CHANDIGARH, FEB 17With the aim of strength-

ening itself in Haryana,Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)on Tuesday said it wouldlaunch 'Jai Kisan Abhiyan'across the state fromFebruary 21 over alleged"anti-farmer" approach bythe BJP governments inthe state and at the Centre.

As part of the campaign,AAP workers will give'namak ki thyli' (salt pack-ets) to all Members ofParliament (MPs) from thestate.

Stating this here, seniorAAP leader YogendraYadav said this would bedone to remind the MPs of

their promises made tofarmers before the polls.

Yadav said AAP wouldstage a demonstration inGurgaon on February 21followed by another one inKarnal the next day and atother places in subsequentdays.

He alleged that BJP gov-ernments both in Haryanaand at Centre had"betrayed" the farmers.

"The farmers have beenadversely hit by the anti-people decisions of theCentral and Haryana gov-ernments," he alleged.

He said contrary to theclaims made by the

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

SRINAGAR, FEB 17Amid intense negotia-

tions over government for-mation in Jammu andKashmir, there are reportsthat a deal could bereached between the BJPand the PDP on Tuesday.

So far, the two partieshave held over 15 roundsof talks and the latest willbe held today.

Also today, JitendraSingh, Minister of State inthe PMO, who is tipped tobe the deputy chief minis-ter in the possible BJP-PDP coalition government,met J&K Governor NNVohra.

He, however, describedthe meeting as strictly per-sonal. “This is purely apersonal meeting. I came

here to extend my invita-tion for a wedding in thefamily,” Singh said.

The meeting came amidreports that talks betweenthe two parties are in adecisive phase and a deci-sion on alliance and gov-ernment formation could

be announced any timenow.

It has been reported thatthe final call now needs tobe taken by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, amidspeculation that the sealingof alliance has been stuck

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

MUMBAITemperature: 310CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity: 49%Wind: 18 Km/hr

HAQSAADDAFIGHT FOR RIGHTWednesday, February 18, 2015

AAP wants to spread nationally on'Delhi model': Ashutosh

Samsung Galaxy Grand Max With LTE, 5-MegapixelFront Camera Launched at Rs. 15,990

2002 hit-and-run case: SalmanKhan procured licence in 2004

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Prime Minister Narendra

Modi, Tuesday, stronglyasserted his government’scommitment to ensure equalrespect to all religions inIndia.

Speaking at a function heldby the Syro-Malabar Churchto celebrate beatification ofSaints Kuriakose EliasChavara and MotherEuphrasia, Modi said, “Mygovernment will ensure thatthere is complete freedom offaith.”

“Everyone has the undeni-able right to retain or adoptthe religion of his or herchoice without coercion orundue influence. Governmentwill not allow any religiousgroup, belonging to majorityor minority to incite hatredagainst others overtly orcovertly,” he said amid thun-

derous applause.“Unity strengthens us.

Division weakens us. I sin-cerely request all Indians andall of you present here to sup-port me in this huge task,” he

said.The PM’s strong statement

on religious freedom in Indiaassumes significance as itcame in the backdrop of aspate of attacks on Churches

in Delhi.The PM said ‘Mother India’

has given birth to many reli-gious and spiritual streams,with some of them havingeven travelled beyond Indianborders.

Quoting ancient Vedic texts,the Prime Minister said, “Thetradition of welcoming,respecting and honouring allfaiths is as old as India itself.”

“As Swami Vivekanandasaid - We believe not only inuniversal toleration but weaccept all religions as true,”Modi said, adding that whatthe great saint said a centuryago stands true even today.

“This principle of equalrespect and treatment for allfaiths has been a part ofIndia's ethos for thousands ofyears. That’s why it becameintegral to the Constitution of

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Committed to freedom of faith, respectto all religions: Narendra Modi

P8

PATNA, FEB 17Refraining from divulging

the stand it would take duringthe February 20 confidencemotion in the Bihar Assembly,BJP leader Nand KishoreYadav on Tuesday said partyMLAs would meet onWednesday to decide on their

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Bihar deadlock: BJP tohold MLAs' meeting

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Swine flu has become a

major health scare in Indiaand is assuming serious pro-portions in the country withover 500 people succumbingto the fatal disease. The deathtoll from swine flu this year

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Swine flu scare in India:100 dead in 3 days, 585deaths this year

JAIPUR, FEB 17A baby survived a shocking

birth when he slipped down atrain toilet and landed on rail-way tracks just moments afterhis mother delivered him,police said Tuesday. The 22-year-old woman fainted in the

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Baby survives birththrough train toilet inRajasthan

