Lucknow - The Pioneer

Follow us on:
@TheDailyPioneer
WORLD 7
LANDMARK 6
Established 1864
Published From
DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL
BHUBANESWAR RANCHI
RAIPUR CHANDIGARH
DEHRADUN
facebook.com/dailypioneer
SPORT 8
TWO COPS KILLED IN AIDED BY KURDISH FIGHTERS, COLOMBIA BEAT USA
MILITANT ATTACK IN J&K SYRIA STORMS ISIS’ CAPITAL 2-0 IN COPA OPENER
RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/2016-18
Late City Vol. 152 Issue 153
*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable
LUCKNOW, SUNDAY JUNE 5, 2016; PAGES 12+8 `3
www.dailypioneer.com
USUALSUSPECTS
SWAPAN DASGUPTA
Rahul’s aggression can’t
overcome Modi’s solidity
ndia is not unusual either in its adulation of conspiracy
theories or its belief that every happening in the public
Isphere
has a convoluted explanation. Yet, the Indian
penchant for twisted logic must have been a little out of the
ordinary for the British colonisers to be a little extra
bewildered. When terms like the “slippery Brahmin”,
“Peshwai deviousness” and even exasperation over the
native penchant of lying under oath made their appearance
in popular colonial literature, they became the subject of
Indian indignation. In today’s world, an entire academic
discipline has emerged preoccupied with rectifying old
stereotypes.
What, in the past, used to by taken as a byword for
‘cunning’ — an attribute naturally coexisting with the ability
to be economical with the truth — has today been
legitimised as ‘spin’, a growth industry of the made-in-media
age. Indeed, ‘spin’ has become so fine an art that the
distinction between reality and photoshopped truth has often
become ridiculously blurred. Indeed, in today’s world the
expression ‘truth’ has to be used with extreme caution.
This extended foreplay about mirage and reality arises in
the context of a so-called ‘news flash’ last week suggesting
that Rahul Gandhi was poised to take over from Sonia
Gandhi as the head of the Indian National Congress. It was
also suggested that this takeover was going to be more than
a symbolic handover of responsibilities. Rahul, it was
suggested, was going to storm the headquarters with a
bunch of handpicked lieutenants in tow.
Such a piece of ‘breaking news’ isn’t new. Every six
months with or so since 2012-13, the Indian media has got
into a tizzy debating the imminence of Rahul’s elevation and,
by implication, Sonia’s retirement. Occasionally, the reports
have been peppered with suggestions that, along with
Crown Prince Rahul, the Princess Royal Priyanka will be
entrusted the charge of Uttar Pradesh. The person who
someone recently dubbed the Duke of Moradabad has also
occasionally featured in the speculation — not, I may add,
because there is resounding faith in his political skills or
even his public image.
There are three reasons
Strangely, all these reports
why his audacious strategy — and Digvijay Singh has
— almost akin to Hitler’s often been cited by Congress
1945 Ardennes offensive groupies as the chief
— has not worked. First, speculation dissemination
agency — have come to
the Modi Government has nought. After the 2014 general
shown no signs of internal election debacle, when stories
of a furious mother-son spat
disarray. Secondly, the
started doing the rounds,
Congress has not been
there was the muchable to protect its own
publicised 40-day sulk of the
strongholds in Assam and Crown Prince. Sightings of him
Kerala. Finally, a set of
featured in Twitter and he
came back spiritually and
scandals involving
politically re-energised, or so it
siphoning of
was said. Yet, for what it’s
Government resources
worth, nothing resembling a
has hit the family
distinct Crown Prince stamp
has been evident in politics.
At best it was said that the declaration of total war
against the Narendra Modi Government that was initiated
some six months ago, was a strategy evolved by Rahul
Gandhi to energise his troops for the long haul. This long
war strategy was also premised on the belief that the Modi
Government was losing momentum all round and that
sporadic defeats — such as in Delhi and Bihar — would
bring about an impression of collapse, reduce the
Government to being a lame duck and benefit the principal
opposition party. In other words, by declaring total war in
2015, Rahul hoped to make Modi’s defeat a foregone
conclusion by 2017.
There are three reasons why this audacious strategy —
almost akin to Hitler’s 1945 Ardennes offensive — has not
worked. First, the Modi Government has shown no signs of
internal disarray. Indeed, the victory in Assam and the vote
bulge in Kerala has added to the party’s self-confidence.
Secondly, the Congress has not been able to protect its own
strongholds in Assam and Kerala. Even its small
possessions in North-eastern India and the Hill States show
signs of extreme vulnerability.
Finally, a set of scandals involving siphoning of
Government resources has hit the family. There have been
allegations that Robert Vadra — said to be the weakest link
in the Congress chain — have kept the wrong sort of
company and that these dodgy links would affect the
dynastic image. One such controversy involving a Delhi fixer
who specialised in judges and arms is playing out now.
Why, at this moment when the Congress’ prospects don’t
look terribly encouraging, should the talk of a Rahul takeover
grip the headlines, even if for less than 24 hours?
Turn to Page 5
Stings over, the ‘Greatest’ floats away
PNS n NEW DELHI
e doggedly refused to fight
H
a war for America because
of his religious beliefs but
would seldom lose a battle in
the ring. He punched, he pummeled and he berated his opponents with the ferocity of a soldier and with an audacity that
few could withstand in White
America of the 60s.
But none could ever fault
this boxing genius, not when at
22 he won his first heavyweight title, or when he refused
to be conscripted into the US
Army and was stripped of his
title, or when he converted to
Islam to give up his “slave
name” or, least of all when he
put down giants in the ring
with pre-conceived statements
of victory. “I am greatest”, he
roared and none was able to
ever refute that.
Cassius Clay, a la
Muhammad Ali, is no more. At
74, he breathed his last in a
Phoenix hospital after a 32year-long fight with Parkinson’s
disease which was fallout of
repeated blows to his head
during his boxing days and
resultant respiratory issues.
Besides winning 56 of the
MUHAMMAD ALI
v
JAN 1942 — JUNE 2016
v
We’ll stand by Afghan
against all odds: PM
PTI n HEART
nfazed by terror attacks on
its missions, India will
continue to extend cooperation
in war-torn Afghanistan, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi
asserted on Saturday after dedicating a `1,700 crore dam in
strategically vital Herat
province. Modi said other
countries may have a “sunset
clause” but India’s ties with
Afghanistan remain “timeless”.
“Our resources may be
modest, but our will is boundless. For others, their commitments may have a sunset
clause, but our relationship is
timeless. We face barriers of
geography and politics, but we
define our path from the clar-
U
Af Prez confers
highest civilian
award on Modi
Herat: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, on a brief
visit to Afghanistan, was on
Friday conferred with Amir
Amanullah Khan Award, the
country’s highest civilian
honour.
He was bestowed with the
honour by Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani after the inauguration of the landmark
Afghan-India Friendship Dam.
“A true brotherhood is
honoured. The PM is awarded the Amir Amanullah Khan
Award, Afghanistan’s highest
civilian honour,” External
Affairs Ministry spokesperson
Vikas Swarup tweeted along
with a photo.
During his 25 minutelong speech after inaugurating
the dam, Modi also invoked
Chisht-born Sufi saint Khwaja
Moinuddin Chishti, who settled down in Ajmer and is
venerated by thousands of
people visiting his shrine.
“Khwaja Moiunuddin
Chishti, the first of the Chishti
saints in India, said that
human beings must have the
affection of the sun, the generosity of the river and the
hospitality of the earth.
Turn to Page 5
ity of our purpose,” he said in
an address after inaugurating
the Afghan- India Friendship
Dam along with President
Ashraf Ghani.
Modi hailed the people of
Afghanistan for denouncing
terrorism and said division
among them will only help
those seeking to “dominate” the
nation from outside.
“It was a war not of Afghan
making, but it was one that
stole the future of an entire generation of Afghans,” the Prime
Minister said, adding that the
brave Afghan people are today
sending a message that the
forces of “destruction and
death, denial and domination”
shall not prevail. When
Afghanistan succeeds in defeating terrorism, the world will be
“safer and more beautiful”,
he said.
The dam, earlier known as
Salma Dam, has been built by
India at a cost of `1,700 crore
on river Harirud in Chist-eSharif in western Herat neighbouring Iran. It will irrigate
75,000 hectares of land and
generate 42 MW of power.
“This dam has not been
built by bricks and mortar, but
by the faith of our friendship
and the valour of Afghans and
FAIZAN AHMAD n PATNA
ihar’s Intermediate Science
B
topper Saurabh Shrestha
and third topper Rahul Kumar,
both students of Vishnu Rai
College in Vaishali district, have
failed the retest, following which
the Bihar School Examination
Board (BSEB) on Saturday cancelled their initial results. This
is the first time in the history of
BSEB that the merit list has been
changed and results of two toppers cancelled.
Another student of the
same college, Ruby Rai, the top-
first prosecution under
IAct,nthethetheamended
Juvenile Justice
teenager accused in the
Mercedes hit-and-run case, who
had turned 18 four days after the
accident which claimed life of a
33-year-old marketing executive
in April this year, will be tried
as an adult.
The presiding officer of the
Juvenile Justice Board (JJB)
on Saturday passed an order on
the application of the Delhi
Police seeking to try the
accused as an adult, as the
offence came under the definition of heinous crime.
The police had told the JJB
that the teenager was a repeat
offender and that he had a
history of traffic violations
which included over-speeding
and he was booked for it on
June 17, 2015.
He was also booked for
driving in violation of traffic
regulations on February 25,
2014 and for not wearing a seat
belt on September 19, 2014.
The Juvenile Justice (Care
and Protection of Children)
Amendment Act 2015 allows
for juveniles 16 years or older
to be tried as adults for heinous
offences like rape and murder.
The Act was amended following public outrage after one of
the offenders in the December
16, 2012 gangrape case escaped
being tried in the court as he
was a few months short of 18.
The circumstances
collectively indicate
that he was indifferent
towards life and safety
of other users of the
road, although he was
mature enough to think
of ways to escape from
lawful punishment of
the offence
In its order, the JJ Board
said that the accused had the
ability to understand the consequences of the offence while
committing the crime. The
minor accused was in no manner lacking in mental and
physical capacity to commit the
alleged offence and on the
date of incident he had the ability to understand the consequences of the offence, it
added.
The board further said that
the accused drove very fast and
dangerously despite warning of
Modi inaugurates
`1,700-cr dam in
Herat, says India’s
ties with Afghanistan
remain ‘timeless’
Rebel without
cause, Ram Vriksh
dies in fire he lit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, inaugurates
the India funded Friendship Dam in Herat on Saturday
PTI
Indians. And, at this moment
of pride, we also stand in grief
and gratitude for lives sacrificed
so that Afghan people will
per of Arts stream, who failed
to turn up for the retest on
Friday, has been given another chance to appear for her reexam on June 11.
In another major decision,
the BSEB derecognised the
Vishnu Rai College with immediate effect, said BSEB chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh.
This college has a dubious distinction of producing toppers
almost every year.
This year too, altogether
646 students appeared in intermediate exam from this college
of which 534 secured first division with three of them being
toppers, 96 passed with second
division and only 14 failed.
Turn to Page 5
Hit-&-run killer 1st juvenile to face trial as adult
ANKITA UPADHYAY n
NEW DELHI
Mostly seen as a synonym
for unbridled power, it was sad
to see this 6-foot-3-inch fighter of the ring, tremble, shake
and lose his speech to the
debilitating disease and yet
when he lit the Olympic flame
for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics,
hands shaking uncontrollably,
the
standing
ovation
was unusually long and
unprecedented. Same at the
London Olympics in 2012
when he needed much more
assistance to do the same and
was wheeled away without
speaking a word.
“If I had no problem, peo-
10 others too charred
to death in the blaze
caused by LPG blast
set off by encroachers
Two Bihar toppers
fail to clear retest
Vishnu Rai College
derecognised
61 fights in his three-decadelong career, slaying established
names as a precocious youngster, Ali’s greatness was that his
major punches also rained on
racism, for Black rights and
in warzones.
When he passed away on
Saturday, he had global ovations, awe and heartfelt tributes
to take with him into the final
sunset. In his death, the world
acknowledges that an icon
much more than just a heavyweight champion has been lost
forever, some even calling him
greater than Martin Luther
King Jr.
his friends, who were co-occupants of his car at the time of
incident.
Besides, he did not help the
victim and did not even stop
after the mishap. Rather, he fled
from the spot to avoid getting
caught for his misdeed, said the
court order.
The court observed that his
conduct before and after the
incident clearly reflected that
he understood the offence
alleged against him. The
circumstances collectively indicate that he was indifferent
towards life and safety of other
users of the road but mature
enough to think of ways to
escape from lawful punishment of the offence.
Turn to Page 5
have a future they so richly
deserve and so deeply desire,”
Modi said.
Turn to Page 5
Mathura: Ram Vriksh Yadav,
the chief of the violent
encroachers in Jawahar Bagh,
is among those killed in the
clashes, police said on Saturday
as the toll mounted to 27 with
three more persons succumbing to injuries. IG (Law and
Order) HR Sharma said Yadav
was among the 11 who were
charred to death in the fire that
was caused by gas cylinder
explosions set off by the
encroachers.
Uttar Pradesh DGP Javed
Ahmed tweeted that the body
of Yadav and some others have
been identified by his associates
and his family has been intimated for confirmation.
60-year-old Yadav was the
leader of Azad Bharat Vidhik
Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi, an
outfit claiming to owe allegiance
to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Yadav and his supporters had
encroached on Jawahar Bagh
area for two years and clashed
Shah holds Shivpal
responsible for
Mathura incident
PNS n LUCKNOW/KANPUR
haratiya Janata Party presB
ident Amit Shah launched
a scathing attack on the first
family of Samajwadi Party and
its patriarch Mulayam Singh
Yadav over Mathura violence
and demanded the resignation of PWD Minister Shivpal
Singh Yadav, holding him
responsible for the incident.
Shivpal Singh Yadav is also
the state incharge of the ruling
Samajwadi Party.
Addressing a BJP booth
incharge meet of Kanpur and
Bundelkhand regions in
Kanpur city, Shah said: “A
police officer of the rank of
Superintendent of Police is
killed in broad daylight. A station officer is killed. More
than 200 people open fire at
police with rifles and explosives
but a minister sitting in
Secretariat in Lucknow gives
patronage to them and does not
allow the police to retaliate.”
