a record
62 to be on top of the leaderboard
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Agence France-Presse
LOUISVILLE
Xander Schauffele
matched the lowest round
in Major golf history on
Thursday, firing a nine-un-
der-par 62, to seize com-
mand after the opening
day of the PGA
Championship.
The reigning Olympic
champion started off the
10th tee and birdied five of
his first nine holes, then
birdied four more after the
turn in a bogey-free round
for a three-shot lead at
rain-softened Valhalla.
He set Valhalla’s course
record, breaking the 63
fired by Spain’s Jose Maria
CM
YK
GETTY IMAGES
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping holding an informal meeting at the
Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing on Thursday. AFP
vince, was once home to
many Russian expatriates
and retains some of that
history in its architecture,
such as the central St. So-
phia Cathedral, a former
Russian Orthodox church.
Speaking to reporters,
Mr. Putin thanked Xi and
praised their talks as “sub-
A petition argues
that the project
‘poses a severe threat
to the island’s unique
biodiversity’
petition at the Supreme
Court, with the aim of
“protecting the unique
ecosystem of Mannar
Island”.
No details of grant
The petition argues that
the project “poses a severe
threat to the island’s un-
ique biodiversity and pris-
Sizzling start: Schauffele fired in nine birdies during an incredible
bogey-free first round. GETTY IMAGES
Olazabal in the first round
of the 2000 PGA
Championship.
“It feels great, Schauf-
fele said. “If someone told
me I’d shoot nine-under I’d
have taken it. It’s a great
KATHMANDU
Nepal latest to ban Indian spice
brands over safety concerns
Nepal has become the latest jurisdiction to ban the import and sale
of Everest and MDH — two popular Indian spice brands — after
reports that some of their products contained ethylene oxide, a
cancer-causing pesticide, officials said on Friday. Hong Kong and
Singapore had banned products from them last month. AFP
stantive,” saying he spent
“almost a whole day, from
morning till evening” with
the Chinese leader and
other officials in Beijing the
previous day.
The partnership bet-
ween China and Russia “is
not directed against
anyone,” Mr. Putin said in a
tine landscapes,” especial-
ly in Mannar. Mannar is the
“southernmost point of
the Central Asian Flyway
used by innumerable mi-
gratory species”, while al-
so being home to several
indigenous water birds and
bat species, the WNPS
said.
The petition also notes
that while the project has
been portrayed as a “Go-
vernment-to-Government
initiative with India” , no
details of contributions,
grants, or loans from the
Indian government have
been disclosed.
start to a big tournament. I
can’t nit-pick. I’ll take a 62
in any Major any day,” said
Schauffele.
The 30-year-old Ameri-
can topped the leader-
board over countrymen
THE HINDU
World
REUTERS
veiled reference to the
West. “It is aimed at one
thing: creating better con-
ditions for the develop-
ment of our countries and
improving the well-being
of the people of China and
the Russian Federation.”
Rebuke for U.S.
But he still had a back-
handed rebuke for the
U.S., and others who op-
pose the Moscow-Beijing
relationship, saying an
“emerging multipolar
world ... is now taking
shape before our eyes”.
“And it is important that
those who are trying to
maintain their monopoly
on decision-making in the
world on all issues ... do
everything in their power
to ensure that this process
goes naturally,” he said.
First aid shipment driven across a new
pier into the Gaza Strip, says U.S. military
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
Trucks carrying badly
needed aid for the Gaza
Strip rolled across a newly
built U.S. pier and into the
besieged enclave for the
first time on Friday as Is-
raeli restrictions on border
crossings and heavy fight-
ing hindered the delivery
of food and other supplies.
The shipment is the first
in an operation that Amer-
ican military officials anti-
cipate could scale up to 150
truckloads a day, all while
Israel presses in on the
Sport
Tony Finau, Mark Hubbard
and Sahith Theegala on 65.
Northern Ireland’s Rory
McIlroy, South Korean
Tom Kim, Scotsman Rob-
ert MacIntyre, Belgium’s
Thomas Detry and Ameri-
cans Tom Hoge, Collin Mo-
rikawa and Maverick
McNealy shared fifth on
66.
Thursday’s 64 players
under-par were the se-
cond-most below par after
any round in tournament
history.
Top scores: 62: Xander
Schauffele (USA); 65: Tony Finau
(USA), Sahith Theegala (USA),
Mark Hubbard (USA); 66: Rory
McIlroy (NIR), Robert MacIntyre
(Sco), Tom Hoge (USA), Tom Kim
(Kor), Thomas Detry (Bel), Collin
Morikawa (USA), Maverick
McNealy (USA).
SAN FRANCISCO
Man convicted of attacking Pelosi’s
husband sentenced to 30 years
X X
David DePape, 44, the man convicted of attempting to kidnap
then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a
hammer was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday. The attack
on Paul Pelosi, who was 82 then, was captured on police body
camera video and sent shockwaves through the political world. AP
‘China, Russia
supporting
each other’s
expansion’
Associated Press
TAIPEI
Russia and China are help-
ing each other expand
their territorial reach, and
democracies must push
back against authoritarian
states that threaten their
rights and sovereignty, Tai-
wan’s outgoing Foreign Mi-
nister, Joseph Wu, said in
an interview. His com-
ments came as Russian
President Vladimir Putin
was on a visit to China.
Mr. Wu called on de-
mocracies to align in coun-
tering Russia and China’s
military assertiveness in
Europe, the South China
Sea and beyond. China
threatens to invade Tai-
wan, a self-ruled democra-
cy that it claims as its own
