CAPSULE

MF8' kMk Ih I8 IEk8

T T 8FFTE'8 8I6IE
hyderabad: A 82yearold man
allegedly commilled suicide over
Telangana issue in Moinabad.
his suicide nole said he had
seen Thursday's LS roceedings
and was deressed over lhe
move o Seemandhra MFs.
86 I IEIIhE8 T
FTE6T hE FEFIE
heW eIhi: The SC on Friday
issued nolice lo lhe Cenlre and
all Slales on a FL seeking ils
direclion lo lhem lo rame
guideline lo rolecl lhe eole
rom hE Slales in various arls
o lhe counlry againsl alleged
racial discriminalion. F6
IM E1E6T8 kkF IIE
T 6hTE8T FII8
koIkaIa: Maniur's 'ron Lady'
rom Chanu Sharmila has
rejecled an oer rom lhe AAF lo
join olilics and conlesl lhis
year's Lok Sabha eleclions.
1kIFkI EY'8
MThE Fk88E8 kWkY
hyderabad: union Minisler S
Jaial Reddy's molher, Sudini
Yashodamma, died on Friday.
She was OO. her lasl riles is
execled lo be erormed on
Salurday evening, amily
sources said.
'M8IIM8 hT 86kE I
MI 8E6MIh FM'
uWahaIi: The Jamial ulama
ehind on Friday said il was nol
worried aboul lhe saely and
securily o Muslims i 0ujaral
Chie Minisler harendra Modi
became lhe Frime Minisler.
kF18I 0I8 I0 0w8 808IFI, FIII8 F8I
k1E8h kMk l kkE8h
kh1kh Q hEw 0ELh
T
he ambitious Jan Lokpal Bill
that took the nave Aam
Aadmi Party to political heights
in Delhi nearly two months ago
caused the biggest embarrass-
ment to the Government and
ultimately led to its fall on
Friday. With the Bill getting
defeated at the stage of intro-
duction itself, Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal announced his
resignation and recommended
to the Lieutenant-Governor to
dissolve the Delhi Legislative
Assembly.
The L-G has accepted
Kejriwals resignation but asked
him to continue as the caretak-
er CM till further arrangement.
The tumultuous run of his
Government lasted for just 49
days making it the most insta-
ble dispensation in the history of
Delhi politics. Soon after the Jan
Lokpal Bill was defeated in the
Legislative Assembly, Kejriwal
headed for the Secretariat where
he held the last Cabinet meeting
before sending his resignation to
L-G Najeeb Jung. From there he
reached his party office at
Hanuman Road where he pub-
licly announced his resignation
to an anxiously waiting
crowd; mostly comprising his
party volunteers.
The BJP and the Congress
connived to topple our
Government under pressure of
Mukesh Ambani, who funds
both political parties. The two
parties are not allowing us to
function ever since the Govern-
ment lodged an FIR against
Ambani. Hence, I have sent my
resignation to the L-G and
also recommended him to dis-
solve the Legislative Assembly,
said Kejriwal after putting in
his papers.
The Jan Lokpal Bill was
defeated at the introduction
stage itself with 42 members
voting against it and only 27 in
favour. It was on expected lines
as Kejriwal had vowed to relin-
quish his office if his pet project
Jan Lokpal Bill 2014 was not
passed by the Delhi Assembly
on Friday. I am now directly
going to the L-Gs office to hand
over my resignation. I wish I get
a chance to serve the nation and
the State soon.
Continued on Page 4
Related reports on P2, 3
kMk 6hEIIkFFkh Q ChEhhA
T
he top leaders of the rationalist
DMK have turned to astrology
and divine intervention to revive the
fortunes of the party in the upcom-
ing Lok Sabha elections. The State
Conference of the DMK which
begins on Saturday at
Tiruchirappalli has been planned
and scheduled immaculately as per
astrological advice and after propi-
tiating Lord Vighneswaran.
On Saturday, M Karunanidhi,
the 91-year-old party chief, will
reach the venue of the conference
only after 10.30 am, according to
KN Nehru, former Minister and the
Tiruchirappalli strongman of the
party. We will bring Kalaignar (as
Karunanidhi is addressed by his fol-
lowers) to the stage only after 10.30
am on Saturday. It is because of the
inauspicious Rahu Kaalam which
begins at 9.00 am and lasts up to
10.30 am, Nehru, the DMK district
secretary, told reporters.
Karunanidhi left for
Tiruchirappalli late Thursday
evening and he had a look around
the venue on Friday morning. His
trip to Tiruchirappalli too was
planned after consulting family
astrologers, according to party insid-
ers. Karunanidhi left for
Tiruchirappalli from Gopalapuram
in Chennai after bowing to the Lord
Venugopala Temple adjacent to his
residence.
A leading astrologer told The
Pioneer that the dates for the DMK
State Conference too could have
been selected based on astrological
calculations. Though it is a
Saturday, February 15 is an
auspicious day, said the astrologer
who does not want his name
to be quoted.
Meanwhile, the DMK leaders
who were entrusted with the setting
up of the stage and shamiana at the
venue began work only after seeking
divine blessings. Nehru is an ardent
believer and this was in full display
during the inauguration of the State
Conference Office at Tiruchirappalli.
MK Stalin, the heir apparent to
Karunanidhi, who came to inaugu-
rate the office on January 6, was
allowed by Nehru to cut the ribbon
only after the inauspicious
Yamakandaka Kaalam was over. Till
then Nehru made Stalin wait in the
sidelines of the venue.
Nehru turned an ardent believ-
er after the gruesome murder of his
younger brother KN Ramajayam in
2012. Though police is yet to make
any breakthrough in the Ramajayam
murder case, the DMK has main-
tained a studied silence over the
incident. As a mark of respect to
Ramajayam, the venue has been
named after him.
With this edition of the DMK
State Conference, Karunanidhi will
go into record books as the longest
serving president of a political party
in the country. He became the
party chief in 1969 and has been
occupying that post continuously
since then. Though there are
rumours that he may hand over the
reins to Stalin, his chosen successor,
one has to wait till Karunanidhi
himself makes the announcement.
But it is certain that Stalin would be
the star campaigner for the party in
the Lok Sabha election while
Karunanidhi, confined to a wheel-
chair would travel to only three or
four venues.
kkE8h kh1kh Q hEw 0ELh
T
he AAP Governments fail-
ure to introduce the Jan
Lokpal Bill in the Delhi
Assembly was the ultimate
blow to the Government that
forced Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal to announce his res-
ignation on Friday evening.
Kejriwals resignation was pre-
ceded by a high voltage drama
during in the Assembly that
lasted for over four hours.
The BJP and the Congress
combined to attack the AAP
Government for introducing
the Bill and termed the move
unconstitutional. As soon as
the Assembly convened on
Friday, the BJP and Congress
leaders demanded the Speaker
to read out the Lieutenant-
Governors message regarding
the Jan Lokpal Bill. Jung had
advised the Assembly against
tabling the Bill since it was not
in accordance with procedures
laid down under the law.
After an adjournment with
Opposition leader BJP leader
Harsh Vardhan and Congress
leader Arvinder Singh Lovely
demanding voting on the Lt
Governors advice and the
Government opposing it,
Kejriwal dramatically rose to
table the Jan Lokpal Bill.
However, Opposition
MLAs rushed into the Well of
the House and prevented the
Speaker from admitting the
Bill. While the treasury bench-
es wanted the matter to be
debated, the Opposition lead-
ers demanded voting for seek-
ing leave of the House to intro-
duce the Bill. The Government
has to seek permission from the
House before introducing the
Bill. The Speaker has no right
to permit the same but only the
members of the House can do
that, said Congress leader
Arvinder Singh Lovely.
This forced another
adjournment for 30 minutes.
However, uproar continued
and Speaker MS Dhir was
forced to conduct voting on the
issue which the Government
lost by 15 votes. While 27
MLAs of the AAP voted for
introducing the Bill, 42 MLAs
of the BJP, the Congress and
other parties voted against it.
Continued on Page 4
FkM kMk 8Ihh Q
hEw 0ELh
W
ith Delhi Chief Minister
Arvind Kejriwal tender-
ing his resignation, Delhi faces
another Assembly polls.
The ball is in the court of
Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb
Jung. Addressing his support-
ers from AAPs headquarters at
Hanuman Road, Kejriwal
announced that he had recom-
mended the dissolution of the
Assembly. Technically, Kejriwal
cannot recommend the disso-
lution of the Assembly as his
Government failed to pass the
muster in tabling the Bill. His
Government was reduced to
minority as 42 members voted
in the House of 70.
Now Jung has limited
options. The foremost will be
to explore the possibility of the
formation of a new
Government as was practiced
by then President Shankar
Dayal Sharma, who invited
HD Deve Gowda to form a
Government after the BJP
Government led by Atal Bihar
Vajpayee fell in 1996.
He may either invite Harsh
Vardhan, the leader of
Opposition BJP in the
Assembly, to form a govern-
ment, or can recommend the
dissolution of the Assembly.
Another option is to send a
report to the Centre for keep-
ing the Assembly in suspend-
ed animation till a viable
option comes before him.
Political watchers say keep-
ing the Assembly under sus-
pended animation will suit
the Congress as it would not
like to go for Assembly polls
along with the Lok Sabha ele-
cions. It would like to watch the
result of the LS elections and
then decide its future course of
action vis--vis Delhi
Assembly election. The
Congress fears that it may face
further erosion of its support
base if it yields to Kejriwals rec-
ommendation to dissolve the
Assembly.
Opinion is divided whether
the L-G will accept the recom-
mendation as the Kejriwal
Government. It was a cardinal
error committed by the Chief
Minister and his colleagues
with no legislative experience.
The very mention that I seek
the leave of the House meant
that it needed the approval of
the house for tabling of the Bill.
Kejriwal faced a major embar-
rassment as 42 members, 32 of
BJP and Akali Dal (Badal), 8
members of Congress, Matia
Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal and
Independent member Rambir
Shokeen opposed the very
tabling of the Bill. The AAP
Government lost on the floor of
the House after the majority
rejected the tabling of the Bill.
Former Secretary of Delhi
Assembly SK Sharma said that
the Government was reduced to
a minority. Since the Kejriwal
Government failed to get the
permission of the House to
table the Bill, it was reduced to
a minority Government and in
such a scenario, the L-G was not
bound to accede to the demand
of the Leader of the House to
dissolve the Assembly.
Sources said that the deci-
sion to dissolve the Delhi
Assembly is a political one
hence the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) will weigh the
pros and cons once the L-G
sends his report to the Centre.
Secondly, the sentiments of
the Delhi Congress leaders
such as former CM Sheila
Dikshit, State Congress presi-
dent Arvinder Singh Lovely
and Haroon Yusuf too will be
sought before a political deci-
sion to dissolve the Assembly
and go for fresh polls.
Fh8 Q hEw 0ELh
T
he Government may have
suspended 16 MPs from
Seemandhra region, but the
Telangana Bill could now face
trouble from Union Ministers
from the region. Unfazed by
the suspension of his colleagues
from Lok Sabha for creating
ruckus, Union Minister KS
Rao on Friday said Ministers
from Seemandhra region
would block the Telangana
Bill if the Government did
not accept at least four of
their demands.
Claiming that their
demand for Union Territory
Status for Hyderabad was non-
negotiable, Rao said, We will
continue to protest. We will
continue to raise the same
issues... I will be in Parliament
to block the Bill.
The Textiles Minister said
all Union Ministers from the
Seemandhra region will join
him to block the Bill in the
Lower House. Rao presented
four demands for arriving at a
peaceful solution to the burn-
ing problem.
He said that Hyderabad
should be made a Union
Territory at least for 10 years till
the people of Seemandhra built
their own capital. The Bill
should have a provision to add
Anantapur and Karnool dis-
tricts as part of Telangana,
Rao said.
Rao asked Government to
keep the Bhadrachalam divi-
sion, which has been made part
of Khammam district in
Telangana, with Seemandhra.
Continued on Page 4
AAProoe on ]an Lolal
to ower, orowns witl it
Now Ministers to raise storm in J cu
New Delhi: The BJP on Friday
suggested that the UPA
Government could still work
towards a larger consensus on
issues like creation of a capital
for Seemandhra and compen-
sating the region for loss of rev-
enue caused by the division.
Leader of Opposition in
the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley
said it was not too late to
resolve the issue. Creation of
a capital for Seemandhra, even-
tual creation of a separate High
Court, compensating the
region with regard to the loss
of revenue caused by a bifur-
cation, comfort level with
regard to water and power in
the regions are amongst other
issues which are capable of
being resolved, Jaitley said.
Detailed report on P6
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poWer Io sIaII 8iIIs
The Delhi High Court agreed
to hear a plea challenging the
constitutionality of the law
which gives the L-G power to
refer certain Bills to the
Centre before it is tabled in
the Assembly. The court will
hear the petition on Tuesday.
Detailed report on P2
Plans State
Conference
after stars align
we will bring
Kalaignar lo lhe slage
only aler 1O.8O am
on Salurday. l is
because o lhe
inausicious Rahu
Kaalam which begins
al O.OO am and lasls
u lo 1O.8O am
kh hEh, Mk
I8TI6T 8E6ETkY
Nastik Karuna turns believer to save sinking DMK
ll+|+|+ Cu|| uppu||| |u|| +| ||i] u| up|JJ Cu|| |P ||u|
Vi|+]W+J+, | R+|+up+l, u| ||iJ+] Pll
Beore scooling,
shools barbs al
Cong, BJF, L0,
Mukesh Ambani,
Moily, Cenlre
una/ed by MFs'
susension, KS Rao
claims Minislers will
block Telangana Bill
BJF, Congress
oose labling o
'unconslilulional' Bill
|i|||+|
L-G options: nvite Harsh or dissolve Assembly
Bul il's in Cong's
inleresl lo kee
house in susended
animalion lill Lok
Sabha eleclions
EsIabIished 1B64
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Published From
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BHUBANESWAR RANCH RAPUR
CHANDGARH DEHRADUN
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AM SCAPED TO
WOPK WTH
APSHAD WAPS:
AMT SADH
13 vvACTY
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
capital 02
A|lhough eve|y poss|b|e ca|e aud caul|ou has beeu la|eu lo avo|d e||o|s o| om|ss|ous, lh|s pub||cal|ou |s be|ug so|d ou lhe coud|l|ou aud uude|slaud|ug lhal |ulo|mal|ou g|veu |u lh|s pub||cal|ou |s me|e|y lo| |ele|euce aud musl uol be la|eu as hav|ug aulho||ly ol o| b|ud|ug |u auy way ou lhe w||le|s, ed|lo|s, pub||she|s, aud p||ule|s aud se||e|s who do uol owe
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8TkII EFTE Q hEw 0ELh
T
he Delhi High Court on
Friday agreed to hear a plea
challenging the constitutionality
of the law which gives the Lt
Governor power to refer certain
Bills to the Centre before it is
tabled in the Assembly. The
court will hear the petition on
Tuesday. The PIL assumes signif-
icance as the Delhi Governments
move to table the Jan Lokpal Bill
before the Assembly has not
received the L-Gs assent.
A bench of justices BD
Ahmed and Siddharth Mridul
renotified the PIL for hearing on
February 18 saying it was not
clear at the moment whether the
Bill has been introduced and
under which statutory provision
the L-G had refused to give
assent to its tabling. We cant go
by news reports and hearsay (on
tabling of the Bill). We dont
know what the Delhi
Government is doing. We dont
know under what provision the
L-G has acted. Renotify on
Tuesday (February 18), the
bench said.
FkYk 8Ihh Q hEw 0ELh
M
assive crowds donning
white caps and waving
brooms in their hands flooded
the Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP)
Hanuman Road office on
Friday evening where he made
public his resignation. Thick
crowd of supporters kept
pouring in till Kejriwal reached
the office along with his
Cabinet of Ministers from
Delhi Secretariat after last
Cabinet meeting.
Moments later it was
declared that the Bill could not
be tabled in the Assembly, the
party started sending messages
in bulk asking the volunteers to
gather at the party office. It is
learnt that the party started
sending messages around 4
pm and within an hour the
office was inundated with the
partys supporters.
The environment was
pepped up by the large screen
which played the live telecast of
the Kejriwals address to the
Assembly session saying, This
seems to be our last session.
The sea of humanity in unison
cheered his decision and jeered
for the other two parties by
shouting slogans, who Kejriwal
alleged had joined hands to fall
his Government.
Laying a piercing attack at
Congress and BJP, Kejriwal
addressing his party workers
from the window of the first
floor of the premises, said,
The public will teach you a
lesson. I am going to the
Lieutenant Governor to submit
my resignation and I will pray
to the God that he blesses the
minute people like us and
offers us opportunity to
sacrifice our lives for the benefit
of the people. Thick
congregation of his supporters
cheered in his support saying,
Kejriwal tum sangharsh karo,
hum tumhare saath hain.
Some supporters even
expressed j oy over his
resignation and said that he
should now contest Lok Sabha
elections due in May. He will
win the Lok Sabha election and
come back as Prime Minister,
said a supporter.
The CM accused
industrialist Mukesh Ambani
against who his Government
lodged an FIR, that he rules
both the parties as since last
one decade t he
Congress Government did
not take any action and also
BJP, who he accused of getting
funds from him.
He further said that he was
disheartened with what
happened in the Parliament,
where pepper spray was used in
the Assembly on Thursday.
They wanted us to work as per
their wishes. We have been
repeatedly accused of not
following the constitution for
not seeking the Centres
permission for tabling the
Lokpal Bill in the Assembly. I
have read the Constitution and
it does not say so. We followed
the Constitution and I am
ready to sacrifice my life for the
Constitution, said Kejriwal.
8TkII EFTE Q hEw 0ELh
B
oth the Congress and the
BJP have accused Arvind
Kejriwal, who resigned as
Delhi Chief Minister, of being
a negative person and an
anarchist not fit to run the
Government.
Charging that Kejriwal
tried to subvert the
Constitution, leader of the
opposition in the Delhi
Assembly, Dr Harsh Vardhan
said that Kejriwal was behaving
like anarchist and
showed utter disrespect to
constitutional systems
and institutions.
Kejriwal has displayed
anarchy on several occasions
and utter di srespect to
Constitutional system and
institutions, Vardhan said
adding that finally when he
realised that he was unable to
fulfil his commitments made
to people, he decided to
resi gn to cover up
his failures.
Crit i ci si ng hi m for
recommending dissolution of
the Assembly while resigning,
Vardhan said that he did not
enjoy the confidence of the
House and thus he cannot
recommend so.
After his government
vi rtual l y l ost t he vote
of conf i dence, t hey
recommended that the House
be dissolved, which only that
Government can recommend
which enjoys the confidence
of the House, he said.
Echoed with BJP, Delhi
Congress leader Arvinder
Si ngh Lovel y sai d
that Kejriwal was subverting
the Constitution and was
adamant to introduce the
Bi l l whi ch had al ready
vetoed by the Lieutenant-
Governor.
When we pointed out
the legal procedures of the
Bill, Kejriwal accused us the
Bill was stalled in the wake of
FIR against RIL chairman
Mukesh Ambani, said Lovely,
adding Kejriwal was not
i nterested i n runni ng
the Government.
He (Kej ri wal ) was
looking at an excuse to run
away. He lied through his
teeth while attacking the
Congress, he alleged.
8WETk 8WkMI Q hEw 0ELh
O
n a day the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
Government made frantic efforts to
introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill, the conduct
of Assembly Speaker MS Dhir also came
under scanner. The Opposition BJP, AAPs
ally Congress and other legislators criticised
his conduct in the House when the Bill was
being introduced. The BJP leaders went on
to say the Speaker had no knowledge of the
rules and regulations and accused him of
acting in a partisan manner to benefit the
Government.
The Speaker received flak from several
legislators who accused him of overruling
Delhi Lieutenant-Governors direction of not
allowing the Jan Lokpal Bill to be tabled in
the Legislative Assembly proceedings. Strong
resentment broke in the Assembly House
right at the beginning when Dhir did not
read out the letter sent by L-G Najeeb Jung.
Reminding the Speaker to act in
accordance with the Constitution, Leader of
Opposition, Harsh Vardhan said, You (MS
Dhir) being on the chair should respect and
work in accordance with the Constitution.
By not reading out the letter sent by the L-
G, you are demeaning the Constitution. It
was only after the demands of the legislators
in the Opposition that Dhir read out the L-
Gs letter. He further went on to accuse the
Speaker of acting like an AAP member. It
is only because of the Constitution that
Arvind Kejriwal has become the Chief
Minister. If you (MS Dhir) continue being
biased toward the AAP Government then
there are enough provisions for this House
to remove you from the chair and appoint
a new person to preside over the House
proceedings, added Vardhan.
