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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. 122

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CM J ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU Wednesday, May 22, 2024
J2 Delhi

CM J ND-NDE
YK
 WEDNESDAY
May 22, 2024
DELHI
CITY EDITION
18 Pages ₹ 12.00
Printed at » Chennai » Coimbatore
KOLKATA’S DAY OUT
KKR cruises past
SRH, enters final
SPORT » PAGE 15
CRITICAL ISSUE
Climate change, a
passing cloud in
Indian politics
Major parties have sidelined
it in their electoral rhetoric
EDITORIAL » PAGE 6
Brij Bhushan misused position as WFI
chief to exert control over victims: court
Ishita Mishra
NEW DELHI
As a Delhi court on Tues-
day framed charges of sex-
ual harassment, intimida-
tion and outraging the
modesty of women against
former Wrestling Federa-
tion of India (WFI) chief
and BJP leader Brij Bhush-
an Sharan Singh, the ac-
cused pleaded not guilty in
a criminal case filed by wo-
men wrestlers.
“Why will I plead guilty
when I am not guilty?” said
Mr. Singh in the court of
Additional Chief Metropol-
itan Magistrate (ACMM)
Priyanka Rajpoot.
PM’s Puri temple key EC censures former judge-turned-BJP Bengaluru cafe blast:
remark drives wedge candidate, bars campaign for 24 hours NIA searches houses
between States: Stalin
The Hindu Bureau
CHENNAI
DMK president and Chief
Minister M.K. Stalin on
Tuesday took exception to
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s remarks at a cam-
paign in Odisha that “the
keys of Ratna Bhandar, the
inner chamber of the Shri
Jagannath Temple in Puri,
had been taken to Tamil
Nadu”.
“He [Mr. Modi] had not
only insulted Lord Jagan-
nath, who is worshipped
by crores of people, but al-
so wounded the people of
Tamil Nadu who shared a
cordial relationship with
Odisha. Is it not a speech
that is aimed at instigating
the people of Odisha
CM
YK
» Bengaluru » Hyderabad
While ordering the
framing of charges, the
ACMM noted that prima fa-
cie, the conduct of the ac-
cused demonstrates that
he misused his position as
the WFI chief to exert con-
trol over the victims and
employed threats related
to their career prospects as
a means of intimidation.
Several wrestlers, in-
cluding Sakshi Malik, Vi-
nesh Phogat, Bajrang Pu-
nia, and Sangeeta Phogat
had protested for months
last year, demanding the
arrest of the BJP MP for al-
legedly sexually harassing
women grapplers, includ-
ing a minor. The police had
of two doctors in T.N.
against the people of Ta-
mil Nadu, whose devotion
to Lord Jagannath is im-
measurable? Can the
Prime Minister term the
people of Tamil Nadu as
thieves who have stolen
the keys of the treasury of
Jagannath temple?,” Mr.
Stalin questioned in a
statement.
‘Hatred campaign’
He further said that it
would not augur well for
the country if its Prime Mi-
nister, who should be
seeking votes on the basis
of policies, ideology, agen-
da, and achievements of
his government, drove a
wedge between States
through his “hatred
campaign”.
» Madurai » Noida » Visakhapatnam
2 killed as BJP, RJD
workers clash day
after Bihar polling
Shots fired in the aftermath of an election-day fight between supporters
of the parties in Saran; two persons held; Internet suspended for 2 days
Amit Bhelari
PATNA
wo persons were
T killed and another
was injured after a
clash broke out between
supporters of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and the
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
in the Saran Lok Sabha con-
stituency of Bihar, a day af-
ter polling, on Tuesday.
To maintain peace in the
area, the Saran police have
suspended Internet servic-
es for 48 hours and de-
tained two people.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s
daughter Rohini Acharya
was up against the BJP’s Ra-
jiv Pratap Rudy from the
constituency.
Tensions erupted on
Monday when during the
voting, Ms. Acharya visited
polling booth 118 located at
Bhikhari Thakur Chowk
filed an FIR against the MP
after the intervention of
the Supreme Court in May
2023. In June, a 1,000-page
chargesheet was filed at
the Rouse Avenue courts.
The minor wrestler later
took back her complaint
and changed the
statement.
‘Premeditated strategy’
On Tuesday, the court re-
ferred to the instances
mentioned in the FIR that
even during wrestling
events, the victims used to
avoid going out indepen-
dently, which reflects their
fear and persistent threat
posed by the presence of
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI/KOLKATA
The Election Commission
(EC) on Tuesday censured
former Calcutta High Court
judge and BJP candidate
from Tamluk in West Ben-
gal Abhijit Gangopadhyay
for his remarks against
Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee.
Mr. Gangopadhyay has
been barred from cam-
paigning for 24 hours be-
ginning 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
In its order, the poll bo-
dy also asked BJP president
J.P. Nadda to issue an advi-
sory on behalf of the party
to all candidates and cam-
paigners to make sure that
such a lapse does not recur
during the campaign.
The EC had issued a
show-cause notice to the
www.thehindu.com
» Thiruvananthapuram » Kochi
Tension grips: Rohini Acharya, RJD candidate from Saran, visit a
person injured in the post-poll violence on Tuesday. SACHIN
and got into an argument
with a few people. Some re-
sidents alleged that Ms.
Acharya was misbehaving
with the voters.
After she left, a clash
broke out between two
groups during which they
hurled stones at each other
and several got injured.
On Tuesday morning,
the police said a person
opened fire during a clash
the accused.
“The allegations de-
monstrate that the offenc-
es committed against the
victims were not random
but part of a continuous se-
quence of events, suggest-
ing a premeditated strate-
gy to assault vulnerable
victims repeatedly over
several years. The modus
operandi is consistent i.e.,
the exploitation of power
and opportunity to harass
subordinates,” the court
noted.
The court also framed
the charge of criminal inti-
midation against Vinod To-
mar, co-accused in the
case.
Inviting wrath: BJP candidate Abhijit Gangopadhyay campaigning
for the Lok Sabha election in East Medinipur. ANI
former Calcutta High Court
judge based on a com-
plaint by the Trinamool
Congress for his remarks
against Ms. Banerjee while
addressing a public meet-
ing in Haldia on May 15.
In its notice, the EC had
said Mr. Gangopadhyay’s
» Vijayawada » Mangaluru » Tiruchirapalli
between RJD and BJP sup-
porters at Bhikhari Thakur
Chowk near Bada Telpa
Primary School.
In the firing, one was
killed on the spot while
another died in hospital.
The deceased were identi-
fied as Chandan Yadav and
Guddu Rai.
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 10
Heat onslaught
Searing struggle: A man rides a two-wheeler through a mirage on a hot summer day at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Tuesday. The
maximum temperature in the Capital settled at 42.2 degrees Celsius, 2.2 notches above the season’s average. SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
comment was found to be
“beyond dignity in every
sense of the term” and “in
bad taste”, and prima facie
violative of the provisions
of the Model Code of Con-
duct and its advisory to
political parties.
It described the remark
» Kolkata » Hubballi » Mohali
SC asks if arrest can
be called invalid after
cognisance of case
Krishnadas Rajagopal
NEW DELHI
A Supreme Court hearing
in an interim bail plea filed
by former Jharkhand Chief
Minister Hemant Soren to
canvass for votes ahead of
the last two phases of poll-
ing in the Lok Sabha elec-
tion ended on an indecisive
note on Tuesday.
However, a Vacation
Bench of Justices Dipankar
Datta and Satish Chandra
Sharma said Mr. Soren’s
case, leave alone for inte-
rim bail, but even for
quashing his arrest on Janu-
ary 31, required “intense
debate”.
The judges found that
Mr. Soren was previously
denied bail by the Special
Court on May 3. Moreover,
the trial court had already
taken cognisance of the
money laundering case, a
clear indication that it had
found him prima facie guil-
ty based on evidence.
“A lot of water has flown
under the bridge after the
arrest [of Mr. Soren], which
is challenged here. Thereaf-
as a “low-level personal
attack”.
The former judge said
he had written to the poll
body requesting it to re-
consider its decision, fail-
ing which he would ap-
proach the courts to quash
the notice.
The poll body had stat-
ed that it “painfully notes
the fact that such abomina-
ble words have come from
someone of Gangopad-
hyay’s educational and
professional background
and hence does not re-
motely deserve any benefit
of the doubt.”
The EC asked him to re-
main careful in his public
utterances during the
campaign.
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 10
» Malappuram » Mumbai » Tirupati
Hemant Soren
ter, bail was rejected and
cognisance was also ta-
ken… But you say the arrest
is illegal and so the custody
is illegal… You are challeng-
ing his custody. But then
the Special Court had taken
cognisance. So, the ques-
tion we want to ask is if
even after cognisance, can
arrest be called invalid?
This needs an intense de-
bate,” Justice Datta ad-
dressed senior advocate Ka-
pil Sibal, who appeared for
Mr. Soren. Additional Solic-
itor General S.V. Raju, for
the Directorate of Enforce-
ment (ED), suggested post-
ing the case after court va-
cations. The court would
reopen only in July.
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 10
The Hindu Bureau
COIMBATORE
The National Investigation
Agency (NIA) on Tuesday
searched the residences of
two doctors in Coimba-
tore, as part of their ongo-
ing probe into the blast at
the Rameshwaram Cafe in
Bengaluru on March 1.
Sources privy to the de-
velopment said the two
doctors were among the 13
persons who were convict-
ed by an NIA special court
in 2016 for plotting to kill
politicians, police officers
and journalists in 2012.
NIA officials from Ben-
galuru, who carried out
the searches at the resi-
dences of the duo at Periya
Subbanna Gounder Street
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Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08
RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940
Vol. 14 앫 No. 122
» Lucknow » Cuttack » Patna
IN BRIEF
쑽
Kerala HC rejects
Governor’s picks
for KU senate
KOCHI
The Kerala High Court on
Tuesday quashed four
nominations made by Governor
Arif Mohammed Khan to
the Kerala University (KU)
Senate. » Page 5
Pune car crash:
minor’s father,
four others held
PUNE
The Pune police on Tuesday
arrested the father of a
17-year-old boy whose
speeding luxury car had
recently knocked down and
killed two persons. » Page 10
OPPORTUNITIES » PAGE 5
and Narayana Guru Road
at Saibaba Colony, seized
mobile phones and SIM
cards from them. The
searches began early in the
morning and ended at 8
a.m.
As per NIA records, the
Basaweshwara Nagar pol-
ice in Bengaluru registered
a case related to the Lash-
kar-e-Taiba (LeT) conspira-
cy in August 2012, based
on credible information
that members of LeT and
Harkat-ul-Jihad-E-Islami
(HuJI) hatched a conspira-
cy to kill important perso-
nalities of the Hindu com-
munity in Bengaluru and
Hubballi.
CONTINUED ON
» PAGE 10
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
2 Wednesday, May 22, 2024
City
Abuse me, but not the people ‘CM brought
of Delhi, CM says in response shame on city
to Shah’s ‘Pakistan’ remark
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal on Tuesday accused
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah of calling supporters
of the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) “Pakistanis”.
In a video message is-
sued in response to Mr.
Shah’s remark, the AAP
chief said, “Your enmity is
with me. You can abuse me,
but the 2.5 crore people of
Delhi are my family. You
should not abuse my peo-
ple. The people of India
won’t tolerate this.”
The Union Minister had
on Monday, at a rally held in
favour of BJP’s South Delhi
candidate Ramvir Singh
Bidhuri, said, “Kejriwal and
Rahul [Gandhi] have no
support in India. Their sup-
porters are in Pakistan”.
The CM also reiterated
an allegation he had made
earlier this month — that
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi would vacate the PM’s
PUBLIC NOTICE
EDUCATIONAL
GENERAL
LEGAL NOTICE
PUBLIC NOTICE
CM
YK
by running
Arvind Kejriwal campaigning
for Kanhaiya Kumar. SUSHIL
KUMAR VERMA
office for Mr. Shah and re-
tire at the age of 75. “The
PM has chosen you [Mr.
Shah] as his successor. You
have become so arrogant
about it that you have start-
ed abusing and threatening
people,” he said.
Mr. Kejriwal alleged a
“poor turnout” at the pu-
blic meetings held by Mr.
Shah and Uttar Pradesh CM
Yogi Adityanath in the Capi-
tal. “It is becoming clearer
that the [Narendra] Modi
government is on its way
out and the INDIA bloc is
DEATH
MOTI ROUTH (61), Retired Foreman
(Non Supervisory), Office Aides, The
Hindu, Kolkata passed away on
21-May-2024. Address: 59, KP Roy
Lane, Haltu, Kolkata 700 078.
Contact: 7044769579
DEATH
ANNIVERSARIES
coming to power on June 4
[counting day],” he said.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra
Sachdeva termed the CM’s
statements “lies”, adding
that thousands had gath-
ered to listen to Mr. Shah.
“Kejriwal’s nature is to
lie. We are just asking him
to break his silence over the
Swati Maliwal assault case.
He should speak at least to
her,” he said, referring to
the accusations of assault by
Ms. Maliwal against CM’s
aide Bibhav Kumar.
Later in the day, while
holding a roadshow in sup-
port of Congress’s North
East Delhi nominee Kanhai-
ya Kumar, Mr. Kejriwal said
he had noticed “a lot of an-
ger among the people”
against the PM while cam-
paigning across the coun-
try.
“Help us defeat Rinkiya
ke papa and vote for Con-
gress,” he added, referring
to a popular song by BJP
candidate and incumbent
MP Manoj Tiwari.
Kanhaiya
attacker
arrested
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The police on Tuesday ar-
rested a 41-year-old man
for allegedly assaulting and
throwing ink at Congress’s
North East Delhi Lok Sab-
ha candidate Kanhaiya Ku-
mar.
A senior police officer
said the accused, Ajay Ku-
mar, was arrested from his
residence in New Usman-
pur, the area where the in-
cident took place on May
17. “We are on the lookout
for the other accused in
the case,” he added. The
incident had taken place
when the Congress leader
was leaving the Aam Aad-
mi Party office.
govt. from jail’
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh (right) at a rally in the reserved
North West Delhi seat for party nominee Yogender Chandoliya. ANI
Samridhi Tewari
NEW DELHI
S
enior BJP leader and
Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh on
Tuesday lashed out at Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) nation-
al convener and Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal, saying, “We have
heard about work-from-
home and work-from-of-
fice, but, thanks to Kejri-
wal, we heard about work-
from-jail for the first time.”
Addressing a rally in the
reserved North West Delhi
seat for the party nominee
Yogender Chandoliya, Mr.
Singh said, “Never before
Kejriwal had a CM in India
been sent to jail in connec-
tion with a corruption
case. He went to prison
and said the government
would be run from inside
it. The CM brought shame
upon the people of Delhi.”
At another rally in Pa-
lam for the party’s South
Delhi nominee Ramvir
Singh Bidhuri, BJP national
president J.P. Nadda ac-
cused AAP of having ties
with “anti-national forces”.
“During the Punjab As-
sembly elections, allega-
tions were made that AAP
had received funding from
terrorists. Arvind Kejriwal
hasn’t responded to any of
the allegations till now,”
Mr. Nadda said.
Delhi
With Delhi scheduled to
vote on May 25, campaign-
ing will end on Thursday.
BJP is up against Indian Na-
tional Developmental, In-
clusive Alliance (INDIA)
bloc partners AAP and
Congress, which are fight-
ing the election in a 4-3
seat-sharing arrangement.
Union Minister for Road
Transport and Highways
Nitin Gadkari also ad-
dressed a poll event for BJP
nominees Kamaljeet Seh-
rawat, Bansuri Swaraj, and
Manoj Tiwari.
‘Did more than Cong.’
Mr. Gadkari said the Naren-
dra Modi-led Central go-
vernment had accom-
plished in 10 years what
the Congress could not do
even in 60 years of its rule.
The Minister said work
on the six-lane Urban Ex-
tension Road II project, be-
ing constructed at a cost of
₹8,000 crore, will be fin-
ished soon and it would
help reduce traffic bet-
ween Dhaula Kuan and Gu-
rugram by 40%.
He added that the
Centre has undertaken 23
projects in Delhi, which,
upon completion, will en-
sure that the Capital does
not face water shortage till
2070. “Today, we’re happy
to report that the work is
under way on 17 of these 23
projects,” he said.
M ND-NDE

Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Delhi
L-G questions CM’s silence on Maliwal case; you
were mum on women wrestlers’ protest: AAP
Maliwal called me on Monday out of sheer anguish, says L-G, adds the case will be brought to its ‘logical conclusion’; Saxena’s statement shows she is
working at BJP’s behest: AAP; police take CM aide Bibhav Kumar, arrested for assaulting RS MP, to Mumbai to retrieve data deleted from his phone
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
L
ieutenant-Governor
V.K. Saxena on
Tuesday issued a
statement on X criticising
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal for his “deafening si-
lence” over the alleged as-
sault on Aam Aadmi
Party’s (AAP) Rajya Sabha
member Swati Maliwal. Mr.
Saxena said the Chief Mi-
nister’s “dodgy” and “eva-
sive” attitude towards the
issue “speaks volumes of
his stance on the safety of
women”. AAP hit back,
saying the L-G’s statement
proved that “Maliwal is
working at the behest of
BJP”.
In her complaint to the
Sisodia’s bail denied;
‘case at hand is a
breach of public trust’
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
The High Court on Tues-
day rejected the bail plea
of former Deputy Chief Mi-
nister Manish Sisodia in
the corruption and money
laundering cases lodged by
the Central Bureau of In-
vestigation (CBI) and the
Enforcement Directorate
(ED) respectively in con-
nection with the alleged
Delhi excise policy scam.
Justice Swarana Kanta
Sharma said Mr. Sisodia
has “not been able to make
out a case for grant of bail”
and added, “The case at
hand is a grave misuse of
power and breach of pu-
blic trust by the applicant
who was serving as Deputy
Chief Minister of Delhi at
the relevant point.”
The court said, “As a Mi-
nister having 18 portfolios,
including the Department
of Excise, the applicant
was entrusted with the for-
mulation of the new liquor
policy.”
‘Subverted the process’
“However, the material
collected during the inves-
tigation showed that the
applicant subverted the
process of framing the ex-
cise policy by fabricating
public feedback to suit his
predetermined goal,” the
court added.
“The aim was to frame a
public policy which bene-
fits select individuals, espe-
cially the wholesale dis-
tributors,” it also said.
The judge, however,
said Mr. Sisodia could con-
tinue to meet his ailing wife
once a week as per the
terms and conditions laid
down by a trial court in
February.
The judge, who started
CM
YK
Delhi Lieutenant-Governor V.K.
Saxena. FILE PHOTO
police, based on which an
FIR was registered, Ms. Ma-
liwal alleged that she had
gone to meet the Chief Mi-
nister at his residence on
May 13, where she was
slapped, kicked, and
dragged by Mr. Kejriwal’s
personal assistant Bibhav
Kumar. Mr. Kumar subse-
Manish Sisodia. FILE PHOTO
pronouncing the order at
6.28 p.m., said Mr. Sisodia
indulged in the destruction
of crucial evidence, includ-
ing electronic evidence.
“He was a very powerful
and influential person
within the corridors of
power of the Delhi govern-
ment and the possibility of
indulging in destruction of
evidence cannot be ruled
out if he is let out on bail,”
she added.
Earlier on Tuesday, a
trial court hearing Mr. Siso-
dia’s plea challenging the
rejection of his bail on
April 30, extended his jud-
icial custody till May 31.
Framing of charges
Special judge (PC Act) Kav-
eri Baweja also fixed May
30 for further arguments
on framing of the charges
in the case.
The AAP leader was ar-
rested by the CBI on Febru-
ary 26, 2023 for his alleged
role in the “scam” and the
ED arrested him in a mo-
ney-laundering case stem-
ming from the CBI FIR on
March 9, 2023.
The agencies have al-
leged that the beneficiaries
diverted “illegal” gains to
accused officials and made
false entries in their books
to evade detection.
THE HINDU
3
City
Bomb threat emails
sent to 150 schools
traced to Budapest
The Hindu Bureau itial probe has led to the
NEW DELHI suspicion of a “deeper con-
spiracy” possibly hatched
quently filed a police com- trying to retrieve that da- and that it will be brought women wrestlers, includ- The bomb threat emails by an IS module to upset
plaint on May 17, claiming ta,” the officer added. to its “logical conclusion”. ing Vinesh Phogat and sent to over 150 schools in the ongoing Lok Sabha
the Rajya Sabha member A day earlier, the police He also called out AAP for Sakshi Malik, held a protest Delhi-NCR earlier this election.
had “forcefully and illegal- had taken Mr. Kejriwal’s its “U-turn” on the matter in Delhi last year seeking month may have been is- The incident, which took
ly” trespassed into the CM aide to the CM House to re- by first admitting that Mr. action against Mr. Singh for sued from Budapest in place on May 1, had trig-
House on May 13, created create the scene where the Kumar had “misbehaved” sexually assaulting them. Hungary, police sources gered mass evacuations
“ruckus”, and “falsely im- alleged assault took place with Ms. Maliwal and then The wrestlers sat on a said on Tuesday. from over 150 schools
plicated” him. On May 18, and corroborate his ver- claiming that the BJP had 35-day-long protest, start- An officer said the IP ad- across the city after emails
Mr. Kumar was arrested sion of the incident. The orchestrated the entire ing on April 23, 2023 at Jan- dress of the unidentified warning of explosives
and remanded in police police had earlier seized a case to defame the party tar Mantar seeking action sender of the emails had planted on their premises
custody for five days. digital video recorder from and that Ms. Maliwal was a against Mr. Singh. Delhi been traced to the capital of were received.
On Tuesday, the police CM House. “pawn” in this conspiracy. Police registered the FIR the European country, ad- A thorough security
took Mr. Kumar to Mumbai on April 28 on the orders of ding that the Delhi police check had later proved the
to retrieve data allegedly ‘Shamed by colleagues’ AAP hits back the Supreme Court. will contact law enforce- emails to be a hoax. Later,
deleted from his phone a The L-G said Ms. Maliwal In a post in Hindi on X, se- “Why did Delhi Police, ment agencies in Hungary more such emails, with si-
day before his arrest. Mr. had called him on Monday nior AAP leader and which reports to you, not to probe the matter further. milar threats, were sent to
Kumar’s location was “out of sheer anguish” and Health Minister Saurabh file the FIR? The police, in An IP (internet protocol) IGI Airport and several
traced to Mumbai a day be- described at length her Bharadwaj asked the L-G fact, beat up the wrestlers address is a numerical label schools and hospitals in the
fore his arrest, and his “traumatic experience” as why he did not order an mercilessly in the middle that is assigned to every Capital.
phone was formatted well as the “subsequent in- FIR against former Wres- of the night. The same device connected to the in- The police had said the
there, a senior officer said. timidation” and “shaming” tling Federation of India night, Swati Maliwal was al- ternet, and can be used to emails were sent from
“Before formatting his by her party colleagues. He (WFI) president and BJP so dragged by the police. pinpoint the user’s geo- Main.ru, a Russian server,
phone, Kumar transferred added that the police are leader Brij Bhushan Sha- What action did you take,” graphical location. and had written to the mail-
data to someone. We are investigating the matter ran Singh when several Mr. Bharadwaj asked. He also said that an in- ing service company.
Man behind
CM graffiti
caught on
CCTV: police
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
A day after graffiti asking
Chief Minister Arvind Kejri-
wal to “leave” Delhi was
found scribbled inside me-
tro trains and stations, the
police said the footage of a
man indulging in the act
had been captured by
CCTV cameras. “He is sus-
pected to be the same man
who shared photographs
of the graffiti on an Insta-
gram account,” an officer
said, adding that they are
looking for the accused.
Timings
DELHI
WEDNESDAY, MAY. 22
RISE 05:27 SET 19:10
RISE 18:11 SET 04:17
THURSDAY, MAY. 23
RISE 05:27 SET 19:10
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M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
4 Wednesday, May 22, 2024

States Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽 Rajasthan CM campaigns Naveen should
in several States for BJP, retire due to his
old age, says Shah
draws flak from Congress Press Trust of India
DHENKANAL, NAYAGARH
Bhajan Lal Sharma, in Delhi on Tuesday, has been deployed earlier in West Bengal, Telangana,
Union Home Minister Amit
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana; stop ‘India tour’, says former CM Gehlot
PM Modi ‘anti-tribal’, plotted Shah on Tuesday said that
Odisha Chief Minister Na-
to finish AAP, JMM: Kejriwal veen Patnaik, who is 77
Mohammed Iqbal Addressing a public years old, should retire
Labelling Prime Minister Narendra Modi as JAIPUR meeting at Moti Nagar in due to his “advanced age
“anti-tribal” who put the “tallest tribal leader of New Delhi in support of and health issues”, while
the country” behind the bars, Delhi Chief he Bharatiya Janata BJP candidate Bansuri Swa- promising that the BJP will
Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday accused
him of plotting to topple elected governments of
AAP and JMM. He also launched a scathing attack
T Party has deployed
Rajasthan Chief Mi-
nister Bhajan Lal Sharma
raj on Monday, the Rajas-
than CM attacked the Con-
gress, saying the
make a young Odia-speak-
ing “bhumiputra” the CM if
the party is voted to power
on the BJP and its spokesperson Sambit Patra for for campaigning in other Opposition party repre- in the State. Union Home Minister Amit
remarks that “Lord Jagannath is Modi’s devotee” States extensively after the sented the stream of “ne- Mr. Shah asserted that Shah campaigning in Odisha’s
and urged people to “crush their arrogance”. two-phase polling in the potism, appeasement and the BJP-led NDA has alrea- Nayagarh on Tuesday. PTI
“PM Modi plotted to finish AAP and JMM but we State ended on April 26. corruption”. “The other dy bagged 310 seats after
got stronger and he could not topple Delhi, On Tuesday, he was in stream running in the the conclusion of five phas- and restore Odisha’s glory,
Punjab, Jharkhand governments,” Mr. Kejriwal Delhi to address election country is that of serving es of Lok Sabha polls and which has been “des-
said at an election rally in Jamshedpur. PTI rallies and hold a road- ‘Maa Bharati’ (Mother In- will secure its 400-target in troyed” by the Patnaik-led
show in support of BJP can- Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma being felicitated at a poll rally in dia),” he said. the next two phases. BJD government.
didate from South Delhi, Delhi’s Moti Nagar. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT. “With the conclusion of
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri. Kejriwal targeted Hits out at CM’s aide five phases of polling, NDA
AMU conference explores AI The Rajasthan CM has
addressed a series of pu-
lot saying the Chief Minis-
ter should stop his “India
page number 15 in its ma-
nifesto for the Assembly
While exuding confidence
that the BJP would win all
Hitting out at bureaucrat-
turned-politician V.K. Pan-
has already won 310 seats.
We will achieve our 400-
generated teaching, methods blic meetings in different tour” going on for the last election,” he said, rejecting the seven Lok Sabha seats dian, a close aide of Mr. plus seats target after the
cities since the last week of six months and look into Mr. Sharma’s recent claim in Delhi, Mr. Sharma also Patnaik, without taking his sixth and seventh phases,”
At a three-day international conference organised April in support of BJP can- the grievances of the peo- that the newly elected BJP targeted Chief Minister Ar- name, Mr. Shah said a “Ta- Mr. Shah said.
by the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), didates, including Hooghly ple of Rajasthan. government had fulfilled vind Kejriwal, saying the mil babu” is ruling the
communication specialists and linguists explored in West Bengal, Hyderabad 45% of its manifesto pro- people of the national cap- roost in Odisha and people ‘Lost years for Odisha’
the areas of study in an interdisciplinary context in Telangana, Tirupati in ‘People suffering’ mises as “completely ital had realised the “dra- will vote for the BJP to free Stating that people now
such as Artificial Intelligence-generated teachings Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai Mr. Gehlot, who has been baseless”. ma of Aam Aadmi Party”. the State from “babu raj”. realised that 25 years of
and methods and cross-cultural communication. and Aurangabad in Maha- appointed the Congress’s Mr. Sharma has sought “On the one hand, they Addressing back-to-back BJD rule have become “lost
The conference was sponsored by the Indian rashtra, Hoshiarpur in senior observer for Amethi to highlight Rajasthan’s are fighting against Con- election rallies in Odisha years” for Odisha, he al-
Council of Social Science Research. Delivering Punjab and Karnal in Lok Sabha seat in Uttar connection with Punjab, gress in Punjab, but on the ahead of the third phase of leged that healthcare sys-
the keynote lecture, Prof. Suresh Canagarajah, Haryana. Pradesh, said the people in Haryana and Delhi in his other hand they have simultaneous Lok Sabha tem, entrepreneurship,
Department of Applied Linguistics and English, His ‘absence’ from Ra- Rajasthan were suffering visits during the last few made friends with the par- and Assembly polls in the education and infrastruc-
Penn State University, U.S., said, “English is the jasthan has drawn flak because of power cuts in days and interacted with ty in Delhi and Haryana. State on May 25, Mr. Shah ture have “derailed” in the
language of the world, whoever and in whichever from the Opposition, with the summer season. “The the businessmen and pro- Kejriwal, who is immersed said the ongoing polls are State and only PM Modi
part English is to be taught, it has to be taught in veteran Congress leader BJP had promised 24-hour fessionals from Rajasthan in corruption, is at present to make Narendra Modi can bring these sectors
the way they speak the language.” and former CM Ashok Geh- domestic power supply on settled in other States. out on bail,” he said. the PM for the third term back on the track.