territory. He added that
Beijing is trying to change
the status quo with
Taiwan.
Trident, the floating pier, on the Gaza coast, through which the U.S.
military said aid deliveries began on Thursday. AFP
southern city of Rafah in its
7-month offensive against
Hamas.
But the U.S. and aid
groups warn that the float-
Scheffler
pulled up
for traffic
violation
Reuters
LOUISVILLE
Scottie Scheffler was ar-
rested on Friday morning
on his way to the PGA
Championship, with imag-
es showing him hand-
cuffed as he was taken to
jail for not following police
orders during a pedestrian
fatality investigation. In a
span of three hours, Schef-
fler was arrested, gave a
mug shot in an orange jail
shirt, and returned 56 mi-
nutes before his tee off.
AP
Russian forces pressing
ahead with Kharkiv attack
Agence France-Presse
KYIV
Russian forces were press-
ing ahead on Friday with
their offensive in north-
east Ukraine as President
Vladimir Putin said there
were no current plans to
occupy Kharkiv city, the re-
gional capital.
On a trip to China, Mr.
Putin said the assault was
direct retaliation for Ukrai-
nian shelling of Russia’s
border regions and that
Moscow was trying to
create a “security zone”.
“This is their fault be-
cause they have shelled
and continue to shell resi-
dential neighbourhoods in
border areas,” Mr. Putin
told reporters, adding
there was no intention at
this stage to take Kharkiv
with its population of over
one million about 40 km
from the front lines.
Moscow launched the
ing pier project is not a
substitute for land deliver-
ies that could bring in all
the food, water and fuel
needed in Gaza. Before the
AFI to penalise coaches for
athletes’ doping offence
Y.B. Sarangi
KOLKATA
To curb the doping me-
nace, the Athletics Federa-
tion of India has decided to
take action against coaches
whose athletes commit
doping violations. The AFI,
following its discussion
with various stakeholders
for about six months, took
this important decision at
its executive committee
meeting on Friday.
“Coaches of the athletes
who are caught for doping
and are sanctioned will get
a similar punishment. It is
high time people were
called out, named and
shamed,” AFI president
Adille Sumariwalla said at a
virtual press conference.
“We will suspend the
coaches (who have
ROUEN
Man suspected of setting fire to
synagogue shot dead by police
French police shot and killed a man armed with a knife and a metal
bar who is suspected of having started a fire that charred and
blackened the insides of a synagogue in the Normandy city of
Rouen early on Friday, an attack the Interior Minister said was
“clearly” anti-Semitic and which infuriated Jewish leaders. AP
Pilots of the Sharp Kartuza division of FPV kamikaze drones prepare
for a combat flight in Kharkiv on Thursday. GETTY IMAGES
surprise offensive into Uk-
raine’s north east on May
10, sending thousands of
troops across the border
and unleashing artillery
fire on several settlements,
including the almost de-
serted town of Vovchansk.
Resisting onslaught
Oleg Synegubov, Governor
of the Kharkiv region, said
Russian forces were trying
to surround Vovchansk,
which had a pre-war popu-
war, more than 500 truck-
loads entered the territory
on an average day.
The operation’s success
also remains tenuous be-
cause of the risk of militant
attack, logistical hurdles
and a growing shortage of
fuel for the trucks to run
due to the Israeli blockade
of Gaza. Aid agencies say
they are running out of
food and fuel in southern
Gaza, while the U.S. Agen-
cy for International Deve-
lopment and the World
Food Program say famine
has already taken hold in
Gaza’s north.
Sumariwalla. FILE PHOTO
coached dope offenders),
we will inform depart-
ments concerned and they
will not be allowed to enter
the stadiums. These people
have to be removed from
whatever posts they are
holding. “We had talks with
various agencies regarding
this. If the coaches take a
share of the athletes’ cash
award, then they should al-
so get the stick.”
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Delhi
AFP
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
lation of around 18,000,
and that Ukraine’s forces
were “resisting” the Rus-
sian onslaught. “The ene-
my has actually started to
destroy the city. It is not
just dangerous to be there,
but impossible,” Mr. Syn-
egubov said in a briefing.
But he warned Russia
was also gaining ground
near Lukyantsi, a village
much further west that Ky-
iv pulled back from earlier
this week amid heavy fire.
Civilians
torched aid
truck, says
Israel Army
Agence France-Presse
JERUSALEM
Israel’s military said on Fri-
day that “dozens of Israeli
civilians” set fire the pre-
vious evening to an aid
truck in the occupied West
Bank headed for Gaza. Lo-
cal media reported that Is-
raeli settlers were behind
the attack, which the Army
said injured the driver as
well as Israeli soldiers. The
incident took place near
Kokhav Hashahar, an Israe-
li settlement in West Bank.
The AFI chief said the
athletes needed to declare
their coaches’ names in
dope control forms and all
the coaches would have to
be registered with the fed-
eration. Sumariwalla said
the Olympic bound ath-
letes would attend a coach-
ing camp in Poland from
July 5.
The AFI also decided to
decentralise the coaching
camps after the Olympics,
conduct competitions at
state and district levels
through a similar calendar,
improve the technical con-
duct of the meets (includ-
ing taking action against of-
ficials who fail to carry out
their duty properly) and
digitise merit certificates
with the help of Govern-
ment’s Digilocker app (to
stop forgery of certificates).
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Saturday, May 18, 2024 13
Delhi
Weekend Sport