He added that Shivpal
Singh Yadav should immediately tender his resignation
from the Cabinet.
The BJP president also said
that if SP chief Mulayam Singh
Yadav had self-respect, he
should immediately ask Shivpal
Singh Yadav to resign.
The BJP president said that
the Mathura incident had
brought a bad name to UP and
tarnished its image in the country.
Later on Saturday, addressing a ‘Swabhiman Sammelan’
organised by the SC, ST cell of
the BJP in the state capital,
Shah targeted the Congress
and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
He sought to convey to the
Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes in UP that all
other parties had used them
merely as vote banks and BJP
was the only party which was
their true savior.
Targeting the SP government on law and order, Shah
said the poor, downtrodden,
Dalits and OBCs were the
worst-affected by the poor law
and order as they were at the
receiving end of the of the
‘goonads’ and the mafia elements that were ruling the
roost in the Samajwadi Party
rule. Listing the measures taken
by the NDA government at the
Centre for honouring the
memory of Dr BR Ambedkar,
Shah said besides construction
of a grand memorial at the
birth place of Dr Ambedkar,
the building in London where
Dr Ambedkar had stayed had
also been made a memorial.
He added, “The life-size
portrait of Dr Ambedkar was
installed in the Central Hall of
Parliament during the NDA
regime.”
Shah said all other parties
sought Dalit votes for their own
benefit and the BJP was the
only party which works for the
welfare of the community.
ple would be afraid of me. Now
they feel sorry for me. They
thought I was Superman. Now
they can (say) ‘he is human like
us. He has problems’,” he said
about his ailment.
For once, and perhaps the
only time in his life,
Muhammad Ali was being
publicly modest. For, he fought
disease as men rarely do, like an
undefeatable soldier fighting
his enemy in a fight to the finish.
RIP The Greatest. RIP, the
man who could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. RIP
American icon, global legend.
with police on Thursday when
they tried to evict them.
The death toll has risen to
27 with three more among the
injured encroachers succumbing, IG (Agra) Durga Chandra
Mishra said. Chief Medical
Officer Vivek Mishra said several other bodies have not
been identified as yet. The
bodies have to be kept for 72
hours in the mortuary, which
will end on Sunday evening,
and later postmortem will be
done, he said. 18 bodies are in
Mathura district centre and
seven in Agra, he said.
Tight security arrangements remained in place with
police preventing BJP MP from
Mathura Hema Malini, who led
a protest by the party, from
entering the violence-hit area,
citing combing operation.
Sharma said the situation
“is normal in Mathura and the
ground has been cleared”.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav
raised compensation to the
next of kin of the two slain
police officers from `20 lakh to
`50 lakh even as Opposition
stepped up attack on him,
questioning why he did not
visit Mathura.
PNS
CAPSULE
CHAIN SNATCHER SHOOTS
AT COP FOR ARREST BID
New Delhi: A constable was
shot at by a chain snatcher at
Geeta Colony flyover when a
police team had gone to arrest
him and his accomplice on
Saturday around 1.45 pm. When
22-member police team,
deployed to nab the chain
snatcher duo in the flyover
connecting central Delhi with
Geeta Colony, tried flagging
down a suspicious bike-borne
duo, they allegedly opened fire, a
senior police officer said.
AIIMS LAUNCHES ‘ADOPT
A PATIENT’ POLICY
New Delhi: AIIMS on Saturday
launched “adopt a patient” policy
under which it seeks public
donations for patients who are
unable to continue their
treatment or bear cost of buying
equipment needed for
rehabilitation at home.
VETERAN ACTOR SULABHA
DESHPANDE NO MORE
Mumbai: Veteran
theatre and film
actor Sulabha
Deshpande, 79,
who had acted in
numerous
Marathi and Hindi
films, died at her Mumbai
residence on Saturday after a
prolonged illness, family sources
said.
TRUMP: HILLARY SHOULD
BE JAILED FOR EMAIL SCAM
Washington: In a blistering
attack on Hillary Clinton, US
Republican presidential
presumptive nominee Donald
Trump has termed his
Democratic rival as a “thief” and
said that she should be in jail for
her “terrible” email scandal.
city 02
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
Bundelkhand will not face water crisis: CM
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■
LUCKNOW
vko';drk gS
vko';drk gS !
vYila[;d laLFkk vcqy dyke
vktkn b.Vj dkWyt
s izrkix<+ esa lgk;d
v/;kid ØhM+k dk ,d in fjDr gSA fjDr
in gsrq vkosnu&i= vkefU=r gaSA in
LFkkbZ gSA 'kSf{kd ;ksX;rk ,oa vU; 'krsZa
b.VjehfM,V ,twd's ku ,DV ds vuqlkj
¼Lukrd ds lkFk ch0ih0,M~0 vFkok blds
led{k dksbZ vU; izf'k{k.k vgZrk½ rFkk
U;wure vk;q 21 o"kZ ls de u gks osru
,oa HkRrs jktdh; fu;ekuqlkj ¼is cSM
9300&34800 xzM
s is&4600½ ns; gSA bPNqd
vH;FkhZ vius vkosnu&i= lHkh vad o
izek.k&i=ksa dh Loizekf.kr Nk;kizfr;ksa
lfgr jftLVMZ Mkd }kjk v/kksgLrk{kjh
dh lsok esa foKkiu dh frfFk ls vf/kdre
15 fnuksa ds Hkhrj izsf"kr djsaA nsj ls izkIr
vkosnu&i=ksa ij dksbZ fopkj ugha fd;k
tk;sxkA
izcU/kd
hief Minister Akhilesh
Yadav said on Saturday
C
that his government would
construct more reservoirs in
Bundelkhand to overcome the
water problem faced by the
people of the region. He said
that steps had already been
taken to develop dams so that
water could also be maid available for irrigation in
Bundelkhand.
Yadav, who inspected
Charkhari area of Mahoba district to find out the ground
realities of availability of water
and progress of other projects
in the Bundelkhand region,
said his government was committed to protect environment.
“In view of the water problem in this region, I assure you
all that my government has
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav dedicating ponds to the public at Charkhari in
Mahoba on Saturday
already launched several water
reservoir and river revival projects and soon the people of
Bundelkhand will not face the
situation through which they
are going at present,” the CM
said while addressing a gathering.
He said the state government was also taking steps to
ensure that water reached every
field and the farmers did not
face drought.
He said the government
would plant five crore saplings
in a day to save environment
and also create a record.
Yadav was speaking after
dedicating to people eight
ponds out of the Samajwadi
Party government’s project to
develop 100 ponds and inaugurating a solar-based water
supply project.
He also interacted with
the people of Jhansi and
Chitrakoot divisions through
video-conferencing and asked
about their problems. He later
gave necessary directions to
officials concerned to solve
the problems.
The Chief Minister said
that besides giving subsidies to
farmers in Bundelkhand, his
government would facilitate
organic farming, Kamdhenu
dairy project, besides providing
Samajwadi relief, Samajwadi
Pension and other welfare measures.
He also said that all ponds
in the villages would be included in Janeshwar Mishra Rural
Development Project of his
government.
Chief Secretar y Alok
Ranjan, who was accompanying the Chief Minister, directed the officials to expedite the
ongoing projects and complete
them in time.
‘Plaque of Appreciation’ for Akhilesh
Lucknow (PNS): Chief
Minister Akhilesh Yadav has
received a ‘Plaque of
Appreciation’ for his outstanding contribution in promoting
water preservation and revival
of rivers in the state.
Yadav received this honour
recently at an international
seminar on water in Seoul, the
capital of Korea.
However, as the Chief
Minister could not attend the
seminar, Principal Secretary
(Irrigation) Deepak Singhal,
who attended it received the
trophy on his behalf.
According to an official
statement, after receiving the
trophy from Singhal here on
Saturday, Yadav said that water
was life so they had to save
water reservoir as well as rivers.
He said to ensure a healthy
life to coming generation,
everyone had to contribute in
saving water.
Yadav cited his govern-
ment’s programmes like ‘Clean
UP, Green UP’ and Lucknow
Riverfront project on Gomti
river in this regard.
Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) 2438656 / 9336266608.
Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (95532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (95512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (95542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi
Office: Link House, II Floor, 3 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 002. Tel: (011) 23755271-274, 41509074.
city 03
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
Dimple, Kareena pitch for menstrual hygiene
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■
LUCKNOW
ember of Parliament
Dimple Yadav and
Bollywood star Kareena
Kapoor came together on a
common platform to address
issues associated with menstrual hygiene at a programme
organised by UNICEF in support with Project Khel and
BBAU University at the La
Martiniere Girls’ College on
Saturday.
The speakers emphasised
on the importance of opening
and maintaining a dialogue on
menstruation which was a prohibited topic at homes and thus
gave rise to several problems
related to hygiene. MP Dimple
Yadav stressed that the state
government was making all
efforts to support menstrual
hygiene jointly with the Health
department and the Panchayati
Raj department.
Dimple, while addressing
the audience that consisted of
primarily of young girls, said
that it was important for mothers to talk to their daughters
about the menstrual cycle. “We
as mothers do not talk on
these issues because we do not
want to hamper their carefree
lives and so when girls face the
onset of menstruation they
M
end up feeling scared and start
crying. But mothers should tell
their daughters that menstruation should not stop them
from living life to the fullest,”
she added.
Dimple pointed out surveys had shown that 40 per
cent of girls avoided going to
school during the time of menstruation and that only 12 per
cent of women were using
sanitary napkins. “The poor
hygiene conditions result in
maternal mortality. The state
government is making all
efforts to address the issue,” she
added.
Actress Kareena Kapoor as
the Goodwill Ambassador to
the UNICEF said that while
speaking from the platform in
the city she felt that she was
reaching out to the entire country. “It is unfortunate that girls
during the menstrual period
are not allowed to visit temples.
This is something which is very
natural. The girls should talk
openly with friends and peer
groups on the issue and
demand from the state government what they need for
good hygiene,” she said.
Kareena emphasised that it
was important also for the
men to support their wives, sisters, mothers and friends during the period of menstruation.
Armyman found
hanging in Cant
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■ LUCKNOW
n armyman undergoing training was found
hanging from a tree inside the AMC training
A
centre in Topkhana locality of Cantonment early
Saturday morning.
As per reports, the jawan identified as Om
Prakash (21) was a native of Rohtas district in Bihar.
He was recruited for army services as a constable
and was undergoing training for the last six weeks.
SO, Cantonment, AP Tripathi said the man was
found hanging with a plastic rope tied around his
neck. “His fellow jawans saw him hanging around
4.30 am when they woke up for the preparation
before going for a drill,” he said. He added the jawan
was unmarried and his family had been informed
of the incident.
The SO said the army officer called the police
after the incident came to their notice and later
police investigated the place. “The reason behind
the suicide was unclear,” he said.
BODY RECOVERED
The body of 25-year-old Dayaram of Unnao district was recovered in Saifalpur village of Malihabad
on Saturday morning. Police claimed that the man
consumed poisonous substance to end his life while
referring to the statement made by village gram
pradhan Ram Vilash. Police said Ram Vilash saw
him consuming something from a bottle after which
his condition deteriorated. Police said a voter ID
card, a mobile, a purse, a bottle containing poisonous substance and two empty pouches of liquor
were recovered from the scene. “Froth-like substance
had oozed out from his mouth when the cops
reached the place,” the police said. The body had
been sent for autopsy.
Three arrested for
robbing cashier
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■ LUCKNOW
hree persons were arrested for robbing a
cashier working at a brick kiln of Rs 3 lakh in
T
cash in Chowk on Saturday.
The miscreant arrested was identified as
Virendra Yadav and Surabhan Singh, both of
Sarojini Nagar, and Manish Singh of Sitapur. The
police recovered Rs 2.5 lakh out of the looted cash,
a country-made pistol, a cartridge and a bag in
which the victim was carrying the cash. They were
arrested from behind the Queen Mary’s Hospital
where they had assembled to distribute the looted
cash. They owned up that they had looted cash from
cashier Deshraj.
Manish was working at the brick kiln located
on Hardoi Road and he was turned out from his
job for his bad conduct. He later took to petty crimes
and used to loot cash from innocent. Police said
Manish knew that Deshraj used to carry the cash
to deposit it in the bank and he planned to execute
loot.
He involved his aides in the loot promising them
to give cash for the ‘job’. Around 8 pm, on June 2,
Deshraj left for Charbagh railway station to see one
of his relatives.
As his relative did not turn up at the Charbagh
railway station, he left for his house in Yahiyaganj
locality. When he got down from a tempo, Manish
and his aides trained pistol at him and looted the
cash.
Police said fear gripped Deshraj so strongly that
he was scared to lodge a case and informed brick
kiln owner Kanhaiya Lal Rastogi. Later, on June 3,
Rastogi lodged a case in this connection and the
police swung into action.
Giving details, ASP (East) Sarvesh Kumar said
the miscreants were seen sitting at a deserted place
on Saturday afternoon behind the hospital. “On a
tip-off, a police team reached the place and nabbed
the miscreants. They later owned up their crime,”
he said. Police were interrogating the miscreants to
know their involvement in other crime incidents
that took place in the past.
CHAIN-SNATCHING
Unidentified bike-borne miscreants snatched a
gold chain from a woman who was going to offer
puja at Shani temple in Gossianganj. Meena Shukla
(49) of Arjunganj was on foot and fell down as she
resisted the loot. Police registered a case in this connection.
Bebo bats for working women
Lucknow (PNS): Starting her career as an
actress in the film industry was never easy for
Kareena as she too had faced the resistance
within family. Just like her sister Karisma, she
also broke the taboo and charmed the audiences
with her acting skills.
The actress, who was in the city on
Saturday to support the menstrual hygiene programme organised by the UNICEF, said that
she loved her work as an actress and would continue to do so till the last day of her life.
Responding to a query, Kareena said: ”I
broke the taboo of daughters not going to work.