Near-stampede at Akhilesh BJP’s conspiracy in Karnataka mandates Bombay High

Court to hear
rally again, police use force Sandeshkhali stands 33% quota for women TISS scholar’s
The Hindu Bureau
exposed, says Mamata in all outsourced jobs plea in June
LUCKNOW
Press Trust of India the women of Sandeshkha- The Hindu Bureau The Hindu Bureau
A stampede-like situation BASIRHAT li and the way they have BENGALURU MUMBAI
unfolded on Tuesday at an been humiliated. I express
election rally held by the West Bengal Chief Minister my sadness from the core Aligning with the quota The Tata Institute of Social
Samajwadi Party (SP) pre- Mamata Banerjee on Tues- of my heart. Nobody policy applied in perma- Sciences (TISS), Mumbai,
sident Akhilesh Yadav in day said she was heartbro- should dare to play with nent government posi- on Tuesday submitted be-
Azamgarh district with ken for the plight of wo- the dignity of women,” Ba- tions, the Karnataka go- fore the Bombay High
overeager party workers men in Sandeshkhali and nerjee said. vernment has now made it Court that the petition by
and supporters jostling asserted that the BJP mandatory to provide 33% 30-year-old PhD scholar
with each other and climb- should not have played First visit to area reservation for women in CM Siddaramaiah Ramadas K.S., suspended
ing over wooden barriers with the dignity of women “People would have never services and posts that are by the institute for two
leading the police to use Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav addresses a public meeting in the trouble-torn area as understood how the BJP being outsourced by va- provide staff for Group C years for “engaging in un-
force to control the situa- at Lalganj in Azamgarh district of U.P. on Tuesday. PTI its “conspiracy now stands had hatched the conspira- rious government depart- and Group D posts, such as lawful activities during
tion. Visuals from the exposed”. cy, had the videos not sur- ments and organisations. drivers, data entry opera- protests” and “disobeying
scene showed torn stream- rallies have witnessed dis- creasing. After June 4, While addressing a rally faced. The BJP should not This reservation is with- tors, and housekeeping the institute’s rules” on
ers littering the ground ruption. On May 19, a joint when the government is in Basirhat, Ms. Banerjee play with the dignity of wo- in the quota stipulated for staff. campus, be not
and broken chairs. rally of Mr. Yadav with Con- formed, the debts of our slammed Prime Minister men,” she said in her first SC/ST and other backward entertained.
gress leader Rahul Gandhi poor farmers will be Narendra Modi for talking visit to the Lok Sabha seat communities in govern- What the GO says The institute, in an affi-
Appeals for calm in Phulpur Lok Sabha was waived. The BJP govern- to Sandeshkhali protester since the flare-up in Janu- ment outsourced jobs. According to the GO, heads davit, said Mr. Ramadas
Amid the uproar, Mr. Ya- cancelled due to a similar ment could not provide and BJP candidate Rekha ary this year. A Government Order of all the government or- can appeal his suspension
dav’s appeals to his sup- crowd situation. Later on, jobs to our youth and due Patra over the phone, al- Ms. Banerjee’s remarks (GO) in this regard was is- ganisations should include before the Vice-Chancellor.
porters for calm went in addressing the rally in Lal- to examinations getting leging that the country has come in the backdrop of sued by Randeep D., Prin- the clause regarding pro- The petitioner, a Dalit
vain. The rally was organ- ganj, Mr. Yadav claimed cancelled because of paper the “worst track record in multiple purported videos cipal Secretary, Personnel viding 33% reservation to scholar, had moved the
ised for the SP candidate in that voters are ready to de- leaks, lakhs of students terms of women's safety surfacing on social media, and Administrative Re- women in the tenders/con- court earlier this month
Lalganj (Scheduled Caste) feat the BJP, accusing the were left without jobs. and security under the BJP which claimed that a local forms, on Monday. tracts for outsourcing ser- challenging the April 18 or-
reserved Lok Sabha seat, ruling party of neglecting They were saying 400 paar rule”". BJP leader made several There are currently over vices. der passed by the institute.
Daroga Saroj. every section of the (over 400), but this time Sandeshkhali falls un- women of Sandeshkhali 75,000 employees holding The order stipulates that The Vacation Bench of
The Lalganj Lok Sabha country. the public is raising the slo- der the Basirhat Lok Sabha sign blank papers, which outsourced jobs in govern- the quota policy applies to Justice Arif S. Doctor and
seat comes under Azam- “Our poor farmers’ cost gan of 400 haar (defeat in seat in North 24 Parganas were later filled up as com- ment departments. The outsourced jobs lasting Justice Somasekhar Sunda-
garh district. It is the third of farming is increasing 400 seats),” said the SP district. “I am sorry for plaints of sexual assault government usually hires more than 45 days and em- resan fixed June 18 as the
time in a week Mr. Yadav’s and their debts are also in- leader. whatever has happened to against TMC leaders. third-party agencies to ploying over 20 people. next date of hearing.

As rumblings over jobs and farmers’ issues rise, stakes high for BJP in Karnal twin polls
GROUND REPORT Janta Party ( JJP), among a wholesale and retail fruit Outside a guest house at failed to “resolve the pro-
others. business, was confident Indri town, locals were en- blems of retired employees
Mr. Saini is pitted that both Mr. Lal and Mr. joying their morning tea at when in power”.
Vikas Vasudeva against the Congress’s Tar- Saini will be elected. “A lot a makeshift tea stall. Its
KARNAL lochan Singh, and a victory of good work has been owner Pawan was busy Congress presence
is crucial for him to conti- done in the city and the with routine work. Ravin- Lal Chand, 49, a fruit ven-
With the stage set for si- nue as the Chief Minister. constituency. The roads der Kumar, a regular at the dor in the busy Old Sabji
multaneous Lok Sabha As the electoral con- are better now and there is tea stall who owns around Mandi of Karnal city, felt
election and Assembly by- tests, with each passing uninterrupted supply of two acres of farmland, crit- it’s not going to be a wal-
poll on May 25 in Harya- day, appear to be a direct electricity, water, etc. At icised the BJP government kover for the BJP even
na’s Karnal, the stakes are fight between the Congress the national level, I feel my for its “anti-farmer” poli- though they are in a strong
higher for former Chief Mi- and the Bharatiya Janata country has grown stron- cies. “They promised to position.
nister Manohar Lal and his Party (BJP), voters have ger. Besides, the bypoll will implement recommenda- “The Congress has a
successor Nayab Singh Sai- mixed opinions about the give Karnal its ‘Chief Minis- tions of the Swaminathan substantial presence here.
ni. The Chief Minister is ruling party’s chances of ter’, which brings several Committee and fix Mini- So, the battles could be in-
fighting the Assembly by- returning to power at the Litmus test: Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini (left) is fighting the Assembly bypoll, which was advantages,” he said. mum Support Price [MSP] teresting,” he said, adding
poll, which was necessitat- Centre as well as Mr. Saini’s necessitated by the resignation of Manohar Lal, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election. FILE PHOTO as per the C2+50% formula that cleanliness has im-
ed by the resignation of Mr. election. Anti-incumbency [ensuring farmers receive proved in the area in the
Lal, who is contesting the While many in Karnal from the past 10 years of lege, but her wait for a job resides in nearby Indri Asserting that the BJP can- 50% returns above the past few years, but the lack
Lok Sabha election and is believe that the BJP will sail the BJP rule at the Centre continues. “In the past 10 town after marriage. didates have a strong weighted average cost of of job opportunities is a
pitted against Congress’s through in both the elec- and the State also can’t be years, there have been ve- “There are people in my chance of sailing through, production], but have not matter of concern.
Divyanshu Budhiraja. Also tions as people wouldn’t ruled out. ry few recruitments. The neighbourhood who have another trader said “anti- fulfilled it. They betrayed “My son has completed
in the fray are Nationalist want to be deprived of the Meena Chahal, 39, said wait for a permanent job is sold their land to send incumbency is bound to farmers and I have lost all his BA recently but I am
Congress Party (Sharad Pa- “CM constituency” tag, she cleared UGC-NET eligi- only getting longer and I their children abroad for creep in”. “Changing the hope,” said Mr. Kumar. not hopeful he will find a
war)’s Maratha Virender there is palpable anger bility exam with a Junior am disenchanted with the better job avenues. This CM’s face just ahead of the Dhani Ram, 73, a retired government job. It appears
Verma, who is backed by among a section of youth Research Fellowship ( JRF) current governments at the trend is only increasing election makes it evident State government em- the private sector is the on-
the Indian National Lok and farmers in rural parts in 2017, which makes her Centre and in the State,” and worrisome,” she said. that the BJP is also wary of ployee, was annoyed with ly choice, but even there,
Dal (INLD), and Devender of the constituency. The eligible for the post of as- said Ms. Chahal, who grew At Karnal’s Sarafa Bazar, anti-incumbency,” he said, the “arrogance” of BJP it’s a challenge to find a job
Kadiyan of the Jannayak anti-incumbency resulting sistant professor in a col- up in Karnal city and now Kishore Nagpal, who runs requesting anonymity. leaders, who, he alleged, with decent pay,” he 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
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 5
Delhi
States

INBRIEF
쑽
Pen drive
issue: JD(S) HC quashes Kerala Governor’s HC acquits
Sudhakaran
demands
Shivakumar’s
nominations to KU Senate in attempt to
murder case
resignation Court directs Chancellor to make fresh nominations within six weeks; says there is no unbridled
The Hindu Bureau
power with Chancellor; it also dismisses plea against nomination of govt. representatives to Senate KOCHI
The Hindu Bureau
BENGALURU The Hindu Bureau blow to his [Mr. Khan’s] ef- The Kerala High Court on
KOCHI forts to impede the moder- Tuesday acquitted Kerala
Upping the ante on the is- nisation of higher educa- Pradesh Congress Commit-
Kozhikode court summons sue of distribution of pen he Kerala High tion in the State”. tee (KPCC) president K.

Ramdev, Balkrishna on June 3

drives containing videos of
alleged sexual abuse by
Prajwal Revanna, MP, the
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his associate Janata Dal(S) [ JD(S)] has
Acharya Balkrishna have been asked to appear demanded resignation of
before a Kozhikode court on June 3 in a case Karnataka Deputy Chief
related to placing misleading advertisements in Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
English and Malayalam newspapers. The case is The party has also ac-
based on a complaint filed in April by the Drugs cused him of directly in-
Inspector, Office of the Assistant Drugs volving in the plot to distri-
Controller, Kozhikode, in the court under Section bute the pen drives.
10 of the Drugs and Magic Remedies Speaking to pressper-
(Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, for sons here on Tuesday, JD
committing an offence under Sections 3(b) and (S) State president H.D.
3(d) of the Act, punishable under its Section 7(a). Kumaraswamy maintained
that the recent release of
an audio clip in which
Special vehicle numbers sale former MP L.R. Shivarame
Gowda speaks about the
rakes in ₹43 lakh in Telangana pen drive episode had
clearly indicated the role of
Auction of special numbers by the Telangana Mr. Shivakumar in the al-
State Road Transport Authority raked in ₹43.70 leged plot to defame the fa-
lakh, with the highest bid pegged at ₹25,50,002. mily of former Prime Mi-
The highest bid, made by Soni Transport nister H.D. Deve Gowda.
Solutions, was for the registration number TG 09
9999. This was followed by a bid by Ramakrishna
Yerramineni for the registration number TG 09 A
0006. The amount was ₹2,76,000. Other bids
“Mr. Shivakumar should
resign on his own or Chief
Minister Siddaramaiah
should sack him,” he
were made for TG 09 A 0005, TG 09 A 0019, TG demanded.
09 9799 and TG 09 A 0009. The bids were Mr. Kumaraswamy said:
between ₹1,10,009 and ₹1,80,200. “Driver Karthik Gowda,
who scripted the pen drive
episode, handed over the
42 varieties of drugs seized in pen drives to Mr. Shivaku-
mar first in the presence of
Telangana from quack’s clinic Congress candidate for the
Hassan Lok Sabha consti-
Officials from the Telangana Drugs Control tuency. This clearly shows
Administration raided the premises of Bandi that the Deputy Chief Mi-
Saidi Reddy, an unqualified person posing as a nister has misused his
‘Rural Medical Practitioner’ in Azmapur village in power. After this, it is not
Nalgonda on Monday. During the raid, officials proper to allow him to con-
seized a large stockpile of medicines on the tinue in the State Cabinet.
premises, stored without a licence. The seizure The government should
included 42 varieties of medicines, with a total not protect people like
value of ₹70,900. him.”
T Court on Tuesday
quashed four nom-
inations made by Governor
Arif Mohammed Khan,
Chancellor of State univer-
sities, to the Senate of Kera-
la University (KU).
The court issued the or-
der on a petition filed by
Arunima Ashok and anoth-
er student challenging the
order nominating a third-
semester History degree
student and a fifth-semes-
ter student of Bachelor of
Computer Application to
the Senate. Justice Mu-
hammed Nias C.P. directed
the Chancellor to make
fresh nominations consi-
dering the petitioners’
claims within six weeks.
‘Will trace all those involved in poll violence’
The Hindu Bureau
VIJAYAWADA
The police have identified
the involvement of about
4,668 people in various
poll-related violence wit-
nessed in Palnadu, Ananta-
pur, Tirupati, Chittoor,
Nandyal, Guntur and other
districts in Andhra Pra-
desh from May 12 to 14.
“The investigation offic-
ers have arrested a few ac-
cused. Notices have been
issued to a few others un-
der Section 41-A Cr.PC. Ef-
forts are on to trace the
The court said there is
no unbridled power vested
with the Chancellor while
making the nominations in
terms of the statutory pro-
visions. The court also
quashed the Chancellor’s
order nominating two fifth-
semester students under
the category of students
having outstanding ability
in fine arts and sports,
respectively.
The court also dismis-
Security personnel chasing away a mob after a car was attacked in
Tirupati on May 14. FILE PHOTO
whereabouts of the re-
maining accused involved
in the violent incidents,”
Director-General of Police
Harish Kumar Gupta said
sed a petition filed by K.N.
Madhusudanan Pillai of
Thiruvananthapuram chal-
lenging the nomination of
Muralidharan Pillai, Shiju
Khan J.S. and R. Rajesh as
government representa-
tives to the Senate.
Big blow
Higher Education Minister
R. Bindu said the court or-
der annulling the nomina-
tions was a “significant
in a release on Tuesday.
The Special Investiga-
tion Team (SIT), headed by
Vineet Brijlal, I-G, SIB, had
earlier observed that cases
Ms. Bindu said the Go-
vernor was mandated by
his responsibility to nomi-
nate four persons, who
had excelled in the fields of
humanities, science, arts
and sports. However, Mr.
Khan opted to nominate
four individuals outside
the recommended panel
provided by the university.
CPI(M) State secretary
M.V. Govindan said the ver-
dict had exposed Sangh Pa-
rivar efforts to destabilise
the government through
the Governor. The judg-
ment has dealt a blow to
the United Democratic
Front, BJP, and a section of
the media that supported
the Governor’s actions.
on violent incidents were
not filed with appropriate
sections, and that many ac-
cused were at large. It had
also directed the investiga-
tion officers to file memos
in the courts concerned for
adding appropriate sec-
tions to the cases, and
speed up the investigation.
In the light of these ob-
servations, Mr. Harish Ku-
mar Gupta had directed
the officers concerned in
Palnadu, Anantapur and
Tirupati districts to coordi-
nate with the SIT person-
nel, collect digital evidence
Sudhakaran of conspiracy
charges in a case related to
the alleged firing on CPI(M)
leader E.P. Jayarajan in
Andhra Pradesh in 1995.
The court discharged
Mr. Sudhakaran and anoth-
er accused Rajeev, saying
that the allegations of con-
spiracy against them were
investigated by the Andhra
Pradesh Police and there-
fore, a second FIR filed in
Kerala was not justified.
A case of criminal con-
spiracy and attempt to
murder was registered in
Andhra Pradesh as Mr.
Jayarajan was shot at when
the train he was travelling
in was passing through
Chirala area of that State.
such as videographs, CCTV
camera footages and call
data of the accused, and
take necessary action.
Meanwhile, the police
had, in the last three days,
undertaken cordon-and-
search operations in 301
sensitive areas, and seized
1,104 vehicles that did not
have documents in the
State. “The police have al-
so seized huge quantity of
non-duty paid liquor, duty
paid liquor and illicitly dis-
tilled liquor during the
raids,” the DGP said in the
release.

‘Politics wasn’t first choice; SIT to probe

wanted to serve nation’
Satvika Mahajan
NEW DELHI
Making her electoral debut
from the New Delhi parlia-
mentary constituency, BJP
candidate Bansuri Swaraj
is carrying forward the pol-
itical legacy of her late
mother Sushma Swaraj.
A lawyer by profession,
she says a career in the le-
gal field was always on the
horizon while politics
wasn’t.
“I joined the BJP when
the party was expanding
its legal cell in Delhi. I had
received a call from the
party asking me to join it. I
took it as an instruc-
tion and followed it,” she
adds.
The BJP leader says her
father Swaraj Kaushal, a
former Mizoram Governor,
is the architect of her aca-
demic and professional
life.
Ms. Swaraj says she once
considered taking up film-
making and journalism as
career. “During that phase,
my father used to say that
whatever you do, just re-
member that first it helps
the nation and second, it
should make sure you stay
grounded,” she says.
“This made me take up
the legal field. Even though
I studied abroad, I always
wanted to come back,”
says Ms. Swaraj, who first
studied English Literature
at the University of War-
wick and later pursued a
law degree at BPP Law
School in London.
Plunge in politics
After serving in the BJP le-
gal cell, Ms. Swaraj was
named the Delhi BJP’s co-
convener last year. The
leader says she takes her
responsibility seriously. “If
elected, I am ready to work
hard for people,” she adds.
While her opponent,
CM
YK
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
candidate Somnath Bharti,
has accused the BJP of pro-
moting nepotism by field-
ing her, Ms. Swaraj says
though she never asked for
votes in the name of her
mother.
She has taken cue from
her mother,
who was
known to
have a good
equation
with Opposi-
tion leaders.
“Though Mr. Bharti is
my opponent, I have met
him on several occasions
and congratulated him on
his nomination. See, we
have different ideologies
and beliefs but that doesn’t
mean that we can’t be cor-
dial with each other,” she
says.
However, Ms. Swaraj un-
derstands the subtleties of
politics. Wherever she
goes, she seeks votes for
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi with folded hands.H-
er legal career, which
spans over 15 years, has al-
so shaped her campaign.
Enrolled in the Bar
Council of Delhi since
2007, she has often con-
tacted young lawyers and
spoke about the taxing
hours and difficulties of
the profession, helping her
gain supporters.
The BJP leader says if
elected, she would work to
establish an industrial hub
for startups in her consti-
tuency to
create new
employment
opportuni-
ties for the
youth.
Beyond politics
Beyond her election cam-
paign, Ms. Swaraj thinks of
herself as a true “Dilli ki ku-
di’. She enjoys Delhi’s fa-
mous street food, and will
readily give you a list of it if
you ask. She says her day is
not complete without
black coffee and a piece of
dark chocolate.
She fondly remembers
Friday night dinners with
her mother, which her dog
would gatecrash, and they
would talk about everyth-
ing under the sun and
watch movies.
“I think my mother has
been with me throughout
this election campaign,”
she says.
organ trade
Telangana Deputy Kerala surged its
involving CM slams Oppn. revenue by 60% in
‘global’ racket over paddy purchase three years: Minister
The Hindu Bureau The Hindu Bureau added the amount is depo- The Hindu Bureau In a Facebook post on
KOCHI HYDERABAD sited into the farmers’ ac- THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Monday, he said Kerala
counts within three days. was able to increase its
The Ernakulam Rural pol- Telangana Deputy Chief Speaking to mediaper- The increase in the State’s own revenue from
ice have formed a 10-mem- Minister Mallu Bhatti Vik- sons on Tuesday, he said, own revenue by over 60% ₹47,000 crore in 2020-21
ber special investigation ramarka has advised the “It seems that our commit- in three years has helped to ₹77,000 crore in 2023-
team (SIT) to probe the Opposition not to trouble ment to help the farmers is Kerala withstand the un- 24.
case involving a suspected the farmers for political not digestible to the Oppo- sympathetic financial poli- The State succeeded in
international racket en- mileage. Stating that the sition. Hence, it is terroris- cies of the Centre, Finance creating this in spite of the
gaged in organ trade. government is committed ing farmers by unleashing Minister K.N. Balagopal fiscal squeeze on the
The Deputy Superinten- to purchasing paddy, he false propaganda.” has said. Centre’s part.
dent of Police, Aluva, in-
vestigating the case will
have to submit daily re-
ports to District Police
Chief (Ernakulam Rural)
Vaibhav Saxena who will
be directly supervising the
investigation.
The Nedumbassery pol-
ice recently arrested Sa-
bith Nasar, 30, of Thrissur,
suspected to be an agent
engaged by the racket for
canvassing potential do-
nors by convincing them
that donating organs for
monetary benefits was an
acceptable practice.
He was remanded in
judicial custody for 14 days
by the Angamaly Judicial
First Class Magistrate
Court on May 20.
“We are still in the pro-
cess of making an assess-
ment about the magnitude
of the crime as the investi-
gation is mostly restricted
to digital evidence so far.
We are gathering more evi-
dence. We may get a better
idea once we get the custo-
dy of the accused and that
will help us piece together
his modus operandi. We
cannot reveal internation-
al links of the racket at this
stage except that it has a
West Asia link,” said Mr.
Saxena.
Sabith has been
charged under Indian Pe-
nal Code (IPC) Section 370
(trafficking of a person)
and relevant sections of
the Transplantation of Hu-
man Organs and Tissues
Act.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
6 Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Editorial Delhi

Climate change, a passing cloud in Indian politics

Vote for a change
Kashmiris have sought to use the ballot
box to seek change from the status quo
T
he fifth phase of India’s general
election is over and the electoral
rhetoric of both the major parties, i.e.,
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian
National Congress, have conspicuously side-lined
one of the most critical issues of our times —
these manifestos reflects a broader trend in
Indian politics where short-term economic gains
are often prioritised over long-term
environmental sustainability. That said, we must
remember India’s vulnerability to climate
impacts, including rising sea levels, extreme
Oishik Dasgupta weather events, and severe air pollution, which
Insufficient” in its policies and actions tracking,
based on 2030 projections. That said, there is
more that the central and various other State
governments can do. States or regions that are on
the frontline of vulnerability need to develop
plans that bring India’s projection below 2-degree
pre-industrial levels. A good example of