Similarly, Congress was miffed with the
Speaker as he allegedly ignored party
leader Arvinder Singh Lovelys resolution
on voting for the introduction of the Jan
Lokpal Bill. Lovely sternly said that the
consent of the House does not mean the
consent of only the Speaker.
kkF'8 49 kY8
erember 4, Z013
Eleclions were held in lhe Cailal
erember B, Z013
Foll rediclions o a hung
Assembly came lrue. The AAF
surrised everyone wilh 28 seals.
BJF gol 82 seals, 4 shorl o lhe
required majorily. The Congress
scored only eighl seals.
erember 13, Z013
The BJF's chie minislerial
candidale 0r harsh vardhan
inormed Lieulenanl0overnor
hajeeb Jung lhal his arly does
nol have lhe numbers lo orm
0overnmenl in lhe nalional Cailal
erember 14, Z013
Jung inviled lhe Aam Aadmi Farly
or lalks on Salurday. The AAF
convener Arvind Kejriwal soughl
1O days' lime rom lhe L0 lo lake
a decision. Also senl 18 condilions
lo Congress and BJF or lheir
'unsoliciled' suorl and
cooeralion
erember 17, Z013
The AAF decides lo seek lhe
oinion o lhe eole o 0elhi on
orming a 0overnmenl
erember Z3, Z013
The AAF announced il would orm
lhe 0overnmenl in 0elhi wilh
oulside suorl o lhe Congress
erember ZB, Z013
Kejriwal was sworn in as lhe
secondyoungesl Chie Minisler
o 0elhi
erember 30, Z013
0n lhird day in oice, 0elhi CM
announced lhe suly o 2O
kilolilres a monlh (almosl 7OO
lilres a day) o ree waler lo 0elhi
households
erember 31, Z013
Kejriwal requesls CA0 lo order an
audil inlo lhe inances o lhe lhree
rivale ower dislribulion
comanies. The 0overnmenl also
announced a 5O er cenl subsidy
on ower consumlion u lo
4OO unils
1anuary 11, Z014
Arvind Kejriwal's exerimenl wilh
direcl democracy ailed wilhin 15
minules as lhousands crowded his
irsl Janla 0arbar
1anuary 13, Z014
Aler lhe ailed venlure, Kejriwal
said no more ublic inleraclions o
lhe sorl will be
held any more
1anuary 16, Z014
Sarking irsl sign
o dissenl wilhin
lhe AAF, legislalor
vinod Kumar
Binny lhrealened
lo go on hunger
slrike i Kejriwal
did nol ulil lhe romises made in
lhe eleclion manieslo. Binny
called Kejriwal an 'aulocral'
1anuary Z1, Z014
Kejriwal and his Minislers slaged
daylong rolesl oulside lhe high
securily Rail Bhavan demanding
susension o lhree olice oicials
1anuary ZZ, Z014
Kejriwal ends his SWPa]P aler
L0's assurance lo arlially meel
demands. Law Minisler Somnalh
Bharli carried oul lale nighl raids
in Soulh 0elhi's Khirki Exlension
1anuary Z6, Z014
The AAF exelled Laxmi hagar
MLA vinod Kumar Binny
Iebruary 6, Z014
Exelled AAF MLA vinod Kumar
Binny on wednesday wilhdrew
suorl lo lhe 0elhi 0overnmenl
Iebruary 6, Z014
The 0overnmenl ordered yel
anolher robe inlo alleged
irregularilies in lhe conslruclion o
roads and lyovers during Cw0
Iebruary 13, Z014
Firsl day o secial session, Jan
Lokal Bill was nol lisled
Iebruary 14, Z014
The 0overnmenl ailed lo
inlroduce Jan Lokal Bill in
Assembly. he addressed his arly
workers al arly oice al
hanuman Road and senl his
resignalion lo 0elhi L0
Kejri mops up spill with stoicism
I
n his resignation letter to Delhi L-G to accept his resignation
the Arvind Kejriwal stated, The Council of Ministers met this
evening and decided to tender its resignation. The Council also
recommends the dissolution of Delhi Assembly and immediate
conduct of elections to the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
A|1i|J |||iW+l (|||) +JJ| lu]+li| +| AAP |+J(u+||| i| |W l|i u| ||iJ+] Pll
6h6II E6MMEhE I88ITIh I k88EM8IY
'|||i + |i|i| +|+||i|
Ouit to cover
up his failures,
says BJP
A|1i|J| Si|| |u1l],
Cu|| l+J|
We were not
against the
Jan Lokpal
Bill. We
support it
100 times more than the
AAP Government. The L-G
who is constitutional
head of the Government,
has categorically said
that this Bill should not
be introduced in the
House as it's a money Bill
and no prior permission
has been taken from
him. Despite L-G missive,
Kejriwal was adamant to
introduce the Bill in
the House
| |+|| V+|J|+|,
|+J| u| ppui|iu|
S|u+i| l(|+l,
1(u) ||A
8TkII EFTE Q hEw 0ELh
I
n a bid avert constitutional
cri si s i n t he nati onal
Capital, Lieutenant-Governor
Najeeb Jung on Friday sent a
letter to the Delhi Assembly
Speaker MS Dhir saying that
the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill
cannot be tabled before the
Assembly as it does not
have hi s approval . The
communiqu ultimately led to
the fall Arvind Kejriwal-led
Government in the Capital.
In a message to Speaker,
Delhi Legislative Assembly,
Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb
Jung said, As the Jan Lokpal
Bill 2014 is being introduced
in the Legislative Assembly
wit hout fol l owi ng t he
procedure, I hereby send the
message under section 9 (2)
of the Government of NCT of
Del hi Act 1991 to t he
Legislative Assembly, not to
consider the Bill unless it is
i nt roduced wit h t he
recommendations of the
Lieutenant-Governor.
Jung also stated in his
letter that the message may
kindly be informed to the
Assembly before the Jan
Lokpal Bill is introduced
during the sitting of the
current session. However,
def yi ng Li eutenant-
Governors advi ce, t he
Kejriwal government sought
permission to table to Bill in
the House but its introduction
was defeated by BJP and
Congress members as 42 votes
went against the Bill. The
AAP Government has only 27
members in the House. Apart
from 32 BJP and 8 Congress
legislators, an independent
MLA Rambeer Shokeen and
JD(U) lone MLA Shoaib Iqbal
also voted against the Bill.
As per Section 22 (3) of
the Government of NCT of
Delhi Act 1991, the said Bill
being a financial bi l l is
to be sent to t he
Lieutenant-Governor for
recommendation and as per
Rule 55 (1) of the Transaction
of Business of Government of
National Capital Territory
Rule 1993, the Lieutenant-
Governor is required to make
a prior reference to the
Central Government before
being introduced in the
Legislative Assembly. The said
Bill has not yet been duly
placed before me (Jung) by
the Government of NCT of
Delhi, the letter also said.
The L-G further stated in
the letter that the Cabinet of
the Government of the NCT
of Delhi in its decision no
2111 dated 03.02.2014 has
approved the proposal of
setting up a Jan Lokpal in the
Government of NCT of Delhi.
The Cabi net f urt her
approved that the Bill will be
taken up in the Assembly. It
has been brought to my notice
that the above referred Jan
Lokpal Bi l l i s bei ng
introduced during the current
session for consideration in
the Legislative Assembly
commencing on February 13,
2014, it said.
Tured oul aler a roller
coasler ride lo ower
The rise & fall of Kejriwal
|C |u |+| pl+
++i|| |
puW| |u |||
Bill |u C|||
Partisan vitriol in Assombly against Spoakor
we always
said lhal we
are in avour
o lhe Jan
Lokal Bill.
Today we did nol vole
againsl lhe Bill bul voled in
avour o lhe message senl
by lhe L0 lo lhe Assembly.
we wanled lhe Bill lo be
broughl in accordance lo
lhe laid down rocedures o
lhe Conslilulion. we were
nol againsl Arvind Kejriwal
and lhis 0overnmenl
hAvE BEEh
SuFF0RTh0
ThE BLL,
BuT SEEh0
ThE
C0h0T0h 00h'T
SuFF0RT ThE BLL AS T
wAS h0T BR0u0hT
ThR0u0h FR0FER
C0hSTTuT0hAL
FR0CE0uRE. ThS wAS
ThE M0ST ShAMEFuL
0AY h hST0RY. ThS S
A BLACK 0AY F0R 0ELh.
ThE AAF 00ESh'T Kh0w
h0w T0 w0RK 0h
ThE FL00R
|| u1||u| |+|| 1u|
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
capital 0S
kITI FTk Q hEw 0ELh
W
ithin 49 days, the Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP)
Government in Delhi, led by
Arvind Kejriwal, seemed to
have lost the plot and stuck in
its own quagmire. Excitement
and expectation for better cor-
ruption-free governance, which
were palpable in the beginning,
soon vaporised. The
Government apparently was
trounced with its own style of
governance. A glance through
Kejriwals blink-and-miss
tenure leaves no doubt that the
AAP Government failed to
impress with its 49-day report
card. After ruling the Capital
for nearly two months with
unfulfilled or half-fulfilled
promises, Kejriwal resigned
from his position after his
prized Jan Lokpal Bill was
defeated at the introductory
stage by 27 votes to 42.
After taking over 10 days to
form the Government, AAP
played around a list of issues
and promises on which agree-
ment of the Congress party was
sought before accepting their
support. From free water to
every household to 50 per cent
reduction in power tariff, the
18-point agenda of the party
managed to blindside the aam
aadmi. However, the resigna-
tion of Kejriwal and the basis
of his decision-defeated Jan
Lokpal Bill appears more like a
slap in the face of voters who
elevated him to the throne on
the basis of not just the Jan
Lokpal Bill but a whole list of
other promises.
The much-touted pledge
of providing free water up to
700 litres to every household
every day was the first issue
addressed by Kejriwal within
three days of coming to power.
It was a half-kept promise
which had a flipside to it as it
caused a spike in water tariff by
10 per cent for consumption
above 667 litres. For about half
the city population that lives in
unauthorised and resettlement
col onies l i ke Okhl a and
Sangam Vihar, the freebie held
no importance as they dont
even have water pipelines to
their homes.
Earl i er, the Del hi
Assembly passed an
Appropriation Bill of C372
crore to give subsidy to dis-
coms. Opposing the Arvind
Kejriwal Government move to
give subsidy to discoms, leader
of the Opposition Harsh
Vardhan alleged that the Bill
was brought by the Kejriwal
Government to give subsidy to
Reliance and it has been estab-
lished that he (Kejriwal) is act-
ing at the behest of the
Ambani group. There were
heated arguments between
BJP members and AAP MLAs
on this issue.
Similarly the reduction in
power tariff did not benefit
people much as it reduced not
50 per cent but 35 per cent tar-
iff for people who consumed
electricity up to 400 units.
Riding on the anti-
corruption wave, Kejriwal had
promised a corruption-free
governance and action against
corrupt officials through
helpline and sting ops.
The helpline was launched
but not much happened to the
complaints of people. The few
decisions that garnered public
support were the Governments
decisions to start the helpline for
nursery admissions, the abolition
of VIP culture with Arvind
Kejriwal using his own car and
refusing security cover.
kejrI exIt sIa Ia the face 0f aam aa4mI
8TkII EFTE Q hEw 0ELh
T
he AAP-led Government
on Friday moved the Delhi
High Court to withdraw the
appeal of previous Congress dis-
pensation against a lower court
order to register an FIR against
former Chief Minister Sheila
Dikshit in a corruption case.
Highlighting its stand
against corruption, the
Government, in its plea, said
the Cabinets decision to take
back the appeal, filed by
the previous Congress
Government, has been
approved by the Lt Governor
and Dikshit will have to defend
herself as she is no more the
Chief Minister and conse-
quently, it lacked the locus
standi to fight for her.
The appeal was filed by
the petitioner, i.e., the State on
the premise that it had the locus
(standi) to defend the alleged
accused person who was the
then sitting Chief Minister of
Delhi. In view of changed cir-
cumstances and formation of
the new Government, the then
Chief Minister ceases to hold
the post and therefore, the
State no longer has the locus to
continue the prosecution of
the present petition on her
behalf, it said.
hoisl wilh his
own elard
FMI8E8 IIIIIIE
The vF cullure should be sloed in 0elhi. ho MLA, Minisler or 0elhi oicial h0
will use a red beacon on lheir cars. heilher will lhey live in big
bungalows nor lake any secial securily
Fassing o lhe Jan Lokal Bill, lhe same version or which Anna ha/are held asls h0
Feole will lake decision direclly in \^WP[[P bPQWPs, which will be held in h0
every localily and colony
Comlele Slalehood slalus or 0elhi. Cenlral 0overnmenl's hold on 00A h0
and Folice should end
5O er cenl reduclion in ower lari. A secial audil o all eleclricily comanies YES. Bul
in lhe Cailal rom lhe lime lhese were rivalised. The comanies lhal reuse beneil nol
lo arliciale will have lheir licences cancelled. relecled in
ower bills
7OO lilres o ree waler suly lo every household everyday YES. Bul
beneil nol
relecled in
waler bills
Regularisalion o unaulhorised colonies which accommodales 8O er cenl
oulalion in 0elhi h0
The arly demanded lo know i lhe Congress and lhe BJF will suorl
ils decision lo give clean and aordable ucca houses (buillu houses)
lo lhose living in slums h0
Regular jobs lo lhose working on conlraclual basis h0
ho F0 in relail YES
Facililies and subsidies lo armers in lhe villages in lhe nalional Cailal h0
Secial securily unils or women. All harassmenl cases lo be lackled
wilhin lhree monlhs h0.
Commillee
has been
ormed
0en new 0overnmenl hosilals wilh beller acililies h0
0en over 5OO new 0overnmenl schools and eliminale cailalion ee in
rivale schools h0
Enough courls and aoinlmenl o judges lo deal wilh all cases wilhin six monlhs h0
0ive inraslruclural acililies like roads, eleclricily, waler and basic acililies h0. Slill on
lo lhe ordinary lrader aer
0ver 1OO shellers or lhe homeless h0
Licences and ermanenl saces lo slreel vendors h0. Slill on
aer
|| S|il+ J||J ||l|
i| |+|| +. AAP |u |C
New Delhi: A Congress MP has filed a defamation case in Delhi High Court accusing
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of tarnishing his reputation by branding him as corrupt and sought
C1 crore in damages. Avtar Singh Bhadana, a sitting Congress MP from Haryana, has
contended in his petition that Kejriwal on January 31 this year in a public statement termed him as
one of the most corrupt persons of India.
The defendant (Kejriwal) who himself is an elected representative of Delhi has chosen to name
him (Bhadana) on January 31, 2014 as one of most corrupt persons of India in his public statement
causing serious damage to plaintiff s (Bhadana) reputation among his electorates, peers and
supporters throughout India with a view to take electoral advantage in the forthcoming Lok Sabha
elections in 2014, the petition, filed through advocate Surat Singh, said. Staff Reporter
C0h0 MF FLES 0EFAMAT0h FLEA A0AhST KEJRwAL
nation 04
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
8TkII EFTE Q hEw 0ELh
S
enior officers of Delhi Police
and other intelligence agen-
cies went into a tizzy after three
calls of minor blasts were
received on Friday afternoon in
the span of ten minutes
from three different areas
of the Capital.
Initially, a rumour spread
about a blast, but later the cops
ruled out any foul play.
Investigations later revealed
that it was fire incident due to
cylinder leakage. Four mem-
bers of a family including two
children suffered severe burn
injuries when a LPG cylinder
at their residence suddenly
burst. A similar incident was
also reported from Harsh Vihar
and Uttam Nagar area where
three people were injured.
The first incident took place
at 1.04 pm in South-East Delhis
Sarai Kale Khan when an LPG
cylinder accidentally blasted
inside a house. Four members of
a family including two children
sustained burn injuries.
In the second incident,
which took place in Engineers
Enclave in Harsh Vihar area at
1.11 pm, a gas pipeline leaked
into a nearby sewer and caught
fire following which fire tenders
were rushed to the spot and
doused the fire. Three people
were injured in this incident. In
the third incident, the compres-
sor of a fridge burst, causing a
minor fire at Aggarwal sweet
shop in Uttam Nagar area at 1.14
pm, no one was injured.
8TkII EFTE Q
hEw 0ELh
W
ith rainfall and thun-
dershowers lashing the
National Capital on Friday,
Delhi witnessed the second
coldest day in February in the
past 44 years. Day tempera-
tures plummeted by nine
degrees settling at 14.6 degrees
Celsius. The Met department
has predicted light rains till
noon on Saturday after which
the sky is expected to be clear.
Rains have been occurring
since last night because a west-
ern disturbance was passing
through the city from Jammu
and Kashmir region. Because of
this, the maximum temperature
dropped drastically from
Thursdays 22.6 degree Celsius.
It is now the second coldest
month in 44 years. The coldest
ever was recorded on February
2, 2002 at 14.3 degree Celsius,
said Rajendra Jenamani, direc-
tor, Met department, IGI
Airport. Delhiiites witnessed a
chilly day on Friday as the max-
imum temperature settled for as
low 14.6 degree Celsius. The
minimum, on the other hand,
was recorded at 11 degree
Celsius which was one notch
above normal for this time of
the year.
On Friday, the city record-
ed a rainfall of 23.2 milimetres
till 8:30 am.
The rest of the day wit-
nessed drizzles across the city
with the rain gauge measuring
a rainfall of 3.8 mm. Owing to
the morning showers, traffic
snarl s were witnessed
in Lajpat Nagar, Moolchand,
Raj Ghat and on Vikas Marg
and NH-24.
New Delhi: A Valentines Day
date turned out to be a night-
mare for a girl who was alleged-
ly raped by a youth in South
Delhis Malviya Nagar area. A
17-year-old girl, student of Class
XII of a Government school was
raped by her neighbour in
South Delhis Malviya area.
The accused, Irshad, a res-
ident of Hauz Rani, has been
arrested. The victim was taken
to AIIMS Trauma Centre
where her condition is stated to
be critical. Police said that the
victim, who would turn 18 on
Saturday, knew the accused
for the last six months.
The incident occurred on
Friday afternoon when the vic-
tim set out from home for
school but instead went out
with the accused to celebrate
Valentines Day. They purport-
edly had intercourse during
their meeting following which
her condition deteriorated.
Irshad then took the girl to
Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya
Hospital following which hos-
pital authorities informed the
police at around 3.00 pm, the
officer added.
The accused, who worked
at a shopping mall, was arrest-
ed on the charges of rape
(376) of the Indian Penal
Code and several other sec-
t i ons of Prevent i on of
Chi l dren f rom Sexual
Offences Act (POCSO), the
officer added. SR
8TkII EFTE Q hEw 0ELh
S
cores of North-Eastern stu-
dents and as well as students
from Delhi University and
Jawaharlal Nehru University
tried to march towards the
Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday
evening demanding a stringent
anti-racial law to be passed
in Parliament.
The protesters managed to
reach Vijay Chowk but were
then pushed back by the Delhi
Police. The protesters demand-
ed an equal treatment to the
North-East people and also con-
demned the fatal attack on Nido
Tania. As the protesters persist-
ed on marching towards the
Rashtrapati Bhavan, they broke
the first barricade erected by the
security agencies and then police
resorted to force to disperse
them off the area.
The police and security
agencies were already on an alert
as a VVIP route was declared in
the area. Policemen chased the
protesters till Central Secretariat
Metro Station from where
around 50 to 60 demonstrators
were detained and taken to
Parliament Street Police
Station in two buses.
Accidentally, two MPs also
sat in the bus, after reaching the
police station they identified
themselves and were let-off
immediately. Some of the pro-
testers were also injured amid
the chaos and mild lathi-charge.
Later, a group of protest-
ers also staged a protest out-
si de the pol i ce stati on
demanding their friends to be
let off. Those detained were let
off by the night.
We have to physically evict
them. During the ruckus those
injured were provided first aid
treatment. They have violated
Section 144 (which remains
imposed in the area), we will see
what legal action can be taken
in this regard, said Deputy
Commissioner of Police (New
Delhi) SBS Tyagi.
The protesters had in the
afternoon also tried to march
towards the Parliament but
were stopped near Parliament
street police station as barri-
cades were already installed
there. They were then moved
towards Jantar Mantar.
Meanwhile, the parents of
deceased Nido Tania met Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh who
said he associated himself with
their grief and that severest
punishment should be given to
those guilty of the most
shameful act.
From Page 1
We are not here to comply
with the Centres orders. We will
only abide by the Constitution.
The BJP and the Congress has
shamed the Vidhan Sabha and
Parliament, he said.
The Government lost to the
Opposition BJP and its ally
Congress in obtaining the
mandatory permission from the
House to introduce the Jan
Lokpal Bill. The Government
made all possible bids to table the
Bill before the House but the
Speaker had to succumb to
vociferous protests by 42 MLAs
in the 70-member Assembly
preventing the Bill from being
tabled. The dropping on the Bill
came as a moral defeat for the
Government and as announced
earlier, Kejriwal tendered his
resignation.