I joined the film industry and made it clear that
I will work till the last day of my life. I believe
strongly that all women should work and most
of my well-wishers said that after marriage I
would have no career but I continued with my
work.” The blue-eyed actress said that she would
like to be seen as an ordinary girl who had been
able to live her dreams and even wanted young
MP Dimple Yadav and actress Kareena Kapoor at UNICEF programme at the La Martiniere Girls’ College on Saturday
“The boys should also understand that they have to support
women in the family because
women face several problems
during this time which consist
of backaches, mood swings
because of hormonal changes,”
she added. “Girls have always
been ahead of boys and my
request to the state government
was that there should be sepa-
rate toilets for girls in schools
so as to ensure their privacy
during the time of menstruation.
Giving a bit of advice, she
said: “There is nothing that
girls cannot achieve and hence
they should understand that
they should not stop work
during this time and should
continue with their work.”
Principal Secretary, Health,
Arvind Kumar said that MP
Dimple Yadav had contributed
immensely for the promotion
and production of sanitary
pads in the state. “The issue of
menstrual hygiene has a lot of
problems wherein there is less
awareness and girls use old
unused clothes. The schools
also do not have any infra-
structure for safe disposals and
the attendance at schools by
girls decreases at the time of
menstruation” said Kumar.
Agricultural Production
Commissioner Pravir Kumar
said that a policy had been
chalked out for the free
distribution of the sanitary
pads.
“Incidentally, we had a
Road Transport Authority
meeting on Friday and it was
girls to follow her example to achieve their
respective dreams”.
On promoting menstrual hygiene programme, Kareena said: “I hope that if I speak
on the issue here in Lucknow, it will send a message to the entire country. It is important to initiate a dialogue on this issue because there has
never been any open dialogue on it.”
The actress even admitted that she faced the
problem of going to the toilets while on outdoor shoots. “People think that as heroines we
have portable toilets but this is not the case. We
face all these challenges sometimes while
shooting in extreme cold or hot conditions. In
my mother’s times, there were no separate toilets for women artistes”, she revealed.
Kareena said that Lucknow would always
be a special place for her and Saif. “I always got
an overwhelming response here. I love the food
and adore the chikankari craft,” she concluded.
decided that at every bus stand
a sanitary napkin vending
machine will be installed,” he
added.
Champions of change were
also felicitated on the occasion
who had contributed in their
own manner to bring about a
change. Shehzaadi, a young girl
of 14 years, stopped a child
marriage in her village, Ullas
Yadav from Sonebhadra helped
in the construction of 50 toilets
in her village, Anil Sengar who
has two units that produce sanitary napkins worked tirelessly in seeing that they were popularised in the rural areas of
Mahoba, Ar vind from
Mirzapur worked towards
making his area defecation-free
and Seema Shukla from
Amethi promoted awareness in
her school on menstruation
and encouraged girls to play a
lot of sports during that time.
city 04
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
Delicious platter at
Kakori food fest
PNS ■ LUCKNOW
he delicious Kakori kebabs
is not the only dish from
Kakori. The lesser known
country cousin of Lucknow has
an array of dishes to boast
about. A city hotel is organising a ‘Kakori food fest” offering an array of lip-smacking
dishes to coincide with the
opening of the month of
Ramzan.
Sandeep Pande, director,
Culinary, of the hotel said that
the whole idea of having the
Kakori fest was to give flavours
from this area of Awadh.
Giving a background of the origin, he said: “Most of the
Nawabs would often visit
Kakori as a summer resort
and their chefs would then
make various recipes which
would have the inputs from the
local markets thus giving a distinct flavours such as mixing
sponge gourd with lamb or
using pumpkin in some preparations. The whole idea of having the festival is to give the visitors something different.”
The menu is extremely
interesting with some of the
dishes named after the famous
Kakori train in the Kakori
Robber y Case that is
“Saharanpur 8 down” and the
“Kakori junction”. “We have
named the tikka after the train
because of the charcoal flavours
that the tikka will have when it
is prepared and similarly we
have named a preparation of
mutton on the railway junction
at Kakori and has a lot of local
greens included in its prepara-
T
Some of the
dishes named
after the famous
Kakori train in
the Kakori
Robbery Case
that is
“Saharanpur 8
down” and the
“Kakori junction”
tion,” he said.
Talking about the “Kakori
kebabs”, he said: “Known for
their distinctly succulent characteristic, Kakori kebabs are a
delicious recipe of grilled
minced meat, so soft as to literally melt in your mouth.
While there are many stories
regarding the origin of this
recipe, the most enduring legend is of chefs specially inventing this recipe for a ‘toothless’
Nawab of Kakori who couldn’t
chew. The Kakori food festival
celebrates the varied facets of
the rich Mughlai cuisine.”
Kakori food comes directly from the kitchen of chef
Mohsin Qureshi who is the
specialist of Awadhi mughlai
cusines with many years of
experience. He has used the
perfect concoction of local
ingredients to create unique
and innovative culinary specialties at Kakori food festival.
“I have tried to bring in different dishes which include
“chukundar gosht, Malihabadi
gosht with flavours that are
from Kakori,” he added.
Women worshipping banyan tree on the occasion of Bargadi Amavasya on Saturday
Interactive session on military law organised
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■ LUCKNOW
two-day interactive session on military law and its application in the
A
armed forces was organised at Lucknow
military station under the aegis of
Headquarters, Central Command.
Justice DP Singh (Retd) of Armed
Forces Tribunal (AFT), Lucknow bench,
graced the occasion. While addressing the
august gathering, Justice DP Singh (Retd)
narrated certain landmark judgments of
AFT and judicial reasoning behind it. He
said: “Constitution is our life and two
CITYBRIEFS
BOOK RELEASE
Inspirational book ‘Jeevan
Jiyo Jaan Se’, the 12th book
authored by renowned literary
genius Hari Om Sharma, will
be released at a grand fashion
on Sunday at 3.00 pm at the
UP Press Club. Mayor Dinesh
Sharma will release the book
as the chief guest of the function while renowned educationist and social worker
Jagdish Gandhi will preside
over the book release ceremony. The book release ceremony would be graced by
the presence of eminent fig-
things join the nation, that is, judiciary
and armed forces.” He asked both
wings to be just and fair in their conduct
to keep society bondings live and effective.
During the event, Brigadier DK
Ahluwalia, deputy judge Advocate
General, reiterated that the AFT, specially
Lucknow regional bench, had played a
vital role in speedy disposal of litigation
and harmonising judicial institutions.
Major General RS Malave, General
Officer Commanding (GOC), Madhya
UP Sub Area, proposed a vote of thanks
and mentioned that more than 4774 cases
were with the AFT, Lucknow, and AFT,
Legal Cell, had commendably contributed
to quick and judicious disposal of the
cases in a record time which had made
AFT, Lucknow bench, as the best AFT
amongst all AFTs in the country.
The event is in continuation of series
of legal awareness capsules as per directions of Army Commander, Central
Command. Earlier, similar event was held
at Allahabad Military Station for army
officers and at Lucknow for judicial
trainees.
Spurned by wife, man sets self afire
ures from various fields like education, literature, journalism,
administration followed by a discussion on the book ‘Jeevan Jiyo
Jaan Se’.
WORKSHOP
Lucknow
Producer’s
Cooperative Milk Union Ltd
(Parag Dairy) will organise a
workshop on animal husbandry
and milk cooperative on Monday.
Chief development officer
Prashant Sharma will be the chief
guest at the programme and Milk
Union president Ganesh Shankar
will chair the programme.
POWER SHUTDOWN
Power supply in areas getting
supply from Chinhat sub-station
remained affected on Saturday for
around seven hours.
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■ LUCKNOW
iqued over domestic discord, a man
immolated himself at the house of his inlaws in Para police station area on Saturday.
He was admitted to a hospital.
Satyendra Singh of Dubagga in Kakori
was married to Ratna of Para police station
area. A few years after the marriage, the couple developed differences and Ratna shifted
to her parent’s house. On Saturday afternoon,
he reached his in-laws’ house and pressed
Ratna to come back home. When Ratna
refused, he doused himself with kerosene and
set self afire. Police are investigating the case.
P
BID TO MOLEST WOMAN
A man was accused of misbehaving and
attempting to molest a woman in Sarojini
Nagar on Saturday. Accused Govind Singh
(55) of Sarojini Nagar lives at a house adjacent to the woman’s house. Around noon,
Govind reached the house of a woman and
informed her that his wife had called her. As
the victim reached inside Govind’s house, he
caught her and banged her head against a
wall. He also slapped her and tried to push
her down. As the woman’s raised an alarm,
Govind’s wife and his mother rushed for the
help of the woman and they freed her.
Hosp tests suffer as
machine conks out
Lucknow (PNS): The Targa machine at Balrampur
Hospital has not been working for the last four days hampering clinical tests of a large number of patients.
The non-functional instrument has affected various
biochemistry tests including serum, liver and kidney
function. At present, these tests are provided free of cost
to patients. The inoperational machine has also affected tests at Dufferin Hospital as most of the test samples
from the women’s hospital are being sent to Balrampur
Hospital for testing. At present, the Targa machines in
both the hospitals have been lying defunct.
The sources said patients were being referred to
KGMU facility or other private centres to get clinical tests
done. Patients complained that they had to wait for more
than a day to get the test report of sugar and haemoglobin
from the hospital.
The machine installed at Balrampur Hospital is
almost 12 years’ old and the hospital administration had
sent many proposals to the Health department for a new
machine. The proposals, however, have been lying in a
state of limbo.
Environment Day
kicks off at RSC
Lucknow (PNS):
Regional Science City in
association
with
E nv i r o n m e nt
Directorate organised
various educational programmes on Saturday
to kickstart celebrations
for
the
World
Environment Day.
On first day of celebration, a poster-making
contest on the topic
“Melting Ice: Causes and
Effect” was organised in
which about 70 students
of class 6th to 8th standard had participated.
The students expressed
their views on the given
topic through beautiful
colours and posters.
Besides, an essay
writing contest on the
topic “Green City, Clean
City” was organised in
which about 31 students
from class 6th to 8th
standard participated
and wrote essays in
Hindi and English.
The third event
organised was “Pick
and Speak” contest in
which students selected
their topics through a
lottery system and after
few moments spoke for
three minutes on the
chosen topic in front of
jury members.
In this contest, about 22 students of class 6th to 10th standard participated.
The topics of this contest
were Climate Change, Global
Warming, Greenhouse Effect,
Changing Sea level, Forest
and Rain, Drought, Climate
Change- Natural and Manmade
Causes.
city/nation 05
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
Women reject demand
C
for ban on triple talaq
Maya slams BJP’s bid to woo Dalits
PNS ■ LUCKNOW
PNS n LUCKNOW
ll-India Muslim Personal
Law Board has rejected
A
the growing clamour for ban
on triple talaq, saying that
Muslim personal law is a divine
law and there is no scope for
any change in it or amendment
to it. The AIMPLB also said
that the “law of talaq is fully
proved and justified in Quran
and Hadith”.
This is the conclusion of a
day-long seminar organised
by Darul Uloom Farangi Mahal
Eidgah in Lucknow on
Saturday to address issues related to women’s rights in the light
of Muslim personal law.
The seminar was addressed
by AIMPLB member Asma
Zehra, Zafaryab Jilani and
Maulana Khalid Rasheed
Farangi Mahli.
Asma Zehra from
Hyderabad said that out of the
20 crore Muslims in India, 10
crore were women and 99 per
cent of them believed that
Muslim personal law was
framed as per the commands of
Quran and Hadith (sayings
and deeds of the Prophet).
She said that Islam was the
first religion to give equal, and
in some cases more, rights to
women. Citing an example of
more rights given to women in
Islamic law, Zehra said the
consent to accept the ‘nikah’
was first given by the girl/bride.
Similarly, she said, just as a man
could annul the marriage by
saying talaq, the woman had
the right to divorce through
‘Khulaa’ or ‘Faskh-e-Nikah’.
She cited verses from Quran
stating that it was not legal or
justified for a husband and wife
to live together after the man
had said ‘talaq’ three times.
The AIMPLB member said
that India was a secular and
democratic country that gave
every citizen the constitutional right to religious freedom,
and the Muslim personal law
was a part of the Indian
Constitution. She said 20 crore
Muslims of the country followed personal law in their
family matters.
“The media is highlighting
the issue of triple talaq to show
that a large number of Muslim
women are suffering because of
this provision but the ground
reality is that the incidence of
divorce is the lowest in the
Muslim community,” Zehra
said.
Condemning the campaign against triple talaq by
several organisations, Zehra
said these “letter head organisations” presented false and
concocted data in their survey
reports. “We strongly condemn
such surveys. Muslim personal law is a divine law and there
is no scope for any change or
amendment”. She added that it
was “totally false and untrue
that the Muslim personal law
was biased against women”.
Quoting a recent report,
Zehra said that barring two
major multi-national companies of the USA, no MNC was
paying equal wages to men and
women employees. She said it
was unfortunate that India
ranked 139th in gender equality. “The status of women in
Muslim community is much
better; she is given honour,
dignity, protection and full
freedom within limits of
Shariah. Muslim personal law
has simple and easier way of
solving family disputes through
Darul Qaza, which also lessens
the burden of judiciary,” she
added.
Earlier, Imam of Eidgah,
Maulana Khalid Rasheed
Farangi Mahli said there was a
conspiracy to malign Muslims
by presenting dubious survey
reports and raising unnecessary
objections to Muslim personal law and Islamic jurisprudence.
Additional Advocate
General and member of the
AIMPLB, Zafaryab Jilani, said
the Constitution gave the fundamental right to every citizen
to practice his or her religion.
Another member of the
AIMPLB Safia Naseem said
Muslim women would not tolerate interference with their
personal law. The women
members who participated in
the seminar included Rukhsana
Lari, Bushra Rehman from
Sambhal, Khursheed Sahiba
from Deoband, Sajda Abu Lais
and Salma Jaleel from
Azamgarh.
Shivpal seeks apology from Amit Shah
Lucknow (PNS): Senior leader of
Samajwadi Party, Shivpal Singh Yadav, who
is in the line of fire over the Mathura incident, on Thursday demanded an unconditional apology from Bharatiya Janata
Party president Amit Shah. The BJP president has held Shivpal Singh Yadav responsible for the Mathura incident and has
demanded his resignation from the
Cabinet. Shah also said that Mathura-like
situation was prevailing in entire UP.
“There is no substance in the allegation levelled by BJP president Amit Shah.
Whatever he said is a cock-and-bull story.