T
he voter turnout in the Srinagar and Bara-
mulla constituencies in the Kashmir val-
ley — Anantnag-Rajouri is to vote on May
25 after the Election Commission of India post-
poned the election — is well below the national
average. While Srinagar registered only 38.5%,
preliminary figures from Baramulla indicate a
turnout of 59.1%. The national average for the
first four phases was 66.95% and 61.61% in the
fifth phase, according to early trends. Yet, these
numbers in the Valley are salubrious compared
to the past — 13% in Srinagar and 34.6% in Bara-
mulla in 2019. Baramulla registered its highest
turnout since 1984 (61.1% participation). In the
last six years, the elected Assembly was dis-
solved, the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kash-
mir bifurcated into two Union Territories, the
special status of the province abrogated by the
BJP-led Union government, and the Valley sub-
jected to months of Internet shutdowns. Scores
of politicians were also arrested. Kashmir still re-
mains India’s most securitised region with recur-
ring militant violence. While local body elections
have been held since then, the general election is
the first major poll with significant contestation
involving the Valley’s mainstream polity.
Should the increase in turnout be read as a sig-
nificant reduction in the alienation of the Kash-
miri people? The answer is not unambiguous. A
substantive section of the voters who turned out
have sought a change in the status quo. The lim-
itations on political activity in the Valley since
2018 have constrained citizens who have had lit-
tle recourse to airing their grievances due to the
absence of legislative representation in the As-
sembly. Thus, livelihood concerns have not been
sufficiently addressed, and the greater electoral
participation now reflects the need for represen-
tation of the electorate’s voices. Union Home Mi-
nister Amit Shah has stated that the higher poll-
ing in these two constituencies is the “greatest
testament to rightness” of abrogating the special
status that was enshrined in Article 370 — a state-
ment devoid of reason. A truer reflection of the
support for the abrogation would have been a fa-
vourable mandate for parties endorsing the
move, but the BJP did not even field candidates in
the Valley. It is clear that it saw the writing on the
wall in terms of how it was perceived in the re-
gion. Mr. Shah and the BJP should not misinter-
pret the reasons for the increase in voter partici-
pation. The voices in the Valley have given way to
some using the ballot box as a medium to get the
region out of its political morass. The Indian state
must listen and make amends.
End the punishment
Assange should be set free, and not
extradited to the U.S.
climate change. This omission is particularly stark
against the backdrop of global environmental
crises and the pressing demands for sustainable
development.
Recent events, such as environmental activist
Sonam Wangchuk’s outcry over ecological
degradation in Ladakh — underscoring the
urgency of integrating robust climate action into
national policy frameworks — shows us how
critical climate mitigation and adaptation has
become and its urgent need to become political,
especially for electoral politics. Despite Mr.
Wangchuk’s calls for environmental security in
the region, which resonated widely among the
people of Ladakh, and then, subsequently, on
social media, the response from the Modi
government has been muted. This lack of
response is symptomatic of a larger political
reluctance to engage with environmental issues
as central electoral themes.
A calculated omission
The reluctance of both the BJP and Congress to
foreground climate change in their electoral
platforms is not just a matter of oversight but a
calculated omission. Integrating serious climate
action into their political agendas would entail
acknowledging and addressing the trade-offs
between rapid industrial growth and
environmental sustainability. Such
acknowledgment could alienate powerful
industrial constituencies and disrupt the
economic status quo, which heavily relies on
fossil fuels and high-emission industries.
This strategic avoidance plays out in the
manifestos, where climate policies, if mentioned,
are vague and lack commitment to specific,
measurable actions. For instance, the Congress
party’s manifesto has a chapter, ‘Environment
Protection and Climate Change Authority’ and
proposes a ‘Green New Deal Investment
Programme’ without clear directives or
commitments to specific reductions in carbon
emissions. Similarly, the BJP’s manifesto praises
past initiatives but fails to propose
forward-looking strategies that align with the
global scientific consensus, which calls for
immediate and drastic action to mitigate climate
change impacts.
The absence of detailed climate action plans in
Spotlighting pre-eclampsia, ensuring safe motherhood
I
t has been three decades since this writer
had a haunting conversation with a friend,
and the words still echo: “Isn’t it a miracle to
give birth to a physically normal, neurologically
intact baby?” Those words ignited a profound
is a Graduate Student pose significant threats to its population and
of International Affairs economy. Moreover, the silence on climate
and Global change in electoral discussions sends a
Governance at the disheartening message to educated, middle-class
Hertie School in voters, who are increasingly aware of and
Berlin, and Graduate concerned about global environmental issues.
Research Assistant at This demographic, capable of influencing policy
the Research Institute through public opinion and voting power, I
for Sustainability,
believe, seeks more than just token mentions of
Potsdam
sustainability. They demand actionable plans that
ensure that India not only meets its international
commitments under agreements such as the
Paris Agreement but also adopts a leadership role
in global climate advocacy.
Why, then, is there such a glaring gap between
the needs of the electorate and the political
offerings? Part of the reason lies in the perceived
political cost of ambitious climate policies.
Comprehensive climate strategies may require
tough decisions, such as phasing out coal,
increasing taxes or prices on carbon emissions,
and enforcing stringent environmental
regulations — measures that could be unpopular
in the short run despite their long-term benefits.
What we have now
Currently, the National Action Plan on Climate
Change serves as the overarching guiding body
for India’s climate policy efforts that are spread
across several policy documents, sector-specific
strategies, and laws. In 2023, some very
important policy documents and laws covering
the energy sector emerged, which included the
National Electricity Plan 2023, the National Green
Hydrogen Mission and the Energy Conservation
(Amendment) Act, 2022. These documents and
Integrating laws play a crucial role in shaping the energy
landscape. That said, one must note that the
serious climate Indian leadership has shown no commitments in
action into phasing out coal. These policies, however, are
political top-down in nature; these are being made by the
agendas could top brass, based on international trends and
alienate immediate requirements. India, as a nation, is
powerful still lacking a considerable number of citizens
industrial who demand corrective policies to ensure climate
policies and actions, as a bottom-up approach.
constituencies The Climate Action Tracker (developed by
and disrupt the Climate Analytics, an independent global climate
economic science and policy institute with an office in
status quo Berlin) gives India an overall rating of “Highly
disease, dyslipidemia, and stroke, adding
significantly to the economic burden of the
health-care system. Emerging evidence suggests
that pre-eclampsia is associated with a four-fold
increase in the risk of heart failure and a two-fold
comprehensive climate policymaking in India
would be the Mumbai Climate Action plan
developed by the Mumbai municipality, in
collaboration with the C40 and the World
Resources Institute.
In contrast to the complex web of climate
bodies in India, we have a silver lining that should
mark the beginning of climate jurisprudence in
our country: M.K. Ranjitsinh and Others vs Union
of India, where in March 2024, the Supreme
Court of India ruled that the people of India have
the right to be free from the adverse effects of
climate change by drawing upon Article 21 and
Article 14 of the Indian Constitution. This opens
up many government sector bodies working on
climate policies and action to much-needed legal
scrutiny and makes them answerable to citizens.
The challenge
So, what now? The challenge for India, therefore,
is to bridge this gap between electoral politics
and climate policy. It requires a shift in political
calculations, where long-term environmental and
social gains are valued over immediate economic
benefits. And, the media and civil society have
pivotal roles in this transformation. By
consistently highlighting the inadequacies in the
current political discourse on climate change,
they can drive a narrative that places
environmental sustainability at the heart of
India’s development agenda.
The 2024 general election presents a critical
opportunity for Indian voters, especially the
informed and increasing middle class, to demand
that their leaders take a more proactive and
committed stance on climate change. This means
not only voting with an eye towards policies that
promise immediate benefits but also supporting
those that promise sustainable growth and
environmental security. The electorate must push
for a paradigm shift in how climate policy is
integrated into the broader national development
strategies, ensuring that the progress made today
does not come at the expense of tomorrow’s
security.
As India stands at this electoral crossroads, the
choices made will resonate far beyond the
immediate political cycle, influencing the global
fight against climate change and the future of
sustainable development worldwide.
first trimester, along with managing high-risk
pregnancies according to established protocols, is
paramount. Since pre-eclampsia is a systemic
disorder, clinical criteria alone are inadequate to
predict adverse outcomes. Therefore, combined

J
ulian Assange, founder of whistle-blower realisation — one that underscores the critical increase in the risk of coronary heart disease, screening by maternal history, demographics,
website WikiLeaks, has won a legal re- importance of perinatal care in safeguarding both Dr. Kavita Aneja stroke, and cardiovascular mortality for the colour doppler ultrasound, mean arterial
prieve in the U.K., with permission to ap- mother and newborn. is a fetal radiologist at mother. pressure, placental biomarkers, and timely
peal against an extradition order that would see The journey towards safe motherhood and safe Naveda Healthcare, A focus on postnatal cardiovascular pharmacological intervention for the high-risk
him transferred to the U.S. to face trial for alleg- birth must confront the stark reality that Rohini, Delhi, and a assessment after delivery would go a long way to cohort in the first trimester, play a crucial role in
edly leaking military secrets. The ruling came af- congenital anomalies and neurological challenges national core member improve the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular identifying and managing these high-risk
ter the High Court ruled in March that the U.S. go- in newborns are more prevalent than we care to of Samrakshan health of the woman. Nevertheless, it is pregnancies. The second and third-trimester
vernment would be given three weeks to assure acknowledge. While not much can be done for unfortunate that post-partum maternal screening for pre-eclampsia are useful for
that Mr. Assange – an Australian national – would, congenital anomalies, the neurological deficit cardiovascular health after pre-eclampsia is a surveillance, early identification of
during trial, be allowed to rely on the First could stem from inadequate antenatal and largely neglected area of research. pre-eclampsia, and establishing time of delivery.
Amendment of the U.S. constitution that protects perinatal care — a sobering truth that demands Comprehensive care throughout all trimesters,
freedom of speech; that he would not be “prejud- our attention. The data with colour Doppler ultrasound as the
iced at trial” for being a foreign national in a U.S. In India, that accounts for nearly a quarter of the cornerstone, is essential to optimise maternal and
court; and that the death penalty would not be A collective responsibility world’s adverse pregnancy outcomes, addressing fetal outcomes.
applied in his case. Although his legal team did The future of our babies and our nation rests in these health concerns is not just a moral
not contest the assurance provided by Washing- the hands of stakeholders across perinatal care — imperative but also an economic necessity. The A programme in India
ton that it was an “unambiguous executive pro- from obstetricians and radiologists to fetal National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) statistics The need of the hour is to combat pre-eclampsia
mise” that the death penalty would be avoided in medicine specialists, neonatologists, and more. speak volumes: perinatal mortality rates stand at by spreading awareness about this serious
his case, the U.K. judges appeared to accept their Even frontline workers such as Accredited Social 32 for 1,000 pregnancies, neonatal mortality hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, which is
argument of prejudice towards his nationality in Health Activist and Anganwadi workers play rates at 25 for 1,000 live births, and hypertensive predictable and preventable. The Indian
the context of his right to free speech, especially pivotal roles in ensuring proper antenatal care, disorders in pregnancy remain a leading cause of Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA),
after “a U.S. prosecutor had said the first amend- underscoring the collective responsibility we maternal death. through its flagship programme “Samrakshan”,
ment may not apply to foreigners when it came to bear. As we commemorate May as “PE Prevention has embarked on a mission to extend the reach of
national security issues”. Mr. Assange will now The adage, “Life begins before birth”, holds Month” (World PE Day is on May 22), let us safe motherhood initiatives across all districts of
have a few months to prepare his appeal. profound significance, reminding us that what we prioritise proactive measures for safe India. With a pledge to reduce pre-eclampsia
Several facts stand out in the case of Mr. As- gather antenatally affects us until our final breath. motherhood and birth. Pre-eclampsia is a from 8%-10% to 3%, and fetal growth restriction
sange, which entered the global spotlight since Prematurity, low birth weight, growth restriction, hypertensive disorder of pregnancy leading to from 25%-30% to 10% by the turn of the decade,
April 2010, when WikiLeaks published leaked vi- and pre-eclampsia consequent to hypertensive There needs to multiorgan dysfunction in the mother. Besides IRIA Samrakshan exemplifies the dedication
deos from a U.S. helicopter in Baghdad showing disorders of pregnancy (HDP), are among the be greater high blood pressure, usually commencing after needed to address and mitigate the risks faced by
an airstrike that killed civilians. The organisation preventable conditions that contribute to 20 weeks of gestation, these mothers could pregnant women and newborns.
awareness of
then published secret military documents on the maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality present with swelling of the face, hands, and feet, In this endeavour, community engagement
U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and confiden- on a global scale. There are also long-term this serious severe headaches, changes in vision, upper and sustained leadership are paramount. Let us
tial cables of U.S. diplomatic missions. The key complications of HDP on the health of a mother hypertensive abdominal pain, and difficulty in breathing. champion the cause of safe motherhood,
consideration regarding U.S. charges against Mr. and the baby. They are susceptible to adulthood disorder of Implementing screening for conditions such as ensuring that every woman has the opportunity
Assange for allegedly violating the Espionage Act, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, heart pregnancy pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction in the to bring forth life with confidence and security.
brought against him in 2019 by the administra-
tion of former President Donald Trump, is that
Mr. Assange has spent seven years holed up in LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
the Ecuadorian Embassy and then a further five
years in the U.K.’s Belmarsh Prison — a lengthy in- Fifty years ago strict disciplinary action if After this was said, we did good reason, since they get are predetermined in the preference would be if they
carceration considering that Chelsea Manning, The Railway workers’ strike there was absenteeism. not attend office till the “two bites at the cherry”! IPL, so that cannot be won the toss and this can
the erstwhile U.S. military analyst and whistle- — on the grievances of Afraid, only a handful of us strike was called off after 20 However, what is the applied. So, how can the sometimes affect the
blower who transmitted the confidential infor- working conditions, — there were a total of 80 days, and unconditionally. advantage of finishing first team with the higher seed outcome of the match. So,
mation from U.S. government servers to Wiki- diminishing wages, soaring staff — attended office. We The period of absence was, (as opposed to second)? be rewarded? I suggest the this coin toss win would
Leaks, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in prices and meagre pay hike had police protection, however, treated as loss of Under the current IPL rules, “Mehta Toss Rule”! The serve as a well-deserved
2013, and then that sentence was commuted by based on the Third Pay evident at the entrance on pay — which was none whatsoever. And, for team with the higher seed is advantage for the team with
former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2017. Commission — was a the day the strike began. In subsequently revoked when that matter, there is no automatically granted the the higher seed.
While Mr. Assange’s critics, including notably the remarkable display of the afternoon, a group of the Janata government advantage in finishing third coin toss win. This can be With the IPL playoffs
U.S. government, point out that he did not redact working-class unity striking workers came came to power. as opposed to fourth. In applied all through the starting next week, it will be
names in his mega-scale exposé, thus allowing (Opinion page, “Revisiting inside the office asking us to D. Sethuraman, almost every other sport, playoffs (including the final) really interesting to follow
Washington to argue that the revelations placed the Railway strike of 1974”, leave and cooperate with Chennai seeding matters when it whereby the team with the the role (if any) of the coin
individuals at “risk of serious harm, torture or May 21). At that time I was a them. They said, “If you comes to the playoffs. higher seed is awarded the toss in the outcome of a
even death”, the publication of the documents senior draughtsman in the don’t leave, you will be ‘Mehta toss rule’ Should that not be the case coin toss win. given match. While too late
raised serious questions regarding human rights Chief Engineer’s Office at pushed out.” We I write this letter as a sports in the IPL as well, and, if so, There is so much discussion for this year, I urge the IPL
violations, for example in the targeting of civi- the Southern Railways immediately went into the aerodynamics consultant. how can it be achieved? In regarding the toss before management to seriously
lians during war. In this sense Mr. Assange and headquarters at Central. officer’s room and lodged a As we approach the end of most other sports, the every IPL match, and for consider the “Mehta Toss
WikiLeaks performed a public service akin to Striking workers threatened complaint. the regular IPL season, all advantage for the higher good reason. Depending on Rule” for future IPL
what journalism of conscience does. And consi- us, asking us not to attend But a sentence that still the teams in contention are seed is by gaining “home the pitch/ground conditions tournaments.
dering that he has been punished enough alrea- office. But the rings in my ears is, “You all, vying for the first two spots field advantage”. However, and weather forecasts, each Rabindra Mehta,
dy, he should be allowed to fly home. administration warned of first safeguard yourself.” (seed 1 and seed 2), and for the venues for the playoffs team decides what their Mountain View, California, U.S.
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 7
Delhi
Opinion

The risks of Russia’s nuclear posturing A worrying prospect for the Congress
The party has faced a daunting task this election

T
he war between Russia
and Ukraine has
entered its second year
and there is no end in
sight. Earlier this month, in a
concerning escalation, Russia
announced that it plans to hold
drills simulating the use of tactical
For decades after the Cold War,
the logic of nuclear deterrence has
been based on certain inviolable
understandings. Most important
among these is that any nuclear
use would inevitably result in
Harsh V. Pant destruction in both the countries
is fighting the war. This principle of
between nuclear and conventional
warfare is gradually being
undermined in this war.
There are other dangerous
precedents being set too. Russia’s
move threatens to undermine
already lacklustre and admittedly
halfhearted efforts towards
A fourth consecutive victo-
STATE OF PLAY ry for Congress Working Com-
mittee member Shashi Tha-
Biju Govind roor from
biju.govind@thehindu.co.in Thiruvananthapuram would
further solidify his stature in

nuclear weapons along the border
with Ukraine. Earlier in March,
Russia had said that it would
station nuclear weapons in
Belarus. Such nuclear posturing in
the middle of a war is worrying.
Russia cited statements by
leaders from countries which are
aiding Ukraine in the war as the
reason for upping the nuclear
ante. It was referring to French
President Emmanuel Macron’s
statement that he would
potentially deploy troops to
Ukraine and British Foreign
Secretary David Cameron’s remark
that Ukraine will be allowed to use
British long-range weapons to
strike targets inside Russia.
Shift in understanding
However, Russia’s plans appear to
be attempts at brinkmanship and
coercion rather than responses to
an actual existential threat.
Russia’s claims that Mr. Macron
and Mr. Cameron’s comments
constitute an existential threat
requiring nuclear preparedness
are a stretch at best. Neither
France nor the U.K. has made
moves that genuinely threaten
Russia’s survival which would then
call for Moscow’s justification for
its action.
On the surface, Russia’s
sabre-rattling may seem like a
predictable move to deter further
intervention by Ukraine and its
allies. After all, threatening the
first use of nuclear weapons for
deterrence, that is, to prevent the
start or escalation of conflict, is
often a tactic used by nuclear
powers like North Korea which
face threats at their borders from
larger adversaries. However, in the
latest crisis, Russia is mulling
lowering the threshold for the use
of nuclear weapons. If this
become an accepted norm, it
could have huge consequences.
Vice President, deterrence is known as mutually
Studies and Foreign assured destruction. In addition, a
Policy, country resorted to the nuclear
Observer Research option only in case of an
Foundation existential threat by an adversary.
In the case of Russia and Ukraine,
the war is largely destabilising on
conventional levels and does not
directly jeopardise Russia’s own
existence; yet, Russia has shown
its willingness to exercise its
Ankit K. nuclear option. Moreover, the
Russian nuclear doctrine codified
is a Delhi-based nuclear first use only in the most
analyst specialising in
extreme case of threat to its
the intersection of
warfare and strategy
survival. The fact that these
long-held nuclear red lines are
being stretched and redrawn over
the course of a war represents
worrying shifts in the core
understanding of nuclear
deterrence.
Dangerous precedent
By making explicit nuclear threats
at lower levels of conflict, Russia is
on a dangerous path. If nuclear
powers routinely threaten to use
nuclear weapons as a coercive
tactic when pushed into a corner
during a conventional conflict, it
may encourage other states to
follow suit. This may lead to
smaller nuclear-armed nations
wondering whether openly
brandishing their nuclear might
will be enough to undermine the
resolve of stronger conventional
military opponents. Countries like
Iran and North Korea may feel
Russia is mulling emboldened to cross the nuclear
lowering the weapons threshold, confident that
threshold for flaunting their nuclear deterrent
the use of will make adversaries back down
nuclear out of fear of escalation.
weapons. If this Thus, while the odds of any
tactical nuclear strike by Russia
become an
remain low at present, Moscow’s
accepted norm, nuclear signalling sets a dangerous
it could have precedent. Nuclear weapons may
huge no longer be weapons of last
consequences resort. The clear distinction
non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons and disarmament. The
ongoing war has exposed the
vulnerability of non-nuclear states
to aggression from states with
nuclear weapons. Russia’s move
could potentially motivate other
states to pursue nuclear weapons
to deter threats. Ukraine’s decision
in the Budapest Memorandum to
give up its nuclear arsenal in the
1990s, in exchange for security
assurances from Russia, the U.K.,
and the U.S., now appears
ill-advised. Iran’s recent statement
regarding revisiting its nuclear
doctrine if there are existential
threats from Israel is a case in
point. While Iran has maintained
that it does not intend to develop
nuclear weapons, the prospect of
Iran shifting its policy in response
to perceived existential threats
from Israel undermines
non-proliferation efforts. Such a
move may discourage other
smaller nations like North Korea
from voluntarily letting go of their
nuclear capabilities or pursuing
disarmament, fearing a similar
fate of nuclear aggression.
The unfolding dynamics have
created a new nuclear flash point.
By raising the risk by lowering the
threshold for the use of nuclear
weapons, Russia has changed the
understanding of how nuclear
deterrence works. Simultaneously,
its actions illustrate how nuclear
weapons provide asymmetric
advantages in case of conventional
warfare. This has thus increased
proliferation anxieties for smaller
states across the world, especially
in regions where there are
long-standing tensions between
states. If the cloud of nuclear war
floats above the battlefield, war
could take precedence over
deterrence and proliferation over
disarmament leading to further
nuclear instability.
A
s the BJP has made in-
tense efforts to gain a
foothold in Kerala’s bi-
polar political landscape, the
Opposition Congress has
faced a daunting task this
time. The Lok Sabha election
results will probably help the
party leadership better under-
stand and navigate the
challenge.
A week ago, Kerala Pradesh
Congress Committee (KPCC)
president K. Sudhakaran, who
had temporarily handed over
charge to senior leader M.M.
Hassan following his candida-
ture from the Kannur Lok Sab-
ha constituency, assumed his
role once again after fighting
aggressively for it. Mr. Sudhak-
aran probably sensed that the
Congress central leadership
may replace him if the party
does not perform well. But
even if the party does well, his
reinstatement is not guaran-
teed, considering the reshuf-
fles within the party after ev-
ery other election.
Two senior Congress lead-
ers, Rahul Gandhi and AICC
general secretary (organisa-
tion) K.C. Venugopal, contest-
ed the elections from Kerala. A
second win for Mr. Gandhi
may seem assured in Waya-
nad, but his opponents includ-
ed the feisty CPI leader Annie
Raja and BJP State president K.
Surendran. Thus, there is a li-
kelihood of a reduced victory
margin for him from the 4.31
lakh in the previous election.
Mr. Gandhi also entered the
race in Rae Bareli in Uttar
Pradesh.
If Mr. Venugopal wins Alap-
puzha, a constituency he re-
presented from 2009 to 2019,
he will wrest the lone seat won
by the CPI(M) in 2019. Howev-
er, the margin of victory will
also be closely observed. BJP
State vice president Shobha
Surendran’s entry in the con-
test for the Alappuzha Lok
Sabha seat altered the electio-
neering dynamics in the con-
stituency. The BJP nominated
her to ensure that Mr. Venugo-
pal, who ranks second in the
party after AICC president
Mallikarjun Kharge, does not
win easily.
Some high-profile Congress
candidates are fighting from
constituencies with three-way
contests. The Congress chose
former KPCC president and
sitting MP of Vadakara, K. Mu-
raleedharan, to fight from
Thrissur to take on actor-polit-
ician Suresh Gopi of the BJP,
who secured almost one-third
of the total votes polled in
2019. If Mr. Muraleedharan
loses, it will lead the Congress
central leadership to believe
that his sister, Padmaja Venu-
gopal, who dramatically
joined the BJP before the elec-
tions, is more influential in
Thrissur, which is perceived to
have been their late father K.
Karunakaran’s fiefdom, even
though she herself has not
won any electoral battles.
Nonetheless, some of his
supporters already portray his
candidature as a form of mar-
tyrdom, given his decision to
heed the party leadership’s re-
quest to take on Mr. Gopi.
When all the sitting Congress
MPs were re-nominated, the
Thrissur MP, T.N. Prathapan,
was supplanted.
Kerala politics and also elevate
his status nationally. On the
contrary, a defeat would deal
a severe blow to his political
career in Kerala, and poten-
tially force him to withdraw
from the capital city’s political
arena. His critics within the
Congress may then highlight
his contentious style of func-
tioning and tendency to anta-
gonise senior party leaders.
Benny Behanan is seeking
re-election from the Chalaku-
dy constituency. This is where
the fledgling Twenty20, a pol-
itical party backed by a corpo-
rate group, has put up a candi-
date. If Mr. Behanan loses, the
Congress will have to face the
challenge of accommodating
the aspirations of the Chris-
tian middle-class population,
which is dominant in the con-
stituency and shown an incli-
nation towards the Twen-
ty20’s brand of politics.
The decision of the Con-
gress to nominate Shafi Pa-
rambil, its legislator from Pa-
lakkad, to contest from
Vadakara was made with two
objectives. The first was to re-
tain the seat after Mr. Mura-
leedharan was shifted to
Thrissur. The second was be-
cause the party did not have a
single Muslim candidate and
finally chose him to contest
from a sensitive seat. Whether
this was the right move re-
mains to be seen.
There is already talk of sev-
eral disgruntled Congress
leaders preparing to leave the
party and of the BJP aggres-
sively pursuing its agenda to
poach them. This trend will
become more pronounced if
the INDIA bloc fails to dislodge
the BJP-led government at the
Centre.

The changing rules on onion export could impact election results FR O M T HE A RC HI V ES

In Maharashtra, the impact of the Centre’s flips-flops on onion export policy may be felt in at least 12 parliamentary constituencies
FIFTY YEARS AGO MAY 22, 1974

DATA POINT
than 50 farmers were detained in Canada suspends nuclear
different police stations in Nashik,
ahead of Prime Minister Narendra aid to India
Yamuna Devi A, Anjana Jayan Modi’s visit to the city. They had
& Maria Sylvia planned a protest along with the Ottawa, May 23: Canada has announced the
Opposition against the decisions suspension of all nuclear aid to India as result of

I
n India, the rise in the price of
onions has reportedly been a
factor that influenced the out-
comes of some elections in the
past. This time, it is not the price of
onions which has the potential to
have an electoral impact but the
export policy of the Centre.
In December 2023, the Centre
imposed a ban on the export of
onions to stop surging local prices.
Chart 1 shows the average retail
price for 1kg of onions in Mumbai
and the quantum of onions (in
tonnes) that arrived in the city’s
markets, month-wise. Onion arriv-
als slumped in November-Decem-
ber 2023, leading to a demand-
supply mismatch. This resulted in
a surge in onion prices to over ₹60
per kg, and led to the export ban.
Many farmers in the onion-grow-
ing districts of Maharashtra, espe-
cially Nashik, protested on the
streets, blocked a national high-
way at three spots, and disrupted
auctions in wholesale markets.
On April 25, 2024, in a surprise
move, the Centre partially relaxed
the indefinite ban on onion ex-
ports and allowed “immediate” ex-
port of 2,000 tonnes of white
onions, mostly grown in Gujarat.
The State went to the polls 12 days
later. This decision was criticised
by the Opposition leaders and the
onion farmers of Maharashtra.
On April 27, the Centre allowed
the export of more than 99,000
tonnes of onions, mainly sourced
from Maharashtra, to six neigh-
bouring countries. On May 4, the
Centre lifted the ban on onion ex-
ports. It also imposed a minimum
export price of $550 per tonne and
an export duty of 40%. The onion-
growing districts of Maharashtra
voted on May 13 and May 20.
These continuous flip-flops
have not gone down well with the
onion farmers of Maharashtra,
suggest reports. On May 15, more
CM
YK
regarding onion exports. Onion last week’s atomic test that made India the
farmers and traders, especially in world’s sixth nuclear power.
Nashik, have been up in arms for Foreign Secretary Mitchell Sharp said the
months now and have shown their Canadian Government was suspending all
anger by suspending onion auc- shipments of nuclear equipment and material
tions and going on a strike. and ending all exchanges with India on nuclear
It is understandable why Nashik technology.
in particular is worried about the Mr. Sharp told a news conference yesterday
changing export policy, as the dis- after a Cabinet meeting that the suspension of
trict is responsible for about 90% shipments would continue at least until Canada
of onions exported from India and India discussed the implications of the
(Chart 2). Given the circumstanc- nuclear test, and until future relations between
es, it will be interesting to see the two nations were reviewed. Canada wanted
whether this will have an electoral to know the source of the plutonium used in the
impact in the 12 parliamentary explosion. The plutonium did not originate from
constituencies, including the Din- Canadian fuel but possibly was produced in the
dori and Nashik seats in the Nashik reactor Canada supplied to India under a 1956
district, which fall in the ‘onion agreement.
belt’ of Maharashtra. The other Mr. Sharp said the Canadian Government also
seats are Shirdi, Ahmednagar, might stop shipments of other industrial
Dhule , Nandurbar, Jalgaon, Raver, commodities. However, there would be no
Shirur, Baramati, Maval, and Pune. interruption of food and agricultural aid to
Past election results in these India.
seats show that the voters increas- He said Canda was “seriously concerned”
ingly supported the Bharatiya Ja- with how India intended to use its nuclear
nata Party (BJP). The BJP’s vote capacity as far back as 1971 when Prime Minister
share increased from 25% in 2009 Pierre Elliott Trudeau expressed his concern to
to 33% in 2014 to 36% in 2019. The Prime Minister Indira Gandhi — AP.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
and the Shiv Sena also have signif-
icant vote shares in the region
ranging from about 15% to 27%,
but their vote shares have stagnat- A HUNDRED YEARS AGO MAY 22, 1924
ed in the last few years. The NCP
and the Shiv Sena have both split Financial crisis in U.S.A.
into two parties each. While the
NCP led by Ajit Pawar and the Shiv London, May 21: A serious financial problem has
Sena led by Eknath Shinde sup- been created in the United States by the
port the the National Democratic Congress enacting despite the President’s veto,
Alliance, the NCP led by Sharad Pa- the Soldiers’ Bonus Bill whereby 3,500,000
war and the Shiv Sena led by Udd- ex-soldiers will receive bonuses in cash or
hav Thackeray support the INDIA insurance policies estimated at a minimum total
bloc. In Nashik, the two factions of cost of £456,000,000. It is feared that this may
the Shiv Sena are in a direct fight in handicap American business and prevent the
2024. In Dindori, Sharad Pawar’s recovery of foreign markets. Wider results are
NCP is fighting against the BJP. anticipated by some French newspapers which
While the Congress’ vote share are of the opinion that the passage of the Bill
is relatively low in these seats, it removes the possibility of interalled settlement
has increased across elections. for some time and compromises the labours of
The past vote share and seat share the Experts as Americans will energetically
in these constituencies is shown in press their debtors in order to find the necessary
Tables 3 and 4, respectively. funds.
M ND-NDE