In 2022 and 2023, golf really humbled me.

[In] sports, there are ups and downs. Every
athlete goes through the roller coaster, and
that is what makes the sport so great

A phenomenal ball-striker with a silky-

smooth, seemingly effortless swing, Korda has a
reputation for using her short game to save par
when in trouble. And despite not having tour-
leading numbers on the green, she has been
known to make clutch putts.
Simplifying her mental game, Korda said, had
helped her find the right balance when compet-
ing on tour. Thinking too far ahead, she noted,
had led her down deep rabbit holes in the past.
“When I’m home, I’m definitely practising a
lot more and trying to work on technique,” she
said. “When I’m out here, the way I keep it sim-
ple is by not overdoing it. Going out, seeing the
course, doing my work with my caddie, picking a
game plan, and then that’s it. I’ve gotten too
caught up before thinking I need to do a little ex-
tra. Now, it’s time to just see my shots and exe-
cute them.
“Not getting too ahead of myself and taking it a
shot at a time. As boring as it sounds or as many
times as you’re going to hear me say it, that’s the
motto and I’m going to stick to it.”
Korda’s dominant 2024 follows two incredibly
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
challenging seasons, which forced her to dig
deep into her reserves of resilience. She started
2022 at No. 1, but then she missed four months
with a blood clot in her left arm that required sur-
gery. Struggling to regain her form, Korda went
GETTY IMAGES winless on the LPGA Tour last year, a campaign
that was interrupted by a back injury.

Nelly Korda: golf ’s dominant superstar “In 2022 and 2023, golf really humbled me,”
she said. “[In] sports, there are ups and downs.
Every athlete goes through the roller coaster, and
that is what makes the sport so great. You mature

charting a course to greatness and grow so much and learn more about
yourself.”

Handling success
One thing Korda has been forced to learn about
The 25-year-old fell short of becoming the first woman to win six consecutive LPGA starts. But in tying Hall of Famers Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam very quickly is handling success — both on the
for the tour’s longest winning streak, the reigning Olympic champion added to her legend and even made pop culture take notice course and off it. “It’s very hard mentally to be
100% after a win, especially playing in tough con-
ditions. [It] just honestly feels like a blur. You
Reuters with the Chevron win, adding to the 2021 Wo- da showed glimpses on the tricky Upper Mont- have to take it day by day, stay very present.”
Associated Press men’s PGA Championship, the buzz around ‘the clair course of why she is such a formidable Perhaps the bigger challenge for the reticent
streak’ grew loud enough for pop culture to take champion. Faced with a 10-stroke deficit starting Korda is dealing with her new-found celebrity.
To get a

W
hen Nelly Korda arrived at the notice. Korda became the first golfer since Tiger her second round in the event that honours the Arguably the face of the LPGA, she is finding her-
Upper Montclair Country Club streak like Woods to be invited to the Met Gala, the an- tour’s founding members, she shot a bogey- self in unfamiliar surroundings having to do
last week, she knew she was on that in any nual event that draws stars from the worlds free 6-under 66 in cold, damp conditions. things that don’t involve swinging a golf club.
the verge of something truly mo- sport is of fashion, show business and sports. She eventually finished in a tie for seventh She embraced it at the Met Gala, turning out in
mentous: she had a shot at becoming the first wo- amazing So when the 25-year-old teed off at the at 7-under. a red floral gown designed by Oscar de la Renta.
man to win six consecutive LPGA starts, at the 72- Founders, the centre of all attention, Korda had no regrets about not mak- “It was so, so crazy,” she said. “You’re seeing all
hole Cognizant Founders Cup.
with the she could have been forgiven for feel- ing it six in a row. “Just to do that with all these people you usually watch in TV shows or
Korda came into the amount of ing just the tad distracted. After the competition out here is super, super movies and they’re like famous singers and
tournament having taken a talent that I months of near-perfect play, she in- rewarding with how much work you’re starstruck the entire time. It was really,
fortnight off after winning feel every explicably hit bad drives, found that I’ve put in. To get a streak really neat to step outside of my comfort zone
the Chevron Champion- athlete has bunkers from the fairway and like that in any sport is and do something like that.”
ship. It was her second ca- in their missed short putts. amazing with the But Korda also said that it was important for
reer Major triumph and sport. Rose Zhang, the two-time amount of talent ev- her to stay true to herself, not change because of
her fifth straight title, tying NCAA champion who won in ery athlete has in the pressures of promoting the women’s game.
her with Hall of Famers
Hopefully her professional debut last their sport. Hope- “Listen, I feel like for me, the way that I pro-
Nancy Lopez (1978) and one day it’ll year, put an official end to Kor- fully one day it’ll mote the game is just the way I am. I’m never go-
Annika Sorenstam (2004- sink in da’s record-tying LPGA Tour sink in.” ing to do something I’m not really comfortable
05) for the tour’s longest winning streak, but the defeat with. I love seeing all the kids and I love promot-
winning streak. Byron Nel- did not diminish the World No. 1’s Athletic stock ing the game. I just hope I show people how
son holds golf’s all-time mark with 11 straight achievement in the slightest; if Korda comes from good much I enjoy being out here week in and week
wins in 1945. anything, it shone a light on how ex- athletic stock — her father out competing against all the girls, practising,
ceptional it was. Petr, a former tennis and hopefully that drives more attention to us.”
Victory run As Zhang pointed out, “I just player, won the 1998 Aus- Having already made history in 2024, Korda is
Korda started her historic victory run at Ja- want to reiterate, it’s so hard win- tralian Open, her broth- eyeing more success. “We have some really amaz-
nuary’s Drive On Championship in her home- ning out here on tour. What Nelly is er Sebastian is ranked in ing golf courses lined up for some of the Majors.
town of Bradenton, Florida, then took a break be- doing is something quite unheard the ATP’s top-30 and her Not just that, hopefully with the Olympics and
fore winning three times in as many weeks — at of, and only two other players have sister Jessica is also a profes- Solheim [Cup]... It’s a big year,” said Korda, who
March’s Seri Pak and Ford championships and in done it before. It’s so difficult and it’s so sional golfer — but she has mar- is the defending Olympic gold medallist. “I’m not
April’s Match Play tournament. rare. There is only one Nelly Korda.” ried her physical gifts with a win- going to get too ahead of myself, but there is a lot
When she doubled her collection of Majors Even in defeat at the Founders, Kor- ner’s attitude. of exciting stuff lined up.”