Earlier, on a day of dramat-
ic developments in the Assembly
lasting over four hours, the 45-
year-old Chief Minister, who has
had a rollercoaster ride ever
since he took over reins of power
on December 28, last year,
accused the Congress and BJP of
colluding with each other
against the Bill after his
Government ordered filing an
FIR against RIL chairman
Mukesh Ambani.
After the L-Gs advice read
out by the Speaker, both the BJP
and the Congress leaders
demanded that since the Delhis
constitutional head, Lieutenant-
Governor Najeeb Jung, has
vetoed the Bill, it should not be
taken up for consideration
because it does not have his
assent. But Kejriwal was insistent
on a discussion saying if the L-
G address can be discussed in the
House, why not his letter sent to
the Speaker as a missive? When
the Opposition was demanding
on the voting on the letter,
Kejriwal dramatically rose to
table the Jan Lokpal Bill and
sought the permission of the
House to table the Bill.
This provoked both the
Congress and the BJP leaders
who contended that the
Government had no right to
introduce a Bill against Lt
Governors advice and such a
step would be unconstitu-
tional. Chaotic scenes pre-
vailed and Speaker MS Dhir
was forced to adjourn the
House. He called an all-party
meeting to resolve the issue.
When the House resumed, the
treasury benches demanded a
discussion which was also
resisted by the Opposition,
which insisted on voting. After
a melee, the Speaker placed the
resolution seeking leave for
introduction of the Bill to vote.
The Bill was defeated in the
introduction stage itself with 42
members voting against it and
only 27 in favour.
From Page 1
Leader of Opposition Dr
Harsh Vardhan too criticised
the tabling of Jan Lokpal Bill
against the advice of the
Lieutenant Governor.
The advice of the
Lieutenant Governor to the
House is not just a message but
an order. No member of the
House is against the Jan Lokpal
Bill but that has to be in accor-
dance with the Constitutional
norms. The Government has
no right to introduce the Bill in
its present form,
Vardhan said.
Earlier, the L-Gs letter was
read out in the House by the
Speaker which said the Jan
Lokpal Bill being a Financial
Bill was to be sent to the L-G
for recommendation. As per
the Transaction of Business
Rules, the L-G is required to
make a prior reference to the
Central Government before a
Bill is introduced in the
Assembly The said Jan
Lokpal Bill has not yet been
duly placed before me by the
Government of NCT of Delhi,
the letter said.
As the Jan Lokpal Bill is
being introduced in the
Legislative Assembly without
following the procedure... I
hereby send the
message to the
Legislative Assembly, not to
consider the Bill unless it is
introduced with the recom-
mendations of the Lt
Governor, LG Najeeb Jung
said adding the message may
be conveyed to the Assembly
before the Bill is introduced
during the current Session.
AAP rooe on ]an Lolal to ower...
From Page 1
Amendments should be
brought in the Bill for the trans-
fer of villages in Bhadrachalam
division to Andhra State so that
it would benefit Seemandhra
region, Rao said.
The Minister said the
Government incorporate in the
Bill that from the consolidated
fund of India, it would provide
enough money to Seemandhra
State for constructing a new cap-
ital and other infrastructure.
Asking Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to take steps
to resolve the impasse, Rao said
if the Government agreed to
meet their conditions before
Monday, all MPs from
Seemandhra would support the
Bill. Rao said that the Congress
was doing wrong on the issue
of Telangana and the
Government could not do the
floor management properly to
prevent incidents that had
occurred in Parliament on
Thursday. When asked about the
pepper spraying incident, Rao
said, I have been there in
Parliament for the last five terms.
I never went into the Well. I will
never support the incidents that
had happened on Thursday.
Pointing out that it was not
one party that created ruckus in
the House, Rao said Congress
party employed its party MPs as
marshals to protect somebody.
The methods adopted by the
leadership were wrong. Spraying
of something... It is also wrong...
He says spraying of pepper pow-
der was to protect himself, Rao
said. Noting that the complicity
of the problem of dividing
Andhra Pradesh was huge,
Rao said Thursdays incidents
throw in sharp relief how divid-
ed both sides are.
Now Ministers to
raise storm in J cu
Throo oylindor blasts sond
Dolhi Polioo into tizzy
17-year-olo raeo
ly neigllour in
Malviya Nagar,
accuseo lelo
l|i |u|J u|J ulJ|
J+] u| || i| p+| 44 ]+|
kF18I 0I8...
8F st04eats
4emaa4 strIct
aatIracIaI IaW
Dehradun: The wildlife crime scenario in
Uttarakhand is getting out of control, with poach-
ers targeting tigers and other wildlife, but the prin-
cipal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chief
wildlife warden SS Sharma, who is also the offici-
ating PCCF of the State, is not taking required mea-
sures even on the basis of information about tiger
poaching.
The additional principal chief conservator of
forests (Wildlife) Administration and Intelligence,
SK Dutt, who is also the anti-poaching cell direc-
tor has made this allegation in a confidential letter
written to Sharma, a copy of which is also with The
Pioneer. Dutt has also stated that Sharma told a
reporter of a prominent Hindi daily to inform Dutt
that making such allegations would negatively affect
his professional future. However, Dutt has cited inci-
dents to indicate that lack of action by Sharma abet-
ted tiger deaths in Uttarakhand.
Recently, Dutt had complained that Sharma had
taken no action inspite of more than 100 letters being
written to him with information about serious
wildlife crimes. PNS
lup u||+|+||+|J WilJli|
u||ii+l +uJ u| i|+|iu|
8khT8h hkkYkh QRAhCh
T
he Jharkhand Government is all set to bat-
tle out the snub coming from Coal
Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal dismissing States
C25,000 crore claim from Coal India Limited
(CIL). The matter is under consideration at the
Chief Ministers level and senior officials are
in the process of holding consultations before
putting the demand afresh with the Centre.
We will pursue the case and take the
money from the coal company. Our demand
is correct and we stand by it, CM Hemant
Soren said. When asked about delay in seek-
ing surface rent against the coal bearing land
being used by coal companies, especially CCL
in Jharkhand, and why the similar demand not
coming from other coal rich States, the CM
replied, If any State has not demanded does
it mean that you (Centre) would not give it?
It is the right of the State.
Coal comensalion
slalemale: J'khand lo
oose Cenlre's snub
nation 05
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
NSHORT
E 8Ek6h8: 6EhTE,
8TkTE8 ET hTI6E
heW eIhi: The Sureme Courl
on Friday issued nolice lo lhe
Cenlre and lhe Slales on a lea
or scraing a rule lhal allows
use o red beacons on lhe
vehicles o high dignilaries. A
Bench headed by Juslice RM
Lodha asked lhe aulhorilies lo
ile resonse wilhin our weeks
and osled lhe case or hearing
on March 14.
aa 8k6k8 EMkh I
'hEkhk, hEFEh8Ih'
heW eIhi: Rahul 0andhi on
Friday backed lhe longending
demand o "0neRank, 0ne
Fension" or ex servicemen
assuring lhem lhal he will make
all eorls lo ensure il is mel al
lhe earliesl. " am on your side.
undersland your concerns.
You give your lie or lhe
counlry, will do all lhal can
lo see lhal your demands are
mel," 0andhi said.
6MMTE 8hIIk'8
EkTh: EIhI VT
heW eIhi: 0elhi 0overnmenl
has leaded wilh lhe Sureme
Courl lo commule dealh
senlence o Khalislani lerrorisl
0evinderal Singh Bhullar lo lie
imrisonmenl on lhe ground o
his menlal illness.
C60,000 IIhE I
CZ66 8I8E
heW eIhi: The Sureme Courl
on Friday imosed a ine o Rs
5O,OOO on a 0overnmenl
oicial or acceling a bribe o
Rs 2G5 rom a conlraclor 2O
years ago.
hI8TY8hEETE E86kFE8
h8E Ih kFEX 6T
heW eIhi: A hislorysheeler
who was awarded dealh
senlence or killing a oneyear
old child escaed lhe noose
wilh lhe Sureme Courl on
Friday reducing his
unishmenl lo 2O years in jail
saying il is nol lhe raresl o
rare case.
Fk FkhEI E6MMEh8
hkIT h 8IkhTE
heW eIhi: A Farliamenlary
anel has come down heavily
on 0overnmenl agencies or
allowing slaughler o milch
bualoes or meal exorl and
has recommended
lhal rules should be amended
lo make il clear lhal only bulls
can be bulchered or meal.
k8khkM ThMk8 Q
hEw 0ELh
T
he controversy surrounding
the selection of 12 lawyers
for appointment as Madras
High Court judges took a cru-
cial turn on Friday with the
Supreme Court collegium
returning the entire list to the
High Court for reconsideration.
This is the first time that
the apex court collegium has
struck down recommendations
in such large numbers. A few
among the list of 12 names rec-
ommended by the HC col-
legium had attracted contro-
versy after a section of the
Madras High Court bar
accused of caste bias in the
selection process.
According to sources, the
SC collegium which met on
Thursday evening decided that
in the light of the prevailing
controversy over the names, it
was in the fitness of things to
request the HC to reconsider
the list. Accordingly, a note was
forwarded by the CJIs office to
the Madras HC Chief Justice
conveying the decision. There
are 15 vacancies in the HC, for
which a fresh consultation
would now be held.
The controversy over the
names had raised an ugly head
in the Madras High Court
with a PIL filed by a senior
lawyer R Gandhi claiming pref-
erence being given to Brahmins
in the selection process. He
demanded a recall of the names
and a transparent selection
process. A sitting judge too
joined issue with the appoint-
ments as he barged into the
court hearing the PIL and reg-
istered his protest to the names
being recommended.
Lawyer bodies in the State
alleged that the list of 12 names
was conspicuous by the pres-
ence of four persons from the
same community of which one
was a lawyer who did not fit
within the criteria of having
adequate practice. Apparently,
the lawyers alleged that unqual-
ified persons had made it to the
list while meritorious persons
were overlooked.
A memorandum drafted
by the Forum for Integrity in
Governance, a lawyer body
based in Chennai wrote to the
President alleging unhealthy
lobbying in finalising the
names. The forum, comprising
of senior lawyers from the
Madras Bar, said, We under-
stand that allegations abound
about candidates being chosen
based on criteria far removed
from demonstrated or proven
calibre, knowledge, expertise
and integrity. Instead they are
being chosen based on divisive
considerations and intense
unhealthy lobbying.
The apex court on January
13 this year directed the
Central Government to go
ahead with the process of
appointment of the 12 names,
after the Centre had
approached it against order
passed by Madras HC on
Gandhis PIL. Although the
court was silent on the criteria
for selection, it argued that the
process of selection cannot be
subject to judicial review in this
manner. It ordered the matters
before the HC to be transferred
to the apex court.
Fh8 Q hEw 0ELh
T
he Government seems keen on increasing
the retirement age of High Court judges
from 62 to 65 years. The Law Ministry on Friday
asked the Lok Sabha Secretariat to bring up the
Bill in this regard for passage in the ongoing
Parliament Session that ends on February 21.
The Bill is pending consideration since 2011.
The Law Ministry had on February 5 sent
a notice to the Lok Sabha Secretary General to
present the Constitution (114
th
Amendment) Bill,
2010 for discussion in Lok Sabha. On December
28, 2011 amid pandemonium on Telangana
issue, the Bill was taken up for discussion but
remained inconclusive.
By increasing the age of retirement of HC
judges to 65, it will attain parity with the super-
annuation age fixed for SC judges. Besides, it will
extend the services of 639 judges of the 24 High
Courts in the country by another three years,
thus helping in curbing huge arrears of cases.
Over 40 lakh cases are pending in the High
Courts which are facing a shortfall of 267 judges,
as per the latest official data.
But, the Law Ministry would need the sup-
port of other political parties as the bill seeking
to amend the Constitution would require sup-
port of two-third members present and voting
in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The main
Opposition BJP has said that if HC judges were
to retire at 65, they should not get any post-
retirement assignments.
The last time the retirement age of HC
judges was tinkered was in 1963 when it was
increased from 60 to 62 years. Law Minister
Kapil Sibal had recently told the Lok Sabha in
a written reply that the bill will facilitate utili-
sation of knowledge, experience and wisdom of
the judges for a longer period.
Fh8 Q hEw 0ELh
T
he Supreme Court on
Friday set out to examine
the policy of the Centre to res-
cue Indian sailors held captive
by pirates on high seas.
The occasion for the Court
to consider the issue came on
two PILs, one filed by a lawyer
in public interest and another
by the wife of an officer held
hostage by Somalian pirates.
The bench of Justices TS
Thakur and C Nagappan asked
the Centre to inform in six
weeks as to what protocol or
procedure was followed once
information is received about
any Indian gone missing on
high seas.
Where an Indian nation-
al is lost on high seas, how does
the Government of India react
to the situation, the bench
asked, adding, Do you
(Centre) have a protocol or a
procedure by which you take
up the matter with the Embassy
concerned, the various chan-
nels of communication, and
bilateral arrangements.
The remarks came on a
petition by one Rajni Singh,
whose husband was on the ship
MV Asphalt Venture when it
was hijacked by Somalian
pirates on September 28, 2010
and another by lawyer Gaurav
Kumar Bansal, who sought
guidelines in this regard.
The bench said, In this
country when somebody goes
missing there is a procedure to
be followed. But in this case, if
an Indian national is taken
away, there may be a
procedure by which we may
judge your actions.
Ministry of External
Affairs informed the Court
that the Centre had indicated
steps taken by it in an affidavit.
But the bench said, It may not
be sufficient. Any time such
thing happens any action taken
must be predictable for people
of this country and not a knee-
jerk reaction. The Court even
added that If the procedure is
not sufficient, we may even add
to that.
Fh8 Q hEw 0ELh
O
n a day when parents of
Arunachal Pradesh boy
Nido Tania met Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to demand
capital punishment for their
sons killers, the Supreme Court
issued notice on a PIL to frame
guidelines against racial dis-
crimination following disturbing
incidents of violence targeting
North-East residents in Delhi.
After an initial hesitation to
entertain the PIL filed by seven
lawyers of the Supreme Court,
the bench of Chief Justice P
Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan
Gogoi on Friday decided to
seek responses from States and
Centre on the issue of framing
guidelines to curb racial dis-
crimination. The matter is
expected to be taken up after
four weeks.
Meanwhile, the parents of
Arunachal Pradesh youth Nido
Tania, who died following an
alleged racist attack in Delhi,
met the Prime Minister to
demand capital punishment for
the perpetrators of the crime.
Tania had arrived in south
Delhis Lajpat Nagar on January
29 to visit a friend when a shop
owner passed remarks on his
hair style. This led to a brawl
and due to the impact of the
blows he succumbed to his
injuries the next day.
The victims father Nido
Pavitra urged PM to declare
January 30 as national anti-
racism day in the country and
urged the Centre to install a
statue in memory of their son
in the national capital.
The meeting lasted for 30
minutes, which ended with
presentation of a memoran-
dum of 10 demands.
The parents were accom-
panied by Arunachal Pradesh
MP Takam Sanjoy. Prime
Minister assured to provide
safety to people from North
East.
Nidos death catalyzed the
North East community to
protest the ongoing atrocity
and harassment suffered by
them. The incident was fol-
lowed by stabbing of a
Manipuri youth and molesta-
tion of two North East girls in
the Capital.
Senior advocate Mukul
Rohatgi, who argued the PIL,
sought urgent curbs against
racial discrimination but the
Court pointed out that identi-
cal matter was pending in
Delhi HC. The way Delhi
HC has proceeded is apprecia-
ble. They will be restricted if we
issue notice, it said. Rohatgi
pointed out that Delhi HC
cannot pass orders for the
entire country. A connected
PIL referred to discrimination
against Biharis in Maharashtra.
The court was convinced to
issue notice even as it clarified
that the decision to entertain the
PIL will not inhibit the Delhi HC
to proceed on this issue.
Fh8 QhEw 0ELh
T
he Supreme Court on Friday restrained the
Centre from collecting service tax from the
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam after the man-
aging body of the religious shrine
questioned how religious practices
including offering of aarti, could be
brought under the service tax regime.
A bench of Justices AK Patnaik
and FM Ibrahim Kalifulla sought
response of Finance Ministrys
Department of Revenue within two
weeks. In the meantime, it directed,
no coercive steps should be taken
to levy service tax.
Senior advocate K Parasaran and advocate
Sridhar Potaraju, who appeared for the temple
trust challenged the constitutional validity of the
Finance Act which violated fundamental rights
of religious trusts to be run independently since
right to practice faith was a fundamental right.
The religious body questioned
the jurisdiction of the Finance
Ministry and its agencies to apply and
levy service tax under the Act as
amended from May 1, 2011 on the
accommodation provided by the
body to pilgrims visiting the holy
shrine. Further, the question now to
be considered will be whether reli-
gious practices could be taxed. The
amount in tax could be anywhere
beyond Rs 2 crore.
RACALDSCPMNATON
Notice to States, Centre
on PL seeling norms
Don't levy tax on Tirupati
shrine for now, Centre told
Fh8 Q hEw 0ELh
T
he National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI)
has served a notice for revo-
cation of contract to the Delhi-
Jaipur highway developer for
poor upkeep of the 277-km
stretch of road.
The Governments move
comes after the developer,
Pink City Expressway, did not
pay heed to its several
reminders for speeding up the
work for maintenance of the
stretch. The NHAI is also
upset with it as the developer
has also failed to meet the
December 2011 deadline set
for highway expansion.
The expansion work start-
ed in 2009 and we were expect-
ing a completion by December
2011. It is more than two years
since the deadline and the
developer is still unwilling to
commit on a completion date,
said an official. This is the final
warning. We have sent them a
notice asking them to perform
or quit. There is no scope for
further negotiation, he said.
Vijay Chibber, secretary at
Ministry of Roads, Highways
and Transport also supported
NHAIs decision for sending a
termination notice to the
developer.
The private developer is
expected to submit their
response to the government
within a fortnight. Now it is
will be up to the developer to
appease the NHAI by setting
themselves a definite deadline
for project completion and
assurance of quality up keep at
the stretch in their response,
said the official.
Failing to which, the
bankers (in this case the IDBI
Bank) will get a window peri-
od of about six months to find
a new developer for the project
or else they will have to sur-
render the project to the
NHAI, he said.
According to the officials
the developer has been given
several reminders before being
sent the notice. This step
should not only push this
developer to perform but
should also serve as a wake up
call to all other private devel-
opers who are repeated miss-
ing deadlines, said the official.
This decision of handling
over contract to a new devel-
oper in the situation of failure
of the present developer to
perform is fair for all com-
muters who have had to pay
the mandatory toll charges
despite poor travel and road
facilities, he said.
||Al |1 |u|i |u| |1u+|iu| u| u|||+|
DELH-JAPURHGHWAY
The Government's
move comes after
the developer, Pink
City Expressway, did
not pay heed to its
several reminders
for speeding up the
work for
maintenance of the
stretch. The NHA is
also upset with it as
the developer has
also failed to meet
the December 2011
deadline set for
highway expansion
Govt leen to increase HC
juoges` retirement age
The Law Ministry will need the
support of other political
parties as the Bill seeking to
amend the Constitution would
require support of two-third
members present and voting in
both the Houses
The last time the retirement
age of HC judges was tinkered
was in 196S when it was
increased from 60 to 62 years.
Law Minister Kapil Sibal had
recently told the Lok Sabha in a
written reply that the Bill will
facilitate utilisation of
knowledge, experience and
wisdom of the judges for a
longer period
SC |u /+|i| |u puli] u| +p|i1 +ilu|
Top court was
convinced to issue
notice even as it
clarified that the
decision to entertain
the PL will
not inhibit
the Delhi
HC to
proceed
on this
issue
80 asks 0 t0 rec0asI4er aames
SELECTONOFMADRASHCJUDGES
CONTROVERSY
Y This is lhe irsl lime lhal lhe aex courl collegium has
slruck down recommendalions in such large numbers
Y A ew among lhe lisl o 12 had allracled conlroversy
aler a seclion o lhe Madras hC bar accused o casle
bias in lhe seleclion rocess
Y The conlroversy had raised an ugly head in lhe
Madras hC wilh a FL claiming reerence being given
lo Brahmins in lhe seleclion rocess
Y The lawyers alleged lhal unqualiied ersons had made
il lo lhe lisl while merilorious ersons were overlooked
F00R uFKEEF
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
nation 06
Fh8 Q hEw 0ELh
T
he main Opposition BJP on
Friday suggested that the
UPA Government could still
work towards "a larger con-
sensus" on issues like creation
of a Capital for 'Seemandhra'
and compensating the region
for loss of revenue caused by
the division of Andhra
Pradesh.
Stating that though the
Prime Minister's Office and
Home Ministry "are complete-
ly paralysed" on account of the
opposition "from within" ,
Leader of Opposition in the
Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said
it was not too late to resolve the
issue by addressing the key
issues at hand.