Text&Context
NEWS IN NUMBERS
The number of
Indians trafficked in
Cambodia
300
As many as 150
youths from
Visakhapatnam and
its vicinity have been stuck in Cambodia
where they are being coerced to carry out
cybercrime and Ponzi scams. PTI
Analysing local environmental footprints
What is the importance of evaluating household environmental footprints? Which are the three footprints analysed in this study? Do these footprints associated
with luxury consumption show an increase as one analyses households that are richer and affluent? What should policymakers do?
EXPLAINER
Soumyajit Bhar
W
hile climate change is a
global concern, issues
such as water scarcity and
air pollution are often
localised or regionalised. For example,
excessive water use in one region may not
directly affect water scarcity elsewhere.
Focusing on local environmental issues is
crucial; and herein comes the importance
of understanding household
environmental footprints.
How are household environmental
footprints distributed in India?
A recent study titled ‘Water, air pollution
and carbon footprints of
conspicuous/luxury consumption in
India’, of which the author is one of the
contributors, highlights the
environmental impact of affluent
individuals, particularly those who
engage in consumption beyond basic
needs. This study specifically examines
the CO2, water, and particulate matter
(PM2.5) footprints associated with luxury
consumption choices among households
in India across different economic classes.
The analysis contrasts these luxury
consumption footprints with those
associated with non-luxury consumption.
The luxury consumption basket includes
various categories such as dining out,
vacations, furniture, social events etc.
How were environmental impacts
assessed in this study?
Methodologically, the study employed an
input/output analysis of the entire
economy to map or link different
components of household consumption
to the resources or materials involved in
their production. This approach enabled
the capture and aggregation of the
(indirect or embedded) environmental
impacts associated with each stage of
production. For example, the water
footprint was utilised to quantify water
RBI’s proposed framework to
administer project financing
What are some of the more important provisions recommended by the Reserve Bank of India?
Saptaparno Ghosh
The story so far:
T
o strengthen the existing
regulatory framework around
long-gestation period financing
for projects in infrastructure,
non-infrastructure and commercial real
estate sectors, the RBI issued draft
regulations for consultation earlier this
month. Comments on the draft direction
are solicited until June 15.
What is purpose of the framework?
Infrastructure projects usually have a long
gestation period, with a higher
probability of not being financially viable.
Depending on scale and technology, these
projects may require a loan with a longer
tenure. Such projects may also face
multiple obstacles leading to delays or
cost-overruns. The Ministry of Statistics
and Programme Implementation’s March
review of 1,837 projects observed that 779
of them were delayed and 449 faced cost
overruns. The review attributed the delay
CM
YK
Delhi www.thehindu.com Wednesday, May 22, 2024
● ●
Amount to be used
from frozen Russian
assets to help Ukraine
3.3
in $ billion. The EU
approved using the profits
from frozen Russian central
bank assets to arm Ukraine. The EU had
froze around 200 billion euros of Russian
central bank assets in February 2022. AFP
Follow us facebook.com/thehindu
usage throughout various stages of
production of different goods and
services, as well as direct water usage by
households. The PM2.5 footprint
encompassed both embedded emissions
and direct emissions from household
activities such as the use of fuelwood,
kerosene, and vehicular fuels. Similarly,
the CO2 footprint was used to capture
both embedded and direct CO2 emissions
associated with household consumption.
What were the key findings?
The study reveals that all three
environmental footprints increase as
households move from poorer to richer
economic classes. Specifically, the
footprints of the richest 10% of
households are approximately double the
overall average across the population. A
notable surge in footprints is observed
from the ninth to the 10th decile, with the
air pollution footprint experiencing the
to land acquisition, obtaining
forest/environment clearances, changes
in scope (and size) etc. These factors are
dampeners for banks, which would have
priced the risks associated with the
project in a certain way on their books.
What are the key revisions?
The RBI’s focus is on mitigating a ‘credit
event’, that is, a default or a need to
extend the original Date of
Commencement of Commercial
Operations (DCCO) or infuse additional
debt, and/or diminution in the Net
Present Value (NPV) of the project. One of
the more important revisions concerns
‘provisioning’, that is, setting aside some
money ahead of time to compensate for a
potential loss. The proposed framework
recommends that, at the construction
stage (that is, when the financial
assessment is finalised and before DCCO),
a general provision of 5% is to be
maintained on all existing and fresh
exposures. This is a revision from the
erstwhile 0.4%. According to CareEdge
0
The Syrian soldiers The likely growth for
killed by Islamic State India in the first
group militants quarter of FY25
15 7.5
The Syrian army had sent forces
to the area where IS attacks are
common. While IS was defeated
territorially in Syria in 2019, its remnants financial year, driven by rising aggregate
still carry out deadly attacks, particularly demand and non-food spending in the
against pro-government forces. AFP rural economy. PTI
twitter.com/the_hindu
GETTY IMAGES
highest increase at 68% in the 10th decile
compared to the ninth. Conversely, the
rise in the water footprint is the lowest at
39%, while CO2 emissions stand at 55%.
This suggests that Indian consumers,
particularly those in the top decile, are
still in the ‘take-off’ stage, with only the
wealthiest segment exhibiting substantial
increases in consumption-related
environmental footprints. The heightened
footprints in the 10th decile are primarily
attributed to increased expenditure on
luxury consumption items.
What are the key contributors?
The study identifies eating out/restaurants
as a significant contributor to the rise in
environmental footprints, particularly in
the top decile households, across all three
footprints. Additionally, the consumption
of fruits and nuts is highlighted as a factor
driving the increase in water footprint in
the 10th decile. Luxury consumption
Ratings, this would “dampen the bidding
appetite from infrastructure developers in
the medium term”.
This 5% provisioning would be
implemented in a phased manner.
What about prudential conditions?
The framework seeks that all mandatory
pre-requisites must be in place before
financial closure (that is, before the
finalising of financial conditions). The
indicative list must provide
environmental, regulatory and legal
clearances relevant to the project. The
DCCO must be clearly spelt out. Financial
disbursals would be made and the
progress in equity infusion agreed to
based on the stages of completion. The
onus is on the bank to deploy an
independent engineer or architect who
would be responsible for certifying the
project’s progress.
RBI proposes to mandate that a
positive NPV be a prerequisite to obtain
project finance. It also seeks that lenders
get the project NPV independently
The bid for Matheesha
Pathirana by the
Colombo Strikers
120
In percentage. India is likely in thousand $. The Sri
to grow by 7.5% in the first Lankan fast bowler,
quarter of the current Matheesha Pathirana,
became the most expensive player in the
Lanka Premier League (LPL) auction. AFP
COMPILED BY THE HINDU DATA TEAM
instagram.com/the_hindu
items such as personal goods, jewellery, THE GIST
and eating out contribute to the rise in
CO2 and air pollution footprints. Notably,
the presence of fuels like firewood in the 쑽
consumption baskets of poorer A recent study highlights the
households is emphasised, showcasing environmental impact of
contrasting impacts of modern energy affluent individuals,
transitions. While transitioning from particularly those who engage
biomass to LPG reduces direct footprints, in consumption beyond basic
the lifestyle choices associated with needs.
affluence lead to a rise in PM2.5 footprints
(and subsequently, the CO2 footprint). 쑽
The average per capita CO2 footprint of The study identifies eating
the top decile in India, at 6.7 tonnes per out/restaurants as a significant
capita per year, is noted to be higher than contributor to the rise in
the global average of 4.7 tonnes in 2010 environmental footprints,
and the annual average of 1.9 tonnes particularly in the top decile
CO2eq/cap required to achieve the Paris households, across all three
agreement target of 1.5°C. While still footprints.
below the levels of the average citizen in 쑽
the U.S. or U.K., this disparity
underscores the need for urgent attention The study emphasises that
from policymakers. Given the influence of while sustainability efforts
often focus on global climate
elite lifestyles on broader societal
change, global environmental
aspirations, policymakers should
footprints do not necessarily
prioritise efforts to nudge consumption align with local and regional
levels of affluent households downwards scale footprints.
to align with sustainability goals.
What are the implications?
The study emphasises that while
sustainability efforts often focus on global
climate change, global environmental
footprints do not necessarily align with
local and regional scale footprints.
However, local and regional
environmental issues exacerbated by
luxury consumption disproportionately
affect marginalised communities. For
instance, water scarcity and air pollution
disproportionately impact marginalised
groups, further marginalising them, while
affluent sections can afford protective
measures such as air-conditioned cars
and air purifiers. This underscores the
importance of multi-footprint analysis in
addressing environmental justice
concerns and ensuring equitable
sustainability efforts.
Soumyajit Bhar is Assistant Professor at
the School of Liberal Studies of BML Munjal
University, Gurugram.
re-evaluated every year. This is to help THE GIST
them avert the possibility of any build-up
of stress and have an action plan in place.
쑽
Can repayment norms be revised? The Ministry of Statistics and
Yes. However, the framework proposes Programme Implementation’s
that the original or revised repayment March review of 1,837 projects
tenure, inclusive of the moratorium observed that 779 of them
period, must not exceed 85% of the were delayed and 449 faced
economic life of the project. cost overruns.
RBI’s proposed framework also
recommends certain criteria for 쑽
evaluating a change in repayment The RBI’s focus is on mitigating
schedule due to an increase in the project a ‘credit event’, that is, a
outlay if there’s an increase in scope and default or a need to extend the
original Date of
size of the project. This revision will have
to take place before the DCCO, after Commencement of
lenders offer a satisfactory re-assessment Commercial Operations (DCCO)
about the viability of the project, and if or infuse additional debt,
the risk in project cost, excluding any cost and/or diminution in the Net
overrun, is 25% or more of the original Present Value (NPV) of the
project.
outlay. Significantly, the framework also
introduces guidelines to trigger a standby 쑽
credit facility. This is to be sanctioned at
In their earnings call, the SBI,
the time of financial closure to fund
Union Bank of India and Bank
overruns arising due to delays. of Baroda expressed
confidence in the proposal not
What have initial observations been? having any “significant”
Ratings agency ICRA observed in a report impact.
that higher provisioning requirement for
projects under implementation would
impact the near-term profitability of
non-banking financial companies (and
infrastructure financing companies). In
their recent earnings call, the SBI, Union
Bank of India and Bank of Baroda
expressed confidence in the proposal not
having any “significant” impact.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 9
Delhi
Text&Context
KEYWORD

The idea of ‘charisma’ and the

referred to as “Modi bhakts” by the Prime
Minister’s critics. Mr. Modi can also be
called a demagogue: he frequently
appeals to the desires of ordinary people,

case of Narendra Modi does not restrain himself from using

falsehoods to gain votes, and seems to
believe that he is bigger than the party or
the government. This is of course not to
say that those who vote for the BJP do so
Charismatic leaders often emerge in times of great need for change. Mr. Modi’s rise can be attributed to several only because of Mr. Modi’s personality
cult, but that this is an important factor
factors, but chief among these was the country’s weariness with Congress-led rule that cannot be ignored. Devotion to a FROM THE ARCHIVES
leader is more a product of passion than
Radhika Santhanam of intellect; it is a belief in the leader’s

ndia is in the midst of elections to

I the Lok Sabha. Pre-poll surveys by
the Lokniti-Centre for the Study of
Developing Societies (CSDS)
showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) was in a pole position despite
economic distress. The BJP is banking on
its governance record and hoping to
secure a higher number of seats from
southern and eastern States this time. But
most of all, it is relying on its popular
prime ministerial candidate, Narendra
Modi. Over the last decade, apart from its
cocktail of development and Hindutva,
and its publicity blitz, the BJP has always
looked to Mr. Modi to pull in votes. In this
article, we examine sociologist Max
Weber’s classification of authority,
specifically his idea of charismatic
authority, and its appeals and dangers
with the example of Mr. Modi.
Types of authority
Weber drew a distinction between
traditional authority, rational-legal
authority, and charismatic authority. His
tripartite classification has received
classical status in political science,
political sociology, and behavioural
psychology. His writings on charismatic
authority have especially influenced and
shaped theories on modern leadership.
Weber wrote that order is based on two
polar principles of social organisation:
norms and authority. He defined norms
as rules of conduct towards which actors
orient their behaviour, while the essence
of authority lies in the relationship
between actors in which the commands
of some are treated as binding by the
others.
Traditional authority refers to
authority that is derived from societal
customs, habits, or age-old sanctified
practices. This means that norms
generate leaders. People obey the leader
because they are socialised into doing so
and because such obedience has
guaranteed social stability and order in
the past. Patriarchy provides the best
example of this type of authority. Across
the world, and over generations, the
father of the household or the eldest male
member of the family has been
considered the head. Descent and
inheritance are through the male line.
Girls take their father’s name as their last
name and women take their husband’s. In
India, among some Marathi and Sindhi
communities, the grooms rename the
brides as part of marriage rituals. This
example of traditional authority, that is,
patriarchy, has expanded outwards of the
familial unit and into society. It is because
it is so ingrained in our psyche that it is
often difficult to question or challenge it.
The second type is rational-legal
authority, which is derived from legal
norms (as opposed to traditional norms).
Those exercising rational-legal authority
may be chosen in different ways, such as
via elections (ministers) or an
examination (bureaucrats).
The third type is charismatic authority.
Weber defined charisma as a “gift” based
on which a person is treated as a
“leader”. The person is perceived by the
majority to possess “supernatural,
superhuman, or at least specially
exceptional powers or qualities”. This
THE DAILY QUIZ
Known for the creation of one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time, Sherlock
Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle was born on May 22. Here is a quiz on the author
means that the leader generates the
norms, unlike in structures of traditional
authority where the contrary is true.
It is important to note here that these
three types of authority are characterised
as ideal types. Weber spoke of them in
pure terms. However, as we all know,
systems of authority in the real world are
often a mix of these. A priest, for
instance, can derive his authority from
both tradition and his own personality
traits and also be bounded to act within
certain legal norms.
Modi’s charisma
Leaders, whether political, religious, or
military, who draw their authority from
charisma share an intense personal bond
with their devoted followers. Weber
writes, “The eternally new, the
non-routine, the unheard of and the
emotional rapture from it are sources of
GETTY IMAGES
personal devotion. The purest types are
the rule of the prophet, the warrior hero,
the demagogue.”
This brings us to the question: Is Mr.
Modi a charismatic leader? Not everyone
may agree with this statement, but that is
the essence of Weber’s theory: charisma
is what is perceived; it is subjective. Given
that the Prime Minister’s campaigns draw
thousands of people, every pre-poll and
post-poll survey since 2014 has recorded
his immense popularity, and his followers
believe that he is heroic, possesses the
power of mind and speech, and is capable
of extraordinary acts such as “stopping
the war in Gaza” or single-handedly
preventing black money from flowing in
the economy, he can be characterised as
charismatic. In fact, such is his hold over
a section of the population that many
people consider him a messiah; these are
the blind followers who are disparagingly
so-called extraordinary powers.
Charismatic leaders often emerge in
times of great need for change. Mr. Modi’s
rise can be attributed to several factors,
but chief among these was the country’s
weariness with Congress-led rule and the
several allegations of corruption that had
battered the previous United Progressive
Alliance government.
Shortfalls of charismatic authority
However, as Weber wrote, charismatic
authority is never long-lasting in its purest
form. It is inherently unstable since it is
based on the unique qualities of a
particular individual; it cannot be
transferred to someone else. Any failure
that calls the extraordinary nature of
charismatic leadership into question
instantly weakens it.
Charismatic authority can be used to
bring in positive change. Martin Luther
King Jr. and Nelson Mandela were fine
examples of this. Their charisma was
rooted in ethics and morality. However,
this kind of authority can equally be
misused, as we have seen in the cases of
Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler.
Charismatic leadership can be
dangerous not only because of how
leaders misuse their charisma, but also
when followers abandon rational thought
and accept ideas uncritically. In 2012,
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic wrote that
charismatic leaders tend to become
“addicted” to the unquestioning approval
of their followers. This “reciprocal
dependence” leads both parties to
“distort reality”. In an article in the
Harvard Business Review, Vergauwe et al
wrote of how having too much charisma
can hinder a leader’s effectiveness.
Self-confident leaders can become
over-confident and narcissistic, seek
attention all the time, and act in fanciful
ways — qualities that Mr. Modi has often
been accused of.
The abuse of charismatic leadership
naturally tends to be seen more in
non-democratic societies than democratic
societies. However, even in democratic
societies, charismatic authority can be
abused — first in fits and starts and then
routinely when institutions that keep the
leader in check weaken over time. In
India, trust in the Election Commission,
which has failed to control hate speeches
during the Lok Sabha campaigns, is the
lowest it has been in years. Over the last
few years, investigative agencies have
been accused of pursuing charges,
including dubious ones, only against the
political Opposition and dissenters. Some
top judges in the judiciary even expressed
concern over political capture of the
institution a few years ago. Recently,
Sweden’s V-Dem Institute termed India an
“electoral autocracy”.
This is not to argue that charismatic
authority cannot exist in democracies.
History is replete with examples to show
that it can. But it depends on the extent to
which the leader can preserve moral
influence and the extent to which
institutions can keep such leaders in
check.
The aura of Prime Minister Modi can
be alluring. But it is inherently unstable,
and as power is now so concentrated in
him, it can even damage his own party’s
prospects in the long run.
Please send in your answers to
dailyquiz@thehindu.co.in
Know your
English
K. Subrahmanian
“A one-eyed man or an one-eyed man (C.
K. Jacob, Kottayam).”
“It is ‘a one-eyed man.’ ‘One’ is
pronounced like ‘won.’ As the first sound
in ‘one’ is ‘w’, we say ‘a one-eyed man’
and not ‘an one-eyed man.’ But the first
sound in ‘only’ is like the ‘o’ in ‘home.’ It
is not ‘w.’ Hence ‘an only child.’”
“Notice, observe (S. Vanaja, Salem).”
“When you observe something, you
look with care.
He observed her movements for about a
week.
‘To notice’ is to see rather casually or
involuntarily.
I noticed him when he was leaving the
hall.”
“The different tenses in English and
how to use them (A. K. Das, Varanasi).”
“ I will discuss one every week. More
than that will make readers tense. Let us
take the simple present tense first. It has
several uses. First, it is used to express
habitual action. Habitual action is action
that has become a habit. It is not action
that is performed occasionally but done
in a routine manner. You get up at 5
O’clock in the morning every day. When
you say that you get up at 5 O’ clock, it
means that it is your habit to get up at 5
O’clock every day. This is a habitual
action.
We go to Kodaikanal every year.
He smokes heavily.
She is never alone.
The simple present tense is also used
to convey universal truths.
The earth moves round the sun.
The sun sets in the west.
Milk is white.
Dogs bark.
The simple present tense is used to
denote a future event that has been fixed
in advance.
We leave for Calcutta tomorrow.
The Executive Committee meets on 20,
March ‘92.
The difference between ‘He will arrive
here tomorrow’ and ‘He arrives here
tomorrow’ is that there is absolute
certainty about, ‘He arrives here
tomorrow.’
The President arrives in Madras next
Sunday.
The simple present is also used in
conditional and temporal clauses.
I will come if it doesn’t rain.
He won’t do it unless you ask him.
The simple present is used to refer to
the future. It is wrong to use the future
tense in conditional and temporal clauses.
That is, it is incorrect to say’ ‘He won’t do
it unless you will ask him.’ ‘The correct
sentence is ‘He won’t do it unless you ask
him.’ In running commentaries,
demonstrations of how to do a thing and
some exclamatory sentences beginning
with ‘here,’ ‘there,’ the simple present is
used.
Ram passes the ball to Jacob who kicks
it …. some grammarians call this ‘the
instantaneous present.’
Take a glass, fill it with water and cover
it with a black cloth.
Here comes the train.
Finally, the simple present is also used
to describe a past happening as if it is
happening now. It is called the historic
present.
Ashoka now decides to give up the
desire for fame and embrace Buddhism.”
Published in The Hindu on February 4,
1992.

Sindhu Nagaraj creation of the character Questions and Answers to the previous day’s daily quiz:
of Sherlock Holmes? How 1. Apart from football, FIFA governs these two sports. Ans:
X was he related to Conan Beach soccer and futsal
QUESTION 1 Doyle? 2. This journalist was instrumental in the founding of FIFA.
Conan Doyle created X
Ans: Robert Guérin
Sherlock Holmes in 1887, QUESTION 4 3. The first FIFA World Cup was hosted here and this is why
for the first time. This fictional character England did not participate. Ans: The first FIFA World Cup
Considered a milestone appears in a series of tournament was hosted by Uruguay in 1930. England
in the field of crime fantasy and science fiction had withdrawn from FIFA in 1928 over concerns about
fiction, which was the stories by Conan Doyle. A the encroaching power of FIFA over its Football
first book that the author doctor by profession, he is Association
wrote featuring the described as a pretentious 4. The first FIFA Women’s World Cup was held here. Ans: In
detective? and self-righteous 1991, China hosted the first FIFA Women’s World Cup.
X scientific jack-of-all-trades. The U.S. won.
QUESTION 2 Who is the character? 5. The bankruptcy of this company, which held media rights to
Apart from writing, what X
the World Cup in Europe and the U.S., in 2001 financially set
did Conan Doyle study, QUESTION 5 back the federation. Ans: International Sport and Leisure
before writing fiction Apart from the doctor's 6. In 1961, FIFA banned this country over its discriminatory
mystery novels? profession, and writing, sports rules. Ans: South Africa For feedback and suggestions for
X Conan Doyle was keenly X
Visual: Name this incident and the player. Ans: The Text & Context, please write to
QUESTION 3 interested in another field, Visual question: Maracanazo of the Chilean team; Roberto Rojas letters@thehindu.co.in
Who has been considered being a part of many This 1998 movie is loosely based on Conan Doyle’s book (1912), of the Early Birds: Adeel Zakaria| Rajmohan. V| M. Suresh Kumar| with the subject ‘Text & Context’
as the inspiration for the clubs. What was it? same name. Name the movie. Saheni George| Atul Gaur
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
10 Wednesday, May 22, 2024

News Delhi

From Page One Joint culture in the armed SC halts project in

Himalayas over ‘single
Two killed as BJP, RJD
workers clash in Bihar
forces is way forward: CDS window’ clearances
Integrated Theatre Commands will lead to reforms such as single- to multi-domain operations Krishnadas Rajagopal sily dispensed with on the
Saran Superintendent of Police Gaurav Mangla and fusing space and cyberspace into traditional domains, says General Anil Chauhan NEW DELHI ground that a single win-
said, “Tuesday’s firing by some anti-social ele- dow clearance has been
ments is the reaction to the stone throwing which The Supreme Court has obtained, more so, for a
took place on Monday between the supporters of The Hindu Bureau tions, fusing space and cy- served a blow to “single project situated in an eco-
two parties. Of the three who received bullet inju- NEW DELHI berspace into traditional window” clearances, logically fragile and sensi-
ries, two died and one is undergoing treatment. domains, digitisation of meant to hasten infrastruc- tive seismic zone of the Ku-
The force is camping at the place where the shoot- tating that jointness battlefield information and tural development, in the maon Himalayas at an
ing happened.”
He said, “We are urging everyone to maintain
peace in the area. We will arrest all those who are
S and integration are
prerequisites to the
creation of functional Inte-
visualisation, net-centric to
data-centric among others,
he added.
ecologically fragile and
seismic-prone lower Hima-
layan ranges by temporari-
elevation of more than
6,700 feet above mean sea
level (MSL)?” the petition-
responsible for inciting the crowd.” Reacting to grated Theatre Commands ly staying the construction er asked the apex court.
the firing incident, Ms. Acharya alleged that the (ITC), the Chief of Defence Mandate of CDS of a 90-acre hotel and The petition sought a
BJP is trying to murder the democracy. “The BJP is Staff (CDS), General Anil The mandate of the CDS is township project in the Ku- bar on the commencement
murdering the democracy and it is afraid of losing Chauhan, said on Tuesday to ensure “jointness” of maon hills of Uttarakhand. of commercial projects in
the election. Our three workers have been shot that theatre commands the three Services in opera- A Bench of Justices A.S. the State without the requi-
and two have died. FIRs should be lodged against would lay the foundation tions, logistics, transport, Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan has site permission under law
all the goons of the BJP,” Ms. Acharya said. for catapulting the armed training, support services, passed the interim order at and comprehensive Envi-
forces into the next orbit of communications, repairs a time when Uttarakhand ronment Impact Assess-
military preparedness and Future plans: Gen. Anil Chauhan delivers the 22nd Major General and maintenance and the is gasping from the after-ef- ment.
war fighting. Samir Sinha Memorial Lecture in New Delhi on Tuesday. PTI top priority is the reorgan- fects of killer forest blazes Justice Oka’s Bench has
SC asks if Soren’s arrest “The creation of such
commands will separate calling upon the three Ser- culture, needs to respect
isation of the armed forces
geography-centric ITC.
and denuded green cover.
The stay was based on a
listed the case for August
12. The respondents were
can be called invalid the ‘operational’ functions
from the Raise-Train-Sus-
vices to create a joint cul-
ture as they move towards
the uniqueness of each
Service. We must be able to
The effort got delayed
due to a lack of consensus
special leave petition filed
by landowner Birendra
represented by a legal
team led by senior advo-
tain (RTS) and other admi- forming joint operational distil the best of each Ser- between the Services and Singh, represented by se- cates C.U. Singh and Arya-
Mr. Sibal pleaded his client would have “lost eve- nistrative functions, and structures. The CDS said vice, and incorporate the was stalled by the death of nior advocate P.B. Suresh ma Sundaram.
rything” by then, prompting the Bench to list the will allow greater focus of Jointness 1.0 was about highest common factor, the first CDS, Gen. Bipin and advocates Vipin Nair The petition had as-
case on May 22. During the hearing, Mr. Raju said the operational comman- better bonhomie and con- rather than settle for the Rawat, and then the delay and Karthik Jayashankar, sailed an Uttarakhand HC
the case of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha ( JMM) der to matters of security,” sensus among the Servic- least common denomina- in the appointment of his raising a question of law decision on April 9, allow-
leader was different from that of Delhi Chief Minis- Gen. Chauhan said at the es, and as there were no tor,” Gen. Chauhan said. In successor. With Gen. Anil whether “single window” ing the construction for
ter Arvind Kejriwal, who was granted interim bail 22nd Major General Samir major differences, there is this regard, he said the Chauhan taking over as the clearances could replace the hotel project to conti-
by the top court in the liquor policy case on May Sinha memorial lecture or- an impetus to move to- proposed ITCs would not second Chief of Defence prior environmental clea- nue. The petitioner won-
10 to canvas votes for the election. ganised at the United Ser- wards the next level which be an end state but the be- Staff, the stalled process is rances and the system of dered how the April 9,
“For one, the Special Court had prima facie vice Institution of India. is Jointness 2.0. ginning of the next set of back on track and is in ad- submission of sanctioned 2024, HC order had elabo-
found material suggesting Mr. Soren had commit- Jointness 2.0, which is reforms. vanced stages. The forma- building plans. rately referred to its subse-
ted the offence, and thus, taken cognisance. The developing a joint culture Highest common factor The ITC would lead to tion of ITC has also been “Whether these precau- quent order in another PIL
cognisance order has not been challenged,” he in the armed forces, is the “Joint culture, though dif- many reforms such as sin- included by the BJP in its tionary steps to protect a plea on April 23, 2024 for
said. On the other hand, Mr. Kejriwal was made an way forward, he stressed, ferent from service-specific gle to multi-domain opera- election manifesto. fragile eco-zone can be ea- its reasonings.
accused, along with the Aam Aadmi Party, by the
Enforcement Directorate in a supplementary
chargesheet only after he was out on interim bail.
“Secondly, Mr. Soren’s bail application under
Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering
Act (PMLA) was filed and rejected,” Mr. Raju not-
ed. Mr. Kejriwal had never applied for bail under
Delayed deadlines, escalating cost will make ED searches
former DPIIT
Section 45, choosing to approach the constitution-
al courts to quash his arrest on May 21. “The arrest bullet train project a costly liability: Congress official’s
of Mr. Soren was not done, as in Mr. Kejriwal’s
case, days after the Model Code of Conduct for the
premises
Lok Sabha polls came into force,” Mr. Raju argued. Maitri Porecha come from Japan at 0.1% years,” the analysis further
The ED contended that while Mr. Soren NEW DELHI for 50 years, and so the to- states. The Hindu Bureau
claimed he had no connection with the 8.86 acres tal interest will be around This means that for both NEW DELHI
of land at Shanti Nagar in Ranchi, he had allegedly Prime Minister Narendra ₹4,040 crore over 50 loans combined, there will
tried to tamper with the evidence. Mr. Sibal said Modi’s pet project of star- years. For repayment pur- be an amount of ₹6,802 The Enforcement Directo-
he was opposing the arrest itself. “Whatever mate- ing bullet train operations poses, an EMI of ₹273.4 crore to pay off every year. rate (ED) on Tuesday
rial was in possession of the ED officer was not between Mumbai and Ah- crore has to be paid every In a best-case scenario searched the premises
enough to arrest me under Article 19 [power to ar- medabad will leave a gap- month, which brings up where all passengers are linked to Ramesh Abhish-
rest] of the PMLA… The allegation against me at ing hole in the exchequer, the cost to ₹3,280 crore ev- travelling from Mumbai to ek, the then-secretary of
the time of the arrest was forcible or illegal posses- an analysis carried out by ery year for 50 years. Ahmedabad and back, the Department for Promotion
sion of 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi. Forcible or il- the Congress has alleged. If the cost stays at ₹2 bullet train will generate of Industry and Internal
legal possession of land is not a scheduled offence At a maximum speed of lakh crore, then the rest of an annual revenue of Trade (DPIIT) and then-
under the PMLA,” Mr. Sibal argued. 320 kilometres per hour, the ₹40,000 crore has to ₹3,920 crore, but the year- chairman of the Forward
the bullet train is expected Indian engineers being trained for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet be raised by the National ly loan liability is ₹6,802 Markets Commission.
to cover the 508-km dis- Train Corridor project track construction. FILE PHOTO High Speed Rail Corridor crore, so there will be a In February, the CBI had
tance between the two ci- from the State govern- shortfall of ₹2,882 crore. also conducted searches
EC censures West ties in under three hours.
A thread posted by the
now 2028. The Congress
has alleged that the project
lakh crore when complet-
ed, which is ₹398 crore per
ments of Gujarat and Mah-
arashtra, which will be
The Congress has al-
leged that the Modi govern-
after instituting the FIR on
a reference from the
Bengal BJP candidate Congress Kerala unit’s X
handle says that in 2013,
will become the biggest lia-
bility of India once it is
km,” the post says.
The project is supposed
funded by loans.
“Assuming a loan at 8%
ment’s pet project will be-
come one of the biggest
Lokpal.
The Lokpal had ordered
Mr. Modi announced that launched. “The initial cost to be funded 80:20 by the interest for 30 years, the liabilities to India. CBI probe into receipt of
“The Election Commission has defamed me with the bullet train project con- estimation for the project Japan International Coop- total repayment amount “The Ahmedabad-Mum- huge amounts as consult-
this order. I take this very seriously,” Mr. Gango- necting Mumbai and Ah- was ₹1.08 lakh crore for eration Agency ( JICA), will come up to ₹1,05,657 bai travel problem is so- ing fee from various enti-
padhyay told the media on Tuesday. “I will, under medabad would be ready constructing 508 km with which is a loan with a te- crore, which means ₹293.5 mething that can be solved ties with whom Mr. Abh-
no circumstances, accept the defamation this EC by 2022, but a decade later, 12 stops; cost was later re- nure of 50 years and an in- crore has to be paid every with hardly ₹15,000 to ishek had official dealings
order has caused me,” he asserted. it is only 30% complete, vised to ₹1.65 lakh crore terest of 0.1%. This means month, which is ₹3,522 ₹20,000 crore budget,” it while he was Secretary
Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said the EC and the revised deadline is but it is expected to cost ₹2 that ₹1,60,000 crore will crore annually for 30 said. DPIIT or headed FMC.
should issue an order against Ms. Banerjee first for
her alleged remarks against the women of San-
deshkhali, which he claimed provoked Mr. Gango-