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

STACKING UP

CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
14 Saturday, May 18, 2024

Weekend Sport Delhi

GETTY IMAGES

Why Michael
Olise is attracting
the heavy-hitters
The winger has starred in Crystal Palace’s recent resurgence, adding goals to his dazzling high-skill game
and putting himself in the shop window ahead of the transfer silly season
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
Reuters
Agence France-Presse

W
ith Europe’s top leagues wind-
ing down and the summer
transfer window set to open in
less than a month, football’s silly
season is truly upon us.
The big clubs — in their bids to enhance, re-
build, rejuvenate, or complete their squads —
are looking largely at two categories of players: that Andre Onana could not deal with. always celebrate goals, the French under-21 in-
the bona fide superstar who may be prised away Olise has now scored 10 goals this Premier ternational has often chosen the path less trod.
from another heavy-hitter in one fashion or the League season, the first time he has hit double As a teenager, he left the youth systems of Chel-
Everybody knows he’s a brilliant player. He’s
other; and the potential superstar of tomorrow figures in top-flight football. Add his five assists sea and City to join Reading, where he felt he
who has shown signs of breaking out but may and that totals up to 15 goal contributions in just fit now, I also think we found a very good would have the opportunity to develop.
still offer good value for money. 18 appearances (13 starts) during an injury-hit position for him and he has a lot of individual Olise has also shown the composure to step
Kylian Mbappe is the most prominent exam- 2023-24! qualities up in important moments. Last December, he
ple of the first category, with the French sensa- As per football statistics website FBref.com, OLIVER GLASNER scored a brace in a 3-1 win over Brentford, snap-
tion announcing that he will leave Paris St. Ger- Olise, over the last 365 days, is in the top 1% Crystal Palace manager ping an eight-game winless run. In the same
main as a free agent after the expiry of his of all footballers across Europe’s top month, he held his nerve and calmly slotted
contract. Real Madrid is reportedly preparing to leagues for goals scored per 90 mi- home a 95th-minute penalty against City to earn
receive Mbappe after the Champions League nutes. He is also in the top 1% for ex- ficult to dispossess 1v1. He is also an intelligent a 2-2 draw after being two goals down at one
final. pected assisted goals. It simply doesn’t passer, with his ability to deliver pinpoint cross- stage. Last January, he produced a brilliant stop-
Michael Olise is fast emerging as one of the get much better in terms of es with a low backlift adding significantly to his page-time free-kick to rescue a 1-1 draw and end
more interesting options in the second category. end-product. team’s shot-creating potential. United’s run of nine successive wins.
The Crystal Palace winger has starred in the Ea- Olise has played in a different po- Now that Olise has beefed up his goal output,
gles’ resurgence under new manager Oliver sition under Glasner. Typically a it’s no surprise he is attracting plenty of suitors. Injury worries
Glasner, showing off his dazzling talent and put- touchline-hugging right-winger with Last August, Chelsea failed in its bid to take Olise Olise’s recent injury history — he missed 135 days
ting himself, front and centre, in the shop the licence to cut in, he has been asked to Stamford Bridge. Pochettino’s club reportedly in 2022-23 and 60 days in 2023-24 with hamstr-
window. to occupy the half-space infield pock- offered to pay his then £35 million release ing injuries — may give some suitors pause, but
Last weekend, Olise delivered another im- ets behind the striker in Glasner’s 3-4- clause, but he turned down the chance and most of the big clubs have world-class medical
pressive display as Palace registered its fifth win 2-1. This has brought him closer to penned a new Palace contract just days after. expertise and the resources to finance intensive
I just use in six Premier League games by beating Wolves goal and allowed him to play off BBC Sport reported that the new contract does individual attention. Injuries have crippled ma-
every 3-1. In the first half, he opened the scoring with a Eze, his left-sided counterpart in not contain a straightforward release clause, but ny a promising career, and it’s something Olise is
delightful curling strike and played a key role in the attacking two, and frontman that the Eagles value him at at least £60m. dealing with philosophically.
opportunity
the buildup to the second scored by Jean-Phi- Mateta. That price point, given Olise’s projected tra- “I think it’s been a bit tough mentally and
to try and lippe Mateta. He then assisted Eberechi Eze’s se- “Everybody knows he’s a brilliant jectory, is a relative snip for the rich clubs. So it’s physically, to keep getting injured,” he said. “But
get better cond-half goal, which wrapped up victory. player,” said Glasner. “He’s fit now, I al- not surprising that the 22-year-old has been also, you know that you can come back from it,
every day — so think we found a very good position linked with Manchester United, Manchester Ci- so you just try and take the positives, try and
if it’s a little Agent of dominance for him and he has a lot of individual ty, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Newcastle, stay mentally in a good space. I just use every
bit, if it’s a Five days before the Wolves performance at Mo- qualities.” with a host of other clubs also reported to be opportunity to try and get better every day — if
lot, lineux, Olise scored two delightful goals in a 4-0 tracking Olise’s situation. What makes him such it’s a little bit, if it’s a lot, whatever the day al-
thrashing of Manchester United at Selhurst Park. Tricky, creative, intelligent an attractive prospect is that in addition to his lows, really. I’m very hungry [to improve].”
whatever
The 22-year-old gave his side the lead after Olise has always been a very skilful undeniable talent he also appears to have the Palace hopes to hold on to its man, with
the day collecting a throw and nimbly sidestepping a player — a tricky, creative winger who can personality to handle the pressures of a big club. Glasner saying he wants to build on his excellent
allows, Casemiro challenge. With no United player at- dribble through crowded areas as well as Born in London’s Hammersmith district to a start with all of the players at his disposal. But gi-
really. I’m tempting to close him down, he was able to un- carry the ball in transition. His agility — like Nigerian father and a French-Algerian mother, ven the amount of interest Olise is drawing,
very hungry leash a low shot from just inside the box. Olis- Neymar, a reported inspiration, he Olise has a reputation for being something of a there’s a reasonable chance he leaves Selhurst
MICHAEL e’s second came from the edge of the box, with shifts both his bodyweight and the ball maverick. A self-possessed young man who de- Park. Where he goes, if he does, and what he
OLISE his first touch setting up a blistering left-footer when dribbling — makes him very dif- livers blunt responses in interviews and does not gets up to should make for compelling viewing.