If he has any evidence then he should make
it public or he should tender an unconditional apology,” SP state incharge and PWD
Minister Shivpal Yadav said here on
Saturday. “The BJP president is deliberately
spreading falsehood to malign my image
by levelling baseless, false and negative allegations. There is no truth in his statement.
Amit Shah is the national president of the
party (BJP) but his statements are not in
conformity with the dignity of the office
he is holding,” Yadav said.
Asking the BJP president to follow the
agenda of development and stop issuing
statements for misleading the people of UP,
the SP leader said, “The opposition parties in UP have become politically bankrupt so they are forced to make irresponsible statements to find a place in the
media.”
Countering Samajwadi Party government’s criticism by Bahujan Samaj Party
chief Mayawati on Saturday, Yadav said
“Mayawati should check her facts before
making statement about Chief Minister
Akhilesh Yadav and his government”.
“Mayawati is like a tourist in UP, who
comes to Lucknow once in a couple of
months only to issue some statement. On
the other hand, Chief Minister Akhilesh
Yadav believes in direct communication
with the masses and for this he was in
Bundelkhand on Saturday to redress the
grievances of the people suffering from the
drought.”
Khadse quits; HC ex-judge to probe charges
TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI
aving been driven to wall
over allegations of misuse
H
of office and conflict of interest in the Pune land deal and
other cases, Maharashtra
Revenue Minister and senior
BJP leader Eknath Khadse on
Saturday finally toed the party
line and resigned from his
post, prompting Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis to appoint
a retired High Court judge to
enquire into the charges against
the outgoing Minister.
Khadse — whose continuance in office had become
untenable after the BJP’s central leadership took serious
cognizance of a report submitted by the Chief Minister —
drove to Fadnavis’ official residence “Varsha” and offered to
put in his papers.
An hour later, Khadse
addressed a news conference in
the presence of State BJP pres-
Af Prez confers top...
From Page 1
“He not only had the magnificent landscape of his ancestral
land in mind, he could also be describing the Afghan people. So,
when I came to Kabul in December, in the warmth of your welcome, I saw the kindness of your heart,” said Modi in Chisht-eSharif in western Herat neighbouring Iran.
At the close of the speech, the Prime Minister also wished
the people of Afghanistan and all Muslims across the world for
the Holy Month of Ramzan.
PTI
ident Raosaheb Danve-Patil
and debunked the allegations as
“misleading, baseless and
defamatory in nature”, but said
that keeping in with the BJP’s
traditions, he had already told
the CM that he would like to put
in his papers and would do so
after the news conference.
Soon after Khadse submitted his resignation, the CM said,
“I have accepted it and sent it
to Governor Ch Vidyasagar
Rao. A retired High Court
judge will be appointed to
probe charges against Khadse”.
RAHUL’S AGGRESSION...
From Page 1
If the project involved re-galvanis-ing the party rank and file, the impact
has not been visible to the naked eye. The logic is baffling, considering
that only a day before “reliable sources” announced the imminence of
Rahul’s coronation, Sonia had lashed out against the Government’s
treatment of her son-in-law. The Congress has every right to determine
the pace and timing of its succession. But it would help if it kept the
imperat-ives of politics in mind. After all, in today’s India, the Congress
has challengers and the Gandhis do not rule the roast.
Hit-&-run killer 1st juvenile to face trial as adult
From Page 1
The psychologist in its
report dated May 25 also indicated that he has mature mind,
although having immature
problem solving skills where he
gave a measured, inadequate
and evasive replies. Initially,
the boy was booked under
IPC Sections 304 A (causing
death by rash or negligent act)
but later on he was booked for
the alleged offence of culpable
homicide not amounting to
murder and sent to the reform
home. In its chargesheet, the
police had said that the boy was
driving at least 80 km per hour
and had fatally run over victim
Siddharth Sharma with his
father’s Mercedes when Sharma
was trying to cross a road near
Ludlow Castle School in north
Delhi on April 4.
He was chargsheeted under
IPC Sections 304 (culpable
homicide not amounting to
murder), 279 (driving on a
public way so rashly or negligently as to endanger human
life) and 337 (causing hurt by
an act which endangers human
life) against him.
Two Bihar toppers fail to clear...
From Page 1
The Vishnu Rai College
registered extraordinary performance with 97.52 pass percentage in Science whereas the
average result of Bihar was as
poor as 67.07 per cent.
Singh said of the 13 toppers
who took the retest and were
interviewed by a panel of
experts, 11 passed.
Ruby had informed that
due to mental depression she
could not appear. Even though
Ruby, who in an interview said
she had “prodical science” as
one of her subjects which dealt
with cookery, is the most suspected topper, the BSEB decided to give her another chance
to prove her merit.
Despite the action taken
against the two toppers, the
entire result of the Class XII has
come under cloud. There is
wider suspicion that in the
order to hide its own wrongdoings the BSEB has acted
against the two students.
Earlier, the BJP demanded
the Nitish Kumar Government
to take action against the chairman of BSEB, Vishnu Rai
College and the “topper mafia”
for the scandal that brought
embarrassment to Bihar following the discovery that the
toppers of the Intermediate
exam did not know the basics
of the subjects they studied but
still secured highest marks.
Former Deputy CM Sushil
Kumar Modi said on Saturday
that action against the controversial topper of arts Ruby Rai
would be taken but he asked
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to
act against the “topper mafia”
college principal Bachcha Rai,
who is close to RJD supremo
The countdown for
Khadse’s exit had begun on
Thursday after Fadnavis met
BJP’s president Amit Shah and
submitted a “factual report”
about the allegations faced by
the number-two minister in the
Maharashtra Cabinet.
Having made up its mind to
give marching orders to Khadse,
the BJP’s central leadership had
waited for the Rajya Sabha and
State Council polls to get over
on Friday, before it formally
sounded him out on the need
for him to put in his papers.
Lalu Prasad, and his college and
against BSEB chairman Singh
whose wife is a JD(U) leader.
Modi said that the college
in question had always been in
controversy but no action has
ever been initiated against it
and its principal Bachcha Rai,
who actively participated in
campaigning for Lalu’s elder
son Tej Pratap Yadav in Mahua
constituency.
Similarly, he alleged, from
the time Singh was made BSEB
chairman, the exam conducting body was in controversy for
alleged scandals and malpractices. For its part, the Chhatra
Sangharsh Morcha has
demanded a retest of the toppers of inter exam from 2012
saying due to malpractices
many undeserving students
were made toppers at the cost
of meritorious candidates.
WE’LL STAND BY
AFGHAN AGAINST
ALL ODDS: PM
From Page 1
Resolving to stand by
Afghanistan, the Prime Minister
said India’s cooperation will
extend to “every part” of the wartorn country and that the partnership will benefit every section
of Afghan society.
“In your clear eyes, I saw the
deep well of affection for India.
In your smiles, I saw the joy of
this relationship. In the firmness
of your embrace, I felt the trust
in our friendship,” Modi said.
In his around 25-minutelong speech, Modi touched upon
the peace process in Afghanistan,
the massive terrorist attack on
Indian Consulate in Herat and
reconstruction activities in that
country. “When our people are
under attack, the brave Afghans
guard us as their own. They put
themselves in the line of fire so
that their Indian friends are
safe. This is the nobility of your
heart and the strength of your
friendship. I have seen this from
the moment I assumed office as
Prime Minister.
“For on that day, when terrorists launched a massive
attack on our Consulate in this
city of Herat, the heroic efforts
of Afghan soldiers, and of our
personnel, saved many lives and
prevented a big tragedy,” he said,
referring to the 2014 attack on
the Indian mission here.
laiming that her party
would be number one in
the next Assembly polls with
Samajwadi Party and Bharatiya
Janata Party settling for second
and third places, Bahujan
Samaj Party supremo Mayawati
fired a fresh salvo at the BJP’s
bid to woo Dalits.
“The BJP’s Dalit programmes are just a drama,
enacted for vested political
interests, as atrocities against
Dalits have increased during
the National Democratic
Alliance regime and they are
conspiring to end reservations
of this community,” she alleged.
“Dalits will never support
BJP even if their leaders have
lunch or dinner with them as
they can see through their
vested interests,” Mayawati said
while addressing a press conference here on Saturday morning.
The BSP supremo also hit
out at the BJP for showing
“false” love for Dr BR
Ambedkar on his 125th birth
anniversary by announcing
several memorials just to
appease the Dalits. “Even after
several memorials announced
by the BJP, the Ambedkar
Memorial constructed by the
BSP government still holds the
top spot and is the only place
where the great leader has
been given honest tributes,” she
said.
Mayawati launched the
fresh attack on the BJP on the
day when BJP president Amit
Shah was holding a Dalit conference in the state capital after
his recent lunch with Dalits.
‘Mathura, Godhra incidents similar’
Lucknow (PNS): Bahujan
Samaj Party president
Mayawati compared the violence in Mathura with the
Godhra riots, thus bracketing
Narendra Modi and Akhilesh
Yadav together.
“Like Narendra Modi will
be remembered for the 2002
Godhra massacre, the
Samajwadi Party government
cannot remove the black spots
it got after the Muzaffarnagar
and Gonda riots and now the
Mathura violence has put it in
the dock again. The Mathura
incident can be compared with
the Gujarat incidents of 2002,”
she said. Mayawati pointed out
that the Dadri incident and the
old Hashimpura-Maliana incidents were still not forgotten
by the people of the state.
Talking to reporters here
on Saturday, Mayawati said
that both the BJP and SP were
hand in gloves and were try-
ing to instigate communal
violence in the state before the
Assembly elections for their
vote bank politics.
“SP and BJP are two sides
of the same coin and people
are frustrated with both of
them. One is at the Centre and
the other in UP, hence no one
can stop BSP from coming to
power,” she said.
Demanding a judicial
probe or an investigation by
the CBI into the Mathura violence in which two police officers were killed along with 24
others, the BSP president said
the SP government was shying
away from high level probes
which indicated that something was fishy.
“Direct involvement of a
senior minister in protecting
the so-called ‘satyagrahis’
should also be probed,” she
added.
Mayawati, also criticitised
Governor Ram Naik for his
political statement in favour of
the saffron party from time to
time and alleged that the
Governor was indirectly campaigning for the BJP in the
state.
“Frequent tours of districts by Governor Ram Naik
like the Chief Minister and his
statement supporting the arms
training programme of
Bajrang Dal is unfortunate
and this shows that he is trying to campaign in favour of
the BJP,” she said while accusing Naik of violating constitutional norms.
The BSP president said the
Narendra Modi- headed NDA
government was a total failure.
“The NDA government has
failed on all fronts and only the
industrialists and capitalists
have benefited in its two-year
rule. The celebrations organised by the BJP to propagate the
achievements of its government is just misuse of public
funds to cover up its lapses,”
Mayawati said, adding that the
BJP was also following the
path of Congress and corruption and other lapses were
rampant. The BSP chief said
that except for Assam, where
BJP came to power due to the
wrong strategy of the Congress,
it was rejected by people in
other states that went to polls
recently.
She said after the 2014
victory, the BJP’s countdown
had started with Delhi elections
as people saw its real face.
“The party, which was
dejected after the Delhi and
Bihar defeats, is considering
Assam’s victory as ‘sanjivani’,”
she added. Mayawati said that
with its ‘sarvjan hitay, sarvjan
sukhay’ policy, BSP was the
only alternative before the people in UP as there was a strong
resentment against the Modi
government and the jungle raj
that prevailed in the Samajwadi
Party rule.
She said the BSP would
again get absolute majority in
UP as in 2007. She said her
government’s main agenda
would be restoration of law and
order and development.
“We will not go for memorials or parks this time and
focus on controlling crimes and
ensuring basic needs of the
people like bijli, paani and
sadak along with medical and
educational facilities,” she
asserted.
UPCC demands resignation of Akhilesh govt
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■ LUCKNOW
he UP Congress held the Akhilesh
Yadav government responsible for the
T
Mathura violence and demanded its resignation.
UP Congress vice-president and chairman of the party’s communication cell,
Satyadeo Tripathi, said in a statement on
Saturday that lawyer Vijay Pal Tomar, who
moved the High Court against the
encroachment at Jawahar Bagh, had
alleged that the state government had prepared papers to hand over the land to the
so-called satyagrahis at one rupee per acre
on 99 years’ lease.
Tripathi said the court had ordered
eviction of the encroachers one year back
but the state government was ready to give
170 acres of land to them virtually free of
cost.
The Congress leader further said that
the then district magistrate of Mathura had
also forced the electricity supply unit to
reconnect the illegal connection of Jawahar
Bagh. He said the state government should
resign and a probe by a sitting judge of the
High Court should be ordered into the
Mathura incident.
Tripathi said that it was unfortunate
that a senior minister in the Akhilesh
Yadav Cabinet had given patronage to the
criminals as Jawahar Bagh was the place
where arms training was given and arms
were stored. He also demanded a probe
into all land-grabbing cases in UP.
landmark 06
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
BJP in search of CM face for UP Indian Navy pilots evacuate Maldivian patient
National Executive
meet at Allahabad
on June 12, 13
may take a call
on the issue
DEEPAK K UPRETI n NEW DELHI
rompted by internal assessments of poll prospects in
Uttar Pradesh, the top BJP leadership has been counseled to
adopt the Assam model by projecting a clear-cut Chief
Ministerial face, who could connect with the voters and compete with rival CM nominees.
The party has, however,
failed to zero-in-on a single
leader with a ‘Pan-UP’ presence,
who is acceptable to a wide section of castes besides commanding ‘loyalty’ to those who
are at the helm of the leadership.
According to sources, the
dominant view that it may go
to the polls with ‘development
agenda’ without projecting its
Chief Ministerial nominee has
taken a back seat, after rounds
of deliberations and ‘internal
assessments’ which advise
P
UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya
against repeating the Biharmodel of campaign in UP
which is more diverse in caste
and religious aspirations.
The BJP National Executive
at Allahabad on June 12 and
June 13, which would be attended by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, may take a call on the
issue that is not an easy task
given the pulls and pressures of
forward and backward castes.
The party may be inclined
to push “a polarising figure”
who is acceptable by a large section of Hindu majority as also
to an assorted backward class
combination. “After appointing
an OBC as State party president, the CM candidate has to
come from a forward caste,”
said a leader, who had worked
on the ground in the UP Lok
Sabha polls.