30 flamingos fall dead, rammed by Pune car crash: five

padhyay’s comments against the CM.
“The same action should be taken by the Elec-
tion Commission against Mamata Banerjee and

jet on glide path to Mumbai airport including father of

her nephew (Abhishek Banerjee),” Mr. Adhikari
said.
Although the Trinamool Congress has not com-
mented on the EC’s order yet, it had earlier prot-
ested vehemently against Mr. Gangopadhyay’s
minor driver held
comments. “Disrespecting women has become Ateeq Shaikh ople must have chased the
part of Modi’s guarantee,” senior party leader MUMBAI birds out in the night, caus- The Hindu Bureau developer who had been
Santanu Sen had said. ing them to attempt to fly PUNE absconding, was arrested
The Tamluk Lok Sabha constituency in Purba Hit by an aircraft on its way towards the Thane Creek by a team of the Pune pol-
Medinipur district, where Mr. Gangopadhyay is in to the international airport and come in the way of the The Pune police on Tues- ice’s Crime Branch from
the fray on a BJP ticket, goes to the polls on May 25 here, over 30 flamingos jet. day arrested the father of a Maharashtra’s Sambhajina-
in the sixth phase of the ongoing parliamentary were found dead in the 17-year-old boy who drove gar (formerly Aurangabad)
election. Mr. Gangopadhyay is contesting against Ghatkopar area, about 15 Wetland protection a luxury car and ran over early on Tuesday after a
Debangshu Bhattacharya of the Trinamool Con- km by road to the airport, “We had cited the example two persons in the city’s case was registered against
gress, and Sayan Banerjee of the Communist Par- early on Tuesday morning. of the Thane Creek Flamin- upmarket Kalyani Nagar him on Monday.
ty of India-Marxist (CPI-M). The Emirates EK 508 go Sanctuary, which did area even as the case snow- The police also arrested
Dubai-Mumbai flight land- not have any bird hits, in balled into a political slug- four other persons includ-
ed safely before 8.40 p.m. our case arguments before fest, with the Opposition ing proprietors and execu-
on Monday after ploughing the Principal Secretary, Ur- Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) tives of two pubs — BLAK
NIA searches houses through the flock of birds.
The Boeing 777-300ER jet
ban Development two
weeks ago. This was the
accusing police authorities
and an MLA of the ruling
(in Marriott Suites) and Co-
sie — for serving liquor to
of two doctors in T.N. was later subjected to a
full-scale inspection under Tragic strike: Workers remove the carcasses of flamingos after a
case for protection of the
Panje wetlands. The go-
Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP) fac-
the minor. The arrests
were made after CCTV
the safety mandates, delay- flight from Dubai struck a flock in Mumbai on Monday. PTI vernment kept saying that tion of allegedly shielding footage from one of the
The NIA’s Hyderabad branch took over the investi- ing the return flight by a all waterbodies need to be the minor. bars showed the minor
gation in November same year. day. also likely to be taken. They said the migratory eliminated to make the Na- The father, a real estate consuming alcohol.
The agency chargesheeted 14 persons in the “So far, over 30 carcass- birds must have been bit vi Mumbai airport, which
case in 2013 and 2014. Out of the chargesheeted First occurrence es have been retrieved,” while flying towards the is under construction,
accused, 13 were convicted to undergo five-year This is the first time that said Stalin Dayanand, con- flamingo sanctuary in safe. Two weeks later this
imprisonment. The NIA special court had allowed such a large flock of birds servationist and director of Thane. accident happened. Coin-
the accused, then aged between 22 and 35, to pur- were killed in a hit by an Vanashakti, an NGO. However, conservation- cidence? Let us wait for
sue higher studies. aircraft near the Chhatra- ists have a different take. more details to come out,”
The management of the private hospital in pati Shivaji Maharaj Inter- Investigation on According to Mr. Daya- Mr. Dayanand said.
Coimbatore, where the two doctors are doing a national Airport. Factors such as flight alti- nand, one theory is that The flamingos migrate
two-year post-doctoral fellowship programme, The Maharashtra Forest tude and deviation from the new power lines from Siberia to Mumbai via
stated that their background was unknown and Department has launched landing funnel path are be- through the sanctuary area the Rann of Kutch in Guja-
they got the fellowship through a national-level an investigation. Carcasses ing studied to investigate is disorienting the birds. rat. Between November
entrance. and samples have been col- what caused the incident. The second theory is and May, they make the
The searches in Coimbatore are the latest lected from the site where Forest Department offi- that the birds have been wetlands and mudflats on
among the agency held in 11 locations across four the migratory birds fell af- cials said they were sur- disturbed on the wetlands Mumbai’s eastern coast
States, in connection with The Rameshwaram ter being hit. prised as such an incident in Navi Mumbai. their home and feed on al-
Cafe blast. The pilot’s statement is had not occurred before. He alleged that some pe- gae and small organisms.
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 11
Delhi

ELECTIONS 2024

‘Cong., INDIA appeasement. The entire
INDIA bloc is attempting to
favour politics divide people and the nation,”
of corruption’ Mr. Nadda said, adding that
the BJP would win all 10 Lok
쑽 Sabha seats in the State.
“While the previous
BJP president J.P. Nadda on Congress-led governments
Tuesday held roadshows in kept issues like ‘One Rank,
Haryana’s Rohtak and Jind, One Pension’ hanging for 40
slamming the Congress and years, Prime Minister
INDIA bloc for favouring Narendra Modi resolved them
politics of corruption and in his first term,” he added. He
appeasement. “The Congress said despite an incident of
and the INDIA bloc are living violence against Swati
examples of corruption, Maliwal, the entire INDIA bloc
dynastic politics, and had chosen to remain silent.
BJP national president J.P.
Nadda during a roadshow in
Rohtak on Tuesday. PTI
‘Cong. fixated on
red version of
Constitution’
쑽 alleged derogatory remarks
Assam Chief Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said
the Congress had forgotten
the original Constitution
because the party was fixated
on its miniature ‘red’ version.
He took a potshot at the
Congress and presumably at
Communist parties after
receiving a pocketbook
version of the Constitution
from Congress leader Pawan
Khera. Mr. Khera had written a
letter to Dr. Sarma on
Monday, criticising him for his
about the Constitution.
Dr. Sarma responded
saying, “Thank you, Mr Khera.
However, could you please
send me an original copy of
the Indian Constitution... I
have heard that Congress has
already forgotten the original
copy of the Constitution and
is more interested in the red
pocketbook version,” he said.
I am sorry for
whatever has
happened to the women
of Sandeshkhali...
Nobody should dare to
play with the dignity
of women
MAMATA BANERJEE
West Bengal Chief Minister
Ahead of vote
count, BJP fast
in Arunachal
쑽
A unit of the BJP in Arunachal
Pradesh has asked its
members and supporters to
fast on June 1 ahead of the
counting of votes for the
simultaneous Lok Sabha and
Assembly elections on June 4.
“We request all to follow
the fasting programme on
June 1,”a local unit chief said.
Odisha is a
prosperous
State in the country, but
people are poor...You
gave Naveen babu 25
years, but State lost 25
years of development
AMIT SHAH
Union Minister

In pitched capital battle, AAP BJP issues

notice to
Jayant Sinha
and Congress find synergies for no-show
Setting aside their differences, the two parties have joined hands to stop the BJP from achieving another clean sweep in Amit Bhelari
PATNA
Delhi; after his release from jail, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has charged up the poll campaign with direct attacks on the PM
The Bharatiya Janata Party
Standing together: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Mr. Kejriwal will be voting (BJP) has issued a show-
OVERVIEW
and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav during a for a Congress candidate cause notice to Hazaribagh
joint public meeting in Uttar Pradesh. ANI due to the seat-sharing ar- MP Jayant Sinha on Tues-
Jaideep Deo Bhanj rangement and that party day as he had neither vot-

In eastern U.P.,
NEW DELHI workers must do the same. ed nor taken part in the
The BJP has chosen to election campaign. BJP
n an attempt to stop replace six of its seven sit- Jharkhand general secre-

INDIA bloc I the Bharatiya Janata

Party from sweeping
all seven Lok Sabha seats
ting MPs with only North
East Delhi MP and actor
Manoj Tiwari getting ticket
tary and Rajya Sabha mem-
ber Aditya Sahu issued the
notice on the instruction of

goes all out to in the national capital for

the third time, the once bit-
ter rivals, the Aam Aadmi
to contest for a third time.
He is pitted against former
Jawaharlal Nehru Universi-
the party’s State president
Babulal Marandi.
Issuing the notice, the

ensure victory Party and the Congress,

have come together in a
seat-sharing agreement un-
ty Students’ Union leader
Kanhaiya Kumar on Con-
gress ticket in a constituen-
party directed him to res-
pond within two days and
give the reason for not tak-
der the Indian National De- cy where a sizeable mi- ing part in the campaign
Sobhana K. Nair velopmental, Inclusive Al- grant population from and for not visiting the
BHADOHI/AZAMGARH/DEORIA liance (INDIA). Poorvanchal (eastern Uttar booth to cast his vote on
The AAP is contesting Pradesh and Bihar) could the day of the polling on
oaring temperatures do not trouble four seats and the Con- hold sway. The election al- May 20.

S Jagananth Tiwari. In fact, it is the only

time he does brisk business. Pouring
out sweet lassi in earthen tumblers, he is as
gress three.
The campaign in the
run-up to the May 25 elec-
so sees Bansuri Swaraj,
daughter of the late Sush-
ma Swaraj, BJP leader,
“From the time the par-
ty fielded Manish Jaiswal as
the candidate of the Haza-
generous with his political opinion as topping tion has had its fair share of making her political debut ribagh Lok Sabha seat, you
the tumblers with an extra layer of cream. twists and turns with the from the New Delhi consti- did not take interest in the
Mr. Tiwari’s little roadside kiosk is in the arrest of Delhi Chief Minis- ter Narendra Modi’s deve- blic meetings, Mr. Kejriwal ferences with the high tuency against AAP MLA election campaign and or-
Manikpur Gram Sabha in the Bhadohi Lok ter Arvind Kejriwal days af- lopment model to win over has asked people to vote command over the deci- Somnath Bharti. ganisation. You did not
Sabha constituency in eastern Uttar Pradesh. ter the announcement of the electorate once again. for the INDIA bloc if they sion to align with the AAP In the 2019 Lok Sabha bother to take part in the
It is a bipolar contest, he says, between the the election, followed by The AAP, in turn, has run a want to see him stay out of as well as its choice of can- election, the BJP received grand festival of democra-
BJP and the “gathbandhan”, the word used to his return to the campaign campaign titled “Jail Ka Ja- jail and continue to work didates and joined the BJP 56.9% of the votes while cy by not casting your vote.
identify the INDIA bloc here. So is it the trail 50 days later, raising wab Vote Se” (Answer to jail for the people of Delhi. a week later. the Congress and the AAP Your act has maligned the
Samajwadi Party or the Congress? Mr. Tiwari the stakes even further. by vote), terming their Amid this “Kejriwal vs won 22.6% and 18.2%, res- image of the party. There-
responds with an emphatic “no”. “It is that Both from inside and out- leader’s arrest a “political Modi” narrative, the Con- Joining hands pectively. However, a few fore, on the instructions of
Bengal party,” he says. For a minute, he is lost side the jail, Mr. Kejriwal conspiracy” hatched by gress that ruled Delhi for 15 However, as the polling months later in February State president Babulal Ma-
for the name of the Trinamool Congress, has emerged as the star the BJP to “destroy” the consecutive years is look- date approaches, a synergy 2020, the AAP won 62 out randi, you are being direct-
which is contesting the seat as part of the campaigner of INDIA. AAP. ing to revive its fortunes can be sensed between the of 70 seats in the Delhi As- ed to explain your stand
INDIA bloc. But he is clear on the candidate — He was arrested on On May 10, Mr. Kejriwal and find a space for itself. AAP and Congress workers sembly election with a within two days,” the not-
Lalitesh Pati Tripathi, a Congress rebel who March 21 by the Enforce- was given interim bail by The party initially saw un- at election rallies who have 53.5% vote share. ice signed by Mr. Sahu said.
switched over to the Trinamool. Bhadohi ment Directorate (ED) on the Supreme Court till June rest within its ranks with found a common enemy to With the voters showing Before the formal an-
goes to the polls on May 25. charges of corruption in 1 to campaign, and he has party workers unhappy unite against. Congress a preference to vote for Mr. nouncement of the BJP
Mr. Tiwari is not alone. Across the the now-scrapped Delhi changed the narrative with with the decision to tie up leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi at the Centre and Mr. candidate, Mr. Sinha had
constituency, Mr. Tripathi is identified as the Excise policy, and the BJP direct attacks on Mr. Modi. with the AAP that had re- speaking at an election ral- Kejriwal in Delhi, it re- posted a message on social
“gathbandhan” candidate. Both the SP and has built its campaign by He has asked whether the duced them to zero seats in ly on May 18 in the Chandi- mains to be seen if the AAP media platform X saying
Congress voters are not hesitating from questioning the credentials Prime Minster plans to re- the Lok Sabha and the Del- ni Chowk constituency, sends its first Lok Sabha that he has requested BJP
voting for the Trinamool, a relatively of the anti-corruption cru- tire at 75 and suggested a hi Assembly. Delhi Con- pointed out that for the member from Delhi to Par- president J.P. Nadda to re-
unknown entity here. “The day my sader as a honest leader, power struggle within the gress chief Arvinder Singh first time, he will be voting liament and if the Congress lieve him from the electo-
candidature was announced, the SP and projected Prime Minis- BJP. Addressing several pu- Lovely resigned citing dif- for a AAP candidate and can make a comeback. ral duties.
leadership here handed over to me their
entire organisational network, going down till
the booth level. It was easy to get the
Congress workers going, since I have old links
with them. Surprisingly, even AAP workers,
who may be few but highly motivated, have
been campaigning from the first day for the
Bihar polls enter NDA’s 2019 clean-sweep territory
alliance,” Mr. Tripathi said.
The INDIA bloc, since its ambitious Amarnath Tewary constituencies each. sad Singh and comes from har. The constituency
beginning in March 2023 as the overarching PATNA In Sheohar, Lovely the upper caste Bhumihar shares its border with Ne-
anti-BJP platform, has suffered several Anand, JD(U) candidate community. Mr. Sigriwal is pal and has a sizeable tri-
setbacks, including exits of a few of its The popularity of Prime wife of strongman-turned- a Rajput. bal (Tharus) population
founding member parties, such as Nitish Minister Narendra Modi is politician Anand Mohan On Tuesday, Mr. Modi along with Dalits, EBCs,
Kumar’s Janata Dal(U). In Uttar Pradesh too, likely to brighten the pros- Singh, is contesting against addressed a public meet- OBCs and Brahmins. In
the alliance had a rocky beginning. The pects of the National De- Ritu Jaiswal of the RJD. Ra- ing in the constituency and 2019, the JD(U)’s Baidya-
negotiations went on for weeks and a final mocratic Alliance (NDA) ma Devi, BJP MP, could not sought votes for Mr. Sigri- nath Mahto won the elec-
seat-sharing arrangement was announced on candidates who are con- contest again in the consti- wal who in 2019 defeated tion. Following his death,
February 21, with the Samajwadi Party testing the Lok Sabha elec- tuency as it fell in the JD RJD candidate Randhir his son Sunil Kumar Kush-
conceding 17 seats to the Congress. tion from eight constituen- (U)’s kitty after seat-shar- Singh. In Maharajganj, the waha won the bypoll in
More than 160 km from Bhadohi in cies in Bihar that go to the ing. Most of the voters in Rajput-Bhumihar votes 2020 and this time he is
Azamgarh at a corner meeting of SP leader polls on May 25. Sheohar are from the back- and those of the Yadav contesting against the
Dharmendra Yadav, the stage is festooned “Candidate toh majburi ward Vaishya caste and community are known to RJD’s Deepak Yadav.
with the Congress and SP flags. A clutch of hai, Modi zaruri hai (the from the upper caste Raj- influence the outcome. In East Champaran, the
Congress workers sit on the sidelines at the candidate is a compulsion, put community. From Gopalganj, a con- BJP has reposed faith in its
meeting. The bonhomie that Congress leader but Modi is a necessity)” is Ms. Anand, a Rajput, is stituency reserved for the three-time MP Radha Mo-
Rahul Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav a common sentiment vo- confident of winning the Key factor: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being felicitated during a Scheduled Castes, Alok Su- han Singh against the VIP’s
display is not entirely replicated by the cadres ters share across Valmiki- seat and is banking on the public meeting in Maharajganj on Tuesday. ANI man of the the JD(U) is up Rajesh Kushwaha. Local
of the two parties. At best they are tolerating nagar, East Champaran, popularity of Mr. Modi, against the VIP’s Chanchal people say that the BJP
each other for a common goal — defeating the West Champaran, Sheo- who is from the Vaishya In 2019, the BJP has fielded its candidate, Paswan. Party leader Mu- candidate is expected to
BJP in this election. “It is essential that the har, Vaishali, Siwan, Maha- community. Ms. Jaiswal, a had won all the eight Veena Devi. The MP is con- kesh Sahni has cam- retain his seat.
INDIA bloc does well. The roots of Congress rajganj and Gopalganj con- Vaishya, is campaigning testing against Vijay Kumar paigned alongside RJD In West Champaran, BJP
seats that are going
revival in the State lie in the INDIA bloc’s stituencies where 85 hard to wrest the seat from Shukla of the RJD, a strong- leader Tejashwi Yadav to candidate and former State
success in Uttar Pradesh,” Congress worker candidates are in the fray. the NDA. However, both to the polls on man from north Bihar who garner votes of the Sahni- party president Sanjay Jais-
Ramvijay Singh explains. From his In 2019, the NDA won all are battling the “outsider” May 25 in Bihar was accused and impri- Mallahs (boatmen/fisher- wal, an MP since 2009, will
perspective, the Lok Sabha elections are the the eight seats. This year, tag as Ms. Jaiswal comes soned for the murder of men) communities which take on Congress candi-
semi-final for the final showdown three years the BJP has fielded candi- from Sitamarhi district and former Bihar Minister Brij is around 6% of the total date Madan Mohan Tiwari.
later in the Assembly election. But that has dates in four constituen- Ms. Anand is from Sahar- fight to Vijaylakshmi Devi Bihari Prasad, husband of 36% EBC votes. In 2019, Mr. Jaiswal won
not stopped Mr. Singh from attending all poll cies, the Janata Dal (U) in sha district. ( JD-U) and Awadh Bihari Ms. Rama Devi, the BJP MP The Valmikinagar con- the election by nearly 3
meetings held for Mr. Yadav in the area. three and the Lok Janshak- Chaudhary (RJD). Though for Sheohar. stituency has been in the lakh votes. The seat has a
In the Deoria constituency, for Mohammad ti Party (Ram Vilas) in one. Triangular fight Ms. Shahab has lost elec- In Maharajganj, the NDA news ever since former Un- big chunk of EBC and OBC
Khurshid, a 55-year-old driver, it is irrelevant From the Mahagath- Siwan will witness a three- tions from Siwan seat three has fielded sitting MP Jana- ited Liberation Front of As- voters besides a sizeable
whether it is an SP or a Congress candidate, bandhan, the Rashtriya Ja- cornered contest as Hena times, in all these polls radan Prasad Sigriwal (BJP) som commander and two- number of upper caste vo-
as long as the gathbandhan is in the fray. nata Dal (RJD) is contesting Shahab, an Independent from 2009 to 2019, she fin- against Aakash Kumar time MP from Kokrajhar ters. Voters told The Hindu
The BJP’s, especially Prime Minister four seats, while the Con- candidate and wife of late ished second. Singh of the Congress. Mr. (Assam) Naba Kumar Sara- that they would vote for
Narendra Modi’s, recurrent attack on the gress and the Vikashil In- strongman and RJD leader Vaishali is the only seat Singh is the son of Bihar nia threw his hat in the ring Mr. Jaiswal to give Mr. Modi
“INDI-alliance” has further contributed to its saan Party (VIP) have field- Mohammed Shahabuddin, in the sixth phase where Pradesh Congress Commit- after his nomination pap- a third term as the Prime
instant recognition. ed candidates in two is expected to give a tough NDA ally LJP (Ram Vilas) tee president Akhilesh Pra- ers were rejected in Kokraj- Minister.
CM M ND-NDE
YK
 THE HINDU
12 Wednesday, May 22, 2024

News Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽
Cong. asks PM
to apologise Cong. wants to grant INDIA will run a govt.
similar to the UPA
for Patra’s
comment
reservation based on dispensation: Kharge
The Hindu Bureau
NEW DELHI
religion, says Modi The Hindu Bureau
CHANDIGARH

The Congress on Tuesday
demanded an apology
from Prime Minister Na-
SC dismisses petitions to rendra Modi for BJP leader
Sambit Patra’s comments
review Article 370 judgment that Lord Jagannath is a
bhakt (devotee) of Mr.
A Bench of five judges headed by Chief Justice of Modi.
India D.Y. Chandrachud has dismissed multiple
petitions seeking a review of a Supreme Court
judgment upholding the abrogation of Article
Addressing a press con-
ference at the Congress
headquarters, party spo-
Those born into affluence cannot understand the pangs of poverty, says Stepping up the party’s
the PM; he adds INDIA bloc is a group of ₹20-lakh-crore scamsters campaign momentum in
Haryana, Congress nation-
Amarnath Tewary
al president Mallikarjun
Kharge on Tuesday hit out
PATNA at Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, blaming him for fail-
rime Minister Na- ing to keep his promises
P rendra Modi on
Tuesday slammed
the Opposition Congress
and terming him a “king of
liars”.
Addressing a gathering
Mallikarjun Kharge

370 in August 2019. “Having perused the review kesperson Supriya Shri-
petitions, there is no error apparent on the face nate said that Mr. Patra, the
of the record. No case for review under Order BJP’s candidate for the Puri
XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules 2013. Lok Sabha seat, had insult-
The review petitions are, therefore, dismissed,” ed the sentiments and the
the Review Bench passed a short order recently. faith of millions of Hindus.
The Review Bench, besides the CJI, included Mr. Patra, however, had
Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, Surya Kant, apologised for the com-
and A.S. Bopanna. ment and maintained it
was a “slip of the tongue”.
“Is this the first time that
our Hindu gods and god-
Vice-President to represent desses have been insulted
this way? Most certainly
India at Raisi’s funeral in Iran not,” Ms. Shrinate said.
The irony is that the
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar will represent Lord guiding the universe
India in the official ceremony in Tehran on is being described as a de-
Wednesday to condole the death of President votee of Mr. Modi, Ms. Shri-
Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein nate added and recounted
Amir-Abdollahian, and other Iranian officials, the various instances when
Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday. BJP functionaries com-
“Vice-President of India Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar pared the Prime Minister
will pay a visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran on to God.
22 May 2024 to attend official ceremony to pay “He [Mr. Modi] has be-
condolences on the tragic demise of H.E. come so self-absorbed in
President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, H.E. Foreign such propaganda that he
Minister Dr. Hosssein Amir-Abdollahian and has started calling himself
other Iranian officials in an unfortunate a messenger of God,” Ms.
helicopter crash on 19 May 2024,” MEA said. Shrinate said.
and the Rashtriya Janata
Dal (RJD), part of the In-
dian National Develop-
ment, inclusive Alliance,
while raking up issues of
corruption, reservation,
inflation, abrogation of Ar-
ticle 370, and construction
of the Ram Temple at
Ayodhya.
“Congress party wants
reservation based on reli-
gion. Had Baba Sahib Am-
bedkar not been there,
former Prime Minister [ Ja-
waharlal] Nehru would
have not made reserva-
tions happen for Sche-
duled Caste (SC) and Sche-
duled Tribes (ST),” Mr.
Modi said at a public meet-
ing in Motihari of East
Champaran district.
Mr. Modi reached Patna,
on the evening of May 20
and visited the residence
of senior State party leader
and former Deputy Chief
Minister Sushil Kumar Mo-
di, who passed away re-
Lashing out: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public
meeting in Motihari, East Champaran district, in Bihar. PTI
cently. He also visited the
Bihar BJP headquarters.
“They [Opposition]
want to snatch the SC, ST,
OBC [Other Backward
Class] reservations from
you for the jihadis. For this,
they want to change the
Constitution,” alleged the
Prime Minister.
Mr. Modi also raised is-
sues of abrogation of Arti-
cle 370 in Jammu and
Kashmir, the construction
of the Ram Temple in
Ayodhya and corruption to
slam the Congress and the
RJD.
“Those born with a sil-
ver spoon in their mouths
cannot understand the
pangs of poverty but Modi
born of a poor mother
knows what poverty is and
he cannot betray poor peo-
ple,” he said.
“They [Opposition] do
not have any issue except
abusing Prime Minister
Modi,” he said.
At a second public meet-
ing at Goriakothi in Maha-
rajganj, he slammed the
Opposition INDIA bloc.
“It’s a group of ₹20-lakh-
crore scamsters and cor-
rupt people,” he said.
Both East Champaran
and Maharajganj will vote
in the sixth phase of the
ongoing Lok Sabha elec-
tion on May 25.
in Yamunanagar, Mr.
Kharge said there was
nothing wrong in calling
Prime Minister a liar as he
had been giving false pro-
mises to the people of the
country for the past 10
years.
“In 2014, Mr. Modi pro-
mised that black money
will be brought back and
₹15 lakh will be given to pe-
ople. Did he give money?
No. He promised two crore
jobs every year, but did the
youth got jobs? No. Farm-
ers were promised that
their income will be dou-
bled, did that happen? No.
He keeps lying, so what’s
wrong if I call him ‘king of
liars’,” Mr. Kharge asked.
People of the country are
smarter than the Prime Mi-
nister, and they can see
through the BJP’s false nar-
ratives, he said.
Mr. Kharge said the Con-
gress was fighting a battle
to save the Constitution
and democracy, which the
Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)
wanted to end.
“We are fighting against
the ideology of the RSS.
The people of the country
are fighting against the BJP
and we are with the peo-
ple,” he said.
Replying to the question
about who would be the
“PM face”, Mr. Kharge said
the INDIA bloc partners
would take a decision after
the election.
“After the polls, alliance
partners will sit and de-
cide. The way we ran UPA
government, similarly we
will do this,” he said, ad-
ding that the “INDIA bloc
will surely stop the Modi
government from coming
to power.”
He refuted Mr. Modi’s
charge that the Congress
will take away reservation
rights from those who are
entitled to it right now and
give these to others.