"Creation of a capital
for Seemandhra, eventual cre-
ation of a separate High Court
in Seemandhra, compensating
the region with regard to the
loss of revenue caused by a
bifurcation, comfort level with
regard to water and power in
the regions are amongst other
issues which are capable of
being resolved," the senior BJP
leader said.
He recalled how the BJP-
led National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) had "amicably"
resolved these issues while cre-
ating the three States of
Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and
Chhattisgarh.
Jaitley said the causes of the
parliamentary stalemate and
the ugly scenes on Thursday
"are essentially UPA-provoked."
He alleged that no effort
has been made by the
Government to reconcile the
differences between represen-
tatives of Telangana and
Seemandhra. "The
Government has not provided
a forum for conciliation.
Parliament is unable to discuss
the aspirations of the two
regions. In the process Indian
democracy continues to get a
bad name," said the BJP leader.
Terming the incident as
"disgraceful" and "sad" for
Parliament, BJP veteran LK
Advani attacked the
Government, saying it was
hell-bent on getting the Bill
passed anyhow even if it means
suspension or expulsion of
members. He said the Congress
party is solely responsible for it.
On Thursday Leader of
Opposition in the Lok Sabha
Sushma Swaraj blamed the
Government for the impasse on
the Telangana issue adding the
BJP would now not initiate any
dialogue with the Government
on the issue.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress
Party chief Jaganmohan Reddy,
suspended on Thursday along
with 15 other Lok Sabha MPs
by Speaker Meira Kumar, on
Friday met BJP president
Rajnath Singh and sought his
support against the move to
bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
"We (Singh and himself)
had a very detailed discussion
on the topic. He assured us that
he would be discussing the
matter with his party col-
leagues and a decision (on the
Telangana Bill issue) would be
taken very soon," Reddy said.
"I am hopeful that wisdom
would dawn upon all
Opposition parties and all of
them would stand up against
this injustice," Reddy said.
Fh8 Q hY0ERABA0
N
ormal life remained paral-
ysed in Seemandhra
region on second consecutive
day as the strike called by anti-
Telangana organisations and
political parties was total and
peaceful.
With State-owned buses
remaining confined to the
depots, the transport system
had come to a grinding halt
and thousands of passengers
were stranded across the 13 dis-
tricts of coastal Andhra and
Rayalaseema.
Security was tightened
and additional police and
Central security forces were
deployed to prevent any
untoward incidents.
Opponents of Telangana
State took out protest rallies
and held demonstrations in all
the major cities and towns in
the two regions. Processions
were taken out in Vijaywada,
Visakhapatanam, Tirupati,
Anantapur, Guntur, Kadapa
and Kurnool.
Even as the political squab-
bling over the Telangana Bill
was continuing in the nation-
al capital, the strike called by
Samaikya Rashtra
Parirakshana Vedika was sup-
ported by the YSR Congress
Party and Telugu Desam Party
demanding that the State
should not be divided.
While the Central
Government and Congress
leadership maintained that
Telangana Bill was introduced
in Lok Sabha on Thursday, the
opponents including the
Seemandhra MPs of Congress
party claimed that the Bill was
not introduced.
All eyes were focused on
the main Opposition BJP as it
also stressed that technically
the Bill was yet to be intro-
duced in Parliament.
But State BJP president G
Kishan Reddy said that there
was no need for any fear or anx-
iety among the supporter of
Telangana. Top leaders of our
party have reassured me that
there was no change in the posi-
tion of the party on Telangana.
They only want the Central
Government to solve the prob-
lems of Seemandhra region.
Lashing out at the State
MPs who created a ruckus in
Parliament on Thursday,
Kishan Reddy demanded that
they should be disqualified
from contesting the elections in
future. They have spoiled the
good name of Andhra
Pradesh, he said.
Meanwhile doctors were
shifting Telugu Desam Party
MP from Andhra K Narayana
to Mumbai. He had suffered
heart attack during the trouble
in the Lok Sabha when the
Congress MP from Andhra L
Rajagopal used a pepper spray
on other members as a mark of
protest against the introduction
of Telangana Bill.
Talking to reporters on
Friday L Rajagopal admitted
that what he did was wrong but
he did it under unavoidable cir-
cumstances. I did in self
defence, he said. He demand-
ed that the reasons and the cir-
cumstances in which he did it
should be investigated.
100 MPs attacked me at
the behest of Congress high
command, he alleged. To
save myself I had to use the
spray but it should not have
happened. I regret it, he said.
L Rajagopal was among the
16 members suspended by Lok
Sabha speaker after yesterdays
pandemonium in the House.
Central Minister from
Seemandhra Kavuri Sambasiva
Rao said that if the UPA
Government accepts the three
amendments to the Telangana
Bill, the Seeandhra MPs will
support it. The amendments
include making Hyderabad
Union Territory for at least 10
years, merging two
Rayalaseema districts with
Telangana to make it Rayala
Telangana State and also merg-
ing Bhadrachalam division
with Andhra.
Divi di ng Andhra
Pradesh without any scientif-
ic basis is not good for the
State as well as the entire
country, he said after a meet-
ing of Seemandhra MPs.
kMkhkTh TEWkY Q FAThA
W
hile reacting over the
pepper spray incident in
Lok Sabha, the Bihar Chief
Minister on Friday strongly
condemned it. He said that
every political party and mem-
bers should sit together to
ensure such incidents would
not be repeated in future. He
also advocated for self-regula-
tion by the members of House.
I donot find words to
condemn such an incident but
whatever has happened is
unprecedented and should not
have happenedit cant be
pardoned, said Nitish Kumar
on the sidelines of the Bihar
Legislative Assembly.
Kumar, who had been
member of Lok Sabha four
times and Union Cabinet
Minister thrice during NDA
Government also said that
there was a need for self-regu-
lation by the peoples repre-
sentatives so that such a situa-
tion was not repeated in future.
When asked was there any
need of frisking the
Parliamentarians too, Nitish
Kumar said, "Intensification
of frisking of the House mem-
bers will not solve the problem
as the solution lies in the self-
regulation of behaviors.
The need of the hour for
everyone is to sit and ponder
over the incident to avoid its
recurrence in future, he added
further. Every member has a
constitutional right to express
ones views in Parliament or any
other Legislative body but it
should be within the laid down
decorum and tradition, he said.
The nine-day Budget ses-
sion of the Bihar legislature
began on Friday with the
Governors short speech.
The Opposition parties
have decided to raise issue
uncomfortable to the State
Government.
81F Waats Iarer I c0aseas0s
u||+ Su|||J| RJJ] +|J Pu||+| P|+||+|+| +lu| Wi|| u||| ll+|+|+ Cu|| |P, Ju|i| + p| u||||, i| |W
l|i u| ||iJ+] Pll
Meira Kumar
calls emergency
anel meel on
house securily
Soomandhara stir a hit on Day 2 too
Ensure house
eer sray
doesn'l reeal,
says CM hilish
TELANGANACAULDPON
ntensification
of frisking of the
House members
will not solve
the problem as
the solution lies
in the self-
regulation of
behaviours
Fh8 QhEw 0ELh
S
trongly condemning the pep-
per spray attack and the
unruly incidents, Lok Sabha
Speaker Meira Kumar has con-
vened an emergency meeting of
the Committee on Security in
Parliament Complex on
Monday. The main agenda of the
meeting is expected to be the
consideration of frisking of MPs
before entering the Hall and to
discuss further actions including
referring such acts to the police,
said sources.
The Speaker decided to con-
vene the meeting after several
MPs filed complaints on the
unruly incidents of Thursday.
The MPs demanded for referring
the matter to the police against
the errant colleagues including
the pepper sprayer L Rajagopal.
The Committee on Security is
headed by Deputy Speaker Karia
Munda.
"In order to consider the
events in the House on Thursday,
the Speaker has directed that an
emergency meeting of the
Committee on Security in
Parliament Complex should be
called on Monday," a Lok Sabha
Secretariat release said.
The Committee will be
examining all security-related
matters including the means to
prevent bringing of dangerous
and life-threatening material
into the Chamber of the House
by the MPs, it said. "The pros and
cons about the various security
measures that should be adopt-
ed will be considered in detail by
the Committee", the release said
without elaborating on the
mechanism to be adopted.
nation 07 NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
kMkhkTh TEWkI Q FAThA
B
ihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar got another jolt on
Friday when his close associate
and MLC Devesh Chandra
Thakur decided to part ways
with the JD(U).
Thakur told mediapersons
that he had decided to contest
the upcoming State Council
poll as an Independent candi-
date. Now I want to come out
of the cage and do not want
myself to confine with one polit-
ical party as Ive friends from all
stream of social and political
life, Thakur said. He has been
the English face of the JD(U) on
national news channels.
Though he denied that he
would join any other political
party now, but said that such
issues could be addressed later
on. For the time now Im say-
ing that Ill contest the State
Council poll independently, he
said. The buzz in political cor-
ridor of the JD(U) is that
Thakur first wanted nomina-
tion for the Rajya Sabha seat
but when that was denied he
wished to contest the upcom-
ing Lok Sabha poll from
Sheohar. After the JD(U) did
not agree with that, he decid-
ed to part ways with Nitish.
Even in cages the birds
survive but they wish to come
out of itso now I too want
to come out of the cage, he
told mediapersons while par-
ticipating in the State legisla-
tive Council which started
from Friday.
Thakur had a tete-e-tete
with Nitish Kumar in the CMs
chamber inside the State
Assembly before coming out to
declare his decision. But, he
refused to make any comment
on Kumar. Are you not happy
with the way CM runs the party
or functions?
Its not my habit to criti-
cise a person with whom I
have spent my time...My per-
sonal and social relations with
Nitish will remain as it has
been, he said.
Meanwhile in another
tremor of sort, JD(U) leader
and MLC Maha Chander
Singh, who recently deserted
t he Congress part y and
joined the JD(U), declared he
would contest the upcoming
Lok Sabha poll from Munger
constituency.
Yes, Ive conveyed my wish
to Nitish Kumar. Now, I wish to
serve my own people at the
place where I was born, he told
the mediamen outside the State
Legislative Assembly. Rajiv
Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh,
a close aide and party colleague
of Nitish Kumar currently rep-
resent the upper caste domi-
nated Munger constituency.
Now if Nitish Kumar
will field Maha Chander
Singh from Munger he would
have to deny party ticket to
Lal l an Si ngh el se Maha
Chander Singh, like others,
too will come out of his flock,
said a JD(U) leader.
But, the JD(U) leaders are
putting brave faces on such
uncalled for developments
taking place in the party. The
party has not decided tickets
on Lok Sabha yetso, Maha
Chander Singh has just pre-
sented his wish to contest
from Mungernothing else,
said JD(U) leader party MLC
Neeraj Singh.
The Opposition is gloating
over the development. All
these developments taking
place in JD(U) are clear signals
that all is not well with the
party and everyone wants to
jump out of the sinking ship,
said BJP leader Giriraj Singh.
Earlier, JD(U) MLA and
Minister Praveen Amanullah
had quit the party to join the
AAP and party MLA Ramai
Ram had announced to contest
the Lok Sabha poll from
Hajipur reserved constituency
at all cost.
8kk 8EhFTk Q K0LKATA
T
here is euphoria in
Trinamool Congress after
Gandhian activist Anna
Hazares decision to campaign
for Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee in her race to
prime ministership.
The insiders say, the ecsta-
sy springs not only from the
belief that Annas support
would win the party some cru-
cial seats outside Bengal but
also from the fact that the vet-
eran Gandhians endorsement
of Banerjee simplicity could
put a coating on the corruption
blot on her Government in her
own State.
Being an old Gandhian,
Annaji has a fare idea of who
is corrupt and who is not. So
he has rightly decided to back
Mamata di. And one is sure
she woul d scal e f urther
heights and serve the coun-
try and Bengal in far better
manner than she has been
now, said Firhad Hakim a
Bengal Minister.
Banerjee would meet the
countrys tallest social activist
on February 18 in Delhi, a day
after the Bengal Government
placed its Budget in the State
Assembly.
The duo would decide in
the meeting about the modal-
ities of the joint-campaign,
insiders said wondering
whether it would be possible
for Anna to campaign for the
Trinamool in Bengal.
"It seems that Hazareji may
not be able to campaign in
Bengal. He will rather cam-
paign in the six States from
where we may contest" a senior
leader said. Experts however
felt the Trinamool was reluctant
to bring the Gandhian activist
to Bengal "lest he is flooded
with complaints of corrup-
tions and mal-governance in
the State."
Earlier Hazare was
impressed by the way "she lives
in a 10x12 room, wears slip-
pers." He said "I back her can-
didate for Prime Minister." He
was also peeved with the fact
that none of the other outfits
save Banerjee wrote him back
about what they thought about
his 18-point agenda post elec-
tions.
Startled by the remarkable
attendance in the recently con-
cluded rallies of BJP and the
Left Front in Kolkata,
Trinamool workers feel that
Anna's backing would provide
a huge shot in the Chief
Minister's arm and help the
party salvage its sullied image
on issues like corruption and
dipping law and order.
"The Left, Congress and
the BJP have teamed up to
defeat Mamataji who is the
choice of the Maa Maati
Manush and are applying all
sorts of tricks to destabilise her
Government in Bengal. But
Annaji's support for Mamata
Banerjee will definitely help her
cause in a big way. We feel elat-
ed," said another Minister
insisting again "Banerjee is the
cleanest politician in the coun-
try."
Hazare had earlier extend-
ed her support for Banerjee and
offered to campaign for her in
the coming general elections.
This after former railway
Minister Mukul Roy and MP
KD Singh met him at his resi-
dence a couple of days ago.
hkYkh kVE Q 0Ah0hh0AR
I
n politics it is said that there
is no permanent foe or
friend. The case of Gujarat
Parivartan Party (GPP) and its
leaders is only backing the
age-old saying. Amid all the
speculations, finally GPP is
set to merge with the Bhartiya
Janata Party, most probably
on February 20 in the presence
of BJPs Prime Ministerial can-
didate Narendra Modi.
Confirming the develop-
ment, current president of GPP,
Gordhan Zadaphia said that
the party workers have passed
a resolution and given him
authority to take decision on
the merger with the most suit-
able political party.
Talking to The Pioneer,
Zadaphia indicated that the
GPP leadership including him
are from RSS background and
they would like to join the
party having 'Similar Ideology'.
According to Zadaphia, though
he parted from BJP and estab-
lished his own Maha Gujarat
Janata Party (MJP), its ideolo-
gy was based on the thoughts
of Dindayal Upadhyay and
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
"When Keshubhai decided
to form new political outfit, I
supported him and allowed
MJP to merge with GPP in
2012 ahead of the assembly
polls based on ideological sim-
ilarity," said Zadaphia.
kE8T Vk8kI Q
BAh0AL0RE
A
s anticipated Karnataka
Chi ef Mi ni ster
Siddaramaiah on Friday pre-
sented an election Budget, a
please all, ahead of 2014 gen-
eral elections. Siddaramaiah,
a Congress CM who believes
in politics of appeasement
and vote-bank politics has
chiseled his Budget 2014-15
to the tune of party ideology
as Karnataka is a crucial State
in the south for the party.
Presenting his Budget
2014-15 in the Assembly, Chief
Minister Siddaramaiah tried to
play usual rhetoric in his
Budget but gave some sops to
farmers and minorities. This is
his record ninth Budget and
second as Chief Minister who
holds the Finance portfolio.
Karnatakas Budget esti-
mates for 2014-15 indicated
that the total receipts will be
C1,36,249 crores comprising
revenue receipts of C1,11,039
crores and capital receipts of
C25,210 crores which includes
borrowings of C25,042 crores.
The revenue surplus is esti-
mated at C281 crore.
Siddaramaiah as expected
concentrated more towards
rural poor and farming sector.
Siddaramaiah raised the ceil-
ing of the interest free agricul-
tural loans to C3 lakhs from the
earlier C2 lakhs and farm loans
between C3 lakhs and C 10
lakhs will be provided at an
interest rate of 3 per cent.
The CM who has been the
champion of backward classes
has introduced several schemes
and incentives for the nomadic
tribes, the scheduled castes and
the scheduled tribes apart from
the backward classes.
Gourava Bhagya for
women, Krishi Bhagya for
farmers, revision of Bhagya
Lakshmi scheme, interest-free
loan of up to C3 lakh for farm-
ers, health cards and provision
of 102 ambulance service for
children on the lines of 108
ambulances are among the var-
ious features of C1.38 lakh crore
Budget for the year 2014-15 as
against C1.21 lakh crore Budget
presented last year.
khF 8hkMk Q 0uwAhAT
W
ith the Assam
Government mulling a
proposal to dehorn some of the
famous one-horned rhinos, sev-
eral civil society organisations as
well as conservation groups in
the State has opposed the move.
Failed to check the poach-
ing of one-horned rhinos in
Assam, the Government is at
present mulling a proposal to
dehorn the rhinos like some of
the African nations, which
claimed to have succeeded in
controlling the rhino poaching
after dehorning those.
We have received some
proposals to dehorn the rhinos,
which we are planning to
translocate to Laokhowa and
Burhachapori Wildlife
Sanctuary this year, Assam
Forest Minister Rockybul
Hussain recently informed the
State Assembly. He informed
the House that the Government
has constituted an expert com-
mittee to look into the feasibil-
ity of dehorning the rhinos to
save them from poaching.
However, Natures Beckon,
an Assam based wildlife con-
servation group, has questioned
the legality of the move and said
that it would have severe impact
on the animal and on the con-
servationists and society as well.
The horn has natural sig-
nificance for the rhinos. So
after dehorning, the rhinos
would definitely have biological
impact on them. Again, if the
Government dehorns the rhino
only because of the fact that they
cannot stop poaching, it would
affect the conservationist and
people of the society-as it would
simply mean bowing down to
the poachers, said Soumyadeep
Datta, secretary of the Nature's
Beckon. He said that the
dehorning had not been accept-
ed as successful model any-
where in the world.
Datta also slammed the
whole process of rhino translo-
cation and said that the whole
project of rhino translocation is
aimed at making money by a
section of people and organisa-
tion. The rhinos from the pro-
tected areas of Assam choose
their habitats themselves natu-
rally. The rhinos from Kaziranga
go to Panidehing and even to
Majuli-it is their natural selec-
tion of habitat. The
Governmenrt had failed to give
protection to the animal and
forcefully bring them back to
the parks, he said.
He said that dehorning is
not justified as the animal has
a threat to its life owing to its
horn this only suggests the
Governments helplessness to
stop a crime. It may be men-
tioned here that Assam has
2,552 rhinos at present. While
Kaziranga National Park in
Assam has the highest rhino
population with 2,329 rhinos,
the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary
and Orang National Park have
100 rhinos each. The Manas
National Park has about 23
rhinos at present.
The Governments move
came after close to 100 rhinos
had already been killed by
poachers inside the protected
areas of the State within last five
years from 2008 to 2013.
Although the Government had
taken up several steps to stop
poaching, yet poaching contin-
ues unabated in Assam.
|uW+|J Blu +|i1i| +||] '|+|||+l+ (|| |+|+|+) i| + |+ll] i| |ul|+|+ u| ||iJ+] Ju|i| + p|u|| ++i|| || w| B|+l u1||||| Pll
a0ther 10[0) Iea4er rev0Its
0FF likely lo
merge wilh
BJF on Feb 2O
Assam lan to save rlinos
ly oelorning stirs oelate
%LJ MROW WR %LKDU &0
U hilish Kumar's close associale and MLC 0evesh Chandra Thakur
has decided lo conlesl lhe ucoming Slale Council oll as an
ndeendenl candidale
U J0(u) leader and MLC Maha Chander Singh declared he would
conlesl lhe ucoming LS oll rom Munger
h0w wAhT T0 C0ME 0uT 0F ThE CA0E Ah0
00 h0T wAhT MYSELF T0 C0hFhE wTh 0hE
FARTY - 0EvESh ChAh0RA ThAKuR
Mamata men elateo at Anna
suort, ouo to meet on !el 1S
WBanerjee would meel lhe counlry's lallesl social
aclivisl on February 18 in 0elhi
WExerls however ell lhe Trinamool was reluclanl lo
bring lhe 0andhian aclivisl lo Bengal
Wha/are was imressed by lhe way 'she lives in a
1Ox12 room, wears sliers
Wha/are had earlier exlended suorl or
Banerjee and oered lo camaign or her in
lhe coming general eleclions
WTrinamool workers eel lhal Anna's
backing would rove a shol in
lhe Chie Minisler's arm
t seems that Hazareji may not be
able to campaign in Bengal. He will
rather campaign in the six States
from where we may contest
$7 $ */$1&(
CM resenls
'oll Budgel'
in Karnalaka
O
n May 27, India will
commemorate the
50th anniversary of
the death of
Jawaharlal Nehru. It
is difficult for todays Indians,
used to fast-paced events and fre-
netic news cycles, running from
one blockbuster happening to
another, to imagine what the
passing of the great man meant
for Indians of the time. For all his
faults and despite the then-recent
humiliation at the hands of
China, Nehru was much cher-
ished and seen as a pan-Indian
patriarch. His death ended an era,
began a period of volatility and
triggered a genuine
national mourning.