New BJP UP head Keshav
Prasad Maurya, an OBC and
MP from Phoolpur, could get
approval for the party post
from all castes as he had a 18year-long innings with the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)
as a pracharak. He is a known
Hindutva hardliner.
The social engineering that
goes into winning votes and
thereby, polls in UP, has to factor around 13 per cent Brahmins
and their inclination to back the
projected face in the State.
As per an internal survey of
the party, “it has to compete
hard” with the Bahujan Samaj
Party even though officially BJP
chief Amit Shah has claimed
that it was Samajwadi Party
that was its main rival.
The survey suggested “an
aggressive campaigner”, who
could “polarise” votes in favour
of the party as against two main
rivals with ‘captive caste votes’
and would fit the bill.
The names listed as probable CM face included Smriti
Irani, Varun Gandhi, Yogi
Adityanath and Mahesh
Sharma. Union Home Minister
Rajnath Singh has at the outset
expressed his disinclination to
move to the unstable theatre of
UP politics.
Irani, who has campaigned
energetically in her constituency Amethi, however,
carries ‘an outsider’ tag and
could be opposed by other
contenders in the fray. It is
understood that Adityanath
has the traction with a section
of voters but does not have a
pan-UP acceptability.
Varun has moved high in
the popularity charts but is seen
to be taking “an independent
left of the centre approach” that
is not keeping with the party’s
stated line. Varun, who has
been donating money to
drought-hit farmers in the
State and distributing cheques,
is seen to be ploughing his lone
furrow away from BJP’s programmes. The two-time MP is
also not understood to have
“best of line of communication
with the party chief ”.
Such is the dilemma of the
BJP that at one point of time the
name of erstwhile ‘hero’ of
Ayodhya and incumbent
Rajasthan Governor Kalyan
Singh, 84, also did the round on
the ground that his re-entry in
the centrestage of UP politics
may not raise eyebrows of hardliners, OBC voters and not lead
to factional feud in the State.
INDIAN NAVY
HAS ALWAYS
BEEN VERY
PROMPT TO
EMERGENCY
AND SECURITY
NEEDS OF
MALDIVES
PNS n NEW DELHI
ndian Navy pilots on Friday in a special sortie evacuated a Maldivian heart
Iattack
patient from one of its islands and
flew her to capital city Male for treatment.
The Advanced Light Helicopter MKIII
that was used for medical evacuation
(MEDEVAC) was the one gifted to
Maldives in April this year. This was the
first MEDEVAC sortie of the chopper.
The action took place at 3 pm on
Friday, when Maldives National Defence
Force (MNDF) Advanced Light
Helicopter MKIII, provided by Indian
Government and based at ISHKANDHAR airbase in Laamu Atoll (Male) was
tasked to immediately evacuate one
woman named Hareera Ibrahim. She has
suffered a massive heart attack and was
surviving on ventilator. The patient was
in the Regional Hospital on Veymandoo
island of Thaa Atoll.
The crew of MNDF ALH Helicopter
comprising Indian Navy pilots and divers
was airborne at 4.15 pm for the MEDEVAC sortie and landed on a football field
in Veymandoo. The patient, two doctors
and the patient’s son were embarked in the
helicopter and quickly flown to Male,
where the patient was transferred to
Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital by
6.30 pm. “We wish the patient a speedy
recovery,” the Indian Navy spokesperson
DK Sharma said while giving out details
of the evacuation operation.
Indian Navy, which has a strong
The crew of MNDF ALH Helicopter during the rescue
operation tend to the patient
Pioneer photo
presence in the Indian Ocean, has always
been very prompt to emergency and security needs of Maldives.
Though the Indian Navy has in the
past too responded to emergency situations but what makes this trip unique is
that this is the first time Indian ALH was
used for MEDEVAC. This is the first ALH
gifted to Maldives in April this year and
is being operated by Indian Navy pilots
due to shortage of aviators in the country. However, India is training Maldivian
pilots to help them operate this chopper
and the Dornier that it plans to give them
soon.
“This chopper is now asset available
to Maldives which they can use for emergency and humanitarian relief situations,” Sharma said.
India and Maldives are close maritime
neighbours with strong defence and
diplomatic relations. The Indian Navy and
the Indian Coast Guard, in conjunction
with MNDF, regularly undertake surveillance in the Maldivian Exclusive
Economic Zone. Apart from looking
after maritime security and disaster relief
Indian Navy is also helping Maldives in
capacity building by providing helicopters
and small ships and training their defence
personnel.
State Govts can pay pvt docs at CHCs at par with private sectors
ARCHANA JYOTI n NEW DELHI
The move aims
to make public
health services
lucrative as
that of private
sector to meet
the shortage of
specialists
enceforth,
the
State
Governments can shell out pay
H
packages at par with the private sectors, that can go beyond the `1 lakh
mark, for calling on private doctors
to treat patients at Community
Health Centres (CHCs), first referral points, sub-district hospitals
and district hospitals.
In a move aimed to make the
public health services lucerative as
that of private sector to meet the
shortage of specialists, the Modi
Government has allowed flexibility
in its flagship National Health
Mission (NHM), to the States to
source specialists from the private
sector and those retired from
Government services.
They can be sourced on contract
basis or fixed days or hours or surgical sessions, ie as per need.
Presently, just 18 per cent of the
required specialists are posted at the
CHCs CK Mishra, Additional
Secretary and Mission Director in
Union Health Ministry told The
Pioneer recently that a detailed
guidance note on ‘strengthening
specialists in public health facilities’
has been shared with the State
Governments in this regard.
The Government has already
increased the retirement age of its
doctors to 65 years.
As per plan, the State
Governments can engage doctors
especially for fixed day in CHCs,
sub-district hospitals and district
hospitals which are grappling with
acute shortage of doctors particularly specialists such as gynecologists
and anesthetists, said Mishra. The
States have been asked to seek
lump sum funds to hire specialists
services on part-time basis too.
The suggested pool from which
the specialists could be drawn from
includes those retired from the
Government service but continue to
be mentally and physically fit,
employed in Government medical
colleges but who could come on
fixed days, from charitable or NGO-
run hospitals or those in the private
sector working in the surrounding
areas, as per the note.
These specialists should be
deployed at the post for which
there are no specialists or where the
number is insufficient to meet current caseloads and HR augmentation is required or where periodic
shortage occur, the note suggests.
The plan also allows annual
contract at competitive market rate
for specialists whose services are
required on a daily basis, fixed number of hours/working days, fixed
day/date/week, fixed number of
hours/week, fixed surgical sessions/week according to need/disease condition and also case by case
basis, on call.
The plans aims to improve the
efficiency of available specialist
resources who at times render nonfunctional, for instance irrational
deployment such as surgeons and
obstetrician posted at a facility with
no anesthetist, lack of appropriate
equipment/infrastructure, inadequate support staff, absenteeism
and vested interest such as diverting Government patients towards
personal practice and using specialists for general duties.
As per the World Health
Organisation, there is only one
doctor per 1,700 citizens in India
against the WHO stipulated 1:1,000
ratio.
As per the Health Ministry
data, as of March 31, 2015, more
than 8 per cent of 25,300 primary
health centres in the country are
without a doctor, 38 per cent without a laboratory technician, and 22
per cent had no pharmacist. Nearly
50 per cent of posts for female health
assistants and 61 per cent for male
health assistants remain vacant.
In community health centres,
the vacancy figure is grimmer —
surgeons (83 per cent), obstetricians
and gynaecologists (76 per cent),
physicians (83 per cent), and paediatricians (82 per cent).
While the Ministry figures claim
that there are about 6-6.5 lakh doctors available, India would need
about four lakh more by 2020 50,000 for PHCs; 0.8 lakh for community health centres (CHC); 1.1
lakh for 5,642 sub-centres and
another 0.5 lakh for medical college
hospitals.
Seal Indo-Bangla border on
war footing: Sonowal to BSF
ASI, constable martyred in militant attack in Kashmir
Guwahati: In what may cheer
many in Assam, newly swornin Chief Minister of Assam
Sarbananda Sonowal has asked
the Border Security Force
(BSF) to ensure sealing the
porous Indo-Bangladesh border on a war footing.
The Chief Minister said
this while chairing a highlevel meeting with BSF
Director General KK Sharma
and urged the border sentinels
to ensure erection of fencing
expeditiously for a safe and
secure border with the neighbouring country.
It may be mentioned here
that India and Bangladesh share
over 4,000 kms of International
Border — also the fifth-longest
land border in the world —
which falls under the jurisdiction of five Indian States —
Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura,
Mizoram and West Bengal.
While West Bengal has the
highest length of Indo-Bangla
border with 2,217 km, Assam
has 262 kms of International
Border with Bangladesh, which
is guarded by the BSF.
The Chief Minister has also
asked the BSF to make use of
‘smart technological solutions’
like laser walls and surveillance
gadgets to keep security at the
frontiers at all times. The Chief
Minister also asked the BSF to
ilitants on Saturday struck
M
again in south Kashmir’s
Anantnag district killing two
remove all challenges coming in
the way of ensuring a secured
border at the earliest.
“Erection of fencing along
the border including ‘riverine’
areas has to be dealt with resolutely if we want to make our
borders safe. It is a part of our
pledge that we will completely
seal International Border with
Bangladesh in order to keep
infiltration and smuggling from
across the border at bay,”
Sonowal said.
Terming the BSF’s
patrolling the Indo-Bangladesh
border as a challenging job,
Sonowal assured all help from
the Government including
technological solutions to seal
border and keep the State free
from infiltration. It may be
mentioned here that Union
Home Minister Rajnath Singh
had on Friday asked the BSF to
be more alert and vigilant to prevent cow smuggling along the
Indo-Bangla border and asserted that the criminal activity
across the International border
has to stop.
PNS
KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR
police personnel, including an
assistant sub-inspector. The
attack was carried out a day
after three Border Security
Force (BSF) personnel were
shot dead in an ambush by
Hizbul Mujahideen militants in
Bijbehara town. The two spots
where militants struck without
being tracked down are barely
8 kilometres apart.
Sources said that the
policemen were shot at from a
close range at around 10:45 am
near bus stand on KhanabalPahalgam road, around 50
kilometres south from here.
The two policemen were managing traffic when they were
targeted, a police officer said.
After being hit, they were
immediately taken to a local
hospital but they had succumbed to injuries before
reaching the hospital.
The slain cops were identified as ASI Bashir Ahmad
Ahangar and Constable Reyaz
Ahmad.
The attack was carried out
barely 18 hours after militants
ambushed a Srinagar-bound
BSF convoy at Bijbehara, the
ancestral town of Chief
Minister Mehbooba Mufti on
Friday afternoon. Three BSF
Kashmiri villagers and police officials carry the coffin of Bashir Ahmad, a police officer during his funeral in Logipora 75
kilometers south of Srinagar on Saturday
men were killed and eight others wounded in the meticulously coordinated attack
owned by pro-Pakistan outfit
Hizbul Mujahideen. The outfit
had warned of more such
attacks.
The security forces cordoned off a major area around
the site and launched manhunt
in an attempt to track down the
militants involved in the attack.
The authorities are perplexed
over the sudden rise in militant
activities in the town that has
largely remained peaceful during past several hours.
The attacks took place at a
PTI
time when campaign for the
Anantnag bypoll scheduled for
June 21, began. Mehbooba
Mufti filed her nomination
papers from the constituency
that fell vacant after the demise
of her father and former Chief
Minister Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed. The State Government
had pleaded for postponement
of the bypoll citing law and
order situation. However, the
Election Commission of India
decided to conduct the crucial
poll after some rescheduling.
Soon after the attack, a picture with two militants armed
with automatic rifles and carrying stuffed bags went viral.
The picture has been taken
some 200 metres away from the
spot where the policemen were
killed. The source of the picture
was not identified.
Several legislators took up
the matter in the assembly and
demanded a resolution be
passed against Pakistan for
backing up such activities in
Kashmir. Speaker Kavinder
Gupta said that the House was
unanimous in condemning
such acts. Rural Development
Minister Abdul Haq Khan
informed the House that DGP
along-with several officers has
reached the post to take stock
of the situation.
The Chief Minister also
expressed anguish over the
“senseless violence perpetrated
by the enemies of peace” and
said that the recent attacks
once again show the desperate
levels to which the militants
can go to disrupt peace and
normalcy in the State.
“Violence is a zero sum game
which does not solve any problem but gives rise to more
complexities,” she said.
“The security forces personnel and the policemen, who
are performing difficult duties
not out of choice but to earn
bread and butter for their families, are losing their precious
lives in such dastardly attacks,”
she said and added one fails to
understand why unsuspecting
cops should fall prey to this
senseless violence. She also
praised the security forces and
the police for exercising
restraint to ensure that the
innocent civilians don’t fall
victim to any retaliatory action.
Earlier, Mufti visited the
Frontier Headquarters of the
BSF at Humhama here to lay
wreath on the mortal remains
of the three BSF personnel
killed at Bijbehara on Friday.
The Chief Minister
expressed solidarity with the
Director General BSF KK
Sharma who arrived here at the
instructions of Home Minister
Rajnath Singh.
“My heart goes out to the
families of the slain BSF personnel and I hope that the perpetrators will be taken to task
soon,” she said.
Meanwhile, DG BSF called
upon Governor NN Vohra at
the Raj Bhavan to discuss the
obtaining security scenario in
the State, particularly in the
aftermath of recent ambush on
the BSF convoy at Bijbehara.
Leadership under fire at Kerala PCC meet Amma writes to PM over Sri Lanka
Cong worried about
possibile erosion in
its mass base
VR JAYARAJ n KOCHI
criticism against the
national leadership, demand
Iforntense
change in State leadership and
furious attacks against those who
had led the former UDF
Government in the State were the
highlights of the first day of the
two-day Kerala PCC camp executive being held after the devastation the party suffered in the
recent Assembly election.
The meet, which started on
Saturday, is being held at a time
when the State Congress is worried about the possibility of further erosion in its mass base
which had suffered a massive
dent in the Assembly election as
an exercise to identify ways for
strengthening the organisation
through open dialogues and by
bringing in fresh norms with
regard to its functioning.
“The aim is to find solutions
for the problems the party is facing through open discussions
with an open approach. The
meet will also strive to prepare
itself to fulfill its mission of
being a creative Opposition. We
have to find out where we had faltered, what our weaknesses were
and other such things,” said State
Congress president VM
Sudheeran before the start of the
camp.