Missing keys of Puri temple treasury In Odisha, villagers facing caste-based

unlock a political slugfest in Odisha
Satyasundar Barik
BHUBANESWAR
With the election crossing
the halfway mark in Od-
isha, the mystery sur-
rounding the treasury of
the Jagannath temple in
Puri has taken centre stage
in the poll discourse in the
State, pushing aside issues
of road, water, jobs, and
electricity.
In back-to-back public
meetings since Monday,
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Home Minister
Amit Shah have raked up
the issue of the “missing”
keys of the Ratna Bhandar,
the inner treasury of the Ja-
gannath Temple, and
blamed the Bjiu Janata Dal
(BJD) government, led by
Chief Minister Naveen Pat-
naik, for “failure” to come
clean on inventorying the
jewellery and precious
stones stored in it.
Launching a scathing at-
tack on V.K. Pandian, a Ta-
mil Nadu-born former IAS
Different path: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in front of the
Jagannath temple during a roadshow in Puri, Odisha. ANI
officer who is a close aide
of Mr. Patnaik, the Prime
Minister on Monday al-
leged that the keys of the
Ratna Bhandar had been
missing for six years and
an inquiry report on the
matter was yet to be made
public. He said the “keys
had gone to Tamil Nadu”.
“The tradition of Jagan-
nath Dham has been lo-
wered in the name of pro-
moting Puri as a tourist
hub... The Maths have
been demolished and the
four entry doors of Jagan-
nath Temple remain
closed. There was a conspi-
racy to stop the Rath Yatra
of Lord Jagannath,” Mr.
Shah said at Sambalpur on
Tuesday.
An affidavit submitted
by the State government in
the Orissa High Court says
the Ratna Bhandar is safe.
The previous inventory of
the items was carried out
45 years ago.
While the BJD appeared
to be on the defensive over
the issue, BJP candidate
from Puri Sambit Patra
gave the ruling party and
the Congress some politi-
cal ammunition by saying,
“Lord Jagannath is devotee
of PM Modi and we are fa-
mily members of Mr. Mo-
di.”
Mr. Patnaik strongly de-
nounced the statement by
Mr. Patra, and appealed to
the BJP to keep Lord Jagan-
nath above political dis-
course. In a post on X, he
said, “Mahaprabhu Shree
Jagannatha is the Lord of
Universe. Calling Maha-
prabhu a bhakt of a human
being is an insult to the
Lord. This has hurt the
sentiments and demeaned
the faith of crores of Jagan-
natha bhaktas and Odias.”
Mr. Patra later said it
was a “slip of the tongue”
and sought an apology.
Senior Congress leader
Pawan Khera was not con-
vinced. He demanded ex-
pulsion of Mr. Patra from
the BJP for six years.
discrimination seek help to cast vote
Satyasundar Barik
BRAHMAGIRI (ODISHA)
The 2024 Lok Sabha elec-
tion might be a nationwide
celebration in democracy
for millions, but Ashok
Sethi and his family, citi-
zens living in this coastal
region, may have to forego
another opportunity to
vote.
Five years ago, at Nua-
gaon in the Krushnaprasad
block of the Puri Lok Sab-
ha constituency, Mr. Sethi
and his fellow villagers
faced ostracism for refus-
ing to wash dirty clothes,
an exploitative vocation
they had inherited from
their forefathers.
Now stranded in Brah-
magiri, 15 km from his own
village, Mr. Sethi holds out
hope that the Odisha Hu-
man Rights Commission
(OHRC) will intervene, ena-
bling them to exercise their
right to vote.
In the same locality lives
Maheshwar Barik and his
Villagers who were driven out
from their villages stranded in
Brahmagiri. BISWARANJAN ROUT
family members, who too
had refused to perform the
“hereditary” job of cutting
hair and clearing leftover
food on social occasions in
2018. They were also dri-
ven out from Manpur vil-
lage in the Brahmagiri pol-
ice station limits. Following
the OHRC’s intervention,
they managed to go back to
their own village under
police protection and vote
in the 2022 panchayat elec-
tion.
Mr. Barik hopes a simi-
lar arrangement will ena-
ble him to cast his vote this
year.
On the other hand, San-
gram Puhan, who fled his
village, along with 30 fami-
lies, in 2021 upon their re-
fusal to perform caste-
based servitude are enjoy-
ing a rare rapprochement,
though temporary, at Nath-
apur in the Krushnaprasad
block of Puri.
As every vote matters
this time in a closely fought
election, the villagers who
were driven out have been
invited to return to exer-
cise their franchise.
Baghambar Pattnaik, a
renowned human right ac-
tivist, on Monday moved
the OHRC, seeking police
protection for families dri-
ven out from their villages,
so that they could exercise
of their voting rights.
“These villagers are defen-
celess in the wake of the
dominance of upper caste
families in their respective
villages. Even after the pas-
sage of six years, they feel
threatened when thinking
of returning home and par-
ticipating in the election. I
have urged that these vil-
lagers should be taken in
police vans to their respec-
tive polling booths for the
protection of their voting
rights,” Mr. Pattnaik said.
The activist said he had
taken up over 100 cases of
caste-based “social boy-
cotts” to the OHRC and Na-
tional Human Rights Com-
mission.
“In 2014, voters belong-
ing to the washermen com-
munity in the Kanas block
of Puri district were able to
cast votes after the NHRC
intervened in a similar so-
cial boycott,” Mr. Pattnaik
said.
Mr. Sethi said 20 voters
belonging to four discrimi-
nated and shunned fami-
lies had missed the 2019 si-
multaneous Lok Sabha and
Assembly elections in the
State, and the 2022 pan-
chayat election.

To solve this puzzle online,

SCAN TO PLAY
SUDOKU
14181 get across to our crossword site.
@ https://qrgo.page.link/jjpTn
쑽
(set by Afterdark)

12 When pressure is absorbed first, growth will be excellent (4)

13 Man's locked inside empty closet for a case (5)
15 Let nuns run in passages (7)
16 Outing is a mistake (4)
19 Endlessly frighten Mark (4)
20
23
Criminal to join at compound (7)
Basically all cops in Delhi seize chemical agents (5)
24 Report on famous archer (4)
25 Rod is a European (4)
27 Last vote absent? Retire involved Conservative from field (9)
28 Districts are autonomous? Spill the guts (5)
29 Between day and night, a hungry rook feasts regularly on
blackout (8)
30 Understood, losing heart is preferred (6)
Down
1 Society of Engineers find old city buried in another with
conviction (8)
2 Bathing in gel can get clumsy (8)
3 Ring for couple (4)
5 Claim TA, outlay is distributed routinely (13)
6 Instructions at free counter has heading missing in parts (10)
7 More difficult for personnel to retain a primarily rebellious
department engineer (6)
8 Mostly oats getting cooked, getting placed behind a bowl of
Across vegetable (6)
1 Weak police officer catches knave at the beginning, luckily at the 10 Insults tailor severely for the embellishments (13)
borders (6) 14 Reverberation of supersonic sound (10)
4 Want radish? Cook in high pressure (8) 17 Regret about being frank, protecting a Frenchman perhaps (8)
9 Washed with chlorine, jeans gets torn off in the edges (5) 18 Severe jam in road, turned back (8)
10 Explain in Tamil first, Peter will translate after adding some 21 Needed a wicket in reverse swing, not dropping ball, held
Russian (9) regularly (6)
11 Skin is peeled off at the end, on top of knee at the place used 22 Show Mumbai Indians' run-rate? Zero by last over (6)
for skating (4) 26 Wife gets silver ear-rings first with allowance (4)
CM
YK
Solution to previous puzzle
FAITH
쑽
Nrisimha, devotee-friendly
Nrisimha avatar is granted a pre-eminent position among
all avatars by Azhwars, Acharyas and sacred literature.
Even in Vishnu Sahasranamam, Nrisimha avatar is men-
tioned first. Rukmini sends seven slokas to Krishna, where
she addresses him as Kale Nrisimha (the one who came on
time for His devotee). Nrisimha avatar epitomises God’s
commitment to aid His devotees in time, said Damal Pe-
rundevi in a discourse.
Prahlada is the epitome of bhakti. What sets Prahlada
apart is that he followed the teachings in their entirety. He
never wavered from his faith in Narayana. Seeing him
emerge unscathed from every punishment, his father Hi-
Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku
ranyakasipu, who had received a boon from Brahma whe-
reby he cannot be killed by human or animal, at day or
night, or by any existing weapon, inside his residence or
outside in the open, demanded to know where the boy got
his strength from. When an enraged Hiranyakasipu shat-
tered a pillar built by him, the roar of a lion was so vocif-
erous that it is said Brahma himself fell off his seat. Naraya-
na, who took avatar as a half lion and half man,
manifested across the universe (avir bhavam), even as the
argument between father and son was raging. Emerging
from the pillar, he dragged Hiranyakasipu to the threshold
and laid bare his chest with His finger nails.
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 13
Delhi
Business

INBRIEF
쑽 GDP growth eased to 6.7% in Q4: ICRA MARKETS
쑽
MARKET WATCH
TUESDAY % CHANGE
Slowdown in industry and services and contraction in agriculture likely retarded fourth-quarter momentum, says ratings Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 73,953 dddddddddddddddddddddd -0.07
US Dollar dddddddddddddddddddddddddd 83.31 ddddddddddddddddddddddd 0.07
agency; sees GDP growth in FY24, however, averaging 7.8% compared with the NSO’s earlier projection of a 7.6% expansion Goldddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 74,650 ddddddddddddddddddddddd 1.01
Brent oildddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 82.40 dddddddddddddddddddddddddddd —

The Hindu Bureau print at 7.8% and 7%, res- ed to yields, ICRA said.
NEW DELHI pectively, based on its Q4 ICRA chief economist NIFTY 50
estimates, which peg GVA Aditi Nayar reasoned that PRICE CHANGE
With industry and services growth at 5.7% in Q4, down lower volume growth, cou- Adani Enter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3117.50. . . . . . . . . . 57.75
Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1385.50. . . . . . . . . . 45.30
losing some momentum from 6.5% in Q3. pled with diminishing Apollo Hosp. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5948.25. . . . . . . . . . -5.70
and agriculture seen to be gains from commodity Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2851.80. . . . . . . . . . 35.45
Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1137.65. . . . . . . . . . -6.10
JSW Cement plans ₹3,000-cr. contracting for the second
straight quarter, GDP
Sequential easing
GVA growth for industry is
prices dampening the prof-
itability of some industrial
Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 8820.70. . . . . . . . . . . . 6.85
Bajaj Finserv . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1582.55. . . . . . . . . . -4.95

greenfield unit in Rajasthan growth was expected to
have slowed to a four-quar-
JSW Cement has announced plans to invest about ter low of 6.7% between Ja-
₹3,000 crore to establish a greenfield, integrated nuary and March, which
cement manufacturing facility in Nagaur district would, however, still add
of Rajasthan. The investment would include up to an average 7.8% pace
a clinkerisation unit of up to 3.30 MTPA and a of growth for 2023-24, rat-
grinding unit of up to 2.50 MTPA, along with an ings firm ICRA projected.
18-MW waste heat recovery based power plant. The National Statistical
The company said it would install a 7-km-long Office (NSO), which will
Overland Belt Conveyor to transport limestone present national income
from the mines to the manufacturing plant. estimates for 2023-24 on
May 31, had earlier project-
Oil marketing companies
ed a 7.6% GDP growth for
the year gone by, factoring
in a 5.9% uptick in the final
quarter, compared with
the 8.4% growth estimated
for the third quarter.
Unless growth estimates
for the first nine months of
the year are revised by the
NSO, ICRA said it expects
the GDP and GVA (Gross
Value Added) growth to
reckoned to have sequen-
tially slowed to 7.9% from
10.4% in Q3, with services
softening to 6.2% from Q3’s
7%.
Agricultural GVA is ex-
pected to have contracted
for the second straight
quarter, shrinking 0.5%, af-
ter a 0.8% drop in Q3, amid
weak trends in the rabi out-
put for crops other than
wheat and concerns relat-
sectors, were responsible
for slower Q4 GVA growth.
“Domestic retail tractor
volumes reverted to a year-
on-year expansion of 7.7%
in Q4 after contracting 4%
in Q3. Moreover, some list-
ed FMCG players pointed
to a recovery in the rural
economy, particularly in
the non-food segment, in
Q4,” she noted, flagging
some green shoots.
Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 6742.85. . . . . . . . . . . . 4.85
Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1344.30. . . . . . . . . . -3.45
BPCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 644.00. . . . . . . . . . 15.00
Britannia Ind . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5178.10. . . . . . . . . . 82.05
Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1442.30. . . . . . . . . . 38.25
Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 490.65. . . . . . . . . . 20.95
Divis Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4016.55. . . . . . . . . . 87.55
Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5779.80. . . . . . . . -31.80
Eicher Motors . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4672.95. . . . . . . . -11.45
Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2446.65. . . . . . . . . . 12.30
HCL Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1341.90. . . . . . . . . . . . 3.00
HDFC Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1458.80. . . . . . . . . . -7.25
HDFC Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 565.60. . . . . . . . . . -3.80
Hero MotoCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 5053.85. . . . . . . . -56.00
Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 693.60. . . . . . . . . . 33.25
Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2310.70. . . . . . . . -16.45
ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1120.95. . . . . . . . . . -9.80
IndusInd Bank. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1406.50. . . . . . . . -10.80
Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1434.15. . . . . . . . . . -9.50
ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 434.80. . . . . . . . . . -1.85
JSW Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 923.45. . . . . . . . . . 32.65
Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1698.25. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.30
L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3440.95. . . . . . . . -23.25

Durable alignment of inflation with SEBI issues LTIMindtree Ltd. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 4730.75. . . . . . . . -20.35

invite bids for ethanol supply M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2522.65. . . . . . . . . . 18.95

Maruti Suzuki . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 12473.30. . . . . . -126.85

Oil marketing companies have invited bids for

fresh norms to NestleIndia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2460.80. . . . . . . . -43.60
NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 372.00. . . . . . . . . . . . 5.70

supply of almost 66 crore litres of ethanol for the

supply year 2023-2024 which ends on October 31,
2024. The ethanol can be extracted from
target only in H2 FY25: RBI officials
sugarcane juice or sugar/sugar syrup, B-heavy
molasses, c-heavy molasses, or maize. “The bids The Hindu Bureau
indicate that suppliers [from sugar sector] can MUMBAI
supply any quantity of ethanol they produce and
there is no more restriction,” said Vijay Girase, A modest easing of hea-
proprietor, Al Sucrose Corporation. dline inflation in the read-
ing for April confirms the
expectation that an un-
even and lagged pace of
Biocon arm’s ophthalmology alignment with the target is
underway but a durable
drug copy gets U.S. FDA nod alignment with the target-
ed 4% inflation could re-
Biocon Biologics has received the U.S. Food and commence and sustain on-
ry may keep the headline
[inflation] elevated and
effects may help pul-
ling down the headline in-
flation in July and August,
it is expected September
may see a reversal. It is on-
ly in the second half of the
year a durable alignment
with the target may recom-
mence and sustain till
numbers closer to the tar-
get are sighted during the
course of 2025-26.”
vourable base effect of 51
bps, they said among the
major groups, the momen-
tum was positive at about
65 bps and 55 bps for food
and core groups respec-
tively, while the fuel group
recorded a negative mo-
mentum of about 100 bps.
Food inflation sticky
Food inflation (y-o-y)
edged up to 7.9% in April
verify market
rumours
The Hindu Bureau
MUMBAI
The Securities and Ex-
change Board of India on
Tuesday issued fresh gui-
delines to firms to manage
the impact of rumours on
the stock market.
The regulations will be
applicable to top 100 listed
companies from June 1,
ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 280.10. . . . . . . . . . . . 1.10
PowerGrid Corp . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 325.65. . . . . . . . . . . . 8.75
Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2872.25. . . . . . . . . . . . 2.60
SBI Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1429.65. . . . . . . . -10.20
State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 830.65. . . . . . . . . . . . 9.65
Shriram Finance
Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 2373.25. . . . . . . . . . . . 2.80
Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1540.95. . . . . . . . . . . . 9.05
TataConsumerPro-
duct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1093.95. . . . . . . . . . -1.25
Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 951.30. . . . . . . . . . -2.65
Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 174.35. . . . . . . . . . . . 6.45
TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3820.20. . . . . . . . -31.25
Tech Mahindra . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1323.90. . . . . . . . . . 18.25
Titan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 3377.00. . . . . . . . . . 14.45
UltraTech Cement . . . .. . . . . . . 9789.40. . . . . . . . -76.20
Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 460.90. . . . . . . . . . -1.65
EXCHANGE RATES
Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4
p.m. on May 21

Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for its ly in the second half of the closer to 5% in the near CPI inflation moderates from 7.7% in March. 2024 and the next 150 com- CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

first-to-file application for Yesafili, an financial year, Reserve term, in line with projec- Stating headline inflation In terms of regional dis- panies from December 1. US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 83.11. . . . . . . . . . 83.43
Euro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 90.34. . . . . . . . . . 90.68
interchangeable biosimilar that is a close copy of Bank of India (RBI) officials tions set out in the April as measured by y-o-y tribution, rural infla- Such listed entities are British Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 105.72. . . . . . . . 106.13
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Eylea. A vascular led by Deputy Governor MPC resolution in spite of changes in the all-India tion stood at 5.43% , higher required to verify market Japanese Yen (100) . . . . . . .. . . . . 53.20. . . . . . . . . . 53.41
Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 11.48. . . . . . . . . . 11.53
endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor, the Michael Debabrata Patra deflation in fuel prices and CPI, moderated to 4.8% than urban inflation (4.11%) rumours upon material Swiss Franc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 91.40. . . . . . . . . . 91.76
drug is used to treat different types of wrote in the RBI Bulletin. further softening of core in April from 4.9% in in April. price movement and ex- Singapore Dollar . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 61.70. . . . . . . . . . 61.95
Canadian Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 60.97. . . . . . . . . . 61.21
ophthalmology conditions, and the approval “The prices of vegeta- inflation to a new historic March as a positive mo- A majority of States ex- changes had been asked to Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 17.69. . . . . . . . . . 17.77
marks the Biocon subsidiary’s entry into the bles, cereals, pulses, meat low,” the officials wrote. mentum of 48 bps was perienced inflation of less issue a framework for ma- Australian Dollar . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 55.44. . . . . . . . . . 55.66
ophthalmology therapeutic area in the U.S. and fish in the food catego- “While statistical base more than offset by a fa- than 6%, they wrote. terial price movement. Source:Indian Bank

DRL, Alvotech CUB Q4 net rises 17%, ‘Muthoot

sign $67-mn
biosimilar
bone-drug deal
The Hindu Bureau
HYDERABAD
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
signed an in-licensing deal
involving up to $67 million
to commercialise Iceland-
headquartered Alvotech’s
biosimilar candidate
AVT03 (denosumab) in the
U.S. and Europe.
AVT03 is a biosimilar
candidate to Amgen Inc.’s
Prolia and Xgeva that are
used to treat osteoporosis
in postmenopausal women
and prevention of skeletal-
related events in adults
with advanced
malignancies.
Dr. Reddy’s will get ex-
clusive rights for commer-
cialisation in the U.S. and
semi-exclusive rights for
Europe and the U.K.
‘insurance in focus’
Press Trust of India
CHENNAI
City Union Bank (CUB) has
reported a 17% jump in net
profit to ₹254.81 crore for
the January-March quarter,
based on improved recov-
ery from slippages.
For FY24, the net profit
breached the ₹1,000-crore
mark, rising by 8% to
₹1,015.73 crore.
“Improved recovery re-
sulting in lowering provi-
sioning helped to achieve
growth in PAT,” CUB said.
Total income in Q4 rose
to ₹1,549.34 crore from
₹1,423.09 crore. For FY24,
total income climbed to
₹6,012.22 crore from
₹5,524.69 crore.
In a release, CUB said it
crossed ₹1 lakh crore in to-
tal-business milestone,
reaching ₹1,02,138 crore in
N. Kamakodi
FY24.
Gross NPAs as of March
31 stood at ₹1,854 crore
(3.99%) while net NPAs
stood at ₹899 crore (1.97%).
Meanwhile a top bank
official said the lender ex-
pected significant growth
in income from the insu-
rance vertical during the
current financial year.
The bank was on track
to reach pre-COVID level in
slippages and recovery,
CMD N. Kamakodi added.
FinCorp gave
₹61,703-cr. in
loans in FY24’
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
Muthoot FinCorp said it
has recorded the highest-
ever loan disbursements in
FY24 that rose 18.6% to
₹61,703.26 crore on a con-
solidated basis.
Assets under manage-
ment (AUM) stood at
₹33,359.30 crore. Consoli-
dated net profit rose 62%
to ₹1,047.98 crore in FY24,
Muthoot FinCorp said.
On a standalone basis,
disbursements rose 15% y-
o-y to ₹50,167.12 crore. Pro-
fit after tax (PAT) increased
22.4% to ₹562.81 crore.
AUM stood at ₹21,712.34
crore, up 23.3%. CEO Shaji
Varghese said 81% of its
customers availed of loans
below ₹1 lakh.