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GAME THEORY PICTURE THIS

GETTY IMAGES

Cold scramble for mishaps are common and of-

Short track speed skating is a ra-
pid, unpredictable event noto-
rious for crashes and collisions.
Skaters compete against
each other as opposed to
against time, which brings skill
and strategy into play. Penalties
CM
YK
ten decide the result of the race.
padded for safety.
Short-track skating evolved
The discipline is contested on from speed skating events that
an oval rink the same size as were held with mass starts in
that of an ice hockey rink. Canada and North America in
Owing to the high speeds and the early 1900s. Since these
the inevitable collisions — and events were held indoors, they
to the fact that athletes are very were staged on shorter tracks
close to each other on tight than was usual for outdoor
tracks — the walls of the rink are skating.
After being introduced as a
demonstration sport at the 1988
Winter Olympics, it was officially
included as an event in 1992 and
has been on the schedule ever
since. More recently, Asian coun-
tries such as China and Korea
have challenged the North
American dominance of the
sport.
M ND-NDE

Saturday, May 18, 2024
Delhi
BENCH STRENGTH
Super Kings’ Bravo not fretting
over injuries to his bowlers
X X
CSK has missed the likes of Matheesha Pathirana, Mustafizur
Rahman, and Deepak Chahar at different points for different
reasons. But CSK bowling coach Dwayne Bravo looked at the
positives. “You can see the bowlers who replaced them, they have
been like-for-like. That shows the depth. You have to have a bench.”
RCB and CSK face off in a
make-or-break contest
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
The home team needs a win, with conditions applied — assuming there is a full 20-over match and a score of 200, it has
to beat Ruturaj’s men by 18 runs or chase down the target with about 11 balls to spare in order to make the playoffs
IPL-17
N. Sudarshan
BENGALURU
n Sunday, just over
O 24 hours after the
first ball of the
Royal Challengers Benga-
luru-Chennai Super Kings
contest is sent down at the
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium,
the last round of fixtures in
the English Premier
League will commence.
All 10 football matches
will begin at the same time
— both at the start and af-
ter half-time — and no
team will have the benefit
of knowing beforehand
what has happened el-
sewhere. Manchester City
and Arsenal are separated
by two points at the top
and are set for a pulsating
race to the finish.
Alien concept
Such a level playing field
has so far proved alien to
the Indian Premier
League, and thus, RCB and
CSK know exactly what is
required of them on Satur-
day to get into the playoffs.
RCB needs a win, with
conditions applied. As-
Pooran’s pyrotechnics help Super Giants finish on a high Filled with gratitude I
Shayan Acharya
MUMBAI
It’s not for nothing that Ni-
cholas Pooran is rated so
highly in white-ball cricket.
At the Wankhede Stadium
against Mumbai Indians on
Friday, the Caribbean pow-
er-hitter’s blitz (75, 29b,
5x4, 8x6) piloted Lucknow
Super Giants to 214 for six
and set up an 18-run win in
its final IPL fixture of the
season.
A slow start by LSG cap-
tain K.L. Rahul (55, 41b,
3x4, 3x6) allowed the
home team to keep things
under check until the 11th
over before Pooran took
charge. Walking in with his
team at 69 for three, Poo-
ran counter-attacked. He
hit a couple of fours and as
many sixes off Anshul
Kamboj before smashing
two huge sixes off MI skip-
per Hardik Pandya.
Pooran brought up his
third half-century of the
season off just 19 deliveries
and forged a 109-run stand
with Rahul for the fourth
wicket. He was at his scin-
tillating best in the 15th ov-
er as hit Arjun Tendulkar’s
first two deliveries for sixes
before the bowler walked
off the field due to cramps.
The left-hander then hoist-
ed Naman Dhir into the
stands before missing a
maximum off the fourth by
a whisker. A single and a
six from Rahul completed
the over.
Just when he looked on
CM
YK
K. MURALI KUMAR
Time for its A game: CSK can potentially zoom up to second in the table with a victory. K. MURALI KUMAR
suming there is a full 20-
over match and a score of
200, it has to beat CSK by
18 runs or chase down the
target with about 11 balls to
spare.
Any other result, in-
cluding a washout — the fo-
recast is for rain — will
send CSK through.
Ruturaj Gaikwad's men
can potentially zoom up to
second if they triumph,
and Sunrisers Hyderabad
and Rajasthan Royals lose
Belligerent: Pooran unleashed eight sixes and five fours during his free-flowing innings. PTI
course for a hundred, Poo-
ran was caught by Surya-
kumar Yadav at long-on off
Nuwan Thushara. Arshad
Khan was dismissed off the
next ball before Piyush
Chawla performed a team
hat-trick, removing Rahul
off the first delivery of the
next over.
Ayush Badoni slammed
19 off the final over bowled
by Romario Shepherd .
CLARITY
Won’t spend much time deciding
whether to bat or bowl: Malolan
Malolan Rangarajan said that RCB will not stress over the win
equations, weather and the toss. “The good thing is that it is crystal
clear what we need to do. We won’t spend much time deciding
whether to bat or bowl. We have been defending targets. We won’t
be thinking we should be restricting them for this and that.”
on Sunday.
RCB has won five fix-
tures in a row and it’s a mi-
nor miracle that it is still in
contention after once be-
ing the favourite to collect
the wooden spoon.
But with Will Jacks re-
turning to England, all
eyes will be on Glenn Max-
well. The 35-year-old has
totalled a paltry 36 runs
from seven innings this
campaign, but a replace-
ment of his calibre is not
MI started its chase
briskly before rain inter-
rupted play for 45 minutes.
With Rohit Sharma (68,
38b, 10x4, 3x6) in good
nick and Dewald Brevis
lending good support, the
host cruised to 78 for no
loss in eight overs.
Rohit hit speedsters
Mohsin Khan and Naveen-
ul-Haq for a flurry of boun-
daries while Brevis joined
THE HINDU
Sport
LUCKY NUMBER
‘Every time RCB has played on
the 18th, I think it has won’
K. MURALI KUMAR
X X
The number 18 is writ large on Saturday’s game. Virat Kohli sports