In the May 16 Assembly
election, the Congress had suffered devastation with its tally in
the House getting reduced to just
22 from 38 in the 2011 election.
UDF, the then ruling coalition
headed by the party, also underwent a similar collapse when its
strength in the Assembly came
down to 47 from 72.
However, what the meeting
being held at the Rajiv Gandhi
Institute for Development Studies
near Neyyar Dam in
Thiruvananthapuram saw on the
first day, devoted almost totally
to analyzing the reasons for the
electoral drubbing, was the eruption of ferocious criticisms
against the entire leadership.
One of the main complaints
that came up during the discussions was that the central leadership was totally ineffective and
that it did not have the capacity
even to carry out agitations. The
leader sho put forward this argument also said that senior leaders like AK Antony should not
remain silent in total obedience
to the central leadership.
Sources said that everybody
in the top leadership –
Sudheeran, former chief minister
Oommen Chandy, Opposition
Leader Ramesh Chennithala,
Chandy’s bête noire in the party,
and AK Antony – came under
intense criticism. Speakers
attacked Chandy saying that corruption in the former
Government had contributed
heavily to the defeat.
While PCC vice-president
VD Satheesan, a loyalist of
Chennithala, pointed out that
the party was not properly prepared to face the election, MM
Hassan, another vice-president
and Chandy-loyalist, attacked
Sudheeran saying that the people
had lost trust in the party leadership, adding that it had failed to
draw lessons from the defeat in
the civic polls of November last.
Satheesan called for a generational change in the State leadership, alleging that the present
leadership lacked credibility and
a secular face and that there was
a general feeling that it was neckdeep in corruption. The muchtouted liquor policy of the UDF,
which it hoped to help it in the
election in a big way, was a
totally ineffective, it was alleged.
The second day of the executive meeting, Sunday, is expected to see the presentation of a
draft policy document on how
the party should function in
order to avoid further setbacks.
One of the main proposals in the
draft document is said to be that
nobody should be allowed to
hold organizational or parliamentary positions for more than
three terms.
The draft, according to
sources, also proposes that those
carrying official positions for
more than ten years should be
removed and that leaders should
function with total loyalty to the
people. That the lower committees of the party should abide by
the instructions of the higher
units and that youth and women
should be given better representation are some of the other proposals.
Navy’s assaults on Indian fishermen
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J
Jayalalithaa has written a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing her anguish over the Sri Lankan Navy’s
frequent assaults on fishermen from the State.
Taking strong objection to Thursday’s
arrest of four Tamil Nadu fishermen by the
Sri Lankan Navy, Jayalalithaa demanded the
Centre to direct the concerned officials in
the Ministry of External Affairs to take
urgent action to secure the release of 11 fishermen and 90 fishing boats in Sri Lankan
custody without any delay.
The Tamil Nadu chief minister also
asked the Prime Minister not to treat the
International Maritime Boundary Line
(IMBL) with Sri Lanka as a settled question
‘as the Constitutionality of the 1974 and
1976 agreements have been challenged on
extremely valid and legal grounds in the
Supreme Court’.
The Sri Lankan Navy arrests the Tamil
Nadu fishermen who violate the IMBL and
fish in the island nation’s side of the Palk Bay.
Jayalalithaa reminded the Prime Minister
that though she had in the past brought to
his attention the Sri Lankan Government’s
inhuman and cruel strategy of delaying the
release of the boats and the fishing gear of
the Tamil Nadu fishermen, the Government
of the island nation has not released the
seized boats and the fishing gear.
“I once again request that the fishing
boats and gear of our fishermen should
immediately be released and restored to them
in a refurbished condition as long periods
of disuse would have caused severe damage
to them,” said Jayalalithaa in the letter,
excerpts of which were released to the media
on Saturday.
PNS
world 07
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
US will uphold freedom of
...as Kurdish fighters advance from north navigation in SCS: Carter
Syria army thrusts into IS bastion
AFP n BEIRUT
ussian-backed Syrian
troops pushed into the
Islamic State group’s bastion
province Raqa on Saturday,
threatening to catch the
jihadists in a pincer movement as US-backed Kurdishled fighters advance from the
north.
The lightning advance
from the southwest with
Russian air support brought the
army to within 40 kilometres of
the Euphrates Valley town of
Tabqa, site of the country’s
biggest dam, the Syrian
Observatory of Human Rights
said.
The dam, 40 kilometres
upstream from the jihadists’ de
facto Syrian capital Raqa city,
is also the target of the
Washington-backed offensive
which Kurdish-led fighters
launched late last month.
It was the first time that
government troops had entered
Raqa province since they were
ousted by IS fighters in August Fighters take a selfie while firing artillery against Islamic State militants in Fallujah, Iraq on Sunday, May 29, 2016. An estimated
50,000 people are believed to be trapped inside the Sunni majority city, about 65 kilometers.
AP/ File
2014.
Regular army troops were
backed by militia newly trained territory along the Turkish undeclared coordination Observatory, which relies on
by the regime’s ally Russia, border raised suspicions that between Washington and reports from medics and
Observatory director Rami Moscow and Washington were Moscow,” he said. At least 26 activists on the ground. Tabqa
Abdel Rahman told AFP. He covertly coordinating opera- jihadists and nine government dam has a huge reservoir
said that the twin offensives tions by their respective Syrian troops and militia were killed named Lake Assad after
in the army’s advance, accord- President Bashar al-Assad’s late
which threaten to cut off IS- allies.
“It seems there has been an ing to the Britain-based father and predecessor Hafez.
held Raqa from jihadist-held
R
When IS overran the area
with its garrison and airbase in
2014, it summarily executed
160 captured regime troops.
The jihadists are facing
counter-attacks on multiple
fronts.
Arab and Kurdish fighters
backed by Washington have
launched an assault on the
strategic Manbij pocket further
up the Euphrates on the
Turkish border, regarded as a
key entry point for foreign
jihadists.
Hundreds of kilometres
downstream in neighbouring
Iraq, elite Iraq troops have
launched an assault on the
emblematic IS bastion of
Fallujah.
Washington has deployed
more than 200 special forces
troops in support of the
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic
Forces, which it regards as the
most effective fighting force on
the ground against IS in Syria.
The SDF controls a large
swathe of northeastern Syria
along the Turkish border and
another border enclave in the
northwest.
The SDF’s offensive against
the Manbij pocket is aimed at
seizing the last stretch of border still under IS control and
denying the jihadists any
opportunity to smuggle in
recruits and funds.
Hillary Clinton should be in jail: Trump
PTI n WASHINGTON
n a blistering attack on
Hillary Clinton, Republican
Ipresidential
presumptive
nominee Donald Trump has
termed his Democratic rival
as a “thief ” and said that she
should be in jail for her “terrible” email scandal. “Hillary
Clinton is a weak person.
Hillary Clinton is totally
scripted.
Hillary Clinton is a thief.
And Hillary Clinton should
be in jail for what she did to
our national security,” Trump
said. “I think she (Clinton) is
pathetic. I think she should
be in jail for what she did
with her e-mails. OK?.. She
should be in jail for what she
did with those e-mails,”
Trump told his supporters at
an election rally in California
yesterday where the primary
elections are scheduled on
Tues day. Tr ump, 69, is
assured of his presidential
nomination as he has already
got the required number of
delegates, whereas Clinton
is facing a tough battle from
her Democratic primary rival
Senator Bernie Sanders from
Vermont. However, over the
last few days the war of words
between Clinton and Trump
has reached a new height. On
Friday at a campaign event in
California, Clinton compared
Trump to a dictator. We are
trying to elect a president, not
a dictator.
I don’t
understand Donald Trump
running a whole campaign
based on nothing but deni-
grating immigrants.
At some point you have
to ask yourself, is this nothing but a political stunt?”
Clinton said at a campaign
stop in San Bernardino. “It’s
all about him getting attention. All about him getting
his name in the newspaper
and seeing his face on TV.
That is not a good enough
reason to be president,” she
said. Describing Clinton as a
“ver y we a k” candidate,
Trump claimed that he can
win in C a lifor nia, a
Democratic bastion. “What
the hell are they talking
about? We have to win, right?
We have to win. We didn’t
come this far to lose. So
we’re going to play California,
because I think Hillary is very
weak,” Trump said. “I mean,
the only problem is I’d like to
run against her, if you want to
know the truth. But she
Death toll in France rises to 4, as flooding peaks in Paris
AP n PARIS
he death toll from the
flooding in France has
T
risen to four, officials said
today, as the water level of the
Seine river in Paris slowly
started to decrease after reaching its peak overnight. But
authorities warned it could
take up to ten days for the river
to return to normal after
swelling to its highest level in
nearly 35 years, about 4.5
meters above average.
The death toll from the
flooding across the country has
risen to four while 24 people
have been injured, French
Prime Minister Manuel Valls
said after a meeting at a government crisis centre on
Saturday.
He didn’t give any more
details about the additional
death, which brings the total
death toll across Europe from
the flooding in recent days to
17.
Valls said the water level
of the Seine is now decreasing “slowly but steadily” in
Paris and that several ministerial meetings will be held
next week to ensure quick
financial help to the people
affected. He also urged Paris
visitors and residents to “take
care to observe safety pre-
cautions” since many have
been walking along the river
banks to observe the rare
phenomena.
Nearly a week of heavy
rain led to serious flooding
across parts of France,
Germany, Romania and
Belgium. French energy company Enedis said over 17,000
homes were still without electricity Saturday in the Paris
region and central France.
GLOBE
TROTTING
Motherhood was a big
part of my path: Megan
Demi Lovato, Wilmer
Valderrama split
Kristen Stewart, Robert
Pattinson back together?
Los Angeles: Actress Megan Fox says she
always pictured her life as settling down
with kids and a husband.The 30-year-old
“Transformers” star said she will be welcoming her baby soon, reported ET
online. “I knew I was always going to be
a mother, I felt like that was always a big
part of my path, but I never knew I was
going to have three in such rapid succession,” Fox said. This will be her third child
with husband Brian Austin Green. They
currently have two sons together, Noah
and Bodhi.
Los Angeles: Singer Demi Lovato and her
longtime boyfriend, actor Wilmer
Valderrama, have decided to split after six
years of dating. The abruptly announced
in a joint statement that they’d decided to
break up “after almost 6 lo ing and wonderful years together”, reported Ace
Showbiz. In the statement posted on
Instagram, Demi and Wilmer said that it’s
a “diff cult decision” for both of them, but
they realized that they’re “better as best
friends.” They added, “We will always be
supportive of one another.
Los Angeles: Actress Kristen Stewart is
reportedly back together with her ex
boyfriend Robert Pattinson. Romance
reignited between the “Twilight” lead stars
following Stewart’s split from girlfriend
Soko last month. Stewart, 26, and 30-yearold Pattinson are dating again after the
actress “made some realizations about her
former beau” when she saw him at the Met
Gala in May, reported Hollywood Life. She
allegedly called it quits with Soko because
she didn’t have with the French singer
“what she found only with Pattinson.”
PTI n WASHINGTON
n a blunt message to China,
the US on Saturday said it
Iwould
stand with its partner
countries to uphold freedom of
navigation in the South China
Sea, which oflate has seen rising tension in the region and
also between Washington and
Beijing.
“There is growing anxiety
in this region, about China’s
activities on the seas, in cyberspace, and in the region’s airspace. Indeed, in the South
China Sea, China has taken
some expansive and unprecedented actions, that have generated concerns about its
strategic intentions,” US
Defence Secretary, Ashton
Carter told the annual ShangriLa dialogue in Singapore on
Saturday where he reiterated
India’s important role in
Obama’s Asia-Pacific rebal-
ance. He said China’s actions in
the South China Sea are isolating it at a time when the
entire region is coming together and networking. If these
actions continue, the country
could end up erecting a Great
Wall of self-isolation, Carter
warned.
He said the United States is
not a claimant in the current
disputes in the South China
Sea. “And we do not take a
position on which claimant has
the superior sovereignty claim
over the disputed land features.”
“But, the United States will
stand with regional partners to
uphold core principles, like
freedom of navigation and
overflight, and the peaceful resolution of disputes through
legal means and in accordance
with international law,” the
Defense Secretary said.
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
08
FRENCH QUEEN MUGURUZA
Claims first Grand Slam title beating Serena 7-5, 6-4; denies Williams her 22nd
AP n PARIS
he day before the French Open final, Serena Williams' coach,
Patrick Mouratoglou, was discussing whether his player would need
to lift her level to beat Garbine Muguruza and collect a recordequaling 22nd Grand Slam title.
"I don't know why everybody's so impressed with Garbine,"
Mouratoglou said. "Did she win a Slam ever?"
His comment, accompanied by a chuckle, was intended in a lighthearted way. About 24 hours later, his question required a new answer.
Muguruza won her first major trophy and prevented Williams yet
again from collecting No. 22, outplaying the defending champion in a
7-5, 6-4 victory at Roland Garros on Saturday.
"She has a bright future, obviously," said Williams, who at 34 is 12
years older than her Spanish opponent. "She knows how to play on the
big stage and ... clearly, she knows how to win Grand Slams."
The fourth-seeded Muguruza used her big groundstrokes to keep
No. 1 Williams off-balance and overcame signs of nerves in the form
of nine double-faults. Most impressively, Muguruza broke Williams four
times, including three in a row.
"I can't explain with words what this day means to me,"
Muguruza said.
This was her second major final; she lost to Williams
at Wimbledon last year. But Muguruza has won her past
two matches against
Williams on the clay of
Roland Garros, including
in the second round in
2014. So dating to the
start of the 2013 French
Open, Williams is 0-2 in
Paris against Muguruza,
21-0 against everyone
else.
"I have grown
up playing on
c l a y , "
Muguruza
said during the
trophy
ceremony,
"so for Spain,
and for me, this
is amazing."
For Williams,
whose timing was
not exactly right
much of the afternoon, Saturday's
loss postponed her
pursuit of
S t e f f i
Graf 's Open-era mark of 22 major
singles championships. Margaret
Court holds the all-time record
of 24.