Pumpset prices set to Wheels India mulls

increase as raw ₹200-cr. FY25 capex
material costs spike
The Hindu Bureau
COIMBATORE
Pumpset manufacturers
have announced to in-
crease the prices of their
products following a spike
in raw material costs.
The Indian Pump Manu-
facturers Association (IP-
MA), the Southern India
Engineering Manufactur-
ers’ Association, and the
Rajkot Engineering Asso-
ciation said in a release
that manufacturers are in-
creasing the prices by 5-7 %
as prices of raw materials,
especially pig iron and cop-
per, are going up.
K.V. Karthik, president
of IPMA, said that the in-
CM
YK
dustry saw a 10% growth in
2023-2024 across segments
such as agriculture, dom-
estic, industrial, sewage,
and chemical pumps.
‘Trend since Feb.’
However, the prices of raw
materials are seeing an up-
ward trend since February.
For instance, the price of
winding wires has seen an
almost 20% jump, he said.
“Sales of pumpsets
usually decline during the
monsoon months,” Mr.
Karthik said.
“This year, there will be
a fall because of the price
increase too. But manufac-
turers have no other op-
tion,” he added.
Press Trust of India
CHENNAI
Wheels India Ltd. plans to
spend ₹200 crore in capital
expenditure for FY25, a
top official said.
The money would be
spent on offload tractors,
construction and cast alu-
minium, machining for
windmill-casting seg- remain ‘sluggish.’
ments, Managing Director On FY25 outlook, he
Srivats Ram said. said, “we are cautiously
Wheels India reported a optimistic about the pros-
64.3% rise in net profit for pects for FY25. New pro-
the March-ended quarter grammes with global cus-
to ₹36.8 crore. tomers are likely to begin
Mr. Ram said exports in Q4. We expect the se-
did well for the company in cond half of FY25 to show
FY24 registering a 24.5% some growth post the
growth largely driven by monsoon season, includ-
the U.S. and other markets ing construction and com-
while Europe continued to mercial-vehicle segments.”
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
14 Wednesday, May 22, 2024

World Delhi

JERUSALEM KARACHI ANN ARBOR MANILA

Israel shuts down Associated Press Seond satellite with China’s aid to Police break up pro-Palestinian U.S., Philippines to train Filipinos
live video feed of war-torn Gaza boost Pak. digital transformation camp at the University of Michigan to operate nuclear power plants

AP AFP
X X
Israel said it had shut down an Associated Press live video feed of Pakistan's Multi-Mission Communication Satellite, also known as
war-torn Gaza on Tuesday, sparking a protest from the U.S. news PAKSAT MM1, will be launched on May 30, its national space agency
agency and concern from the White House. Israeli Communications said on Tuesday as it described it as a “stepping stone in the
Ministry accused the AP of breaching a new ban on providing rolling transformation of the country into Digital Pakistan.” The launch will
footage of Gaza to Qatar-based satellite channel Al Jazeera. AFP be conducted at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre (XSLC).PTI
AP AFP
X X
The police broke up a pro-Palestinian encampment at the The Philippines and the U.S. agreed on Tuesday to train Filipinos
University of Michigan before dawn on Tuesday, citing a threat to how to build and operate nuclear power plants, as the Southeast
public safety and coming less than a week after demonstrators Asian country seeks to boost its electricity supply. Under the deal,
stepped up pressure by placing fake body bags on the lawn of a scholarships and exchange programs will be offered to Filipinos to
school official. At least four were arrested during the process. AP learn about civil nuclear power and renewable energy. AFP

Iranians mourn Raisi, others What does President Ebrahim Raisi’s

who died in helicopter crash passing mean for the future of Iran
NEWS ANALYSIS When the country is pre- all-time high. After the Is-
From Tabriz, Raisi's body was taken to the Shia clerical centre of Qom before shifting to Tehran, paring to hold a snap elec- rael-Hamas war began on
where huge banners hailing him as ‘the martyr of service’ have appeared around the city tion, the establishment October 7, 2023, regional
Stanly Johny would like to see not just focus shifted to Iran’s sup-
the election of another port for non-state actors in
Agence France-Presse terpart Ilham Aliyev. Being Iran’s President is conservative as President West Asia, including Ha-
TEHRAN A huge search and res- not easy. The highest elect- but also a high turnout. mas, Hezbollah and Houth-
cue operation was ed office in the country is is. Last month, Iran

T
ens of thousands
mourned Iran's
President Ebrahim
Raisi on Tuesday after his
death in a helicopter crash,
amid political uncertainty
ahead of an election for his
successor next month.
Raisi and seven mem-
bers of his entourage, in-
cluding Foreign Minister
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian,
were killed when their air-
craft came down on a fog-
shrouded mountainside in
northern Iran on Sunday.
Waving Iranian flags and
portraits of the late Presi-
dent, mourners marched
in the northwestern city of
Tabriz, where Raisi's heli-
copter had been headed
when it crashed. Black-clad
mourners beat their chests
as they walked behind a
lorry carrying the coffins of
Raisi and those who died
with him.
"We, the members of
the government, who had
the honour to serve this
beloved President, the
hardworking President,
In memoriam: Soldiers carry the coffin of President Ebrahim Raisi
during a funeral ceremony in Tabriz in Iran on Tuesday. AP
pledge to our dear people
and leader to follow the
path of these martyrs," In-
terior Minister Ahmad Va-
hidi said in a speech.
From Tabriz, Raisi's bo-
dy was taken to the Shia
clerical centre of Qom later
on Tuesday before being
moved to Tehran, where
huge banners hailing him
as "the martyr of service"
have appeared around the
city.
In Qom, the procession
moved toward the city's
main shrine of Massoumeh
as mourners waved the
Shia red flag and the yellow
flag of the Iran-backed Le-
banese Hezbollah group.
The official IRNA news
agency said the funerals in
Iran were attended by
"hundreds of thousands" of
people.
Fight to Tabriz
Contact with Raisi's heli-
copter was lost in bad
weather on the return
flight to Tabriz after the in-
auguration of a joint dam
project on Iran's border
with Azerbaijan, in a cere-
mony with his Azeri coun-
launched, and state televi-
sion announced his death
early on Monday.
Over pictures of Raisi
and as a voice recited Ko-
ranic verses, the broadcas-
ter said "the servant of the
Iranian nation, Ayatollah
Ebrahim Raisi, has
achieved the highest level
of martyrdom".
As well as the President
and Foreign Minister, pro-
vincial officials, members
of Raisi's security team and
the helicopter crew all died
in the crash. Armed forces
chief of staff Mohammad
Bagheri ordered an investi-
gation into the crash as Ira-
nians nationwide mourned
Raisi and his entourage.
Tens of thousands of pe-
ople gathered in the capi-
tal's Valiasr Square on
Monday. Iran's highest se-
curity body, the Supreme
National Security Council,
said the "vast presence" of
mourners at the funeral
"guaranteed the stability
and national security of
the Islamic republic".
not the most powerful one.
The President is answera-
ble to the Supreme Leader,
who is appointed by a bo-
dy of senior clerics. The
President’s main responsi-
bility is to run the day-to-
day affairs of the country,
especially its crisis-ridden,
sanctions-hit economy.
The President also has to
run a delicate foreign poli-
cy in a hostile region.
Ebrahim Raisi, the 63-
year-old former judiciary
chief who became Iran’s
eighth President in 2021,
was doing just that, until
May 19, 2024, when he was
killed in a helicopter crash.
A hardline cleric who was
seen as a potential succes-
sor to the Supreme Leader,
Raisi’s death comes as a
massive shock for the Is-
lamic Republic.
Immediate priority
Iran faces three broad chal-
lenges in the wake of Rai-
si’s death. Tehran’s imme-
diate priority is to put in
place an orderly transition
Ebrahim Raisi
so that the “nation would
not be disrupted at all”, as
Supreme Leader Ali Kha-
menei has said. Mr. Kha-
menei has already ap-
proved First Vice-President
Mohammad Mokhber as
acting head of the execu-
tive branch of the state.
Authorities have an-
nounced that elections
would be held on June 28.
When Raisi became Pre-
sident, all branches of
Iran’s government — execu-
tive, judiciary and legisla-
ture — came under the con-
trol of conservatives. But
what worries the establish-
ment is the dwindling tur-
nout. For years, Iran’s cler-
ical leadership would use
high voter turnout as a
marker of legitimacy. If the
voter turnout was 85% in
the 2009 presidential elec-
tions, it fell to 48% in 2021
when Raisi was elected.
Larger transition
Secondly, Raisi’s abrupt
death did disrupt Iran’s
bigger transition plans as
well. Mr. Khamenei, the
most powerful man in
Iran, is 85 years old and ail-
ing. Many Iran watchers
saw Raisi as an ideal candi-
date to succeed Mr. Kha-
menei. Raisi was relatively
young, ideologically com-
mitted, had the blessings
of the establishment and
successfully negotiated
between the different
branches of the state and
made his standing stronger
ever since his election. But
now, Iran has to start from
scratch to find Mr. Khame-
nei’s successor. Different
names are being added to
the list, including Mojtaba
Khamenei, the son of the
Supreme Leader, and Ali-
reza Arafi, an influential
white-turbaned cleric who
heads Friday prayers at the
Qom Shia seminary.
Lastly, Raisi’s death
comes at a time when re-
gional tensions are at an
launched an unprecedent-
ed drone and missile at-
tack on Israel, after its con-
sulate in Damascus was
struck. Hezbollah is fight-
ing a slow-burning war
with Israel on its northern
border. Houthis, the Yeme-
ni militia, is carrying out at-
tacks targeting vessels in
the Red Sea, “in solidarity
with Palestinians”.
In recent months, Iran
has flexed its muscles both
through its proxies and di-
rectly in West Asia. A
change in presidency is un-
likely to alter Iran’s overall
security doctrine, which
has been laid out by the
clerical and military esta-
blishment. But for the
smooth implementation of
this multi-layered security
strategy, which involves
both state and non-state
actors, in a hostile region,
Iran needs a cohesive na-
tional leadership. The chal-
lenge before the Ayatollahs
is to stay the political
course irrespective of the
unexpected disruptions.

One dead as Singapore Nepal media house chairman

Airlines flight hit by arrested over citizenship issue
severe turbulence Sanjeev Satgainya
KATHMANDU
The police on Tuesday ar-
rested Kailash Sirohiya,
chairman of Kantipur Me-
dia Group (KMG), which
publishes the Kantipur ver-
nacular daily, over citizen-
ship issues.
A team of police on
Tuesday evening arrested
Mr. Sirohiya from his office
in Kathmandu.
Mr. Sirohiya’s detention
Bad shape: The interior of Singapore Airline flight SQ321 after it follows an arrest warrant
made an emergency landing in Bangkok on Tuesday. REUTERS
by Dhanusha District Court
earlier on Tuesday, days af-
ter a case was filed at the
Dhanusha District Police
Office that there were
some issues with Mr. Siro-
hiya’s citizenship.
Mr. Sirohiya has denied
charges. In a statement, he
said that he had acquired
his citizenship as per the
Nepali law.
Mr. Sirohiya called the
arrest an act of vengeance
by Home Minister Rabi
Lamichhane.
Mr. Lamichhane has
been embroiled in a con-
troversy over allegations
that he misappropriated
cooperative funds when he
was the Managing Director
of a television company,
and Kantipur has run a se-
ries of reports about him
over the past few months.
Mr. Sirohiya said that the
arrest was made with the
intent of blackmailing Kan-
tipur into not publishing
more reports on the issue
of cooperative scam.

Associated Press the emergency landing, 18

BANGKOK
A Singapore Airlines flight
hit severe turbulence over
the Indian Ocean and des-
cended 6,000 feet in a
span of about three mi-
nutes, the carrier said on
Tuesday, leaving a British
man dead and more than
two dozen other passen-
gers injured.
The flight was then di-
verted and landed in stor-
my weather in Bangkok.
Authorities said the 73-
year-old British man may
have suffered a heart at-
tack, though that has not
been confirmed.
The Boeing 777 flight
from London’s Heathrow
airport to Singapore, with
211 passengers and 18 crew
members aboard, landed
at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhu-
mi Airport, the airline said
in a Facebook post.
Singapore Airlines said
that as of four hours after
CM
YK
people remained hospital-
ised while another 12 were
treated on outpatient
basis.
Tracking data captured
by FlightRadar24 and ana-
lysed by The Associated
Press show the Singapore
Airlines flight SQ321 cruis-
ing at an altitude of 37,000
feet (11,300 meters).
Sudden drop
At one point, the Boeing
777-300ER suddenly and
sharply plummets to
31,000 feet (9,400 meters)
over the span of some
three minutes, the data
shows. The aircraft then
stayed at that height for un-
der 10 minutes before di-
verting and landing in
Bangkok less than half an
hour later.
The sharp descent in
turbulence happened as
the flight was over the An-
daman Sea, near Myan-
mar.
M ND-NDE

Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Delhi
EARLY JITTERS
Sunrisers have their third-lowest
PowerPlay score in IPL 2024
X X
Sunrisers Hyderabad — known for its blistering starts — had its
third-lowest PowerPlay score in this edition of the IPL (45 for four) in
the Qualifier 1 against Kolkata Knight Riders, after Mitchell Starc
rocked the top-order. The 40 for three scored against Punjab Kings
and 37 for two made against Rajasthan Royals complete the list.
Mitchell the ‘Starc’ difference as KKR blows away SRH
On a pitch conducive for batting, the Aussie left-arm pacer’s triple strike helps his team restrict Sunrisers to 159; Gurbaz-Narine provide a blazing start before Venkatesh-Shreyas put the side in the final
3c9c16ce-296e-4b30-8616-692d61890c9c
QUALIFIER 1
S. Dipak Ragav
AHMEDABAD
hen Kolkata
W
Knight Riders
paid a record
₹24.75 crore for Mitchell
Starc at the player auction
last year, not many were
convinced it was a wise
purchase for a bowler re-
turning to the IPL for the
first time since 2015.
On Tuesday, the left-
arm pacer justified his
price tag and lived up to
his reputation as a player
for the big stage.
Starc’s searing opening
spell (3-0-22-3) in the Po-
werPlay broke the back of
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s
strong batting line-up as
the latter finished with 159
in Qualifier 1 at the Naren-
dra Modi Stadium.
Starc’s burst laid the
platform for the stunning
eight-wicket win as the
Knight Riders booked a
place in the summit clash
in Chennai on Sunday.
Sensational start
The Aussie struck off the
second ball of the innings,
castling compatriot Travis
Head who played an ex-
pansive shot to a delivery
that swung away. Starc
could have picked up one
more in the same over had
Sunil Narine held on to Ra-
After contrasting league journeys, a regal RCB will continue fearless
battle beckons Royals and Royal Challengers approach, says Karthik
S. Dipak Ragav
AHMEDABAD
When Rajasthan Royals
won its eighth match of the
IPL season, Royal Challen-
gers Bengaluru had just
two victories. Where RR
seemed set for a top-two
finish, RCB was all but out
of contention for a place in
the playoffs.
Since then, the sides’
paths have diverged dra-
matically; RR contrived to
finish third while RCB
stormed into fourth, set-
ting the stage for an excit-
ing Eliminator clash at the
Narendra Modi Stadium
here on Wednesday.
Royals haven’t won a
game since their seven-
wicket victory over Luck-
now Super Giants on April
27 and come into this fix-
ture on the back of four
consecutive defeats and a
washed-out final league
game.
In contrast, RCB’s jour-
ney has been the stuff of
dreams, cinematic in every
sense. After losing seven of
its first eight games, Faf du
Plessis’ men have won
their last six, including the
last against Chennai Super
Kings on a dramatic night
at the M. Chinnaswamy
Stadium on Saturday.
With the wind in its
CM
YK
VIJAY SONEJI
Making a statement: Starc provided a rousing start by castling Head off the second ball of the match before the two Iyers — Shreyas and Venkatesh — took the team home with 38 deliveries to spare. VIJAY SONEJI
hul Tripathi’s catch at
backward point when the
batter was on four.
In the next over, Vaib-
hav Arora accounted for
Abhishek Sharma, who
failed to clear the circle
and a leaping Andre Rus-
sell. With Starc swinging
the ball at a brisk pace,
sails, RCB will feel it has an
edge based on recent form
and clarity in gameplan.
The turnaround has been
fashioned by its batting fi-
repower, led by Virat Kohli.
Rajat Patidar’s uptick in
form and the impetus he
has provided in the mid-
dle-overs have ensured the
team is not over-reliant on
the top-order.
Among bowlers, Mo-
hammed Siraj, Lockie Fer-
guson and Yash Dayal have
done their bits to keep op-
ponents in check.
For RR, skipper Sanju
Samson has led from the
front, scoring heavily in its
eight wins. The 2008
champion’s troubles in re-
cent times stem from its
misfiring middle-order.
Lack of runs from Dhruv
Jurel and Rovman Powell
has exposed Royals’
vulnerability.
Shimron Hetmyer’s ab-
sence has affected the ba-
lance of the side, and the
Rajasthan outfit will pray
that the West Indian is fit
for this tie. RR will also
look to fall back on its bow-
ling depth, which has a
mix of top-class pacers and
spinners, to tip the scales
in its favour. Despite hav-
ing its back to the wall, RCB
has livened up the tourna-
ment by playing with free-
JUST A BLIP
‘Will put this game aside, continue
playing our brand of cricket’
SRH assistant coach Simon Helmot said his team will continue to
back its aggressive style of play despite its humbling eight-wicket
loss to KKR. “It wasn’t our night today, and it happens. But we are
going to play our brand of cricket. We will put this game aside and
are looking forward to Thursday’s game in Chennai.”
skipper Shreyas Iyer decid-
ed to stick with the Aussie
in the PowerPlay. And the
34-year-old delivered by
producing a double blow
in the fifth over. He had Nit-
ish Kumar top-edging a
pull and Shahbaz Ahmed
playing onto his stumps as
SRH slumped to 39 for four
dom. But now that the
stakes are higher, will it
continue sticking to its pro-
ven formula and extend
the fairytale?
THE HINDU
Sport
VIJAY SONEJI
after opting to bat on a bel-
ter of a pitch.
Just when the Knight
Riders were on top, Tri-
pathi (55, 35b, 7x4, 1x6)
and Heinrich Klaasen (32,
21b, 3x4, 1x6) fought back
for the Men in Orange as
they stitched a 62-run
stand off 37 balls for the
Now-or-never: Sangakkara will be hoping for an inspired
performance from Samson in the Eliminator. EMMANUAL YOGINI
SKIPPER PLEASED
How every bowler stood up to the
occasion was imperative: Shreyas
X X
Skipper Shreyas Iyer praised his bowlers after KKR’s win over SRH.
“I think the way every bowler stood up to this occasion and how
they took wickets was imperative. The attitude and approach of all
bowlers was to take wickets and they did. When you have variety in
the bowling line-up, it’s mesmerising,” Shreyas said.
fifth wicket. Tripathi had a
second reprieve on 14
when he survived a close
leg-before appeal off Starc
— Shreyas did not review
the umpire’s decision —
and went on to boost his
side’s total.
Chasing a modest tar-
get, openers Rahmanullah
VIJAY SONEJI
Gurbaz and Narine added
44 in 3.1 overs before the
former was dismissed.
The two Iyers — Venka-
tesh (51 n.o., 28b, 5x4,
4x6), and Shreyas (58 n.o.,
24b, 5x4, 4x6) — then un-
leashed a range of shots
during their unbroken 97-
run partnership.
Sports Bureau
Dinesh Karthik has been a
vital cog in Royal Challen-
gers Bengaluru’s phoenix-
like rise from the cusp of
elimination to qualifying
for the playoffs.
With six consecutive
wins heading into the Elim-
inator against Rajasthan
Royals, Karthik feels the
momentum his side has
built could prove handy on
Wednesday.
Momentum
“Momentum in this
tournament is directly pro-
portional to confidence,”
he told The Hindu on Mon-
day.
“When you win a few,
the confidence increases,
and they keep feeding off
each other.”
“When you start a
game, you have that confi-
dence, and then you have
to do certain things right.
They definitely help you
achieve the goals you have
set for yourself,” he added.
The wicketkeeper-bat-
ter also felt that the current
side doesn’t have the bur-
den of history behind it,
considering RCB hasn’t
reached the summit clash
since 2016 despite making
it to the playoffs thrice
ENJOYING THE GAME
KKR management took all the
pressure off me, says Gurbaz
KKR wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, praised the team
management for easing the pressure on him. The Afghan opener
played his first game of the season, replacing Phil Salt and gave a
blazing start to set the tone for the chase. “I was well prepared and
they took all the pressure off me and asked me to enjoy the game.”
Venkatesh smashed the
pacers down the ground
and used his long levers to
slog-sweep the spinners for
huge sixes on the leg-side.
Shreyas completed the job
in style, hammering Head
for three sixes and a four as
KKR cantered home in the
14th over.
The catalyst: Kohli transforming his game to another level sparked
Royal Challengers’ resurgence. K. BHAGYA PRAKASH
from 2020 to 2022.
“It’s been a completely
different year, a different
set of people and players. I
don’t think that is going to
have any sort of bearing
leading into the playoffs.
Completely different sce-
narios,” explained Karthik.
Karthik, soon to be 39,
15
VIJAY SONEJI
SCOREBOARD
쑽
SUNRISERS HYDERABAD
Travis Head b Starc 0 (2b),
Abhishek Sharma c Russell b
Vaibhav 3 (4b), Rahul Tripathi run
out 55 (35b, 7x4, 1x6), Nitish
Kumar c Gurbaz b Starc 9 (10b,
1x4), Shahbaz Ahmed b Starc 0
(1b), Heinrich Klaasen c Rinku b
Varun 32 (21b, 3x4, 1x6), Abdul
Samad c Shreyas b Harshit 16
(12b, 2x6), Sanvir Singh (Impact
Player for Abhishek) b Narine 0
(1b), Pat Cummins c Gurbaz b
Russell 30 (24b, 2x4, 2x6),
Bhuvneshwar Kumar lbw b Varun
0 (4b), Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (not
out) 7 (5b); Extras (w-5, nb-2): 7;
Total (in 19.3 overs): 159.
FALL OF WICKETS
1-0 (Head, 0.2 overs), 2-13
(Abhishek, 1.5), 3-39 (Nitish, 4.5),
4-39 (Shahbaz, 4.6), 5-101
(Klaasen, 10.6), 6-121 (Tripathi,
13.2), 7-121 (Sanvir, 13.3), 8-125
(Samad, 14.4), 9-126
(Bhuvneshwar, 15.6).
KNIGHT RIDERS BOWLING
Starc 4-0-34-3, Vaibhav 2-0-17-1,
Harshit 4-0-27-1, Narine 4-0-40-1,
Russell 1.3-0-15-1, Varun 4-0-26-2.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Viyaskanth
b Natarajan 23 (14b, 2x4, 2x6),
Sunil Narine c Viyaskanth b
Cummins 21 (16b, 4x4), Venkatesh
Iyer (not out) 51 (28b, 5x4, 4x6),
Shreyas Iyer (not out) 58 (24b, 5x4,
4x6); Extras (lb-9, w-2): 11; Total
(for two wkts. in 13.4 overs): 164.
FALL OF WICKETS
1-44 (Gurbaz, 3.2), 2-67 (Narine,
6.2).
SUNRISERS BOWLING
Bhuvneshwar 3-0-28-0, Cummins
3-0-38-1, Natarajan 3-0-22-1,
Viyaskanth 2-0-22-0, Head
1.4-0-32-0, Nitish 1-0-13-0.
Toss: SRH; PoM: Starc.
also added that the team
would continue to its fear-
less approach and won’t
change just because it is
the business end of the
tournament.
“It wouldn’t change at
all. It will be about recreat-
ing what we have done in
these six games.”
M ND-NDE
 THE HINDU
16 Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Sport Delhi

INBRIEF
쑽 Para champion Sumit Antil
defends F64 javelin world title
Sandeep claims the bronze; Mariyappan in T63 high jump and Ekta in women’ F51 club throw emerge victorious; with five
more medals won, India’s tally swells to 10, to be third behind China and Brazil in the medals table
Germany’s Kroos to retire ATHLETICS
from football after Euro 2024
Press Trust of India
Real Madrid’s German midfielder Tony Kroos KOBE ( JAPAN)
announced on Tuesday he will retire from all
football after Euro 2024. “My career as an active eigning Paralym-
footballer will end this summer after the Euro
championship,” 34-year-old Kroos, who won the
2014 World Cup with Germany, said on
R pics champion Su-
mit Antil on Tues-
day defended his F64
Instagram. javelin throw world title
while Thangavelu Mariyap-
pan and Ekta Bhyan also
grabbed gold medals in
their respective events as
Jyothi Surekha and Priyansh India jumped to third place
emerge as top Indian archers in the World Para Athletics
Championships here.
V. Jyothi Surekha and Priyansh emerged as the With five medals won on
top Indian archers among women and men a productive fifth day, In-
respectively in the compound qualification round dia’s tally swelled to 10
of the Archery World Cup Stage-2 in Yecheon, (four gold, four silver, two
bronze), below China (15
South Korea, on Tuesday. Jyothi (fourth, 707) was
followed by Parneet Kaur (eighth, 704), Aditi gold, 13 silver, 13 bronze)
Swami (15th, 702), Avneet Kaur (35th, 685). In the and Brazil (14 gold, six sil-
men’s section, Priyansh (16th, 709) was followed ver, five bronze).
by Prathamesh Fuge (20th, 707), Abhishek Antil sent his spear to a
Verma (24th, 706), Rajat Chauhan (31st, 703). The distance of 69.50m.
Indian men’s team was fourth with 2122 points, He is the current world
while the women’s side was second with 2113. record holder also, courte-
The mixed team was fourth with 1416 points. sy his massive 73.29m
Golden trio: Mariyappan, Sumit and Ekta had an outstanding day. X@MEDIA_SAI
throw while winning gold
in the Para Asian Games in
Hangzhou, China last year.
Sandeep won the
bronze medal in the same
event with a throw of
60.41m.
Sri Lanka’s Dulan Ko-
dithuwakku took silver
with 66.49m.
Tokyo Paralympics sil-
ver winner Mariyappan al-
so grabbed a gold in T63
high jump with a cham-
pionship record of 1.88m.
This was his first gold in
a major event in eight
years.
The T63 classification is
for athletes with single
through knee or above
knee limb deficiency com-
peting with a prosthesis.
Americans Ezra Frech
and Sam Grewe won silver
and bronze with jumps of
1.85m and 1.82m respec-
tively.
Earlier in the day, Ekta
Bhyan secured the gold
medal with a season’s best
throw of 20.12m in the wo-
men’ F51 club throw com-
petition, while Kashish
Lakra took silver with
14.56m.
While she suffered qua-
driplegic spinal cord injury
and remains wheelchair-
bound, six other students
were killed in the accident.
The results: Men: F64 javelin
throw: 1. Sumit Antil 69.50m, 2.
Dulan Kodithuwakku (SL)
66.49m, 3. Sandeep 60.41m.
T63 high jump: 1. Thangavelu
Mariyappan 1.88m, 2. Ezra Frech
(US) 1.85m, 3. Sam Grewe (US)
1.82m.
Women: F51 club throw: 1.
Ekta Bhyan 20.12m, 2. Kashish
Lakra 14.56m.
Indian junior
men begin
Europe tour
with thrilling
win over
Belgium
HOCKEY
Press Trust of India
ANTWERP
Shardanand Tiwari struck
twice as the Indian junior
men’s hockey team defeat-
ed Belgium in penalty
shootout in the opening
match to kick off the Euro-
pean tour on a winning
note on Monday.
Tiwari (third and 27th
minutes) scored a brace as
the two teams ended the
regulation time 2-2 before
India won the penalty
shootout 4-2.
Gurjot Singh, Sourabh
Anand Kushwaha, Dilraj
Singh and Manmeet Singh
scored for India in the
shoot-out while the team’s
goalkeeper Prince Deep
Singh made two brilliant
saves.
India will lock horns
with Belgium again in Bre-
da (Netherlands) on Wed-
nesday.