No. 18; RCB needs to win by 18 runs or chase in 18.1 overs. Malolan
had a witty take. “Every time RCB has played on the 18th, I think
RCB has won. On a serious note, we have played knockout matches
for the last six games. So nothing changes.”
something many teams
have.
CSK has alternated bet-
ween victory and defeat
over the last six games.
And against a destructive
batting unit like RCB’s, its
bowlers have to be spot
on.
With Englishman
Moeen Ali having left the
Indian shores, one of
Mitchell Santner or Ri-
chard Gleeson is likely to
play.
SCOREBOARD
쑽
LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS
K.L. Rahul c Thushara b Chawla
55 (41b, 3x4, 3x6), Devdutt
Padikkal lbw b Thushara 0 (1b),
Marcus Stoinis lbw b Chawla 28
(22b, 5x4), Deepak Hooda c
Wadhera b Chawla 11 (9b, 1x4),
Nicholas Pooran c Suryakumar b
Thushara 75 (29b, 5x4, 8x6),
Arshad Khan c Wadhera b
Thushara 0 (1b), Ayush Badoni
(not out) 22 (10b, 1x4, 2x6),
Krunal Pandya (not out) 12 (7b,
1x4, 1x6); Extras (w-11): 11; Total
(for six wkts. in 20 overs): 214.
FALL OF WICKETS
1-1 (Padikkal, 0.3 overs), 2-49
(Stoinis, 5.6), 3-69 (Hooda, 9.3),
4-178 (Pooran, 16.5), 5-178
(Arshad, 16.6), 6-178 (Rahul, 17.1).
MUMBAI INDIANS BOWLING
Thushara 4-0-28-3, Arjun
2.2-0-22-0, Anshul 3-0-48-0,
Chawla 4-0-29-3, Wadhera
2-0-13-0, Hardik 2-0-27-0, Naman
0.4-0-17-0, Shepherd 2-0-30-0.
MUMBAI INDIANS
Rohit Sharma (Impact Player in
in with a four and six off
Naveen in the ninth over.
The South African’s in-
nings ended when he was
caught by Krunal Pandya.
In the next over, Krunal
dismissed Suryakumar Ya-
dav for a duck before Ravi
Bishnoi ended Rohit’s stay.
Though Naman Dhir (62
n.o., 28b, 4x4, 5x6) battled
on, the target proved too
stiff for Hardik’s men.
K. MURALI KUMAR
Will the fickle Bengaluru
weather spoil the
Kohli-Dhoni shoot-out?
Saturday blues: The threat of a wash-out looms large over the RCB-CSK contest. K. MURALI KUMAR
N. Sudarshan
BENGALURU
Bengaluru’s weather is so
notoriously fickle that its
tantrums have acquired
cult status. On Saturday,
the city faithful will be
praying that it behaves, for
a washout against Chennai
Super Kings will send their
beloved Royal Challengers
Bengaluru out.
There is indeed an in-
glorious tradition of rain af-
fecting at least one RCB
home game in an IPL sea-
place of Thushara) c Mohsin b
Bishnoi 68 (38b, 10x4, 3x6),
Dewald Brevis c Hardik b Naveen
23 (20b, 1x4, 2x6), Suryakumar
Yadav c Bishnoi b Krunal 0 (3b),
Ishan Kishan b Naveen 14 (15b,
1x4), Hardik Pandya c Naveen b
Mohsin 16 (13b, 1x4, 1x6), Nehal
Wadhera c Krunal b Bishnoi 1
(3b), Naman Dhir (not out) 62
(28b, 4x4, 5x6), Romario
Shepherd (not out) 1 (1b); Extras
(nb-1, w-10): 11; Total (for six
wkts. in 20 overs): 196.
FALL OF WICKETS
1-88 (Brevis, 8.4), 2-89
(Suryakumar, 9.2), 3-97 (Rohit,
10.5), 4-116 (Hardik, 13.3), 5-120
(Wadhera, 14.2), 6-188 (Kishan,
19.3).
SUPER GIANTS BOWLING
Arshad 2-0-11-0, Henry 2-0-24-0,
Krunal 4-0-29-1, Mohsin 4-0-45-1,
Naveen (Impact Player in place
of Badoni) 4-0-50-2, Bishnoi
4-0-37-2.
Toss: MI; PoM: Pooran.
LSG won by 18 runs.
TOP PICK
BCCI has approached Gambhir
for head coach job, says report
The Board of Control for Cricket in India approached Gautam
Gambhir to replace Rahul Dravid as India’s head coach, according to
a report from ESPNcricinfo. The report said that the KKR mentor is
BCCI’s top pick to become India’s next head coach as Dravid’s
tenure comes to an end after the 2024 T20 World Cup.
son. An unrelenting sum-
mer has ensured that RCB
has dodged the bullet six
times in the 2024 edition.
However, Saturday’s fo-
recast is for good amounts
of precipitation, and it
seems like luck may have
finally run out.
There is, of course, the
state-of-the-art SubAir
drainage system that can
get the ground ready in no
time. And if the skies relent
for two hours, a five-over
match is eminently possi-
ble. But would five overs
could play 150 games
for country: Chhetri
Amitabha Das Sharma
KOLKATA
Sunil Chhetri prefers to be
remembered as a hard-
working footballer who
gave his best for the coun-
try. This is what the owner
of a record 150 caps for In-
dia had to say a day after
announcing that he will re-
tire from international
football after the second
round match (2026 FIFA
World Cup qualifiers)
against Kuwait. The match
will be played at the Salt
Lake Stadium on June 6.
“When people think
about me, I should be re-
membered as a hard-work-
ing person. I could play 150
matches because of it. A lot
of attributes are required
for a player to do well, but
this is one characteristic
that I want to leave behind
me,” Chhetri said at a me-
dia interaction on Friday.
“And, of course, I want to
be remembered as the
most good-looking player
too,” he added with a
chuckle when asked about
the legacy he wished to
leave behind.
The India captain said
he never aspired for re-
cords and was happy con-
tributing to the National
team for 19 years. “I am
filled with gratitude and
have no hollow feelings.
15
K.R. DEEPAK
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
do justice to a clash that
will be one of the last times
Virat Kohli and M.S. Dhoni
face-off?
Another variable is the
pitch. This season, the M.
Chinnaswamy Stadium has
been far from the batting
paradise it usually is; only
twice has the 200-run
mark been breached in 12
innings (RCB vs. SRH). But
the last time CSK and RCB
met in Bengaluru, 444
runs were scored. A repeat
is in the hands of the
weather gods.
Chhetri. K. MURALI KUMAR
When I started my journey
with the Indian team, I
never thought I would be
scoring so many goals. At
no point did I think of scor-
ing 100 because it was nev-
er a part of any plan or
dream. I am really fortu-
nate I could play 150
matches and could score
94 goals for my country,”
he said.
Chhetri said the deci-
sion to retire was instinc-
tive and had nothing to do
with fitness. “It is of prime
importance that I bring va-
lue to the team. I felt I
needed to leave the nation-
al team, and I am doing so
at a time when there are so
many good players waiting
to take my place,” he said.
He said his next focus
was on doing well for BFC
in the next ISL season.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
16 Saturday, May 18, 2024