Williams got No. 21 at
Wimbledon in 2015, her fourth
major title in a row. Since, she
was beaten in the U.S. Open
semifinals by Roberta Vinci,
in the Australian Open
final by Angelique
Kerber, and now by
Muguruza. It's the
first time in
Williams'
career she lost
T
Patil applies for Indian
team coach's post
PTI n MUMBAI
ust a few days after the BCCI invited applications for the vacant post of India senior
men's team head coach through its website, chief
selector Sandeep Patil has thrown his hat into
the ring for the high-profile job.
"I have just applied
(for the post)," Patil said.
He did not confirm or
deny whether anyone
from the BCCI had asked
him to do so.
There was speculation that the former dashing batsman and ex-coach
of Kenya had been advised
by higher-ups in the
Board to apply for the job as the senior selection panel headed by him has already completed most of its top-level assignments till
September when his term is scheduled to come
to an end.
Sanjay Bangar has been named the interim
coach of the new-look side to Zimbabwe, to be
led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
If he gets the job of head coach before
September, he will have to quit his current job
in the selection panel.
J
singles
Pilots' strike threat hangs over Euro
PARIS: Strikes by rail workers and flooding
disrupted France yesterday, as the new
threat of a pilots' strike hung over Euro 2016
football tournament a week before the
tournament kicks off. Unions pressed on
with the rail stoppages for a third full day, but
the number of staff taking part fell to just
above 10 percent, the SNCF rail operator
said. Services in Paris were hit, but almost
all high-speed trains were operating.
However the train strike was expected to
cause more disruption over the weekend. In
the capital and further south, attention has
shifted from the lingering strikes to the worst
flooding for three decades.
UEFA fine Barcelona
DUBLIN: Spanish champions Barcelona
said they have been fined 150,000 euros by
Big Sunday
back-to-back Slam finals.
Mouratoglou said Saturday that chasing a 22nd major "isn't an obsession" for Williams.
"She doesn't wake up every morning thinking about it. That's for
sure." But he added: "The pressure of leaving an indelible mark on history is incomparable."
Williams credited Muguruza with playing "unbelievable," adding: "The only thing I can do is just keep
trying."
This year's visit to Paris hardly could have started off more inauspiciously for Muguruza: She lost
the first set she played, against 38th-ranked Anna
Karolina Schmiedlova.
But, oh, how Muguruza turned things around.
She won her next 14 sets, displaying take-the-ballearly aggressiveness.
The final began under a slate ceiling of clouds,
but at least there was none of the heavy rain that led
to flooding in Paris and a temporary shutdown of
the Louvre museum. The showers jumbled the tournament schedule, and Williams was in action a fourth
straight day in the final.
She did not blame that or a problem with a leg
muscle. "I don't think it's like something that I would
say: 'Oh, that was the reason,'" Williams said.
Muguruza won the coin toss and let Williams
serve first, a fascinating choice given the American's
prowess with that part of the game. And the decision seemed only more dubious as Muguruza put the
ball on play on only one of the first six points
Williams served.
And yet, it all wound up working out. And how.
Muguruza won all six points of 10 shots or more
in the first set and, indeed, there was no junkballing
on this day. Both women hit hard, trading bold forehands and backhands from the baseline that made it seem unfair to characterize nearly anything as an "unforced error."
Williams finished with 39 forced errors, 18 more than Muguruza.
After a run of breaks gave Muguruza the first set and a lead in the
second, Williams never recovered. She did, however, cast aside a quartet of match points for Muguruza at 5-3. There was nothing Williams
could do about the fifth, which Muguruza converted with a delightful
lob that landed right on the baseline.
Williams applauded. Maybe stunned by that shot, maybe stunned
that she was now a Grand Slam champion, Muguruza turned toward
her coach and other supporters in the stands with a blank expression.
Soon, she was flat on her back, caking her dress and arms with the rustcolored clay she will never forget.
"Just goes to show you, you really have to play the big points well,"
Williams said, "and I think she played the big points really well."
Djokovic meets Murray in juicy
French Open Final today
AP n PARIS
hen Roger Federer won a
record 15th Grand Slam
W
title — a number he has since
pushed to 17 — at Wimbledon
in 2009 it seemed to put to bed
tennis' enduring argument
about who is the greatest man
to have played the game.
By beating Federer in his
prime at Wimbledon in 2008,
winning the 2010 US Open for
titles at all four major tournaments and with a record nine
French Open wins in his overall haul of 14 Grand Slam trophies, Nadal left-armed his
way into the conversation.
With victory on Sunday in
the French Open final against
Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic
would become part of that
debate, too. Not simply because
it would give him the complete
collection of titles at all four
majors without which no player can pretend to have been
among the very best, but because
he will achieve a rare feat that
eluded both Federer and Nadal:
winning four consecutively.
Murray, who will be
Britain's first French Open
champion since Fred Perry in
1935 if he beats Djokovic for a
third time in a Grand Slam
final, sometimes gives the
impression that willpower,
more than his play, is the backbone of his game.
But the Scot, so irascible on
court, so seemingly normal off
it, has the full armory of strokes
and the tennis brain needed to
break down Djokovic's defenses. He shot-by-shot dismantled,
rather than simply beat, Stan
Wawrinka in the semifinals,
not letting last year's champion
find his bearings in a 6-4, 6-2,
4-6, 6-2 performance that
seven-time major winner Mats
Wilander described as "the
greatest tactical masterpiece
I've ever seen at Roland Garros."
Mentally, neither player
has a clear edge: Murray benefits from the knowledge that
he won their last meeting on
clay, 6-3, 6-3 in the final in
Rome last month; No. 1
Djokovic can draw on the
inspiration of having beaten his
understudy in the rankings in
the Australian Open final in
2016, 2015, 2013 and 2011.
Murray won their other two
Grand Slam championship
matches: at Wimbledon in
2013 and, in another five-setter, at the 2012 US Open.
Ultimately, any argument
about greatest players may
never get a conclusive answer.
How, after all, can the woodenracket era of Rod Laver — the
last man to win the Australian
Open,
French
Open,
Wimbledon and US Open in a
row, in 1969 — be fairly compared to the furious game
played now?
Murray, as good as he is,
isn't close to knocking on the
door of tennis' pantheon of true
legends. Not so Djokovic.
He stands on the cusp of
greatness. Win on Sunday, and
that will be beyond doubt.
Colombia shatter American dream in Copa
AFP n SANTA CLARA (USA)
olombia wrecked the United
States' hopes of a winning start to
C
the Copa America Centenario as
goals from James Rodriguez and
Cristian Zapata gave the South
Americans a comfortable 2-0 victory.
AC Milan's Zapata and Real
Madrid star Rodriguez struck in the
first half before a sell-out 67,439
crowd at the Levi's Stadium in northern California to puncture American
hopes of emerging from a difficult
Group A.
US coach Jurgen Klinsmann's
side had hoped to score an upset victory to emulate the Americans'
famous defeat of Colombia at the
1994 World Cup in the United States.
But for long periods here Friday
Klinsmann's men were chasing shadows as the skilful 2014 World Cup
quarter-finalists delivered a stinging
reality check.
Klinsmann sought to put a positive spin on the game, insisting his
team had competed as equals.
"For our players it's really important that they can see we can beat
them," Klinsmann said.
"The end result is 2-0. But the players will take a lot out of this game."
Klinsmann admitted the defeat
left his team with little margin for
error in their remaining group games
against Costa Rica and Paraguay.
"Obviously we have even more
hunger in our second game now,"
Klinsmann said. We have our backs
against the wall and we need three
points against Costa Rica. But there's
a lot of positives."
A disastrous first half for the host
UEFA after separatist flags were flown in the
Camp Nou during Champions League games
last season. In a statement the Spanish
champions said yesterday that they would
do everything to overturn a punishment
which they described as "totally unjust
and...Opposed to the exercise of the freedom
of expression." Of the fine, 50,000 euros will
be suspended if there is no repeat offence in
the next two years.
de Janeiro between August 2 and 4. The
independent selection process follows a new
procedure for recruitment of IOC members
based on the Olympic Agenda 2020
recommendations. Once elected, she will
continue to be a member until the age of 70.
Ambani is the first Indian woman to be
nominated to the IOC and this comes as a
recognition of her passionate work in the
area of education and sports.
HI congratulates Nita Ambani
Chikka, Chowrasia win Louis Philippe
NEW DELHI: Hockey India on Saturday
congratulated Nita Ambani, Founder and
Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, for
being nominated as a candidate to be a new
member of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC). The election for the new
IOC member position will be held at the
129th IOC Session that will take place in Rio
BENGALURU: S Chikkarangappa and Shiv
Chowrasia joined hands to pull the rug from
under three-day leaders Dev Chandigarh's
feet to clinch the Louis Philippe Cup Pro Golf
League for Take Chennai at the KGA golf
course here on Saturday. The duo stitched
together a dazzling nine under 135 for a final
tally of 21 under 555 to take home the team
nation saw Colombia take a vice-like
grip on the contest.
The Colombians took the lead
after only eight minutes, when poor
marking at a set-piece gifted a chance
to the Italy-based Zapata.
Stoke City defender Geoff
Cameron was caught ball-watching as
Edwin Cardona's corner was curled
in, and Zapata stole in front of his
man to thunder home the finish.
The USA struggled to build any
sort of momentum after that, with
Colombia flooding midfield and
pressing the Americans relentlessly.
Colombia dominated territory
and possession and carved out the
better chances with Sebastian Perez
forcing a diving save from Aston
Villa's Brad Guzan in the 16th
minute with a rasping drive.
Monterrey's Cardona proved to
be a menace to the USA back four
throughout, tormenting Cameron
and DeAndre Yedlin in quick succession midway through the half before
shooting on goal.
The only USA chance of note was
a 36th-minute run and shot from
Clint Dempsey, whose curling effort
whistled just past Ospina's upright.
But within minutes of that fleeting US opportunity, the hosts were
dealt a killer blow when Yedlin was
adjudged to have flicked a hand out
to block Farid Diaz's cross.
America's players protested but
referee Roberto Garcia was in no doubt
and pointed to the spot. Rodriguez
duly stepped up to stroke home the
spot-kick and Colombia were in total
control. Colombia threatened again
early in first half, with Cardona testing Guzan with a fierce shot.
dramatic win.
Indian hockey eves lose to Japan
bounty of `36 lakh, with the three three
members pocketing `12 lakh each.
Chikkarangappa had the additional
satisfaction of picking up `3 lakh more for
finishing on top of the individual leaderboard
after the four rounds with an overall
aggregate of 10 under 278 after the four
rounds. He rounded up his fine show with a
five under 67 that, along with Chowrasia's
four under 68, was enough to complete the
DARWIN: Indian eves returned emptyhanded from the four-nation invitational
tournament here after losing 1-2 to Japan in
the bronze medal play-off match on
Saturday. India started the game on a bright
note, pushing Japan onto the back foot
immediately, and penetrated the opponent
circle several times in the first five minutes.
Japan rallied back and slowly got control of
the proceedings as the Indians dropped
back. Japan got the first real chance of the
game but were denied by a brilliant diving
save from Savita in front of the Indian
goal.Japan secured their third penalty corner
in the second quarter but India defended
stoutly as both the teams failed to break the
deadlock at half time.
Agencies
Narine sinks
SA in WI romp
AFP n PROVIDENCE (GUYANA)
Narine snared career-best figures of six for 27 on
his return to West Indies colours as the hosts defeatSed unil
South Africa by four wickets in the opening match
of the Tri-Nation One-Day International series at the
Guyana National Stadium on Friday.
Forced to remodel his action after it was deemed illegal during the Caribbean side's last ODI campaign in Sri
Lanka last November, the 28-year-old mystery spinner
was at his mesmerising best on a turgid surface where
the South Africans were dismissed for 188 off 46.5 overs.
They found it difficult to establish any sort of momentum despite two useful partnerships at the top of the order.
Narine's returns were not only a personal milestone
but also the best-ever by any opponents in one-day cricket against South Africa.
Kieron Pollard, back in the good graces of West Indies
selectors after 20 months in the ODI wilderness following the shock abandonment of the tour of India in
October of 2014, then lifted his team to the target with
a robust unbeaten 67 that included six sixes.
It was the first time in 15 years that the Caribbean
side had defeated the South Africans in a one-dayer on
home soil.
Rilee Rossouw topscored with 61 and featured in a
78-run third-wicket partnership with skipper AB de
Villiers. That effort followed an opening stand of 52
between Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla.
However the Proteas collapsed from the comparative comfort of 160 for three, their last seven wickets
falling for just 28 runs.
backpack 09
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
‘Corporates don’t spare a thought for creative efforts’
n How did Do Lafzon Ki Kahani (DLKK)
happen?
It’s an official remake of the Korean film
Always. The writer, Girish Dhamija, is
heavily influenced by Korean cinema and
Always caught his attention. We got firsttime producers Dhiraj Shetty and
Avinaash V Rai who are my gymming
buddies and passionate about
their own ventures.
Everything fell into place.
n How is this one different from other love
stories?
DEEPAK TIJORI
It’s an unconHe started off as an actor with Aashiqui,
ventional love story
Khiladi, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Pehla Nasha,
and the characters
Ghulam and Baadshah and went on to direct
are quite similar to
films like Oops!, Fareb and Tom, Dick & Harry.
what you saw in
DEEPAK TIJORI has come a long way and is
now focussing on direction. He talks to
Amitabh Bachchan’s
SANGEETA YADAV about his next release
Kala Pathar, a man
Do Lafzon Ki Kahaani, his ire against
who was an introvert
corporates & how he dealt with the
and damaged from
difficult times
inside but at the same
time had his own way of con-
Talktime
veying love. Suraj (Randeep Hooda) and
Jenny (Kajal Aggarwal) are head over
heels in love but never proclaim it. This is
a love story without the characters saying
‘I love you’ to each other. But you can feel
the love rather than hear it being expressed.
n Were Randeep & Kajal first choices?
Yes, Randeep was my only choice. After
watching him in Highway, I was convinced
that only he would do justice to the role. He
plays a hurt introvert. For Jenny, we took
time hunting the right actress. We wanted
someone neither a newcomer nor a superstar. Kajal fitted the bill perfectly. She was
so much into the role that while shooting
for a south Indian film, she called me up
and said: ‘I practice being blind while I am
singing and dancing on the sets here’. (She
plays a blind person in DLKK). That was
the kind of dedication she had.
n What was DLKK’s biggest challenge?