Why is this relevant today, in
a hard and bitter election season
as India prepares to vote for the
16th Lok Sabha? It is being men-
tioned for a strange, piquant
coincidence that will mark not
just a conjunction of dates but a
larger closure in Indian political
history. In May this year, a few
days before Nehrus death
anniversary perhaps, India will
see a new Prime Minister come
into office. Opinion polls suggest
this new Prime Minister will not
be from the Congress, or at least
that incarnation of the Congress
that was taken over and run by
the fami ly of Nehru after
his departure.
The most recent opinion poll
conducted by Times Now and
C Voter and telecast on Thursday,
February 13 predicts only 89
seats for the Congress and 202 for
the BJP. These numbers may or
may not be absolutely accurate.
Other opinion polls there are
one or two every week it would
seem make for slight varia-
tions. However the broad trends
are the same. The Congress is in
serious danger of falling below
100 seats, which would be its
worst performance ever. The BJP
is predicted to win 200 seats or
thereabouts, which would be its
best performance ever.
Fifty years after Nehru, the
political dynasty that still rules the
Congress in his name faces its
most compelling existential cri-
sis. India has seen two dramatic
rejections of the dynasty, in 1977
and 1989. The Congresss defeats
of the 1990s dont quite count
because the party wasnt led by a
Nehru-Gandhi at that point
(except in 1999) and there had
not been a Nehru-Gandhi in
power or wielding executive
authority since Rajiv Gandhi
demitted office. If the opinion
polls are right, then 2014 will turn
out to be as much of a watershed
as 1977 or 1989, maybe greater.
Why? The UPA Government
has been around for a decade. Ms
Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rahul
Gandhi have been the faces of the
establishment though they
have not formally served in
Government and are indelibly
associated with the UPA. As
such, an anti-incumbency vote
against the UPA and a harsh sen-
timent against a system of privi-
lege and Nehru-Gandhi author-
ity cannot be divorced. It is no
longer easy to pretend people are
angry with Mr Manmohan Singh,
but are neutral or even sympa-
thetic towards the Congress pres-
ident and vice-president.
The impending defeat will
call into question the viability of
the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty as a
political and electoral brand.
Dissidents did leave the Congress
in both 1977 and 1989. Indira
Gandhi in fact had to split the
party after that post-Emergency
defeat. However, a vast number of
loyalists and an all-India political
network stayed true to her. Her
son, Sanjay Gandhi, built on this
with a new street-fighter energy
from the admittedly thuggish
Youth Congress of the 1970s. In
1989, the coalition era hadnt
quite dawned and many in the
Congress thought Rajiv Gandhi
would be back in office sooner or
later. In any case, the Congress
remained the largest party by
a mile.
In all this, 2014 threatens to be
different. There is little faith in Mr
Rahul Gandhi emerging as a deci-
sive, clear-headed political show-
stopper who will electrify the
public. His political acumen and
electoral strategies are politely
described as idealistic and long-
term. Privately they have Congress
functionaries tearing their hair. If
the Congress indeed drops down
to 89 seats (as the recent poll says),
then recovery in the next election
would mean a target of 125-135
seats, far from the 206 the party
won in 2009 and even further
from the single-party majority its
old-timers still dream of. Quick
fixes, like replacing Mr Rahul
Gandhi with his sister on the basis
of the specious belief that she is
more of a peoples person, will
hardly solve the larger problem.
What is more likely is a fun-
damental restructuring of power
equations within the Congress.
Any State-level stalwart who
emerges in a post-2014 situation
will either do so outside the
Congress umbrel la or will
demand a heavy price for iden-
tifying with the Congress. He or
she will dictate terms to Delhi. To
give a real-life example, if YS
Rajasekhara Reddy were to have
died after the coming 2014 elec-
tion rather than after the 2009
election the Nehru-Gandhis
would have found it much more
difficult to deny his son, YS
Jaganmohan Reddy, an immedi-
ate shot at the Chief Ministry of
Andhra Pradesh.
Apart from internal collapse,
the Congress is also encountering
a singularly determined opponent.
The party has faced challenges
before from the Swatantra Party
to the old Jan Sangh, from the
socialists to the Janata Party to, of
course, regional parties. These
parties have had a limited geo-
graphical or demographic foot-
print. Alternatively, they have just
been short-lived. Also many (but
not all) of them were led by those
who had been influenced by the
political culture of Delhi, con-
structed substantially by the
Congress and its family leadership.
The BJP under Mr Narendra
Modi differs from this old model
on two counts. One, having run
Gujarat for 12 years, Mr Modi rep-
resents not just an alternative tra-
dition in politics but also an alter-
native tradition in governance.
He would be keener than previous
non-Congress politicians to distin-
guish and product-differentiate
himself from the prevailing Delhi
framework. Mr Modi and his con-
temporaries in the BJP includ-
ing strong Chief Ministers who
have made the Congress less com-
petitive in several big States are
part of a second generation in the
BJP. This is the first all-India, non-
Congress party that has effected a
renewal and built on rather than
frittered away the achieve-
ments of its foundational leader-
ship. Unlike many other Congress
adversaries, it has not disappeared
after the retirement or passing of
one or two charismatic leaders.
All of these are harsh realities
for the Congress to deal with. On
May 27, 1964, millions of Indians
wept for Nehru. In May 2014,
children and grandchildren of
many of those very Indians will
be glad to be rid of the Congress
and its dynasts. History would
have turned a page; India would
have moved on.
malikashok@gmail.com
T
he indings o recenl oinion olls lhal lhe hilish Kumarled Janala 0al (uniled)
is rojecled lo are miserably in lhe coming Lok Sabha eleclion will surrise
only lhose who had overeslimaled his hold over lhe eleclorale aler his arly
snaed ils alliance wilh lhe Bharaliya Janala Farly. The Chie Minisler o Bihar
and his colleagues in lhe arly had believed lhal lhey would emerge slronger
aler breaking o on lhe issue o Mr harendra Modi, and did nol read - or did
nol wish lo read - lhe growing surge o suorl or Mr Modi as lhe counlry's
nexl Frime Minisler. Conlrary lo whal Mr hilish Kumar may say, lhere was never
any ideology or rincile involved in his draslic decision lo end an alliance lhal
was irmly in lhe driver's seal and oised lo wie oul lhe oosilion in lhe gen
eral eleclion. The Bihar Chie Minisler allowed his ego and dislike or Mr Modi
lo lake cenlreslage al lhe cosl o ragmalism. how, his arly slands isolaled
in lhe ballle, having lo conlend wilh a nearcerlain CongressRashlriya Janala
0alLok Janshakli Farly alliance, besides a resurgenl BJF in lhe Slale. From all
accounls, his arly is going lo be ushed lo lhe lhird lace. lhal haens,
lhere is no excuse lhal Mr hilish
Kumar can give. he will nol be able
lo hide behind exlanalions o rin
ciled olilics laking recedence over
elecloral olilics, because he is no
longer seen as a rinciled olilician.
he used lhe 2OO2 violence in 0ujaral
under Mr Modi's chie minislershi lo
sna lies wilh lhe BJFled halional
0emocralic Alliance some monlhs
ago, bul had no roblems in remain
ing wilhin lhe h0A or more lhan a
decade aler lhe incidenl haened.
hol only had he sluck lo lhe alliance
bul he was also a union Minisler dur
ing lhe h0A rule. Feole are asking
how Mr hilish Kumar's conscience
suddenly woke u in 2O18. To rub sall
inlo his wounds, lhe BJF seems lo
have gained hel in lhe Slale aler he
walked away rom lhe alliance.
Thal lhe J0(u) has comlelely misread lhe silualion is clear rom lhe acl
lhal even ils commilled suorlers would love lo see Mr Modi as lhe counlry's
nexl Frime Minisler. This is nol good news or Mr hilish Kumar who is busy
osilioning himsel as a rime minislerial choice - nol oenly bul lhrough sleallh
- in case lhe socalled Third Fronl comes wilhin slriking dislance o orming
lhe 0overnmenl in some miraculous manner. Bul even lhal dream o his will
nol malerialise since lhere are as many claimanls lo lhe osl as lhere are lead
ers in lhe yelloormed ronl, nol lo menlion lhe realily lhal no such ronl is
going lo gel lhe eole's mandale. worse, we don'l really know i lhere is going
lo be only lhe Third Fronl - or a ourlh as well. worried leaders o lhe J0(u),
slaring al lhe wriling on lhe wall, musl be rivalely wondering whal can be done
now lo salvage lhe silualion, even as lhe Modi juggernaul rolls on across Bihar,
as il is doing in mosl o lhe counlry.
T
he lremendous success o lhe 20 Seclrum auclion is a resounding sla
in lhe ace o /eroloss lheorisls such as union Minisler Kail Sibal and olher
senior Congress leaders who had claimed lhal lhe 0overnmenl had incurred
no losses when il dislribuled lhe seclrum on a dubiously imlemenled irsl
comeirslserve basis in 2OO8. 0n Thursday, lhe ublic exchequer earned a who
ing CG1,G12 crore uon lhe conclusion o a 1Odaylong auclion rocess lhal
saw G8 rounds o bidding. This is aboul 5O er cenl more lhan lhe C4O,OOO crore
lhe 0overnmenl had hoed lo earn lhis iscal rom lhe lelecom seclor, includ
ing licence ees and seclrum charges among olher aymenls, according lo union
Budgel eslimales. 0 course, lhe 0overnmenl will nol receive lhe enlire amounl
in one shol - lhe money will low in over a eriod o 2O years - bul slill, lhe
uronl aymenls rom lhe lelecom comanies will hel bridge lhe iscal deicil
signiicanlly. n acl, lhe earnings rom lhe auclion should hel lhe Congress
led uFA regime lo meel ils largel o keeing lhe iscal deicil lo 4.8 er cenl o
lhe 0ross 0omeslic Froducl. This, no doubl, gives union Minisler or Finance
F Chidambaram a reason lo smile, allhough il is ironical how Mr Sibal has been
gloaling aboul il all. Lel us nol orgel lhal when lhe Comlroller and Audilor
0eneral had egged lhe losses rom
lhe 20 scam al C1.7G lakh crore, lhe
seni or Mi ni sler and olher
Congressmen had scoed al lhe ig
ures. They look lhe high moral
ground, rocl ai med lhal lhe
0overnmenl's aim was nol merely lo
increase ils revenues bul ensure ub
lic welare, and soughl lo jusliy lhal
somehow lhe larger good was besl
served by lhrowing away recious
nalional resource al dirl chea rices.
The /eroloss lheorisls, in acl, er
sisled wilh lheir inancial chicanery
even aler lhe Sureme Courl in
2O12 cancelled all lhe 122 lelecom
licences lhal had been raudulenlly dis
lribuled by lhen Telecommunicalions
Minisler A Raja and ordered lhal lhe
licences be resold lo lhe highesl bid
ders. Subsequenlly, lwo auclions were held - in hovember 2O12 and lhen in
March 2O18. Togelher, lhey elched jusl aboul C1O,OOO crore. Each lime lhe /ero
loss lheorisls louled lhe allry earnings as a vindicalion o lheir halscience
argumenls. Bul il was clear lo even lhe layman lhal auclions ailed because lhe
0overnmenl had sel lhe base rice loo high. Some say lhal lhe uFA regime had
wilully done il lo scullle lhe auclions and cul lhe CA0 down lo si/e This is a
classic case o culling lhe nose lo sile lhe ace.
Some have crilicised lhe high rices al which seclrum has been sold on
lhe ground lhal lhe lelecom comanies will now ass on lhe cosls lo lhe con
sumers. This argumenl holds no waler or lwo reasons. Firsl, lhe lelecom com
anies will be aying lhe 0overnmenl over a long eriod o lime, so lhey will
nol suer any sudden inancial shock. Second, as hislory slands roo, lhe con
sumer's inleresl is besl rolecled by ree markel comelilion. Addilionally, when
comared lo lhe rales al which 20 Seclrum has been sold in olher counlries,
lhe rices here are nol exorbilanl, esecially when considering lhal ndia has
one o lhe aslesl growing lelecom markels in lhe world.
Ihe ter0I0ss the0rIsts
2G auction a success, Silal ano grou silenceo
opinion 08 NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
Jimes lave clangeo
for tle Congress
| |+] 2, !9c4, |illiu| u| l|Ji+| Wp| |u| |||u. l| |+] 2J!4, |ilJ|| +|J |+|J|ilJ|| u| |+|] u|
||u 1|] l|Ji+| Will | l+J |u | |iJ u| || Cu|| +|J i| J]|+|. |i|u|] WuulJ |+1 |u||J + p+
Is0Iate4, starIa at 4efeat
Nitisl Kumar seems set to ay for lis arrogance
8_\\_g S\QY]c
Sir This refers to the report,
CAG vindicated, Congs zero
loss claim busted (February
14). The Congress and Union
Minister for Law and Justice
Kapil Sibal may still claim that all
this is only a myth, with the auc-
tion held merely to assess the
notional worth of the spectrum
but with no real cash inflow. It
could even be condemned as a
diabolical Opposition plan to
show up the 2G loss. Seriously
however, the media should
demand that Mr Sibal and his
party explain the zero loss the-
ory in the light of the success of
the latest round of auctions.
NS Rajan
Bangalore
9^ce\dY^W 8Y^Tec
Sir This refers to the contro-
versy over Wendy Donigers book,
The Hindus: An Alternative
History. It is sad to see Indians
carrying Hindu names bashing
Hinduism because they want to
sound secular. Does Lord
Ganeshas trunk symbolise a limp
phallus to Hindu believers? Of
course it does not. The symbol-
ism and iconography related to
Lord Ganesha is captured well in
the Wikipedia entry on Ganesha.
But influenced by Paul
Courtrights (from his Ganesa:
Lord of Obstacles, Lord of
Beginnings) far-fetched claims,
even the Baltimore Museum
seemed to buy into Courtrights
interpretation that Ganeshas
trunk represents a limp phallus so
that Ganesha would not have sex
with his mother Parvati. Do the
secularists enjoy such lurid sen-
tences in so-called great books?
JS Acharya
Hyderabad
BYTYSe\Y^W bU\YWY_^
Sir This refers to the controver-
sy over Wendy Donigers book,
The Hindus: An Alternative
History. Of late, the Western writ-
ers aim is to diminish various
manifestations of god, as wor-
shipped by the Hindus, into laugh-
able mythical caricatures. They
assail the sanctity of the Bhagvad
Gita as a book that is nothing more
than a violent call to arms; they
assault the morality of
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and
Swami Vivekananda, two of the
countrys greatest spiritual saints.
Such profanities are apparent-
ly part of their hidden agenda to
systematically debase the very
foundations of Sanatan dharma.
Their goal appears to be for the
academia, and eventually the
mainstream society, to project
Hindus as a people worshiping
cartoon-like gods, adhering to an
irrational scripture, and paying
homage to despicable saints.
Padmini Raghavendra
Secunderabad
9^UVVUSdYfU =Y^YcdUb
Sir This refers to the article,
He saw nothing, he did nothing
(February 13) by Pravin Sawhney.
Mr AK Antony has been one of
the most ineffective Defence
Ministers the country has had.
Even Samajwadi Party chief
Mulayam Singh Yadav, who held
the portfolio in the past, did a
much better job just by virtue of
his commitment to the defence of
the country.
Mr Antony has shown a
complete lack of commitment
and leadership. He has been
interested in only trying to cul-
tivate a clean image for himself
even if it amounted to taking no
decisions or postponing them.
Rakesh Choudhary
Via web
www.dailypionoor.oom
a e r W I t h a s s I 0 a
k8hk MkIIk
LETTERS T0 ThE E0T0R
Wo must bring down
tho digital divido. Wo
oan't havo two ndias,
ono raoing ahoad and
anothor moving on a
rovorso goar
Gu|arat Chio Ministor
Narondra Modi
oan't danoo or sing; oan
baroly aot. Thoy askod mo
to danoo in <PVXR <XZT.
was liko, 'Alright, 'm going
to waddlo'.
Aotor
Alox Pottyor
South Arioa is a
muoh bottor plaoo to
livo in now than it was
booro 1994. Lio will
oontinuo to ohango
or bottor.
South Arioa Prosidont
Jaoob Zuma
ThERE S LTTLE
FATh h RAhuL
0Ah0h EMER0h0
AS A CLEARhEA0E0
F0LTCAL Sh0w
ST0FFER. hS
F0LTCAL ACuMEh
Ah0 ELECT0RAL
STRATE0ES ARE
F0LTELY
0ESCRBE0 AS
'0EALSTC' Ah0
'L0h0TERM'
SOUNDBTE
whea MFs I0se c0atr0I,
4em0cracy Is at erII
T
his reers lo lhe reorl, "The darkesl day" (February 18). haenings
in lhe Lok Sabha on Thursday relecl lhe Congress's calaslrohic ail
ure lo rolecl lhe dignily, lradilion and values o Farliamenl and democ
racy. The arly's lo leadershi has losl conlrol over ils MFs. MFs behaves
like criminals, lhen eole are ruled by laws criminals make. we ell roud
as cili/ens o lhe world's largesl democracy, bul loday we
eel ashamed.
Farliamenl is becoming a ballleield where MFs are adorned wilh
weaons nol o logical debale bul lhose like eer srays. our demo
cralic desliny is lo be conlrolled by uncivilised reresenlalives who can
nol be unished, lhen il's besl nol lo have such a syslem o democracy.
The Congress musl learn lessons rom Ms Mamala Banerjee who has han
dled lhe 0orkhaland issue adroilly. l cannol bulldo/e ils will over a large
majorily o lhe eole o a Slale. l musl irsl win lhem over.
IIam k 8hoWmik
CP\[dZ
S|J ]uu| |J|+| |u.
IeIIersIopioneer@gmaiI.rom
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
Offers of peace by the weaker party
always mean confession of weakness, and
an invitation to aggression Jinnah
I
n the last decade, starting with 2004,
the Government of Pakistan has made
about 10 peace overtures to various
militant groups operating in the tribal bor-
derlands of north-western Pakistan. Earlier
known as Pakistani Taliban, these amor-
phous groups came together in December
2007 to form what is now known as the
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, popularly
known in its acronymic form as the TTP.
The latest round of negotiations
underway at the moment is being touted
as the last-ditch attempt by the Nawaz
Sharif Government to reconcile the TTP
with the Pakistani State. Media reports
from Pakistan suggest that Nawaz changed
his mind at the last minute on January 29,
2014, and invited the TTP yet another time
for a dialogue, despite the fact that the
same day the TTP had attacked paramil-
itary forces in Karachi, and only two days
earlier, parliamentarians of his party had
okayed the decision to launch an opera-
tion against the TTP!
The unhappy background
A brief overview of the events and cir-
cumstances which led to the present state
is in order here. Earlier in September 2013,
closely following the endorsement by All
Party Conference to hold dialogue with the
TTP, the latter carried out an IED attack
on Major General Sanaullah Khans vehi-
cle in Upper Dir, vitiating the atmosphere
for talks. The armys retaliation in the sub-
sequent days to avenge Sanaullahs death,
along with the killing of TTP chief
Hakeemullah Mehsud in a drone attack on
November 1, 2013, further worsened the
situation.
When the TTP chose the hardliner
Fazlullah or Mullah Radio, as its leader, to
succeed Hakeemullah, and there was a
sudden upswing in militant attacks on the
security forces, the talks looked almost
impossible. With former Army chief
Kayani in office till late November 2013,
the Nawaz Government found it difficult
to push for dialogue.
Only after a change in the leadership
in the army, with his own pick as the chief,
Nawaz possibly found some legroom to try
out yet another time if he could defuse the
TTP through dialogue. As a sympathiser
of the right-wing politics himself, perhaps,
he wanted to exhaust all chances before
giving the green signal to the army to go
ahead.
How the gamble is playing out
In response to the Nawaz
Governments formation of a four-mem-
ber committee to carry the process for-
ward, the TTP was quick to announce
the formation of two different groups to
mediate on its behalf. It formed a nine-
member TTP shura, consisting of its
underground leaders, to monitor the
talks, and a three-member team of nego-
tiators (originally five, including Imran
Khan and Mufti Kifayatullah) to conduct
dialogue with the Government-appoint-
ed committee.