Vol. 1 Issue: 158 Price: Rs.3:00 Reg. No: DELENG/2014/58212 Delhi Edition Pages: 8 Website: www.saaddahaq.in Email: news.saaddahaq@gmail.com

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Aam Aadmi Party leader

Yogendra Yadav on Tuesdayalleged that the BJP projectedKiran Bedi as its chief ministe-rial candidate for the Delhipolls when the party realisedits chances in the electionswere slipping away. "KiranBedi`s coming definitely hurt

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Kiran Bedi was brought in whenBJP smelled defeat: AAP

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Calling for the participation

of private sector in developinginfrastructure like roads, tun-nels and bridges along the bor-der, Defence MinisterManohar Parrikar on Tuesdaysaid the use of modern tech-niques and materials can helpin overcoming the challengesinvolved in the task.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Private participation required inborder infra development: Parrikar

PATNA, FEB 17As crisis deepens in Bihar's

Legislative Assembly, theJanata Dal (United) hasexpelled seven ministers ofChief Minister Jitan RamManjhi's camp from the party,reports claimed on Tuesday.

According to reports, theJD(U) expelled the seven

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Bihar crisis: JD(U) expels seven minis-ters siding with Jitan Ram Manjhi

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Congress on Tuesday saw

"striking similarities" in AAPand BJP's style of governanceafter Arvind Kejriwal's gov-ernment in Delhi bannedmedia from the state secretari-at on its first working day.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Striking similarities inAAP, BJP style of func-tioning: Congress

NEW DELHI, FEB 17An engineer husband has

been denied any relief frompaying interim maintenance tohis spouse by a Delhi courtwhich said his unwillingnessto work for last many yearswas not a sufficient ground "todeprive his wife and child to

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Man's unwillingness to workno ground for depriving wifemaintenance: Court

NAWADA, FEB 17A 14-year girl old was

allegedly raped in Mohagainvillage of Bihar's Nawada dis-trict on Tuesday and theaccused is on the run, policesaid. "The incident took placethis morning when the girl hadgone out of her home. Theaccused identified as Karu

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

14-year girl old wasallegedly raped

P6P2

Talks between BJP, PDP over J&K govt formationin decisive phase; PM Modi to take final call

NEW DELHI, FEB 17The Delhi government will rope

in experts from diverse fields tohelp Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal to implement variousschemes and poll promises madeby AAP during the elections.

An expert committee is going tobe set up in the next few dayswhich will work under the ChiefMinister's Office and play a keyrole in formulation of variousimportant policies of the govern-ment.

In its election manifesto, AamAadmi Party had promised toslash power bills of the consumersby half and provide free water upto 20,000 litres to every house-hold per month. The party alsopromised to instal 1.5 lakh

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

NEW DELHI, FEB 17State Bank of India is in the

process of completing the due dili-gence for the controversial USD 1billion (Rs 6,200 crore) loan toAdani Group for its Australian min-ing project and take a finalc a l l

on it soon."The appraisal process is on. We

have not yet taken a final call on thedisbursement," sources close to thedevelopment said.

In November last year, SBI hadsigned a pact with Adani Group on

the sidelines of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's visit to Australia.

The final decision on the Adaniissue would be taken by the execu-tive committee after due delibera-tions.

Loansof overRs 400c r o r ea r egener-a l l y

cleared byexecutive committee headed by theChairperson. The other members ofthe executive committee includetwo executive directors (of the fourmanaging directors on board) andnon-executive director/directorswho are present in the city where

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

SBI to soon take call on Adani's $1bn loan for Australian project

Govt to set upexpert panel to helpKejriwal implementschemes

Weather ReportDELHITemperature: 260CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity: 43%Wind: 8Km/hr

KOLKATATemperature: 280CPrecipitation: 50%Humidity: 76% Wind: 14Km/hr

CHENNAITemperature: 310CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity:55%Wind: 24Km/hr

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Delivering on its

poll promise, theAAP governmenttoday put a restrictionon termination ofservices of any con-tractual employee tilla thorough review ofthe issue was com-pleted, a move whichwill benefit aroundone lakh employees.

The decision wastaken at a high-levelmeeting presidedover by ChiefMinister ArvindKejriwal.

Around one lakhemployees, includingdoctors, nurses,teachers, sanitationstaff are working

under contractualscheme in variousDelhi governmentdepartments andagencies.

"Services of anycontractual employeeshould not be termi-

nated or stopped tillfurther orders," saidthe brief governmentorder issued to vari-ous departments.

Sources said con-tractual employees

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

AAP govt stops termina-tion of contractualemployees in Delhi

LAHORE, FEB 17At least 8 people were

killed and several injuredin a suicide attack onPakistan Police RegionalHQ in Lahore onTuesday.