This film is probably the first love story
where you don’t see lip syncing in any of
the six songs. I had to portray the emotions
through the lyrics. I had no choreograph-
er and I shot the music like a part of the film
and not like other films which showcase
actors suddenly breaking into song and
dance in a desert or the backwaters. I felt
that if Americans can get away with no lip
syncing and still convey a love story, why
can’t we? Why can’t we have the music
which doesn’t require actors to pretend to
be singing and yet convince people of true
love?
n Why was the film delayed?
It was supposed to be released on
March 4 and Eros was earlier doing the production and distribution for us. At the last
moment, they fell out with the producers.
Then, Jayantilal Gada’s Pen Productions
came on board and now the film is all set
to release on June 10. Something similar
happened with my previous film Fox
which couldn’t see the light of day. The shifting of dates and production company gave
me sleepless nights. I’m scared to work with
corporate houses now.
n What went wrong with Fox?
That film, starring Arjun Rampal and
Corporate houses
treat a film like a
product. Whenever
they feel like it,
they dump the
product like waste.
It was a big
shocker for me that
they could decide
the fate of my film,
Fox, as per their
rule book
N-E’s new
Laid bare
With hill stations in Himachal and Uttarkhand being done to
death by tourists, and Darjeeling becoming overcrowded,
the pristine hill State of Sikkim is seeing a new dawn.
SHALINI SAKSENA recently took a trip
The nude dress has taken the fashion world by storm. PRAKRITI
ROY explores the trend to find out where it stands in India
hill gem
The Royal Plaza, Gangtok
ot many may have heard about
Gurudongmar and its
N
untouched, pristine beauty, or for
that matter, traversed those quaint
bylanes of Gangtok where momos
and thukpa waft through conversations and palates the same way as
those snow-capped mountain peaks
in the distance turn aglow in the
mornings.
Yet, Sikkim, headquartered in
Gangtok, has finally emerged from
being the poorer sister package of
Darjeeling for tourists to the NorthEast, especially and strangely those
ones from the deep south of the
country.
With 28 mountain peaks, more
than 80 glaciers, beautiful high
altitude lakes, hot springs and more
than 100 rivers and streams, gurgling through the State, the State has
turned into a fertile expanse for the
hospitality industry at all levels.
From one five-star hotel to
budget accommodation to lodges to
boutique hotels, travellers these
days are spoilt for choice. “There are
now more than 400 hotels in
Gangtok, making it the ‘new
Darjeeling’ and resorts like The
Royal Plaza for vacationers to enjoy
an enchanting, tranquil and luxurious stay with a view of the landscape, are vying for hotspot status
in healthy competition,” says Satish
Bardewa, owner of Yak & Yeti
Travels & Expeditions.
Indeed, in the last five or so
years, the State and its Capital
Gangtok, have started beeping on
most travel portals as must-see
destinations. “One of the biggest
advantages that Sikkim has is that
it is still not overly touristy and its
people are simple, friendly folk. Due
With 28
peaks, over
80 glaciers,
high altitude
lakes & 100
rivers, the
State has
emerged as a
fertile haven
for hospitality
to its rich biodiversity, holiday
themes are varied — paragliding,
hiking, trekking or plain relaxation. To top this, it lies on the newly
opened route to Kailash Mansovar
making it a tourist’s paradise. There
has been a healthy rise in the number of tourists from Maharashtra,
Odisha, Karnataka and even Tamil
Nadu,” Bardewa tells you.
Though there is yet no airport
in Sikkim, the rise in the number of
direct flights to Bagdogra, which is
just a few hours downhill, has
made it an upcoming destination.
“People come here because
reaching Gangtok has become easier despite the five-and-a-half hour
drive from the nearest airport. Hill
stations in Himachal and
Uttarakhand have become overcrowded and people want to discover new places. Sikkim comes in
right there,” Bardewa says.
According to Sourav Sengupta,
general manager of the beautiful but
affordable property The Royal Plaza,
people are thronging to Gangtok as
Darjeeling has lost much of its
charm. “Darjeeling has become
overcrowded and commercial. So
people look towards Sikkim for a
unique travelling experience,”
Sengupta says.
DELHIDELIGHT
KESHAV BANSAL,24
Newest sports tycoon
A
Bella Hadid
at the red
carpet event
of Cannes
Film Festival
2016
ALTHOUGH
PEOPLE IN INDIA
HAVE ONLY JUST
STARTED NOTICING THE
(L-R): Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone & Sophie Choudhry wearing naked gowns
NUDE DRESS, DESIGNERS
IN AMERICA HAVE TAKEN THE
though more covered than Hervey’s. When the ed with what she
ULTIMATE STEP, THAT OF
naked dress is just too look-at-me-I’m-naked calls the ‘naked
DESIGNING
NUDE WEDDING
type, then it’s merely to grab attention. As far chappals’. These
as India goes, we’re not quite ready for the chappals make
GOWNS FOR BRIDES
naked dress, but will soon get there with the your feet appear
WALKING DOWN
help of Mallika Sherawat and Sunny Leone. bare while looking
THE AISLE
One person who pulls off such dressing is accessorised with an
Priyanka Chopra,” she adds.
Ranawat thinks that since the trend is
about the illusion of nudity, it won’t work on
the Indian woman for various reasons. “One,
the skin tone won’t allow the nude effect.
Second, a perfect figure is needed to wear the
naked dress which is not something most
Indian women possess and it would look vulgar if there are bulges peeking out from under
the tight-fitted lycra,” explains Ranawat.
But Narayana likes the concept as “it gives
a lot of scope in terms of doing one’s hair and
make-up”. While the naked dress is still
fledgling in India, Narayana has experiment-
anklet and toe ring.
Narayana feels Deepika
could pull off specimens donned by Beyonce
or JLo.
Although people in India have started talking about the naked dress only recently, it
made appearances at the Cannes red carpet
this year, sported by Kristen Stewart, Bella
Hadid (who was described as almost naked)
and Kendall Jenner. In fact, designers in the
West have already started experimenting
with the naked white wedding gown to be
worn by the bride while walking down the
aisle.
Delhi’s youngest team man bats on front foot
t 24, many would be still looking
for a career or in the midst of concretising one. Not Keshav Bansal
though. As the youngest franchisee in the
IPL’s rarified team owning firmament, he
has emerged at the helm in many ways
than one.
For starters, his team Gujarat Lions,
pretty much the same age as him in the
domestic cricket league (count that as
eight months and some days), has charted its way up to the top echelons of this
year’s tournament with consummate
ease, just like he himself did back in
November 2015. During a business meeting at the BCCI office in Mumbai, shopping for a four-year on-ground sponsorship deal for all cricket series in India,
Bansal learnt that new teams were in the
process of being conceived.
“Within half a day, I prepared a presentation, worked out the logistics of my
company entering the franchise space,
and presented it to my chairman, my
father, the next day. Broad economics we
were aware of, plus minus 5 per cent was
factored in,” he tells you, sitting across the
table in stiff business clothes but with an
eager smile on his face.
Two auctions down the line, and he
A
At 24, Keshav Bansal is
the youngest ever
owner of an IPL team.
MEENAKSHI RAO
caught up with this
professional skydiving,
squash playing Delhi
youngster
dress worn by a celebrity on an international red carpet almost always
becomes a fashion trend. And, almost
as often, it finds its way to the Indian circuit.
The naked, or nude dress, is the latest such
trend. Fashion experts have defined it in various ways, all of which basically mean a dress
made of sheer fabric has embroidery or
embellishments strategically placed so as to
provide a semblance of modesty.
The naked dress is beyond the ‘barely
there’ dress which has now become passé. It’s
been termed naked because either the colour
of the fabric merges with the skin or most of
the skin is left bare.
Jennifer Lopez has been a pioneer of the
naked dress, ever since she first wore one very
revealing Versace gown to the Grammys in
2000. When Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Gigi
Hadid and Rihanna started wearing these
dresses recently, it turned a whole lot of heads
and many fashion critics are still not over it.
While some appreciated them, others tore
them to pieces or didn’t know what to make
of them.
The dresses started being worn two years
back, that is, if you do not count Marilyn
Monroe’s 1962 appearance at President John
F Kennedy’s birthday bash or Cher at the Met
Gala in 1974. However, it is recent appearances
which have brought back the trend that
leaves little for imagination.
Not that the Indian stars are shying away.
Deepika Padukone and Sophie Choudhry
wore the nudes to award shows. Sonam
Kapoor and Bollywood bahu Mira Rajput wore
them, albeit in slightly more conservative
avatars. And finally, Priyanka Chopra, who
wore it not just in the music video of her song
Exotic but also to the Oscars. Designer houses like Gucci, Versace and Donna Karen are
on to naked gowns. Closer home, designer duo
Falguni and Shane Peacock created a naked
dress that was rocked by Gwen Stefani.
However, Indian designers are divided on
the trend. On one hand, there are designers
like Anuradha Ramam who think that this is
just a passing fad. “The wearability of the
naked dress is limited. For international red
carpets, it is a great trend. But in India, it
would be too restrictive, limited to only special occasions,” says Ramam. She adds that it
will probably be worn in India with modifications like a nude sheath element under a lace
dress.
Then there are newage designers like
Rajdeep Ranawat and Sunietha Narayana
who think the trend is great. But even then,
the naked dress is something of an iffy concept for India.
Jiggya Sodhi of Aks feels that naked dresses are a cool concept, if adorned tastefully, “for
instance, the Gaurav Gupta dress Lady Hervey
wore and then Deepika repeated it in gold
Sunny Deol, was slated to release in 2009.
Suddenly Zee Motion Pictures were shutting down and they threw my film into the
market along with Vinay Shukla’s Mirch. It
was a big shocker for me that a corporate house could decide the fate of my
film as per their rule book. No thought
was spared for the creative efforts put
into making the film. Nobody cares.
Corporate houses are ruled by the
account books and treat a film like a
product. Whenever they feel like it, they
dump the product like waste.
n Doesn’t all this impact you?
Yes, it does. That was the time I started doubting my decision to stay away
from acting and get into direction. I am
coming back after seven years with
DLKK. It’s been like half an exile for me.
That was one of the reasons why I took
time to return to directing films. But
again this happened to me with Eros for
DLKK. I feel, in the end, whatever happens, happens for the best.
had Gujarat Lions in his pocket with
Suresh Raina as skipper and at least five
players each from the disintegrated CSK
and Rajasthan Royal teams on his rolls.
Bansal’s company Intex Technologies
as “India’s No 1 mobile making company” may look far removed from cricket
but it has been using the sport to enhance
its reach in India ever since he entered his
teens as a sprightly Heritage School, VK,
boy and the State’s squash talent.
Down the years, he has not only gathered a business degree from the
Manchester Business School where he
picked up his love for and worship of The
Beautiful Game and its most feted club
Manchester United, but also jumped off
planes as a professional sky diver, explored
the deep sea as a scuba diver, looked for
perilous summits to bungee jump and
kept up with swimming, table tennis, yoga
and squash as a matter of routine.
“I am a fitness freak and make it a
point to spend at least three hours on my
body daily. I learnt professional sky diving in Spain in 10 days and have jumped
off planes in South Africa and Dubai too.
I make it a point to go scuba diving during all my vacations. Bungee jumping is
another passion. I represented Delhi in
squash for quite sometime,” he says.
Cricket, strangely, is one game he has
not played or travelled much for. But, as
he says, “everyone in India has an opinion on cricket and so do I,” adding quickly though that when it comes to his team
Gujarat Lions, he keeps his views to himself in decision-making as “delegation to
experts” is always a good idea.
But that does not seem to have
taken away from his business duties or the
wherewithal of being a natty heir to his
father’s young, expanding empire. “We
have been on-ground sponsors of cricket in India since 2007 and also with the
IPL since its inception,” Bansal reveals. So
owning a team seemed to be only the next
logical step in the same direction.
“For brand leverage, there is no
other sports in India with more reach
than cricket,” he admits, talking numbers
around the sport he wants to eventually
make big money on.
“A 10-15 per cent jump in assets every
year speaks volumes about the stability of
IPL. It is all in public domain how the IPL
deal with MSN signed at $1.8 billion is
set to double to $ 2.8-3 billion in 2017
when it is due for renewal. The valuation
of the franchisees has also grown steadi-
ly in these nine years,” he points out,
asserting with confidence that “we are
here for two years during which time
Intex would be looking for maximum
reach and return through the game.”
The young gun would know what he
is doing looking at the way his company
has evolved in a short time. Intex
Technologies started off as an IT firm in
the 90s and by 2003 emerged as India’s
No 1 firm manufacturing multi-media
speakers. “In 2007, the mobile phone
space saw a fast shift in India and that’s
when we looked at it more specifically,”
he says.
Point out to him that he is a bit too
young to carry a high-end sporting team
in his portfolio and he retorts: “Work has
nothing to do with age, it is just a number. Your vision, objective and fundamentals should be clear. Yes, it feels nice
to be called the youngest owner of a cricket team,” he adds.
Hands on on all aspects, primarily
this is his first time in real-time IPL. “The
idea was to understand the T20 format,
own good aggressive batsmen and a well
balanced team. We bought Aaron Finch.
During the first round, no one had bid
for him. Can you believe no one bid for
him and he is World No 2,” Bansal says.
You may have noticed that smiling,
well dressed boy sitting in the Gujarat
Lions VIP area on TV but Bansal’s interaction with his players is reasonably limited. “I don’t interfere in cricketing matters. I catch up with players post the
match. As far as the cricketing decisions
are concerned, I like the experts to deal
with that,” he says.
For every franchise, the ability to
make profits, depends on how successfully your team performs. “We have bid
at minus 10 crore every year take a hit of
80 crore a year so even if we are able to
break even it will be a great thing,” he tells
you.
Most IPL team owners are twice his
age, even more, but his interactions with
the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, GMR and
others have been a constant learning
curve in tackling his own team’s requirements and positioning.
Friends with SRK. Summiteering
with Ambanis, Raos and Zintas.
Company on an upward spiral. Life is
buzzing for this Delhi youngster. So it was
with his team too, which unfortunately
could not qualify for the semi-final. But
great for beginning, no?
sunday pioneer
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
10
sunday pioneer
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
11
sunday pioneer
LUCKNOW | SUNDAY | JUNE 5, 2016
12