Comprising Prof Mohammad Ibrahim
of Jamaat-e-Islami, Maulana Samiul Haq,
leader of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-
e-Islam (JUI), and Maulana Abdul Aziz,
prayer leader of Lal Masjid, the TTP team
has, after talks with the nine-member TTP
shura, come out with its 15-point demands,
which basically rephrase TTPs earlier
demands rule of Sharia in Pakistan,
release of TTP militants, stoppage of
drone attacks, pull-out of government
troops and handover security to local
forces, initiation of Islamic jurisprudence
and Islamic education, snapping of rela-
tionship with the US, etc.
The threat and the bargain
Maulana Abdul Aziz, more than the
other two of his colleagues, has proved the
TTP right for having chosen himself as its
representative. He has indicated that the
government must remove its precondition
of talks within the confines of the Pakistani
Constitution, and has indirectly threatened
the government with more suicide attacks
if the demands are not met. After his
return from North Waziristan, he told the
media that if talks were to fail, the TTP
would ready 500 female suicide bombers
to unleash on security forces.
Shahidullah Shahid, spokesperson of
the TTP, has even gone further in a recent
interview, and stated that the TTP would
be happy with Fazlullah as the head of
Pakistan State and Mullah Umar as the
head of the Islamic Ummah or the Amir-
ul-Momineen. He has also clearly stated
that the Army of Pakistan is the principal
enemy of the TTP and unless the gov-
ernment declared ceasefire first, the TTP
would continue with its attacks which
are perfectly justified because they were in
a state of war. His spirited defence of TTP
ideology, enthusiastic presentation of
facts, and continuation of attacks by the
TTP suggest that the TTP considers
Nawazs offer of dialogue as a confession
of his governments weakness.
The TTP, by seizing the opportunity
thrown at them by Nawaz, has put the gov-
ernment in a tight spot. For fear of upset-
ting the TTP, the government has of late
been rather muted on its precondition of
holding talks within the limits of the
Pakistani Constitution. The TTP is clear-
ly leading the show and dictating the terms
of discourse while the State appears dumb
and undone. In a way, the TTP is seeking
logical culmination of the process of
Islamisation, which has gained legitima-
cy in Pakistan over the years.
Predilection of the State: Victim
of its own strategy
What explains the lack of timber in the
States approach? It is the progressive con-
cessions the State has made to the radical
elements, especially since the 1980s, when
conscious decision was taken by the mil-
itary establishment to promote this con-
stituency as a deterrent vis--vis India and
as an enabler vis--vis Afghanistan.
When the Frankenstein turned against
its masters, the initial reaction was a sense
of disbelief followed by unwillingness to
acknowledge its presence. The very agen-
cies that had quietly raised these forces
over the years, grossly underestimated the
ability of such groups to pose a challenge
to the State. In the aftermath of 9/11 and
attack on Afghanistan, when these ele-
ments came home to roost, the army was
confident it could strike a bargain with
them and win them over to its side by
alternate use of stick and carrot.
But through a series of negotiations
starting from Shakai Peace Agreement of
April 2004, Sararogha Pact of February
2005, North Waziristan Agreement of
September 2006 and Swat Peace negotia-
tions of May 2008 the Army of Pakistan
has realised that these elements are no
longer under its control. They have
acquired an autonomy of their own and
intend to replace the army and take over
the State of Pakistan.
All their efforts to turn these elements
against India and Afghanistan have also not
helped. Their allegations that TTP is
being funded and supported by the US,
Afghan and Indian agencies smack of self-
delusion. This is perfectly understandable.
How else could the agencies in Pakistan
explain this act of somersault by elements
they so indulgently nurtured over the years?
When the army finally decided to train
its guns on these elements in Red Mosque
or in Swat, it found how difficult it was to
roll the process back. Even then, to this day,
they continue to play favourites among
these radical groups, not realising that they
are enabling an environment where they
are fast becoming insignificant actors. If
Pakistan is to be raised as a fortress of Islam
then, as Adnan Rashid of the TTP keeps
arguing, what are these western-trained
cops for, who even recruit non-believers
to defend Pakistan?
The armys tactic of using Lashkar-e-
Tayyeba against the TTP or playing one
TTP constituent against another may
precipitate some short-term gains, but
without a drastic change in its outlook and
approach, it will not be able to deal with
the challenge it has invented for itself. It
has already reached a stage when it is
unable to rally the jehadis around its anti-
India policies. As Hakeemullah Mehsud,
one-time recruit by the Pakistan Army to
fight jehad in Kashmir reportedly stated,
the Pakistani claim of organising jehad in
Kashmir was a contradiction in terms
because Pakistan was not an Islamic State.
Therefore, he held firmly that the TTP had
to work towards turning Pakistan into an
Islamic State first, as per the recent reve-
lations in the TTP monthly,
Nawai Afghan Jihad.
Dialogue, or turning point?
Pakistan stands at an unwelcome turn-
ing point of history. While the talks are
unlikely to succeed, unless the government
tamely surrenders, paradoxically quite, the
liberal and pro-military conservative opin-
ion makers in Pakistan today find them-
selves on the same side of the fence advo-
cating cancellation of dialogue and all out
military action against the TTP.
For example, the conservative
Nawaiwaqt, usually pro-army but soft on
Nawaz, came out with an editorial on
February 13, titled, Kya hukumat muzakraat
ki kamyabi ki khatir apna khatma bhi kabul
karlegi? (Will the government accept its dis-
solution to make the dialogue a success?)
Similarly, the liberal commentators in the
English media are abuzz with myriad
arguments against the ongoing dialogue.
Some of them even exhort the army to play
its due role to save Pakistan. Will they come
together to convince the army to step in, in
case the dialogue fails, resulting in sharp
decline in the security situation? Or will the
apologists of dialogue retrace their steps and
push for army operation? Both ways, the
army stands to gain. One only hopes that
the apparent (Nawaz) Sharif and Sharif
(Raheel) harmony does not degenerate into
Sharif vs Sharif show in the days to come.
(Dr Ashok Behuria is Coordinator, South
Asia Centre and Fellow at IDSA, New Delhi.
The views expressed here are his own)
I
n the midst of widespread
terrorist violence, the
Nawaz Sharif Government
in Pakistan has been trying to
reconcile with the perpetrators
of such violence through dia-
logue.
Ever since his victory in the
Pakistani national election,
Prime Minister Sharif has not
hidden his attempt to make
peace with the Tehreek-e-
Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a
coalition of diverse groups of
militants in the country. The
TTP, also known as Pakistani
Taliban, is a distinct entity
from the Afghan Taliban,
which are the creation of the
Pakistani ruling establishment;
but the Pakistani Taliban are
the declared enemy of the
Pakistani Government.
The Afghan Taliban ruled
Afghanistan with the full sup-
port of Islamabad for about five
years and sought to establish an
extreme form of Islamic rule
over that country. Taking cue
from its Afghan counterpart,
the Pakistani Taliban have
vowed to establish a similar
form of Islamic rule in Pakistan
and naturally the call has given
migraine to the Pakistani estab-
lishment.
Although, the Pakistan
Army, the ISI, various Islamic
groups and Pakistani political
parties have never been averse
to the creation of an Islamic
State with a Constitution and
a judicial system based on
Sharia Law in Afghanistan,
but the same is not acceptable
at home.
Paradoxically, the TTP
demands the implementation
of Sharia Law and regards the
current Pakistani Constitution
as un-Islamic, but the
Government has sought to
negotiate peace with the TTP
only under the terms and con-
ditions of the countrys
Constitution.
The irony is successive
Pakistani Governments have
been rewarded as well as
coerced by the United States to
cooperate in the war against the
Taliban insurgents in
Afghanistan, but the Pakistan
Army and the ISI have half-
heartedly sided with the US
and have kept their lines of
communication and assistance
open with sections of Taliban
fighters, particul arly the
Haqqani Group.
Pakistans clandestine sup-
port to selected groups of the
Afghan Taliban and open war
against the TTP is a double-
edged sword that threatens
Pakistans continued existence
as a unified political entity.
Other groups of the Afghan
Taliban and the TTP seem to
have combined their efforts to
uphold their ideology giving
nightmares to Islamabad. The
sanctuaries TTP allegedly
enjoys on the Afghan side of
the Pak-Afghan border are
obviously under the protection
of the Afghan Taliban and not
the Karzai Government.
As the United States pre-
pares for the exit of its military
from Afghanistan, Islamabad
has no option but to fight a
lone battle against elements of
the Afghan Taliban and the
TTP. The danger that Pakistan
military perhaps perceives
comes from the well demon-
strated capability of the Afghan
Taliban to withstand the might
of the American and NATO
forces. American departure
from Afghanistan will surely
inspire the TTP as well to pur-
sue its own goals of
Talibanisation of the entire
Pakistani society.
While the Afghan Taliban
is fighting the occupant
Americans on their soil, the
TTP has waged a war against
both the Pakistani Government
and the Americans. Three US-
related demands of the TTP as
conditions to sign peace deal
with the Pakistani Government
happen to be: putting a full stop
to US drone attacks, Pakistans
withdrawal from US-led war
on terrorism, and breaking of
all relations with the United
States.
For all practical purposes, it
appears to be an ultimatum to
the Nawaz Sharif Government
to choose sides between TTP
and the United States.
However, the first two
demands are not difficult to
achieve. Americans may ter-
minate drone attacks after their
military depart from
Afghanistan. After 2014, there
will be no US war on terrorism,
at least in this part of Asia, and
therefore Washington will not
need Pakistani cooperation.
But by demanding to end all
relations with the US, the TTP
is asking for the moon!
Yet another duplicity that
has landed Islamabad in trou-
ble is clandestine permission to
the CIA to launch drone attacks
against selected targets and
then publicly complain against
the US highhandedness.
Pakistans helplessness in tack-
ling the TTP-inspired violence
in the country is clearly dis-
cernible. The TTP is clearly
more fearful of the US drone
attacks then the Pakistani secu-
rity forces.
Can Pakistan stem the
spread of the TTP influence
and its control to large parts of
Pakistan after the US ceases its
drone operations? This is a
Herculean task. Yet another
puzzle in coming years will be
Pakistans ability to draw for-
eign assistance after the US
withdraws from Afghanistan.
Billions of dollars of US money
that flowed into the country is
simply going to dry up.
Rampant instability in the
country and the lack of
resources may immerse
Pakistan in a whirlpool
that could further embolden
the TTP.
All these possibilities have
made it imperative for the
Nawaz Sahrif Government to
reach out to militant groups in
general and the TTP in partic-
ular for reconciliation. The
United States started the war
against terrorism in
Afghanistan and subsequently
extended it to Pakistan under
the Obama Administration.
But the Obama
Administration first ended its
military intervention in Iraq,
and is now planning to exit
from Afghanistan. With the Af-
Pak strategy gone, Americas
tactical alliance with Islamabad
will most likely finish off.
The world has witnessed
the fate of Iraq after the ter-
mination of US military oper-
ations. The situation will most
likely replicate in the Af-Pak
region. The fallout of instabil-
ity in this region will be enor-
mous on India. Rubbing salt
into its wounds, India can do
little to promote peace within
Pakistan. Moreover, Indias soft
power will be endangered in
Afghanistan post 2014.
If the militancy prevails,
Pakistani State may just
implode. However, even if the
Nawaz Sharif Government
manages a peace accord, the
danger to India will be no less.
Islamabad may just try to
divert the ire of these militant
groups towards India.
The time has actually come
for Islamabad and New Delhi to
cooperate in tackling terrorism
together, especially because the
US will most likely wash its
hands off regional terrorist
activities. Pakistans peace and
prosperity partly hinges on its
peaceful ties and constructive
cooperation with India. But
the psychological baggage and
negative historical legacy needs
to be cleaned before one can
think of such a scenario.
Both India and Pakistan
gained from the US military
intervention in Afghanistan,
albeit in different ways. Both
will face problems, though in
diverse forms, after the US mil-
itarys exit. Self-help in the
region and abiding faith in
bilateralism perhaps holds the
answer.
(The writer is the
Chairperson of US Studies
Programme, JNU)
For ear o uselling lhe TTF, lhe hawa/ 0overnmenl has muled ils recondilion o holding lalks wilhin lhe limils o lhe Fakislani Conslilulion.
Consequenlly, lhe TTF is seeking logical culminalion o lhe rocess o slamisalion, which has gained legilimacy in Fakislan over lhe years
Jalls witl Jalilan: Confession of Pal wealness?
6hIhTkMkhI MkhkFkTk
Srdeye {saturday special} 09
8aas 08, FakIIF eace may 4Ist0rh Ia4Ia's sereaIty
k8hk 8EhIk
Bolh ndia and Fakislan gained rom lhe uS mililary inlervenlion in Aghanislan, albeil in dierenl ways. Bolh will ace
roblems, lhough in diverse orms, aler lhe uS mililary exils Aghanislan
THEOTHEPVOCE
l||+| S+Ji(ui, l||, |+J u| || P+|i|+| u1||||| |+|, p+| |u p|ul+li|+| l|i |+ul+|+ S+|iul |+( p|iu| |u ||i| |W u|||| i| ll+|+|+J AP
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014 money 10
Fh8 Q hEw 0ELh
C
ommon man got a much
needed relief on Friday
when inflation eased to an
eight-month low of 5.05 per
cent in January prompting
India Inc to press the Reserve
Bank to ease interest rates to
perk up investment sentiment
and kick start growth.
The declining trajectory
of inflation should spur the
RBI to revisit its monetary pol-
icy stance and cut policy rates
to rejuvenate growth in the
industry which has been hit by
high interest costs and flagging
investment, CII Director
General Chandrajit Banerjee
said.
The second straight month
of deceleration in inflation as
measured by the wholesale
price index has given a
breather to the Reserve Bank,
which has been trying to tame
rising prices.
WPI inflation was at 6.16
per cent in December com-
pared with 7.52 per cent in
November.
Januarys inflation rate is
the slowest since May 2013,
when whol esal e prices
increased 4.58 per cent.
Inflation in food articles in
January came down to 8.8 per
cent as against 13.68 per cent
in the preceding month,
according to data released on
Friday.
Food inflation remains
elevated in spite of the overall
favourable Monsoon and agri-
cultural production scenario,
highlighting the demand-sup-
ply gaps and issues related to
the supply chain, ICRA Senior
Economist Aditi Nayar said.
As per the WPI data,
prices of vegetables rose 16.6
per cent in January compared
with a 57.33 per cent increase
in December.
Onion prices climbed 6.59
per cent compared with a
39.56 per cent increase in
December. Potato prices
climbed 21.73 per cent in
January.
Fruits were cheaper, as
were protein-rich items such as
eggs, meat and fish. However,
inflation in milk inched up
slightly to 7.22 per cent in
January.
Data released this week
showed retai l inf l ation
declined to a two-year low of
8.79 per cent in January, while
industrial output in December
shrank 0.6 per cent, prompting
calls by industry for an inter-
est rate cut to boost growth.
We must and very urgent-
ly concentrate on reviving
growth for the manufacturing
sector and lay special empha-
sis on resolving problems of
the MSME sector also, Ficci
President Sidharth Birla said.
According to the WPI data,
inflation in primary articlesand
in the fuel and power segment
was at 6.84 per cent and 10.03
per cent, respectively.
Inflation in manufactured
products such as sugar and edi-
ble oils was up marginally at
2.76 per cent on a monthly
basis.
The Reserve Bank had
increased a key interest rate by
0.25 per cent to 8 per cent in
its Third Quarter Review of
Monetary Policy on January
28. The central bank factors
both retail and wholesale price
based inflation data in its
monetary policy.
In the absence of an
upside surprise in the inflation
trajectory or in inflation expec-
tations, it is likely to hold pol-
icy rates steady in the coming
months, Barclays said in a
research note.
There have been demands
from various quarters that the
RBI should look at relaxing
interest rates as inflation has
showed signs of easing while
the slowdown in industrial
output has persisted.
A Finance Ministry docu-
ment said high inflation poses
a big threat to growth as it
would impair the ability of the
Reserve Bank to cut interest
rates to boost economic activ-
ities.
The outlook on growth
is...Threatened by certain
downside risks; the biggest of
them being the high rate of
inflation, which further dents
the ability of the RBI to extend
monetary policy support to
growth revival, it said.
Economic growth fell to a
decade-low of 4.5 per cent in
2012-13 fiscal and is estimat-
ed at 4.9 per cent in current
financial year.
IafIatI0a eases t0 8mth I0W 0f 5.05%
hEW EIhI: Customers may
lose freebies or have to pay a lit-
tle more for mobile services in
the days ahead as operators try
to make up for C61,100 crore
they have committed to
Government in the latest spec-
trum auction.
Analysts are of the view
that in order to maintain their
profitability, the telecom oper-
ators are expected to cut down
the freebies and discounted
minutes immediately, and may
also increase the tariffs gradu-
ally.
In the spectrum auction,
the Government has won, and
industry lost. There will be
additional debt of C61,000 crore
on the operators which already
have highly leveraged balance
sheets, Deloitte Haskins &
Sells Partner Hemant Joshi told
the news agency.
He said the overall outcome
of the higher input costs should
have been increase in tariffs, but
due to the intense competition
not all the increase in costs is
likely to be passed on to the
consumer.
The operators are expect-
ed to cut down discounts and
freebies immediately and may
also increase the tariffs gradu-
ally, Joshi added.
GSM industry body COAI
Director General Rajan S
Mathews said that its too early
to comment on the tariff hike
but certainly there would be an
upward pressure on data tariffs,
and discounted minutes would
be reduced.
There may also be 1-3
paisa hike in voice minutes in
over nine months, he added.
KPMG Partner Jaideep
Ghosh also said that discounts
will go away, although operators
are not expected to raise head-
line tariffs.
The operators are not
expected to increase the headline
tariffs but they will cut down the
discounted minutes and SMS
packs, he added.
The Government yesterday
concluded the spectrum auction
for 900 Mhz and 1800 Mhz
bands for which it would get over
C61,162 crore, far exceeding its
own target.
Vodafone, Bharti Airtel,
Reliance Jio and Idea Cellular
were the key bidders at the auc-
tion, which saw participation of
eight telecom companies. FTI
IeIc0s may c0t
4Isc00ats,hIke tarIffs
t0 ay C61k cr t0 60vt
Fh8 QhEw 0ELh
F
resh buying institutions
from lower levels and con-
siderable stop in selling from
domestic institutional investors
(DII) helped the benchmark
Sensex rebound from it four-
month low and ended Fridays
session 173.47 points up at
20,366.82.
Nifty also surged by 47.25
points to 6,048.35 as buying
emerged towards the end of the
session in information tech-
nology, oil & gas and technol-
ogy shares. Rupee also
rebounded and appreciated by
49 paise before finally closing at
its three- week high of Rs 61.93
per dollar.
Analysts said that the mar-
ket situation also improved
after wholesale price index
(WPI) in January fell to a seven
month low of 5.05 per cent.
With WPI showing signs of eas-
ing, hopes of rate cut by Reserve
Bank of India increased, ana-
lysts added. Sensex registered its
biggest gain since the 256.61-
point jump on January 15.
Sensex surges 173 t
Fh8 QhEw 0ELh
R
eliance Jio Infocomm Ltd
on Friday said it has
emerged as the biggest hold-
er of liberalised spectrum
after acquiring radiowaves in
14 out of 22 service areas for
around C11,054 crore in the
latest round of auction that
ended on Thursday.
With this acquisition,
Reliance Jio will be the hold-
er of the largest quantum of
liberalised spectrum and
with the longest residual
spectrum life, Reliance
Industries Ltd Chairman and
Managing Director Mukesh
D Ambani said in a state-
ment.
A liberalised spectrum
regime allows companies the
flexibility to provide services
of their choice - voice, data,
and video - in the alloted
bands.
The company also high-
lighted that it has acquired
spectrum at lower price com-
pared to high rates paid by
leading telecom companies
in the premium 900 Mhz
band.
Biggest lileral
sectrum loloer
for molile liz,
says Reliance ]io
Fh8 QhEw 0ELh/MuMBA
C
ountrys largest bank SBI on Friday reported a steep 34 per cent
fall in net profit to C2,234 crore for the October-December peri-
od of 2013-14 due to rising asset quality stress, investment losses
and hefty provisioning for pensions, and warned of more pain com-
ing in.
Painting a grim picture of an elongated period of stress, State
Bank of India (SBI) Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said bulk
of the stress on assets came from mid-corporate and SME segment.
We need at least a couple of quarters of uptick in GDP for the
asset quality to be better. I see more pain coming in, she said
The bank has decided to move the stress assets recovery branch-
es that were reporting in the National Banking Group so as to have
better focus and outcomes, she said. With that in mind we have
now changed the structure and created four general managers- north,
south, east, west, who will be reporting into the stress management
group and will actually be owning these stress asset recovery branch-
es in the circles, Bhattacharya said. The banks gross NPA ratio dete-
riorated to 5.73 per cent as against 5.30 per cent in the year-ago peri-
od, while provisions towards loan losses rose to C3,428.59 crore from
C2,766 crore a year ago.