Treesa-Gayatri enter second

round of Malaysia Masters
Indian men’s, women’s 4x400m
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progressed to teams claim silver medals
the second round of women’s doubles
competition after securing a straight-game 21-14,
21-19 win over Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Hsun
ASIAN RELAYS
and Liang Ting Yu at the Malaysia Masters Super
500 badminton here on Tuesday.
Press Trust of India
BANGKOK
India beats Indonesia in Fielding under-strength
teams after having quali-
Junior Davis Cup fied for the Paris Olympics,
both the men’s and wo-
Indian boys beat Indonesia 2-1 in the second men’s 4x400m quartets
league match of the Asia-Oceania Junior Davis finished second at the in-
Cup under-16 tennis tournament in Shymkent, augural Asian Relay Cham-
Kazakhstan, on Tuesday. pionships here on
The results (league): India bt Indonesia 2-1(Ranvir Singh Tuesday.
lost to Muhammad Urwah 6-1, 3-6, 0-6; Aradhya Kshitij bt The women’s team of
Joachim Gunawan 6-0, 6-1; Aradhya & Samarth Sahita bt Vithya Ramraj, M.R. Poo-
Muhammad Sumirat & Muhammad Urwah 6-4, 6-2). vamma, Prachi Choud-
hary, and Rupal Chaud-
hary clocked 3 minutes
33.55 seconds to finish be-
Fraser-McGurk, Short added hind Vietnam (3:30.81) in
the women’s final, which
as reserves to Australia squad was conducted amid thun-
dershowers at the Supha-
Rising talent Jake Fraser-McGurk and fellow chalasai National Stadium.
batter Matt Short were added to Australia’s T20 Japan won the bronze me-
World Cup squad as travelling reserves on dal with 3:35.45.
Tuesday. Fraser-McGurk has been in rampant Vithya and Prachi were
form for Delhi Capitals in the IPL while Short was not part of the Indian quar-
a standout in Australia’s recent Big Bash League. tet that clocked 3 minutes
쑽 but Santosh put India in
Vithya and Prachi were not part
of the Indian quartet that clocked
3 minutes and 29.35 seconds to
book a Paris Olympics quota
during the World Athletics Relays
in Nassau
Santosh and Chacko were not
part of the Indian quartet that
clocked 3 minutes and 3.23
seconds to book a Paris Olympics
quota in Bahamas
and 29.35 seconds to book
a Paris Olympics quota
during the World Athletics
Relays in Nassau. Jyothika
Sri Dandi and Subha Ven-
katesan had teamed up
with Poovamma and Rupal
on that occasion.
The men’s quartet of
Muhammed Anas Yahiya,
Santosh Kumar, Mijo
Chacko Kurian and Arokia
Rajiv also failed to stand on
top of the podium as they
clocked 3:05.76 to finish se-
cond behind Sri Lanka
(3:04.48).
The Sri Lankan team
was ahead after the first leg
the lead in the second.
Chacko kept India in ahead
after the third leg but Sri
Lanka’s anchor runner He-
wa Kalinga Kumarge over-
took Arokia at the final
stretch. Santosh and
Chacko were not part of
the Indian quartet that
clocked 3 minutes and 3.23
seconds to book a Paris
Olympics quota during the
World Athletics Relays.
Muhammed Ajmal and
Amoj Jacob had teamed up
with Muhammed Anas Ya-
hiya and Arokia Rajiv on
that occasion.
Muhammed Ajmal and
Amoj had teamed up with
Jyothika and Subha for the
mixed 4x400m race on
Monday as India was aim-
ing to enter the Paris Olym-
pics bracket in that event.
The quartet was the first
choice members of the
mixed 4x400m team and
they were thus not fielded
on Tuesday.
No trials for Olympic quota
winners, says the WFI
Sports Bureau
KOLKATA
Following the Olympic qu-
ota place winners’ request
to exempt them from
trials, the seven-member
Wrestling Federation of In-
dia (WFI) selection com-
mittee on Tuesday unani-
mously decided to allow
them to compete in the Pa-
ris Olympics.
The WFI, which was
keen to hold trials between
the quota place winners
and challengers to pick
wrestlers for the Olympics
as per its selection policy,
considered some factors
before taking the decision.
The primary concern
was that cutting down
weight frequently for com-
petitions would increase
the risk of injuries and ad-
versely affect the wrestlers’
performance in Paris.
The Olympic-qualified
wrestlers would compete
in a ranking event in Hun-
gary from June 6 to 9 with
an objective to gather
points for seeding. Had the
WFI held its proposed
trials on June 10, then it
would have been too diffi-
cult for the wrestlers.
“Five wrestlers (except
Vinesh Phogat) had written
to the WFI requesting ex-
emption from trials. The
selection committee decid-
ed not to conduct the trials
and send the quota win-
ners to Paris,” said WFI
president Sanjay Singh.
Six wrestlers, including
five female — Vinesh
(50kg), Antim Panghal
(53kg), Anshu Malik (57kg),
Nisha Dahiya (68kg) and
Reetika Hooda (76kg) —
and male freestyle wrestler
Aman Sehrawat (57kg),
have qualified for Paris
2024.
While Antim booked a
berth in the World cham-
pionships last year, Vinesh,
Anshu and Reetika earned
tickets to Paris in the Asian
Olympic qualifier in April.
Sehrawat and Nisha won
quotas in the World Olym-
pic qualifier earlier this
month.
Now two-time World
championships bronze
medallist Vinesh, who had
participated in 50kg and
53kg in the selection trials
for the qualifiers and was
keen to challenge Antim in
the trials for Paris 2024,
will have to compete in
50kg.
The decision also ended
the dream of several wres-
tlers, including Tokyo
Olympics silver medallist
Ravi Dahiya (57kg) and
former Worlds bronze me-
dallist Sarita Mor (57kg),
who aspired to compete in
Paris.
In case a wrestler picks
up an injury, the WFI will
hold trials to replace him /
her by July 8, the last date
for closing entries. Be-
sides, the selection com-
mittee may review the
Olympic qualified wres-
tlers’ performance in the
ranking event in Hungary.

Indian Open junior squash at Yuki Bhambri & Albano Olivetti in quarterfinals
Indore from May 24
The HCL Indian Open junior squash tournament The results: €651,865 ATP, Ambarzumjan & Maik Steiner (Tpe) 1-6, 7-6(6), [10-8].
will be played in Indore from May 24 to 27. The TENNIS Geneva: First round: Sebastian (Ger) 6-1, 6-3; Raghav Jaisinghani $25,000 ITF women, Santo
qualifying events will be played from Wednesday. Baez (Arg) bt Sumit Nagal 7-6(7), & Sina Moghimi (Iri) bt Madhwin Domingo First round: Riya
6-3; Doubles, pre-quarters: Yuki Kamath & Aditya Balsekar 4-6, Bhatia bt Feidi Abreu (Dom) 6-0,
Sports Bureau
Bhambri & Albano Olivetti (Fra) bt 6-1, [10-8]; Chirag Duhan & 6-0.
Sadio Doumbia & Fabien Reboul Ishaque Eqbal bt Toby Martin & $15,000 ITF women, Fukui,
Yuki Bhambri and Albano (Fra) 2-6, 6-1, [10-5]. Mattias Southcombe (GBR) 6-3,
LIVE TELECAST Olivetti defeated fourth Japan: Doubles,
$41,000 Challenger, Kachreti, 7-6(2); Kabir Hans & Karan Singh pre-quarterfinals: Yui
쑽 seeds Sadio Doumbia and Georgia: First round: bt Guelfo Baldovinetti & Federico Chikaraishi & Himari Sato (Jpn) bt
IPL: Eliminator, Star Sports 1 & JioCinema, 7.30 p.m. Fabien Reboul 2-6, 6-1, Ramkumar Ramanathan bt YshaI Valle (Ita) 6-3, 4-6, [10-7]. Smriti Bhasin & Ye Shiyu (Chn)
T20I tri-series: Netherlands vs Scotland, FanCode, 8.30 p.m. [10-5] in the doubles pre- Oliel (Isr) 6-3, 7-5. $40,000 ITF women, Goyang, 6-0, 6-4.
England vs Pakistan: 1st T20I, Sony Sports Ten 5 (SD & HD) quarterfinals of the $25,000 ITF men, Addis Ababa, Korea: Doubles, $15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Fighting spirit: Yildiz’s strike completed Juventus’ comeback
& LIV, 11 p.m. €651,865 ATP tennis tour- Ethiopia: Doubles, pre-quarterfinals: Vaidehi Tunisia: First round: Zeel Desai against Bologna. REUTERS
Europa League: (final), Sony Sports Ten 2 (SD & HD) & LIV, nament in Lyon on pre-quarterfinals: S.D. Prajwal Chaudhari & Yukina Saigo (Jpn) bt Camilla Zanolini (Ita) 4-6, 7-5,
12.30 a.m. (Thursday) Tuesday. Dev & Adil Kalyanpur bt Edison bt I-Hsuan Cho & Yi Tsen Cho 6-4.
Juventus scores three
Rakshit eases NEW DELHI ROUND-UP
late goals, salvages draw
past Khate 쑽
SERIE A
win over Juve in 26 years.
But Juventus began its
Manan and Shantanu Aditya and Bhavy shine Vivaan Jindal helped 43) lost to Raghubir Willowers 5/5, Harji Singh 3/10).
comeback with 14 minutes
Sports Bureau smash unbeaten Chand Khanna Club beat 152/7 in 19 overs (Virat Rana 49 Associated Press
Man-of-the-match Aditya left of regulation time,
centuries City Gymkhana by seven n.o., Mukesh Kumar 42, Mrinal Yuva Society, BOLOGNA
Rakshit Dhankar defeated Sisodia smashed 116 while Gulati 4/26). starting with Federico
Bhavy made 77 as Ambika wickets in the DDCA T20 Norwegian CF to host
third seed Vilasier Khate Manan Vohra’s unbeaten Young Friends 161/9 in 20 overs Chiesa’s goal.
BV Amsterdam (ABVA) League. first Global T20 battle In its first match since Mas-
6-3, 6-3 in the HPCL Mittal 127 off 57 deliveries and a (Saaransh Parashar 60) lost to
thumped Ravi Brothers by The scores: City Gymkhana 110 in Dubai similiano Allegri was fired, Within eight more mi-
₹100,000 AITA men’s ten- 57-ball unbeaten 106 by Telefunken Club 164/2 in 15 overs
119 runs in the Late Sri in 17 overs (Yatish 4/21, Vivaan Juventus came from 0-3 nutes, Arkadiusz Milik
nis pre-quarterfinals in (Abhimanyu 80 n.o., Bharat The Yuva Society and
Shantanu saw Delhi Jindal 4/10) lost to Chand down to draw with Bolog- struck from a free kick and
Chandigarh on Tuesday. Ratan Singh memorial Sindhwani 76 n.o.). Norwegian Cricket
Challengers Club (DCC) Khanna Club 113/3 in 13 overs na 3-3 in Serie A on the equaliser was by Kenan
cricket tournament. (Aarush Malhotra 79 n.o.). Federation will host the
beat DC Bal Bhawan Monday. Yildiz, the 19-year-old for-
The results, pre-quarterfinals: The scores: ABVA 262/6 in 40 Arman scalps five first Global T20 battle in
Neeraj Yashpaul bt Parv Nage 6-4, (DCBB) by 10 wickets in Young Cricketers Club 152/8 in 20 Bologna, third, and Ju- ward who Juve consider a
overs (Aditya Sisodia 116, Bavy
overs (Shubham Sharma 41) bt Armaan Gupta took five Dubai. The talent search
6-3; Vatsal Manikantan bt Eklavya the 47th all-India Lala 77, Mehul 44, Deepak Kumar ventus, fourth on goal dif- star in the making.
Delhi Wonder 145 in 19 overs for five as Turf Stallions for the event will be done
Singh 6-4, 6-1; Rakshit Dhankar bt Raghubir Singh hot 4/40) bt Ravi Brothers 143 in 32 ference, have already qual-
Vilasier Khate 6-3, 6-3; Moksh Puri (Keshav Mehta 53 n.o., Nishant beat Modern Spartans by across the country for all
weather cricket overs (Sidharth 34, Aryan Vats ified for the Champions The results:
bt Rohan Mittal 6-1, 6-1; Thakur 3/24, Tanay Singh 3/23). 98 runs in the Turf Junior group of players.
tournament. 3/23). League next season but Salernitana 1 (Maggiore 90) lost
Paramveer Bajwa bt Nirav Shetty Pioneer 103/8 in 20 overs (Dev League (under-10) cricket
7-6(5), 6-1; Rhythm Malhotra bt The scores: DCBB 237/9 in 40 Dubey 28, Karan Dagar 3/19) lost tournament. Players have to register played like they hadn’t. to Verona 2 (Suslov 22,
Joy Das 6-0, 6-1; Jaishnav Shinde overs (Aman Jainwal 82, Arpit
Aarush shines to Subhania Club 107/6 in 14 The scores: Turf Stallions 185/4 with yuvasociety and A double by Riccardo Folorunsho 45+3).
bt Ajay Kundu 6-3, 6-3; Suraj Rana 65) lost to DCC 238/0 in 18.2 Aarush Malhotra’s overs (Vinay Kumar 30 n.o.). in 20 overs (Samarth 33, Shivaay report for the selection Calafiori helped a domi- Bologna 3 (Calafiori 2, 53, Castro
Prabodh bt Bhushan Haobam overs (Manan Vohra 127 n.o., unbeaten 79 and four Pusa Youngsters 148/6 in 20 overs Kapoor 27) bt Modern Spartans trials in their cricket gear nant Bologna to 3-0, and in 11) drew with Juventus 3 (Chiesa
6-3, 6-2. Shantanu 106 n.o.). wickets each by Yatish and (Rajdeep Jain 44, Raghav Bakshi 87/10 in 12.3 overs (Arman Gupta in the city of their choice. its grasp was a first home 76, Milik 83, Yildiz 84).
CM M ND-NDE
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 THE HINDU
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 I
Delhi
Sport

Drag racing — slowly but surely

piquing the interest of the nation
The FMSCI Indian National Drag Racing Championship (INDRC) this year received over 600 entries from across the country, and
an audience of over 10,000 spectators to watch the three-day event

NEERAJ KARUNANIDHI

Steve Varghese quarter mile, at a staggering 9.2 seconds, There was also a class for wheelie runs. bigger numbers now. There are more THE GIST
Neeraj Karunanidhi beating the previous record held by Ajit ‘WheelieSins’ Suvarna from Mumbai, people now interested in drag racing,”
Jordanian Fahim Zahrani. Muddappa had on his 1000cc Honda CBR Fireblade, said a team official.
ngines roared and machines his motorcycle modified and tuned to clocked an impressive 8.6 seconds to The event also gave budding 쑽

E flew at mind-boggling speeds in

the 10th edition of the Vroom
Drag Meet.
This year, Vroom Motorsports
collaborated with Speedway Motorsports
to host the FMSCI Indian National Drag
Racing Championship (INDRC). Over 600
entries were received from across the
country, with an audience of over 10,000
spectators to watch the three-day event at
Taneja Aerospace & Aviation Ltd. facility
in Hosur. The event was conducted in
categories of two-stroke, four-stroke, and
four-stroke Supersport engines.
Drag racing in India has been a niche
sport for the past few years. However,
with ever-increasing eyes tuning in to
watch global motorsports, the interest has
started peaking.
Drag racing consists of vehicles tearing
down a quarter-mile track. Racers either
go head to head, or participate on an
individual time trial basis.
Twelve-time Indian National Drag Race
champion Hemanth Muddappa became
the fastest rider on Indian soil to record a
perfection along with drag-specific tyres
by his team, Mantra Racing.
“The record was long due, but I think
today was our day. We bettered the
previous mark, but with an Indian tuner
and an Indian rider,” said Muddappa.
Hailing from Coorg, Muddappa fell in
love with bikes at a young age. His racing
journey began when his parents gifted
him a motorcycle in tenth standard.
When it came to financing his
machines, Muddappa stated, “Drag racing
is more of a passion in India. It is an
expensive sport, which acts as a big
constraint. But since there are categories
right from 80cc scooter class to 1500cc
bikes, you can pick your category.”
Khashif Saiyad and his brother Jahangir
travelled from Bhopal to compete here.
Jahangir (riding a Triumph Daytona 675)
and Khashif (Kawasaki Ninja ZX14R)
finished first and second respectively in
the four-stroke Supersport category.
Khashif owns ‘MD Superbikes’ workshop,
but is a rider at heart. “Motorcycles are
my life,” Khashif said.
create a national record.
Wheelie racing is a relatively new
genre, and requires specific
modifications. “I had to remove the
mirrors, change the tires to a grippier
compound and tweak the electronic
control unit for better response,” Suvarna
said.
Suvarna remarked that his interest in
two-wheelers began watching his father
ride a Yamaha RX100.
Imran Majid was unstoppable in the
four-wheeler division. Driving the
legendary Nissan GT-R ‘Wild Child’
producing 1350 horsepower, Majid
cleared the finish line at 9.01 seconds.
Majid spoke about a deep connection
with his machine. “My car once caught
fire in a crash, but I rebuilt it. When I sit
in the car and I’m strapped in, I feel like I
am talking to the car,” Majid said.
Team Tectronics of Bengaluru is a
performance tuning workshop that
transforms street vehicles into dragstrip
machines. “Eight years ago, the crowd
response was mediocre, but there are
photographer, Amit Das, the chance to
showcase his work. Amit, an engineering
student with a passion for photography,
said, “It is a boost for our ‘car culture’
when like-minded people come together
Drag racing consists of vehicles
tearing down a quarter-mile
track
쑽
to form a community.” Racers either go head to head,
“I hope that India has more of these or participate on an individual
drag race events. Right now, there are time trial basis
only two major events — The Valley Run
and this Vroom Drag Race Meet. I wish to 쑽
see meets like this more frequently,” Amit Hemanth Muddappa became
added. the fastest rider on Indian soil
Since Vroom Drag Race Meet’s to record a quarter mile, at a
inception in 2016, it has been a highlight staggering 9.2 seconds
in the Indian motorsports calendar. “We
are incredibly proud to celebrate a decade
of exhilarating drag racing action with our
10th anniversary edition of The Vroom
Drag Meet.
“To top it off, being entrusted with the
responsibility of hosting the INDRC for
the next five years is testament to our
dedication to promoting motorsports
excellence in India,” said Tariq Mohsin,
Managing Director at Vroom Motorsports
Pvt Ltd.

New Liverpool boss Slot admits he could not resist the lure of the club
Agence France-Presse
LONDON
Arne Slot said the chance to work at
one of the world’s biggest clubs was
‘difficult to ignore’ after Liverpool
confirmed on Monday that the
Feyenoord coach would be its new
manager.
Just 24 hours after Jurgen Klopp’s
emotional farewell at Anfield, the
Premier League club said in a
statement that the Dutchman would
take up the position of head coach
on June 1, subject to a work permit.
The club did not specify the
length of Slot’s contract but it was
widely reported in the British press
that he had signed a three-year deal.
The new manager’s arrival was an
open secret, with Liverpool
reportedly agreeing a compensation
deal worth up to £9.4 million with
Feyenoord.
Slot, 45, confirmed Anfield was
his next destination at his final
pre-match press conference at the
Eredivisie club on Friday.
“It is certainly not an easy
decision to close the door behind
you at a club where you have
experienced so many wonderful
moments and worked successfully
with so many wonderful people,” he
told Feyenoord on Monday.
CM
YK
“But as a sportsman, an
opportunity to become a head coach
in the Premier League, at one of the
biggest clubs in the world, is difficult
to ignore.”
Klopp, 56, announced in January
that the 2023/24 season would be his
last at Anfield, and took charge of his
final game on Sunday, a 2-0 win
against Wolves.
Full support
In his farewell speech to the crowd,
the German urged fans to throw
their full support behind his
successor, leading them in a chant of
‘Arne Slot, na na na na na’.
“You welcome the new manager
like you welcomed me,” he said.
“You go all-in from the first day. And
you keep believing and you push the
team.”
Slot, linked with a move to
Tottenham last year, became
Feyenoord boss in 2021 after
impressing in his first managerial
role at AZ Alkmaar.
He led the Dutch giants to the
inaugural Europa Conference
League final at the end of his first
season, which it lost 0-1 to Jose
Mourinho’s Roma.
Slot then delivered just a second
league title in 24 years to De Kuip
last season before penning a new
three-year deal.
Feyenoord has enjoyed a strong
season, winning the Dutch Cup and
coming second to an all-conquering
PSV Eindhoven side in the league.
Under Slot, Feyenoord has
delighted the fans at De Kuip with an
attacking brand of football and Slot
has won praise from Klopp himself.
“I like the way his team plays
football. If he is the one, I like that he
wants it,” Klopp said last month.
GETTY IMAGES
“It’s the best job in the world, best
club in the world. Great job, great
team, fantastic people. A really
interesting job.”
Liverpool captain and fellow
Dutchman Virgil van Dijk has hailed
Slot’s attacking mindset, saying it
would suit the philosophy at Anfield.
Speaking about the future under
the new boss, Van Dijk said: “It is all
about sticking together and giving
him the chance of showing what he
is capable of with the other guys
who will come in.
“He probably knows already but
everyone knows our expectations
are always huge and it is about
managing that in the right way and
getting the maximum out of all of
our players.”
Slot has huge shoes to fill at
Anfield after Klopp restored
Liverpool to the elite of English and
European football during his
nine-year reign.
Under his leadership, Liverpool
won a sixth Champions League
crown and a 19th league title, as well
as a clutch of other trophies.
Initially, Bayer Leverkusen boss
and former Liverpool midfielder
Xabi Alonso was the favourite to
succeed Klopp at Anfield.
However, Alonso committed to
staying at Leverkusen as he led the
side to a first-ever Bundesliga title.
Liverpool finished third in the
Premier League, qualifying for next
season’s Champions League, and
won the League Cup in Klopp’s final
season.
S ND-NDE
DAILY NEWSPAPERS PDF @05:00 AM

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 THE HINDU
II Wednesday, May 22, 2024

SCIENCE
Delhi

X chromosome revival in older women

increases risk of autoimmune disease
Researchers have suggested for a while that a number of immune diseases — including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjögren’s syndrome — are
more common in females than males. Of particular note are autoimmune diseases in which antibodies act against specific proteins

Sridhar Sivasubbu
THE GIST
Vinod Scaria
쑽
There are more than 500
n mammals, the females have two X-linked genetic diseases, and

I copies of the X chromosome, while

the males carry a single copy. The
X chromosome is more significant
for its role in determining sex. Recent
genomic studies have shed light on the
they mostly affect males.
Many of the X-linked traits
and diseases are not
uncommon in the general
population. For example,
red-green colour blindness is
fundamental biological processes the X
X-linked, and affects around
chromosome modulates and the genes it
8% of males
encodes. The gathering evidence
suggests, in fact, that it plays a part in a 쑽
variety of biological functions as well as Researchers unravelled X
controlling the sex-specific susceptibility inactivation when they
to certain diseases. discovered Xist. The body
The human X chromosome encodes deactivates X using Xist and
around 800 genes, which in turn code for another non-protein-coding
proteins. A loss of function for these RNA, called Tsix. The
genes could thus lead to a variety of regulation of these two genes
genetic diseases. Broadly, the diseases means that in the X
whose onset and/or progression the X chromosome that is to be
chromosome influences can be grouped In 1961, Mary Frances Lyon argued that one of the X chromosomes in females is randomly inactivated during early embryonic development to prevent the deactivated, the Xist RNA is
overexpressed such that it
into three types: (i) X-linked genetic overexpression of X-linked genes. Representative image. BLACKJACK3D/GETTY IMAGES
coats the chromosome
diseases, (ii) diseases influenced by XCI
escape, and (iii) those linked to silence most genes on one X chromosome between altered XCI and autoimmune 쑽
X-chromosome aneuploidy. (epigenetics refers to the processes by diseases, and pave the way for possible French researchers perturbed
There are more than 500 X-linked which genes are influenced by the new drugs to treat them in the future. the expression of Xist in
genetic diseases, and they mostly affect environment in which they operate). XCI female mice, and found that
males. Many of the X-linked traits and ensures a balance in gene expression, but The human X chromosome encodes X and Alzheimer’s disease previously inactive genes on
diseases are not uncommon in the scientists are also learning that it plays a around 800 genes, which in turn code Another disease with a sex bias and the inactive X chromosome
general population. For example, role in various genetic disorders. Issues linked to the X chromosome is were reactivated. The result
for proteins. A loss of function for
red-green colour blindness is X-linked, such as incomplete inactivation (a.k.a. Alzheimer’s disease. Women seem to have was the spontaneous
these genes could thus lead to a development of lupus-like
and affects around 8% of males. escape) or skewed inactivation can lead to a higher risk of getting it; worldwide,
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, caused by the abnormal expression of genes, which variety of genetic diseases almost twice as many women have inflammatory signs in the
mutations in the dystrophin gene and contributes to diseases including X-linked Alzheimer’s as men. In a study published female mice
affecting 1 in every 3,500–5,000 boys disorders, certain cancers, and in the journal Cell in October 2022,
born in India and agammaglobulinemia, autoimmune conditions. rheumatoid arthritis, and Sjögren’s researchers from Case Western Reserve
an immunodeficiency disorder that Three decades after Dr. Lyon’s syndrome — are more common in females University in the U.S. suggest a gene
affects around 1 in 200,000 live births, hypothesis, researchers unravelled the than males. Of particular note are called ubiquitin-specific peptidase 11
are also X-linked. molecular mechanisms of X inactivation autoimmune diseases, in which (USP11), involved in a protein-modifying
Scientists are also aware of numerical when they discovered Xist, a antibodies act against specific proteins. process, encourages tau protein to
abnormalities — or aneuploidies — of the non-protein-coding RNA. The body In a paper published on May 3 in accumulate in the brain. Based on studies
X chromosome. For example, Klinefelter deactivates the X chromosome with the Science Advances, French researchers of mice brains, the researchers suggested
syndrome is characterised by an extra X help of Xist and another perturbed the expression of Xist — which the gene escapes X inactivation and is
chromosome (XXY) and Turner’s non-protein-coding RNA, called Tsix triggers XCI — in female mice, and found expressed more in females. This also
syndrome by a loss of one X chromosome (reverse of Xist). The differential that previously inactive genes on the opens new avenues to develop treatments
in females (X instead of XX). regulation of these two genes means that inactive X chromosome were reactivated. for Alzheimer’s.
in the X chromosome that is to be This was particularly true of genes In humans, the Y chromosome has
Inactivation of X chromosome deactivated, the Xist RNA is involved in the Toll-like receptor 7 been shrinking over time, so the X
In mammalian species, females typically overexpressed such that it coats or covers signalling pathway in immune cells. The chromosome is possibly evolution’s best
carry two X chromosomes, while males the chromosome. result was the spontaneous development bet and thus plays a pivotal role in human
possess one X and one Y chromosome. However, inactivation of the X of lupus-like inflammatory signs in the health and disease. Its evolutionary
Each of the X chromosomes is inherited chromosome is not absolute. As many as female mice, including an increased level genomics and emerging insights into its
from the parents. In 1961, an English a fourth of all genes encoded by the X of autoantibodies and altered immune participation in biological processes
geneticist named Mary Frances Lyon chromosome could escape inactivation cell populations. illuminate the complex interplay between
argued that since females have two copies and express themselves, as researchers at The reactivation of specific X-linked genetic inheritance, epigenetic
of the X chromosome, one of the X the Whitehead Institute in the U.S. genes in response to XCI alteration varies modifications, and disease manifestation.
chromosomes is randomly inactivated reported in a paper published in the across immune cell types, which is to say Cracking all this to get the full picture
during early embryonic development, in journal Cell Genomics last year. diverse molecular pathways are affected. could also lead us to new drugs and
a process called X chromosome The resulting effects in autoimmune therapies.
inactivation (XCI), to prevent the Autoimmune diseases diseases are likely due to a combination of (The authors are senior consultants at
overexpression of X-linked genes in Researchers have suggested for a while reactivation events in different cell types the Vishwanath Cancer Care Foundation
females. that a number of immune diseases — and global changes in gene expression. and adjunct professors at IIT Kanpur and
In this process, epigenetic changes including systemic lupus erythematosus, The findings reinforce the molecular link Dr. D.Y. Patil Vidyapeeth.)

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BIG SHOT QUESTION CORNER

Why a waterfall appears white

Q: Why does
water appear
white in a
waterfall even
though it is
colourless?
A: When all
colours are reflected from the
surface of an object, it appears
white. In a waterfall, water drops
can be thought of as being
suspended in air and as an
inhomogeneous mixture of water
and air.
We know that when light
enters from a lighter medium
(air) into a denser medium
(water), some of it is reflected by
the surface and the rest is
refracted. In a waterfall, light
suffers numerous such reflections
and refractions.
The light refracted by a layer When all colours are reflected from the surface of
on top would also contribute to an object, it appears white. SLNC/UNSPLASH
reflection at the next layer of
drops. As a result, most of the To see a waterfall white, light should not
light is reflected by the waterfall. be directional, i.e. it should be coming
This leads to whiteness. from all directions. If it is directional, one
Mist, paper, water vapour, would see colours as in a rainbow.
colloidal solutions, clouds, (S. Mukund, Chennai)
talcum powder, snow, white
paint, and sugar also appear
white because of the same
reason.
(There are no white pigments
in white paint. White paint has For feedback and suggestions
transparent oxides of zinc, lead, for ‘Science’, please write to
X and titanium suspended in a science@thehindu.co.in
Students buy cups of shaved ice as they leave school. Authorities announced reduced school hours due to soaring temperatures, in Lahore, Pakistan, on Tuesday. People have transparent solution.) with the subject ‘Daily page’
been urged to stay indoors to avoid an extreme heat wave that threatens to raise already high temperatures and trigger another round of floods driven by glacial melt. AP
CM S ND-NDE
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