According to local Pakmedia reports, the attacktook place in Qila GujarSingh area of Lahore onTuesday when a bomberblew himself outside thegates of Police Lines,setting ablaze other carsparked in the vicinity.

Intensity of blast wasstrong enough to haveshattered the windowpanes of nearby build-ings. Eyewitnesses told

local media channels thatthey heard gunshots afterthe blast. However, secu-rity personnel told the

Dawn news that only lawenforcement agenciesfired gunshots. Hospitals

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Suicide attack at Police Lines in Lahore kills8; Pak Taliban claims responsibility

AAP to launch 'Jai KisanAbhiyan' in Haryana

WASHINGTON, FEB 17A Hindu temple has

been vandalised with hatespeech in the US state ofWashington, sendingshock waves through thecommunity in the area andprompting authorities tolaunch an investigation.

The incident happenedwhen unidentified miscre-ants sprayed swastika andpainted "Get Out" on oneof the walls of the templein the Seattle Metropolitanarea. It is one of the largestHindu temples in the entire

North West.The Snohomish County

Sheriff's Department isinvestigating this case as

malicious harassment.Yesterday top county offi-cials visited the temple.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

NEW DELHI, FEB 17The Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) on Tuesdaysought Aam AadmiParty's response for notallowing the media toenter the DelhiSecretariat for the sec-ond consecutive day.

While saying thatmedia is the fourth pil-lar of democracy, DelhiBJP leader VijenderGupta asked the newlyformed ArvindKejriwal government togive reasons for ban-

ning the media.The BJP leader

expressed hope that theAAP government willtake decision in favourof the media.

Meanwhile, seniorAAP leader SanjaySingh, said that theparty respects themedia and there is amedia centre in theSecretariat where it canmeet anyone by takingappointment.

Earlier, Congress saw CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Miscreants in US paint hatemessage on Hindu temple's wall

AAP must cite reasons for banningmedia in Delhi Secretariat: BJP

NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY | FEB 18, 2015Delhi News2 SAADDA HAQ

NEW DELHI, FEB 17After Prime Minister Narendra

Modi, it was the turn of FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday totake a dig at parties like Aam AadmiParty (AAP), saying subsidisedpower cannot be provided to peoplewithout burdening tax payers.

"One way by which people want toprovide cheaper electricity is by thestate subsidising it. A state subsidyreally means that you will have to taxpeople more in order to providesomething free to some other people.Is that a sustainable cause?" he saidaddressing the Re-Invest 2015 con-ference on renewable energy here.

Inaugurating the conference onSunday, Modi wondered how prom-ises of cheap power could be madeby political parties in states which aredependent on electricity supply fromoutside, comments which were seenas a dig at AAP.

Jaitley said the ongoing auction ofcoal mines undertaken by the NDAgovernment would ensure cheaperelectricity to common man in a sus-tained manner.

Taking the first step towards slash-ing power tariff by 50 per cent, theAam Aadmi Party-led Delhi govern-

ment yesterday directed finance andpower departments to immediatelysend their proposals for its imple-mentation.

Slashing power tariff by half wasamong the key pre-poll promisesmade by AAP in the Assembly elec-tions which they won with a landslidemajority.

specifically to the ongoing auctionof coal mines, Jaitley said the reverse

auction process will ensure cheaperelectricity to common man as againstthe practice of certain states givingpower subsidy.

"In reverse bidding, the cost ofpower is going to be linked with therate at which you get the fuel," Jaitleysaid. Aggressive bidding is going onfor the first tranche of the coal minesauction which is expected to com-pleted by February 22.

Arun Jaitley too takes a dig atAAP on subsidised power

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi

may have fought a bitter electoralbattle but the two leaders on Tuesdayexchanged pleasantries and engagedin a brief conversation at a functionhere.

At the At-Home reception hostedby Delhi Police Commissioner BhimSain Bassi, Bedi sat next to ChiefMinister Kejriwal.

The AAP leader first warmly greet-ed her following which they engagedin a brief conversation.

Later Bedi said she enquired abouthis health and asked him to takeproper care.

The reception was attended byPresident Pranab Mukherjee, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and HomeMinister Rajnath Singh.

Kejriwal had met the President,Prime Minister and the HomeMinister after winning the elections.

Modi and Singh were also seentalking to Kejriwal and Deputy Chief

Minister Manish Sisodia.Kejriwal was the centre of attrac-

tion at the event mingling with theguests and exchanging greetings.

Many people were seen requestingfor photographs with the AAP leader

and he obliged everybody with asmile.