8F, easI0a r0vIsI0a, IIt
I0sses 0II 88I r0fIt 40Wa 34%
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014 money 11
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Fh8 QhEw 0ELh
R
iding on higher sales owing to
greater demand from housing
and automobile sectors, Steel
Authority of India Ltd (SAIL)
recorded a 10 per cent increase in
its net profit for the period end-
ing December 30, 2013 (or third
quarter of the current fiscal) at
C533 crore. The company had
registered a net profit of C484
crore during the corresponding
period.
SAIL Chairman CS Verma
while addressing mediapersons
said that despite an overall slug-
gish crude scenario globally, the
companys sales during the third
quarter grew by 7 per cent (they
stood at 2.94 million tonnes over
2.76 million tonnes from the cor-
responding period), owing to
increasing demands from the
housing and automobile sectors.
Sales of flat steel used in auto-
mobiles and white goods sectors
rose by 8.6 per cent, long prod-
ucts, which find application in
construction space, rose by 4.5 per
cent. The company had also
hiked prices by up to C1,500 per
tonne in the last three months in
phases for its products.
The increase in sales
turnover achieved by SAIL,
despite a flat steel market, is an
indication that the company is
well-placed to meet any market
situation, Verma said.
SAIL achieved its highest
ever production of value added
steel at 1.35 million tonnes in the
last quarter, he informed, adding
that all the integrated plants of the
company are running at over 100
per cent rated capacity.
Going forward, we are con-
fident that the product and
process improvement currently
under way in SAIL as a result of
modernisation will bring in
greater returns on our invest-
ment, he said.
Meanwhile, SAIL board also
approved a 20.2 per cent interim
dividend as against 16 per cent last
year. It also cleared a 17 per cent
rise in basic and dearness
allowances for around 85,000 of
its non-executives leading to
around C1,100 crore additional
annual outgo.
8Il 03 r0fIt 0 10% t0 C533 cr 0a hIher saIes
8 k1kFkIkh Q
wAShh0T0h
A
s the US International
Trade Commission began
its hearings on Indias trade,
investment and industrial
policies, a leading bilateral
business group has urged
Washington to avoid unnec-
essary steps that would
imperil US-India economic
relations.
The US India Business
Council, in its submission, has
simultaneously called upon
New Delhi to take steps to
give the US better access to
Indias economy by improving
infrastructure and creating a
regulatory environment that
rewards and protects intellec-
tual property.
These and other issues
can and must be resolved
through ongoing cooperation
and di al ogue, sai d Ron
Somers, president of the
USIBC, a body that has more
than 350 top US and Indian
companies as its members.
Noted economist Arvind
Subramanian of the Peterson
Institute for International
Economics in Washington
also pointed out that the trade
frictions obscure how rapid
and robust integration has
been occurring between the
two countries in recent years
not just in goods, but in ser-
vices and foreign direct invest-
ment as well. This integration
has not come at the expense of
US employment, he said, in
response to a major American
concern.
American industrys com-
plaints of Indias weak intel-
lectual property protection
regime and its domestic con-
tent requirements for foreign
investors in certain sectors are
at the core of the trade com-
mission hearings, launched
last year at the bidding of the
US Congress.
The commissions hear-
ings come close on the heels
of t he US Trade
Representatives decision to
move t he Worl d Trade
Organisation against Indias
local content requirements in
the solar energy sector a
course that has irked New
Delhi.
After this weeks hearings
in Washington on the impact
of the Indian policies on the
US economy, the trade com-
missions members plan to
make two visits to New Delhi
over the next coupl e of
months to hold consultations
with Indian officials. The
commission is due to submit
its report by November.
In a written submission
ahead of his formal testimo-
ny on Friday, Somers called
upon the two countries to
overcome challenges and
strengthen their partnership.
This will pave the way for the
worlds two largest free-mar-
ket democracies to shape the
destiny of the 21st Century
for the better, he said.
To the numerous detrac-
tors on the American side,
Somers has sought to make
the case that Indias size, eco-
nomic prominence, geopolit-
ical influence and shared val-
ues with America make it an
indispensable ally, so all pol-
icy discussions about India
should operate from that
understanding.
Despite the complaints of
American policymakers, law-
makers and companies, it has
been pointed out that since
President George W. Bushs
India visit in 2006, the US-
India two-way trade has
grown from just $25 billion to
more than $100 billion now.
The growth of Indias civil
aviation industry has been a
major boon for US manufac-
turers. Entire fleets of Indias
new private aviation industry
rely wholly on US exports and
content, creating literally hun-
dreds of thousands of jobs
here in the United States,
Somers said, noting that this
is just one of many success
stories related to the engage-
ment with India, another
being its thriving telecom sec-
tor.
Subramanian, in his testi-
mony on Wednesday, took
the stand that Indias overall
integration was proceeding
rapidly. The concern that
Indi a has systemati cal l y
turned protectionist in the
last few years is belied by the
inventory of actual policy
changes, he said, but at the
same time felt that the Indian
regulatory regime has become
more uncertain and arbitrary
in a manner affecting both
forei gn and domesti c
investors.
08 t0I4 t0 av0I4
aatIIa4Ia tra4e meas0res
Jraoe commission legins learings on noia
Fh8QhEw0ELh
J
apanese firm Toshiba
Corporation has said that it is
expecting 7-fold increase in sales
to C18,000 crore from India by
2017, pushed by the power and
infrastructure segments.
The company will also invest
over C3,000 crore in India over the
next five years, and double
employee strength by 2017 to
8,000, Toshiba Corporation
President Hisao Tanaka said. Of
the total sales, 70 per cent is like-
ly to come from the infrastructure
and power business.
Joslila to invest
C3K crore in noia
world 12
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
ITkIIkh FM E8Ih8,
FEh8 WkY I EhZI
ome: lalian Frime Minisler Enrico
Lella announced his resignalion
aler his own arly voled or a
change o 0overnmenl, wilh 8O
yearold lelisl Malleo Ren/i now
execled lo relace him.
ThkI FII6E E6IkIM8
8khkk FTE8T 8ITE
8angkok: Thousands o Thai riol
olice on Friday reclaimed a key
rolesl sile around 0overnmenl
headquarlers here besieged or
monlhs by lhe anli0overnmenl
demonslralors benl on loling
beleaguered remier Yingluck
Shinawalra.
IhhE8Ik VI6kh
EFT8; 3 kIIIE
8ugihWaras: An exlosive volcanic
erulion on ndonesia's mosl
oulou s island blasled ash and
debris 18 kilomelers inlo lhe air
loday, killing lhree eole while
orcing aulhorilies lo evacuale more
lhan 1OO,OOO and close seven
airorls.
Mk1 kTTk6k Ih 6hIhk,
16 MIIITkhT8 kIIIE
8eijing: Fileen "lerrorisls" were
shol dead by olice during a suicide
allack by slamic mililanls in China's
volalile Xinjiang rovince lhal
coincided wilh a visil here by uS
Secrelary o Slale John Kerry.
h: VE 70 6IVIIIkh8
EXE6TE Ih 6h
kinshasa: More lhan 7O men and
women have been summarily
execuled in lhe reslive easlern
0emocralic Reublic o Congo, lhe
uh mission in lhe counlry said.
h8Th kEk kEE
h IkMIIY EhIh8
8eouI: highlevel lalks belween lhe
rival Koreas ended on Friday wilh a
rare agreemenl lo go ahead as
lanned wilh a reunion or divided
amilies, desile lhe horlh's
objeclions lo overlaing Soulh
KoreauS mililary drills.
'MI88Ih' Fkk khTIhE
6kMFkIhE Ih hT
IsIamabad: A Fakislani anlidrone
camaigner, missing since he was
icked u rom his home by men in
olice uniorm over a week ago,
was lhrown oul o a moving vehicle
on lhe oulskirls o Rawalindi.
'6k 8M8 8Ik8T
T8IE 8YIk M8E'
8eiruI: A car bomb allack oulside a
mosque in soulhern Syria killed
do/ens loday and rebels delonaled
mines under a holel used by lhe
army in lhe norlh killing ive, a
monilor said.
TROTTNG TROTTNG
GLOBE
8 k1kFkIkh Q
wAShh0T0h
A
day after its envoys meet-
ing with BJPs prime min-
isterial candidate Narendra
Modi, the United States has let
it be known that it is ready to
do with the business with
whichever government that
assumes office in India after the
ensuing general elections.
Taking the stand that
Ambassador Nancy Powells
meeting with Modi is a part of
Washingtons comprehensive
outreach to Indias political
class, State Department deputy
spokesperson Marie Harf said:
We look forward to working
closely with whatever govern-
ment the Indian people choose
in the upcoming elections.
Asked if that included a
government headed by Modi,
Harf said: Whatever govern-
ment is chosen.
I know that theres a lot of
attention being paid to this one
(the Powell-Modi meeting),
but it really is part of our broad-
er outreach, she maintained.
In contrast to the US gov-
ernments bid to downplay the
call on Modi as part of the
envoys engagement across the
Indian political spectrum
ahead of the elections, the
countrys most influential
newspaper, The New York
Times, found the meeting suf-
ficiently important to merit an
editorial comment.
Calling the US move a
reversal of its long estrange-
ment, The Times commented
that the envoys meeting rep-
resented a pragmatic step in
engaging with India and the
controversial and troubling
politician who could well
become the next prime minis-
ter after elections in May.
Regardless of who suc-
ceeds Prime Minister Man-
mohan Singh this year, the
United States and India have a
lot of work to do to strength-
en their partnership, it said,
noting: Opening a door to a
relationship with Mr. Modi is
a necessary step.
While taking note of the
official contention that Powells
meeting was part of a renewed
American effort to reach out to
politicians across Indias polit-
ical spectrum, The Times com-
mented: Such moves are long
overdue. President Obama has
not paid as much attention to
India as President George W
Bush, an oversight given Indias
central role as a democratic an-
chor in South Asia and its dev-
eloping relationship with Japan.
Turning to the recent
strains involving the treatment
of Indian diplomat Devyani
Khobragade and the trade dis-
pute over solar panels, the pa-
per noted: It is in no ones inte-
rest to let these tensions fester.
India and the United States ha-
ve much to cooperate on, inc-
luding Obamas efforts to stren-
gthen Americas role in Asia
and work with partners to bal-
ance Chinas rise and more
assertive stance in the region
without provoking conflict.
Writing in the Foreign
Policy magazine, former White
House official Anish Goel fault-
ed the US government for hav-
ing let its relationship with the
party (BJP) atrophy almost to
the point of non-existence over
the past decade (since the depar-
ture of the Vajpayee-led NDA
government). The United States
should remedy this situation as
soon as possible to avoid any
unwelcome surprises, said Goel
said, currently a senior South
Asia fellow at the Washington-
based New America
Foundation. He went on to call
upon the US government to
reform its untenable visa posi-
tion on Modi.
08 t0 W0rk cI0seIy
WIth 'Whatever'
60vt Ia4Ia ch00ses
NYJ calls Powell`s
meet witl Mooi
a ragmatic ste
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
vivacity {48 hours} 1S
kI88 80
have walched lhis docu
menlary (6d[PQX 6P]V). l
insired me. So wanl lo
suorl il. l ollows lhe
real lie evenls. Samal
Fal hersel is lhere in lhe
ilm, she has dubbed or
lhe ilm. She is suorling
il and has lravelled lhe
world over wilh 6d[PQX
6P]V.
MII 80
Mosl o my scenes in
6dSSd AP]VTT[P will be
wilh Arshad warsi and he
is one o lhe inesl aclors.
am scared lo work wilh
him because he is so cool,
comorlable and normal
wilh whalever he does. So
am a lillle nervous bul am
also exciled lo work wilh
an aclor like him.
Friyanka is very slrong
and eel she is one o
lhe slrongesl erson
have ever come across.
have very high regards
or her. She resumed
work in 1O days aler her
alher's dealh and shol
or lhe cabarel dance
sequence or lhe ilm.
She is loo roessional.
lI 888 LF8
S H O R T C R C U T S
880FFF 000
lhink il would be omous lo
say am an underraled aclor.
don'l lhink il is or me lo lhink
and decide. am glad am
underraled lhan being overral
ed. would like lo be known as
one o lhe besl aclors in lhe
world. And being sexiesl would
come rom my genes... il is
somelhing was born wilh and
nol earned il or mysel.
kI8 8FE6IkI S5 MNUTES
T
o reach out to the kids,
you should know their
language. The forthcom-
ing festival in the Capital for
children will talk about serious
issues like global warming,
women emancipation, genera-
tion gaps and others, but the
presentations are prepared in a
way that kids enjoy the most.
Professionals will don the role
of characters from interesting
stories. For instance, Swang
Vale, a group from Mumbai,
will raise the issue of dwindling
temperature of planet but
through an intriguing story of
a chameleon. Its a story of a
chameleon who finds it hard to
change the colour since nature
is depleted from its natural
course. Due to global warming,
neither the sky is blue nor is
there any green cover left on
the earth. Now the colours
dont exist, explains Imran
Khan, the director of the festi-
val. The performers, including
the international ones, are
adult professionals but will
play kids characters since it is
a serious initiative. We didnt
want to take chances with chil-
dren artistes, he adds.
The week-long festival,
TIFLI, will take place during
February 17-23 at Bal Bhawan.
There are groups from Sri
Lanka, Iran, Denmark and
Germany besides Indian cities
like Delhi, Mumbai, Imphal,
Kolkata and Bengaluru. Apart
from that, there will be an
international youth residency
programme where artists from
16 countries will participate.
They will stay together for a
week to exchange their ideas,
growth, possibilities and poten-
tial of theatre for children.
There is a focus on South East
Asian countries like Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Germany, Iceland,
US, Austria, Japan and others,
says Khan.
The Danish group of two
artistes will cook spaghetti on
stage. While one would adhere
to traditional method of cook-
ing, the younger cook will
experiment with the recipe.
There will be conflict of ideas
and it would suggest how there
is gap in thoughts between gen-
erations. The young folks want
to experiment, which is often
not accepted by elders, says the
director. There is another story
by Mahasweta Devi called
Kyun Kyun Ladki. Its about
tribal girls challenging the
orthodox setup as they step
into a real world and create
something for themselves, he
adds.
Khan says there is huge
potential for children theatre
but theres a dearth of quality
work. Theatre for children, by
children is fine but there is a
lack of good work. We are not
competing with the interna-
tional festivals at a pace we
should have been doing. In the
Capital, the scene is gradually
picking up but I hope we get an
adrenaline push, he says,
adding, UN Charter says that
having a good entertainment is
every childs right.
Entertainment should be infor-
mative. Theres a lot of talk
already on art intervention in
academics. And theatre devel-
ops your personality when you
watch it or practice it.
The festival seeks protg
from eminent names like
Anupama Roy, Manav Kaul,
Niranjan Goswami and
Ramashankara. With an esti-
mate budget of over C1 crore,
the organisers have got support
from PSUs.
R+lp| w+i|, W|u pl+]J || |+||| i| lV
|i| |i CWT FP[c^]b, JiJ. | W+ 85
|uW up ||i W+]!
TFL, an inlernalional lhealre show or children, will
highlighl issues like global warming and women
emancialion. The eslival direclor soke lo KARAh BhAR0wAJ
I
f the only thing you do till
late night is to surf English
movie channels hoping you
will find your favourite film,
you will know how disap-
pointing it is to realise that
most movies are being repeat-
ed on channels. In such a sce-
nario and keeping in mind the
requirement of the audience
today, channels are devising
interesting ways. Sony Pix
recently announced the pre-
miere of four movies on
February 16. We constantly
strive to interact and engage
with our viewers, by not just
offering exceptional titles but
also presenting them a com-
pletely memorable viewing
experience. Premiere Pixathon
is one such initiative that will
break the clutter and help dif-
ferentiate us in the genre. Its
for the first time ever that any
Hollywood movie channel in
the genre has come up with
such an initiative, shared
Saurabh Yagnik, EVP and
business head, Sony Pix. The
four movi es are The
Expendables 2, After Earth,
Dark Tide and The Girl With
A Dragon Tattoo.
Yagnik added that it is
extremely i mportant for
Hollywood channels today to
think out-of-the-box as the
audience has become channel
blind and only content can
help the channel to stand out
in such a scenario. We have
been the front-runner in inno-
vative promotion and market-
ing of premieres. We have
been striving hard to offer the
viewers an amazing experi-
ence. The challenge is to raise
the bar and offer options to the
audience to stay glued. Quality
and innovation are the two
things we have always aimed
at, he added.
Talking about what can be
the next step to keep the view-
ers glued, Yagnik said, We will
move forward to Pixathon of
the famous franchise, like
Rocky Pixathon and Shrek
Pixathon.
TE FI6TE S0 MNUTES
A mark
abovo tho rost
SAuRABh YA0hK, EvF and business
head o Sony FX, shares how lhe
channel lans lo be a clullerbreaker
3PaZ CXST
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY15, 2014
14
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
sport 15
088I0FF8lF 08I8lI
kF Q CEhTuR0h
D
avid Warner blazed
Australia's third centu-
ry in three days after
fast bowler Mitchell Johnson
took 7-68, giving the tourists
complete control over South
Africa in the first test on Friday.
Warner's 115 off 151 balls
with 13 fours and two sixes was
almost as blisteringly quick as
Johnson's bowling as Australia
raced to 288-3 in its second
innings at stumps on the third
day for a huge lead of 479.
After Johnson ripped out
the remains of South Africa to
reduce the top-ranked team to
206 in its first innings, Warner
and Alex Doolan (89) domi-
nated with the bat in a 205-run
partnership in the afternoon -
Australia's second double-cen-
tury stand of the game.
Doolan just missed out on
a hundred on debut in the clos-
est thing to disappointment for
Australia in a dominating start
to the series.
Warner was dropped three
times and twice in the 20s
to compound South Africa's
problems as its fielding unrav-
eled along with its bowling and
batting.
After South Africa was 140-
6 overnight, Johnson continued
the carnage with three wickets
in the morning to go with his
four on the second day, with the
home team rolled out for 206.
As he was on Thursday,
Johnson was hostile as he
removed Robin Peterson, AB
de Villiers and last-man Morne
Morkel. England' s main
destroyer in the Ashes with 37
wickets in five tests, Johnson
lived up to that fierce reputa-
tion with seven wickets overall
at Centurion from 17.1 brutal
and at times unplayable overs.
De Villiers made 91 for
South Africa's only major con-
tribution as it added 66 on the
day for the last four wickets.
Australia lost opener Chris
Rogers to speedster Dale Steyn
in the second over of its second
innings to be 1-1 and 18-1 at
lunch, but the tourists surged
way ahead after that minor blip
through Warner's and Doolan's
punishing partnership.
Australia was in position to
inflict on South Africa a second
defeat at the Centurion ground
in 18 tests, and the first since
2000.
Australia scored 397 bat-
ting first after being put in by
South Africa captain Graeme
Smith, with a career-best 148
from Shaun Marsh and 100
from Steve Smith.
In his second over on Friday,
left-arm quick Johnson began
with a lifting delivery to remove
Robin Peterson, caught in the
slips, for 10. He had De Villiers
caught at mid-off by a jumping
Warner, and was way too fast for
tailender Morkel, who edged his
first ball, a typically fierce short-
pitched delivery, to wicketkeep-
er Brad Haddin.
Offspinner Nathan Lyon
returned 2-38 and Peter Siddle
had 1-33 but the innings was all
about Johnson.
Johnson's value was under-
lined as Warner and Doolan
had little problem with South
Africa's pace attack, smashing
25 fours and three sixes
between them to lead by near-
ly 500 with seven wickets in
hand and two days still to play.
Brief Scores
Aus: 397 and 288/3 (Warner
115, Doolan 89; Duminy 1/12)
lead SA: 206 (de Villiers 91;
Johnson 7/68) by 479 runs at
stumps on Day 3.
Kalinga
thrash
Panohi
New Delhi: Out of contention
for a semifinal berth, debutants
Kalinga Lancers produced an
impressive show to stun
defending champions Ranchi
Rhinos 4-1 in their penultimate
game of the Hero Hockey India
League (HHIL) 2014 in front of
home crowd at the Kalinga
Stadium in Bhubaneswar on
Friday.
Kalinga were in control of
the match for major part of 70
minutes to avenge upon their
2-3 loss at the hands of same
opponents in their previous
meeting this year.
The first quarters saw both
the teams adopting a cautious
approach and were content to
play the Kalinga and Ranchi
were able to create quite a few
impressive attacks but their
forays fizzled out once inside
the opposition circle as the
backline of both the teams
stood tall.
Kalinga were under no
pressure and it resembled in
their performance as they went
all out.
The hosts stunned Ranchi
Rhinos in the 23rd minute
when Aron Zelewski scored a
field goal. Kalinga doubled
their lead five minutes later
through Devinder Walmiki
(28th minute), who scored
from a rebound after Ranchi
Rhinos goalie Sushant Tirkey
denied Gozalo Peillat from the
hosts first penalty corner.