Sport Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽 Aishwary and Anjum ensure
Lopez double earns
Barcelona a win at Almeria
Olympic berth with top fare
Fermin Lopez struck twice to secure Barclona a
2-0 win at Almeria on Thursday in La Liga. Olympic quota winner Swapnil ends up with the lowest total of 573, but with earlier scores of 592,
The results: Las Palmas 2 (Suarez 27, Moleiro 64) drew with 587 and 587 retains his quota for Paris, ahead other quota winner Akhil
Real Betis 2 (Marmol 21-og, Perez 49); Almeria 0 lost to
Barcelona 2 (Lopez 14, 67); Real Sociedad 1 (Silva 3) bt Tomar 197.3 (577); 5. Ravinder
Valencia 0. SHOOTING TRIALS Singh 176.9 (581).
Women: 1. Manu Bhaker 241.0
Sports Bureau (577); 2. Esha Singh 240.2 (576); 3.
Rhythm Sangwan 220.3 (573); 4.
lympian Aishwary
Tanisha-Ashwini and
Satwik-Chirag pairs move up O Pratap Singh To-
mar sustained his
strong run and shot 591 to
Surbhi Rao 199.3 (574); 5. Palak
Gulia 179.1 (576).
10m air rifle: Men: 1. Sri Karthik
Sabari Raj 252.5 (10.4) 630.5; 2.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty along top men’s rifle 3-position Divyansh Singh Panwar 252.5
with the women’s combine of Tanisha Crasto and event in the fourth Olym- (10.3) 631.4; 3. Arjun Babuta 229.9
Ashwini Ponnappa advanced to the semifinals of pic shooting trials at the (632.2); 4. Rudrankksh Patil 207.1
Madhya Pradesh Academy (632.0); 5. Sandeep Singh 185.9
Thailand Open Super 500 in Bangkok on Friday.
The results (quarterfinals): Men: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Ina)
bt Meiraba Luwang Maisnam 21-12, 21-5; Doubles:
in Bhopal on Friday.
After an indifferent start
(631.6).
Women: 1. Ramita Jindal 252.6
Parveen suspended,
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty bt Junaidi Arif & Roy
King Ya (Mas) 21-7, 21-14.
Women: Tanisha Crasto & Ashwini Ponnappa bt Lee Yu Lim &
in the first trial when he
stumbled to a score of 576
in Delhi, Aishwary has
Crack shot: Naveen. shot 246.8, a score better than the world
record of 246.5, in the air pistol event. RITU RAJ KONWAR
(630.8); 2. Elavenil Valarivan 252.1
(634.4); 3. Nancy Mandhotra
230.99 (629.4); 4. Mehuli Ghosh
loses Olympic quota
and 587 to retain his quota seal the second Olympic 209.1 (628.4); 5. Tilottama Sen
Shin Seung Chan (Tpe) 21-15, 21-23, 21-19. been pretty strong with Sports Bureau month backdated suspen-
for Paris, ahead of Olympic berth, comfortably ahead 187.6 (632.4).
scores of 595 and 590 in KOLKATA sion from Friday for ‘whe-
quota winner Akhil of Ashi Chouksey, Olympic 50m rifle 3-position: Men: 1.
the last two trials. He thus reabouts’ failure.
Sheoran. quota winner Shriyanka Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar
ensured his spot for the India lost the women’s As the quota place is al-
LIVE TELECAST Sadangi and Nischal. 591; 2. Niraj Kumar 586; 3. Akhil
Games.
83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97