Ranchi were surprised
when Peillat converted his
side's second penalty corner in
the 33rd minute to give Kalinga
a comfortable 3-0 lead at the
half-way mark.
As has been the story in the
opening 35 minutes, Kalinga
Lancers continued to enjoy the
lions' share of possession after
the breather but failed to extend
their lead despite making some
Ranchi did manage to pull one
back in the 45th minute
through Pradhan Somanna's
field goal from close range to
keep his team's hopes alive.
It was a treat for the home
as Peillat scored from a field
effort in the final minute of the
match to make the scoreline 4-
1 and help the Lancers regis-
ter their second win in the
tournament.
Kalinga, coached by Indian
head coach Terry Walsh, pock-
eted five points from the match
and took their tally to 16 points
from nine while Ranchi,
coached by South African
Gregg Clarke, had to return
empty-handed from the game
and remained static on the
fourth position in the standings
with 24 points from eight
matches.
Todays Matches
Jaypee Punjab Warriors vs
Uttar Pradesh Wizards at 6.00
PM in Mohali.
Dabur Mumbai
Magicians vs Del hi
Waveriders at 8.00 PM in
Mumbai. PNS
After Johnson
ripped out the
remains of South
Africa to reduce
the top-ranked
team to 206 in its
first innings,
Warner and Alex
Doolan {89]
dominated with
the bat in a 205-
run partnership
Ride on warner0oolan arlnershi and Johnson's ury lo lead by 47O runs
wilh seven wickels in hand againsl Soulh Arica on lhird day o irsl Tesl
Au||+li+ |+||+| +1iJ w+||| |+i |i |+| +||| |+|i| + ||u|] u| ||i|J
J+] u| ||i| l| ++i|| Suu|| A||i+ +| C||u|iu| P+|| i| P||u|i+ u| ||iJ+] AP
world 16
kF Q BERuT
T
he United Nations temporarily sus-
pended the evacuation of civilians
from the embattled Syrian city of Homs
on Friday, a senior UN official said, while
the government screened military age
males who left the area.
Meanwhile, near Lebanon, Syrian
forces and rebels clashed over the strate-
gic town of Yabroud, causing hundreds
of people to flee over the border.
The halt in evacuations came just a
day after a cease-fire was extended for
three more days. Hundreds more civil-
ians are believed to still be trapped in a
rebel-held medieval quarter known as
Old Homs.
Senior Syria UN official Matthew
Hollingworth told The Associated Press
by telephone from Damascus that
dozens of men and boys aged 15 to 55,
who left Old Homs during earlier evac-
uations, are still being held and ques-
tioned by Syrian authorities.
"The agreement has been we will
now concentrate on the process of
completing the regularisation of status
of the men from 15 to 55," Hollingworth
said. "Only when that's done, will we
look at another evacuation." Later in the
day however he said the U.N was not
linking the next evacuation to the
release of the men being processed by
Syrian authorities. The Syrian govern-
ment considers males of military age to
be potential combatants who must
obtain security clearance before being
released. Those authorities suspect of
being rebels will likely be detained.
Hollingworth said several dozen
men were being held in a school in
Homs and that UN officials are also pre-
sent there. They were part of 1,400 peo-
ple evacuated by the UN. And the Syrian
Red Crescent from opposition-held
areas of Homs over the past week as a
fragile truce between took hold between
forces loyal to President Bashar Assad
and armed rebels seeking his overthrow.
08 a0ses evac0atI0as
fr0m 8yrIa's 0ms
h FE88 Ih FEk6E
TkIk8: 8YIkh MIhI8TE
eneva: A resh round o uhbrokered
eace lalks belween Syria's governmenl
and oosilion has made no rogress, lhe
lwo sides said on Friday. 'we deely
regrel lhal lhis round did nol make any
rogress,' Syria's deuly oreign minisler,
Faisal Muqdad lold reorlers as bolh
sides lraded blame over lhe deadlock in
lhe 0eneva lalks, lhe second round o
which began Monday. 05?
Washington: Former Republican congressman and presidential candidate Ron
Paul has started a petition drive to pressure the Obama administration to grant
clemency to former National Security Agency contractor
Edward Snowden, who is charged with espionage over
leaks about the government's surveillance programmes.
Paul's push for clemency would have to be granted
by President Barack Obama. Earlier this week, Paul's son,
Republican Sen. Rand Paul, a potential presidential can-
didate in 2016, filed a lawsuit against Obama and other
top administration officials to stop the surveillance pro-
grammes, which Sen. Paul contends are violations of 4th
amendment constitutional protections against unrea-
sonable searches. Ron Paul said in a video post that he wants Snowden to
return to the US without facing prosecution before his amnesty in Russia
expires at the end of July. AP
Formor US lawmakor starts
Snowdon olomonoy potition
FTI Q BEJh0
U
S Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday
warned China against "unilateral" actions in
its maritime territorial disputes with Japan and
the Philippines during candid talks with President
Xi Jinping saying any such provocation could
threaten regional stability.
"We've made it very clear that a unilateral,
unannounced, unprocessed initiative like that can
be very challenging to certain people in the region,
and therefore to regional stability," Kerry said after
separate meetings with Xi and Premier Li
Keqiang.
The US along with its ally Japan had object-
ed to China establishing an Air Defence
Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the disputed
islands in the East China Sea and refused to recog-
nise it. There were reports that China also plans
to establish an ADIZ over islands in the South
China Sea disputed with the Philippines but
Beijing denied any such move. "We made clear our
feelings on any unilateral announcement," Kerry
told reporters.
Any such moves should be done "in an open,
transparent, accountable way," he said, adding
China should meet "the highest standards" of
openness "to reduce any possibilities of misin-
terpretation".
On the South China Sea dispute, Kerry said
that he hopes China and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) make "rapid
strides in negotiating the code of conduct that
would reduce tensions".
"We encourage steps by everybody, not just
China, to avoid all kinds of provocation and work
through the legal tools available," he said.
No unilateral
action in maritime
oisutes: Kerry
kF Q wAShh0T0h
T
he Obama administration has quietly stopped
demanding that Afghan President Hamid
Karzai finalise a stalled security pact within weeks,
opening up the possibility that a decision on keep-
ing US and international forces in Afghanistan
after this year might not be made until after
Karzai's successor is elected this spring.
While US officials say they still strongly pre-
fer that the agreement be signed quickly, they did
not rule out the possibility of waiting to see if a
new Afghan leader might be easier to work with.
Pushing off the decision on keeping troops in
Afghanistan comes with increased risks and com-
plications for the US military, though the
Pentagon is making adjustments to give President
Barack Obama that option.
Karzai's refusal to sign the security pact has
strained relations with Washington. He further
exacerbated tensions on Friday by releasing 65 mil-
itants from a former US prison near Kabul. The
American military angrily denounced the move,
saying the men are Taliban fighters who will like-
ly return to the battlefield to kill coalition and
Afghan forces.
American-l ed combat operations in
Afghanistan are set to end on December 31, but
the US is seeking to keep up to 10,000 troops
on the ground for counterterrorism and train-
ing missions.
08 sees m0re
4eIay Ia fhaa
sec0rIty act
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15 2014
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
17
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY15, 2014
world 18
S|iu| B1P l+J| || AJ1+|i |l+ 8]SXP D]X]R + |uu|, |] P|u| R V+iJ]+|+||+|, i| |W l|i u| ||iJ+]. l| |u||iu| W+
+lu +|||JJ |] B1P l+J| Su||+|+|i+| SW+|] +|J i||u| u| Vi1|+|+|J+ l||||+|iu|+l |uu|J+|iu| A|i| u1+l
Piu|| p|u|u
Th khhkThk Q MuMBA
S
ocial activist Medha Patkar
announced that she would
contest the forthcoming Lok
Sabha poll from Maharashtra.
While announcing her deci-
sion, Patkar said that she, her
supporters and groups sup-
porting her were yet to zero in
on the constituency from which
she would contest the poll.
Sources close to her said
that though the AAP had
requested her to contest the
poll on its ticket, Patkar was
instead seriously contemplating
contesting as an Independent.
We will decide on the
constituency and the banner, if
any, under which I will contest
the polls in the next few days,
Patkar said, while not ruling
out the possibility of her con-
testing the pol ls as an
Independent.
Talking to the media,
Patkar said that her decision to
contest the LS poll stemmed
from the requests she has been
receiving from various social
groups with which she is asso-
ciated and also political groups
that were supporting her.
At a meeting held here on
Wednesday, senior social work-
ers and leaders representing
socialist and leftist movements
insisted that I contest the forth-
coming Lok Sabha polls. AAP
has also been asking me to con-
test the Lok Sabha polls on its
ticket. The AAP has told me that
it would support me even if I
contest as an Independent. I will
take a call on this (whether to
contest as an AAP nominee or
as an Independent) in the next
few days, she said.
Medha Falkar
will conlesl
LS olls rom
Maharashlra
Fh8 Q LuCKh0w
A
sking officers to be fear-
less in improving the
law & order in the State,
Chief Minister Akhil esh
Yadav said that the onus was
on the State bureaucracy to
implement Government
policies in letter and spirit so
that the people were bene-
fited by various schemes
launched for them.
You are the implement-
ing agencies. You are the
courier and are expected to
deliver. If you fail, the gov-
ernment also fails in extend-
Bottor UP law & ordor sans
oar, Akhilosh tolls babus
ing relief to the people. So be
sensitive in extending help to
t hose who need t he
Governments helping hand
the most, Yadav told the IAS
officers at the administrative
conference held on the second
day of the Uttar Pradesh IAS
Week here on Friday.
The Chief Minister said
the need of the hour was to
improve law and order in the
state because the country
could progress only if there
was peace and tranquillity in
Uttar Pradesh. He said that
bad law and order presented
a bad i mage of t he
Government.
00I0aa WIas 15k
cIassIcaI race
kF Q KRAShAYA F0LYAhA
D
ario Cologna, skiing in
short sleeves on anoth-
er warm and sunny day,
won his second gold medal at
the Sochi Olympics on Friday
with a dominant performance
in the 15-kilometer classical-
style cross-country race.
The Swiss led by just 0.7
seconds at the 8-kilometer
mark of the interval-start race,
but his advantage grew steadi-
ly and he finished 28.5 seconds
ahead of Sweden' s Johan
Olsson.
Another Swede, Daniel
Richardsson, took bronze after
his strong finish put him 0.2
seconds ahead of Finland's Iivo
Niskanen.
Cologna started 30 seconds
behind Olsson but caught the
Swede before coming into the
stadium, and the two were
side-by-side on the final
straight.
The two may have bene-
fitted from early start numbers.
Both went out ahead of the
seeded group, and the warm
weather softened the course for
the later starters. Czech veter-
an Lukas Bauer, second in the
seeded group, was the only
other skier within a minute of
Cologna, finishing 58.9 sec-
onds back in fifth place.
Overall World Cup leader
Martin Johnsrud Sundby of
Norway had a disappointing
race, finishing 1:37.7 behind
the winner. Chris Andre
Jespersen was the top
Norwegian in sixth place. He
skied in a modified suit with
shorts and cutoff sleeves in the
bright sunshine.
Cologna and Olsson would
both normally have been in the
seeded group, but they haven't
competed much on the World
Cup because of injuries.
Cologna had ankle surgery in
November and returned to
competition only last month,
but still won the opening 30K
skiathlon in Sochi. Olsson, the
50K classical world champion,
had not competed in about two
months because of an illness
and rib injury.
I8kI IIhI8hE8 B6Th
India's cross country skier
Nadeem Iqbal had a disap-
pointing outing as he finished
85th in the men's 15km classic
run event.
The 30-year-old
Armyman, in his first Winter
Olympics, clocked 55 minute
12.5 seconds to cover the 15km
distance and secure a lowly
85th position out of 87 athletes
who finished the race at the
Laura Cross-country Ski and
Biathlon Center.
Iqbal was 16 minute 42.8
seconds behind gold medal
winner Dario Cologna of
Switzerland, who clocked 38
minute 29.7 seconds. Swedish
skiers Johan Olsson (38:58.2s)
and Dani el Ri chardsson
(39:08.5s) grabbed the silver
and bronze medals respec-
tively.
Alpine skier Himanshu
Thakur is the only Indian left
in the fray now and his Giant
Slalom event begins on
February 19.
Kolkata: The Indian challenge
at the USD 50,000 ATP
Challenger Tour ended today
after Russian third seed Evgeny
Donskoy outplayed Somdev
Devvarman to set up a final
clash against a spirited Ilija
Bozoljac of Serbia.
Barring the first set which
the second seed Somdev won
after breaking his opponent in
the second game, it was the
Russian all the way as he
clinched the match 3-6, 7-5,
6-2. The day, however, belonged
to unseeded Bozoljac as the
world-ranked 270 showed an
astounding comeback after los-
ing nine straight games to stun
the top seed and world-ranked
93 Aleksandr Nedovyesov 0-6,
7-5, 6-3.
India found some solace in
the doubles which was won by
the wild card duo of Saketh
Myneni and Sanam Singh who
downed Vishnu Vardhan and
Divij Sharan 6-3, 3-6, 10-4.
Having beaten the Russian
in ATP world Tour Masters in
Miami last year, Somdev start-
ed as the favourite in front of a
boisterous crowd as he won the
first set 6-3 with just a break of
serve in the second game.
The second set witnessed a
lot of service breaks by both the
players.
Somdev, at 5-6 on serve fal-
tered as he could not convert the
crucial points in his favour to
concede the second set 5-7 and
take the match into the decider.
Slipping from bad to worse,
Somdev committed a lot of
unforced errors as the Russian
broke in the fourth game before
wrapping up the issue with
another break in the eighth
game. "I really could hit well in
the third set with good forehand
and backhand... I felt really
confident.
"I got breaks and then bro-
ken, I got two or three winners
that gave me confidence into the
third set," Donskoy who is
recovering from a back injury
after making a third round exit
against Lleyton Hewitt in the US
Open, said.
"After the US Open, I
played in Russia where I had a
back injury. But now I've start-
ed to play again," Donskoy said
ahead of his final against
Bozoljac.
The Serbian enthralled the
crowd in the first match of the
day as his grand recovery after
losing the first set 0-6 and trail-
ing 0-3 in the second. "I was
telling myself, this was 'unbe-
lievable, imagine losing a
match 0-6, 0-6' and the next
thing I would see that my
wife, my family and my coach
had left, he said. PTI
Somoev
outlayeo
SWi||l+|J +|iu Culu|+ |il
+||| Wi||i| |i u|J ulJ AP
sport 19 NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
NEW DELH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2014
sport 20
86hMk6hE VE6ME8 Ih IhIE6TIh: EFT
Berlin: Formula 0ne legend Michael Schumacher, lying in a coma in
a French hosilal since a 0ecember skiing accidenl, has overcome a
lung ineclion, 0erman daily Bild reorled on Friday. The newsaer
had reorled lwo days earlier lhal Schumacher had conlracled
neumonia lasl week, bul il said Friday lhal lhe ineclion in acl had
haened earlier and 'lhis week no longer sells an acule danger'.
'Thereore Schumi has already won lhe ighl againsl neumonia,' said
lhe loselling daily, using lhe oular nickname or lhe 45yearold
0erman racing driver. Schumacher has been in inlensive care in
0renoble universily hosilal since his 0ecember 2O accidenl in lhe
Aline resorl o Meribel in which he hil his head againsl a rock in an
imacl slrong enough lo crack his helmel. Aler surgery lo reduce
bleeding and bruising he was laced in a medically induced coma and
his body lemeralure lowered lo reduce lhe risk o urlher damage.
Schumacher's sokesman said on January 8O lhal lhe drugs used lo
kee him in a coma were being reduced wilh a view lo bringing him
back lo consciousness.
FEW6 ThkMEhT I8 k M8T: 8ET 8kkh
New Delhi: AFF lechnical direclor Roberl Bann has slressed on lhe
need lo organise a re world Cu lournamenl in 2O1G involving
counlries rom Asia, Arica, Euroe and Soulh America as arl o
rearalion or hosling lhe u17 FFA world Cu in 2O17. This is arl
o Baan's resenlalion on how ndia should besl reare or ils
maiden slinl in lhe u17 FFA world Cu. Similarly, lhe world Cu
leam should also lravel lo dierenl arls o lhe world or exosure
lris.'Flayers need lo adal lo dierenl cullures, dierenl laying
slyles. Also you need nlernalional Tournamenls every year leading u
lo a Fre world Cu lournamenl in lhe counlry involving all lhe lo
nalions,' Baan said. The views were exressed in lhe lwoday FCC
00AL 2O14 ndian Foolball Summil which ended here. Baan also laid
slress on having more and more comelilions or lhe u17 world Cu
leam. '0ood Coach Educalion and lraining is nol suicienl. You need
lo have regular Comelilions al lhal agegrou which is rearing or
lhe world Cu. Thal is very imorlanl.'
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shant Sharma exploited the seam-
ing conditions brilliantly to return
with a career-best six for 51 as
India took early control of the second
and final Test by skittling out New
Zealand for a paltry 192 in the first
innings, here on Friday.
Sharma (6/51) justified captain
MS Dhoni's decision to bowl first on
a greentop as the lanky pacer kept the
host batsmen on their toes with his
testing line and length.
Rising pacer Mohammad Shami
(4/70) also contributed in India's
dominating performance on day one
as he picked up key wickets of Kane
Williamson (47) and debutant James
Neesham (33) at crucial junctures.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan then
hit an attacking unbeaten half-cen-
tury as India reached 100 for two at
close, still trailing by 92 runs at the
Basin Reserve.
Dhawan (71) and night-watch-
man Sharma (3) were at the crease
after the visitors lost the wickets of
opener Murali Vijay (2) and
Cheteshwar Pujara (19).
Sharma continued with his splen-
did show from the first Test as he
claimed his second five-wicket haul
of the series and fifth overall in his
55th Test.
Sharma took three wickets in the
first four overs of his morning spell
and that laid the foundation for
India's hugely successful day when
they are hoping to level the series.
While experienced speedster
Zaheer Khan hit probing lengths
immediately, Shami was still in the
same mode as at Eden Park, bowl-
ing a tad short and looking for
bounce from the wicket than move-
ment in the air. However, he was
negotiated easily by the batsmen as
the Kiwi openers took 14 runs off his
first three overs.
It meant that Sharma was intro-
duced into the attack as early as the
eighth over and thereon, went on to
bowl unchanged for nine overs, turn-
ing the morning session India's way.
Hamish Rutherford (12) was
unable to keep down a well-aimed
short ball and was caught by Vijay at
first slip. Two overs later, Sharma
bowled an inswinger that hit Peter
Fulton (13) on his pads and was
trapped LBW, resulting in another
poor start for the Kiwis.
In his third over of the morning
then, the bowler continued his good
work and made debutant Tom
Latham's day a bad one, dismissing
him for a duck in his first Test
innings.
Latham's fall brought Auckland's
double-centurion Brendon
McCullum to the crease and togeth-
er with the in-form Kane Williamson,
he avoided further damage for nine
overs but only put on 19 runs for the
fourth wicket, when Shami returned
and bowled a much improved fuller
length in his second spell.
It earned him just reward, as
McCullum (8) played a loose shot and
was caught by Jadeja at mid-off.
As the morning turned out to be
an uncomfortable one for their hosts,
India could have had another wicket
in the last over before lunch, when
Williamson was caught by Dhoni off
Zaheer in the 26th over. But it was a
no-ball and the batsman, who had sur-
vived a close LBW shout off Sharma
in the 24th over, was again lucky.
In the post-lunch session,
Williamson and Corey Anderson
started at 51/4 with the two batsmen
looking to control the damage done
in the first session.
The latter looked to hit out and
counter attack the bowling, in a bid
to drive back the Indian bowlers who
were looking very menacing. He hit
three fours and one six in this bid,
but couldn't last long enough to sus-
tain the innings.
He was snapped up by Sharma, the
hero of the day, in the 34th over of the
innings. Anderson made 24 runs
before an inside edge ballooned off his
pad and went straight to Virat Kohli
at gully, adding 39 valuable runs with
Williamson, who was again lucky
having survived twice before lunch.
Brief Scores
NZ: 192 in 52. 5 overs (Kane
Williamson 47, Jimmy Neesham 33;
Ishant Sharma 6/51, Mohammed
Shami 4/70) lead India: 100/2 in 28
overs (Shikhar Dhawan batting 71;
Trent Boult 1/18) by 92 runs at
stumps on Day 1.
The wicket had a spongy
bounce and it was a juicy
wicket in the morning. We
were disciplined in our
bowling today. n the first
innings at Auckland, we
got a bit carried away
looking at the fresh pitch.
But we learnt from the
second innings there that
if we bowl with discipline,
we will get more rewards
SHANT SHARMA
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