83036f83-8d27-4153-a04c-7e0637a3df97
In women’s event, Asian Sheoran 586; 4. Chain Singh 586; 57kg quota place as boxer lotted to the athlete in box-
쑽 Olympic quota winner Games gold medallist and 5. Swapnil Kusale 573. Parveen Hooda, who quali- ing, India would field
The results:
Formula One: Romagna GP (Qualifying), F1 TV, F1 TV Pro App Swapnil Kussale ended up world record holder Sift 10m air pistol: Men: 1. Naveen Women: 1. Sift Kaur Samra 593; fied for the Games by se- another boxer in 57kg in
& FanCode, 7.30 p.m. with the lowest total of 573, Kaur Samra shot 593 to curing a bronze medal in the second World boxing
246.8 (579); 2. Sarabjot Singh 2. Anjum Moudgil 588; 3. Nischal
IPL: Star Sports 1 (SD & HD) & JioCinema, 7.30 p.m. but had done enough ear- seal her berth. Olympian 242.4 (581); 3. Arjun Singh 587; 4. Shriyanka Sadangi 580; 5. the Asian Games last Oc- qualifier starting in Bang-
Golf: U.S. PGA Championship, FanCode, 10.30 p.m. lier with scores of 592, 587 Anjum Moudgil shot 588 to Cheema 218.8 (583); 4. Varun Ashi Chouksey 577. tober, was handed a 22- kok on May 24.

SNAPSHOTS
쑽

Swiatek to face
Sabalenka for title
Iga Swiatek swept past
Coco Gauff to reach the
Rome Open final on
Thursday where she will
face Aryna Sabalenka.
The results: Women: Iga
Swiatek bt Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3;
Aryna Sabalenka bt Danielle
Collins 7-5, 6-2.
Men: Quarterfinals: Jarry bt
Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Japan wins a thriller
against India
Japan snatched a thrilling
2-1 victory over India in
the quarterfinals of the
Asia-Oceania Junior Billie
Jean King Cup under-16
girls tennis’ in Shymkent,
Kazakhstan.
The results (quarterfinals):
Japan bt India 2-1 (Kanon
Sawashiro bt Diya Ramesh 6-2,
6-1; Hikari Yamamoto lost to
Maaya Rajeshwaran 2-6, 6-7(0);
Kurea Hayasaka & Kanon
Sawasshiro bt Maaya & Diya 3-6,
7-5, [10-2]).
Yuki & Olivetti in
doubles quarterfinals
Yuki Bhambri and Albano
Olivetti beat Robin Haase
and Philipp Oswald 5-7,
6-3, [10-5] in the €205,000
Challenger tennis doubles
first round in Bordeaux.
Other important results:
€74,825 Challenger, Oeiras,
Portugal: Quarterfinals:
Anirudh Chandrasekar & Arjun
Kadhe bt Dmitry Popko & Beibit
Zhukayev 6-3, 6-3.
$15,000 ITF men, Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia: Doubles
(semifinals): Chirag Duhan &
Maik Steiner bt Siddhant Banthia
& Nitin Kumar Sinha 7-6(3), 6-3.
Viraj makes
the title round
Unseeded Viraj
Choudhary beat Abhiudai
Singh 6-3, 6-3 in the
under-16 boys’ semifinals
of the AITA National series
junior tennis at the
Joygaon Academy, Jhajjar,
on Friday.
Other results: Boys:
Semifinals: Uttam Karthik bt
Advit Tiwari 6-4, 6-2.
Doubles: Final: Paranjay Siwach
& Viraj bt Avi Agarwal & Abhiudai
6-1, 5–7, [10-8].
Girls: Semifinals: Swasti Singh
bt Aaradhya Meena 5-1
(conceded); Sara Hooda bt Simar
Gill 6-2, 2-0 (conceded).
Doubles: Final: Disha Kumar &
Sara bt Aavika Sheoran & Pragya
Sharma 6-1, 6-1.
Bisht’s ton fires
Sehgal CC into the final
A fluent 129 off 91 balls
with 20 fours and a six by
wicket-keeper opener
Chetan Bisht powered
Sehgal Cricket Club to a
six-wicket victory over
Rajnigandha Achievers in
the semifinals of the 49th
all-India Goswami Ganesh
Dutt cricket tournament at
the Khalsa College ground
on Friday.
In the final, to be played
on Sunday, Sehgal CC will
play Sporting CC.
The scores: Rajnigandha
Achievers 282/9 in 40 overs
(Anmol Sharma 97, Deepanshu
Phore 50, Vishal Choudhary 3/31;
Faizan Alam 3/59) lost to Sehgal
CC 283/4 in 34.3 overs (Chetan
Bisht 129, Prince Yadav 50, Mohd.
Arslan Khan 46).
Arjun bowls
IAF to victory
Three wickets by Arjun
helped Indian Air Force
beat Ravi Brothers by 37
runs in the inaugural
match of the DDCA T20
League.
The scores: Indian Air Force
157/9 in 20 overs (Pulkit Narang
30 n.o., Ravi Chouhan 27) bt Ravi
Brothers 122/9 in 20 overs
(Sanket Dua 32, Arjun 3/28,
Gaurav Sharma 2/18).
Easy win for
Ravindra Academy
Ravindra York Academy
beat Spark Minda by seven
wickets in the 1st Late Sri
Ratan Singh Boss
memorial tournament.
The scores: Spark Minda 167 in
34 overs (Tarun 56, Shivansh
Mishra 37, Ashish Kumar Meena
3/22) lost to Ravindra York
Academy 173/3 in 18 overs (Mohit
Panwar 70, Shubham Saini 60).
Mridul takes
a five-for
Man of the Match Mridul
Khanna picked up five
wickets as Modern
Warriors beat Modern
Spartans by 68 runs in the
Turf Junior Cricket League
Under-12 tournament.
The scores: Modern Warriors
185/5 in 20 overs (Zeus 59, Rudra
Priya Tripathi 3/29, Ritwik Gupta
2/41) bt Modern Spartans 117 in
19.5 overs (Ehaan Virmani 46,
Mridul Khanna 5/14).

CM M ND-NDE
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