A number of guests complimentedhim for the spectacular victory andwished him to live up to peoples'expectations.

Kiran Bedi enquire about Kejriwal health at Bassi at-home

NEW DELHI, FEB 17A court here has granted two more weeks to

Delhi Police to file an Action Taken Report(ATR) in a case alleging that former ChiefMinister Sheila Dikshit's political secretaryPawan Khera and others cheated a person bypromising him jobs in exchange of money.Metropolitan Magistrate Navjeet Budhirajaposted the matter for further hearing on March7 after the SHO, Ambedkar Nagar sought moretime to file the ATR. On November 10 lastyear, the court had directed the SHO to file theATR on a complaint filed by Ambedkar Nagarresident Rajpal Singh alleging that Khera inconnivance with others had cheated him byasking him to deposit Rs six lakh in theCongress party fund in lieu of government jobsto his sons at New Delhi MunicipalCorporation (NDMC).

Singh has claimed that he had filed a com-plaint in the Majnu ka Tila Police Station toconduct an enquiry but the police officials nei-ther investigated the matter nor register anycase till date. The complainant sought court'sdirection for registration of FIR against threeother persons -- Mukesh, Pratap, Bhanu PratapSharma -- who had helped him in reachingKhera.

He had sought lodging of FIR against themfor cheating, criminal breach of trust, extortionand misappropriation of money and forgerypunishable under section 403, 406, 417, 419,420, 120-B read with 34 of IPC. In his com-plaint, Singh had claimed that he was given arecommendation letter for clerical jobs atNDMC for his two sons on the letter head ofKhera after he deposited Rs 6 lakh in theCongress party fund.

NEW DELHI, FEB 17AAP wants to capitalise on its

'Delhi model' in the next five yearsand spread itself nationally, with afocus on Punjab, senior party leaderAshutosh on Tuesday said.

The party is treating Punjab, whereAssembly elections are due in 2017,as a "breakthrough" state by puttingin considerable political will.

"In the coming five years we willdevelop an alternate model of politicsand governance in Delhi. Punjab isdefinitely a breakthrough state. Butfirst Delhi has to be developed as amodel," he said, on the sidelines ofthe release of his book "Mukhota kaRajdharma" at the Delhi World BookFair here.

AAP had won four seats in Punjabin the 2014 Lok Sabha elections,even as it faced a rout in other statesincluding Delhi, where it drew ablank. Ashutosh said the book, acompilation of his articles that haveappeared in newspapers over theyears, was a "running commentary onpolitical and societal change of thelast ten years".

Throwing light on the book, hesaid, "I felt India was changing butpolitics was not, resulting in intermit-

tent conflicts. That is what I havetried to bring out through my writ-ings."

The party's Delhi Convener alsosaid that his tweet, where he termedhimself a "misfit" in politics earlier inthe day, has been "misinterpreted".

"Although I consider myself to be amisfit in Indian politics I want tomake it clear that I am here to stay. Iwas just pointing out that people can'tafford to be honest in politics," hesaid.

On being asked about AAP's stu-pendous victory in the Assemblypolls, he said that the party had decid-ed to pull out all stops in fighting theelections in a meeting on May 17, aday after suffering the Lok Sabhadebacle.

"There was a time when peopleshut doors on Arvind Kejriwal's faceduring the campaigning period. Eventhe security guard of his apartmenttook a dig at him saying 'chala thaPM banne'," he said.

AAP wants to spread nationallyon 'Delhi model': Ashutosh

Cops get two weeks to file ATR in caseagainst Sheila Dikshit's secretary

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Delhi government's e-

auction of fancy registra-tion numbers for vehi-cles on Tuesday fetchedthe government a whop-ping over Rs 39 lakh,with the number '0007'selling for Rs 10.45 lakh.

The fifth round of e-auction of fancy or VIPregistration numberswere concluded todaywith 14 bidders walkingaway with numbers oftheir choice after partici-pating in an online auc-tioning process.

According to an offi-cial of the transportdepartment, registrationnumber 0001, with aminimum reserved pricefixed at Rs 5 lakh, was

sold for Rs 7.55 lakhwhile the number 0007was sold for Rs 10.45lakh. "In the fifth round,we received a revenue ofRs 39.60 lakh after auc-tioning 14 fancy num-bers online," the officialsaid. The official saidthat the third highest bidof Rs 3.5 lakh wasreceived for 0009 fol-lowed by 0005 and 0008for Rs 3 lakh each, and0029 for Rs 2.5 lakh.

In the first round of e-auction, a fancy vehicleregistration number hadfetched Delhi govern-ment a whopping Rs12.5 lakh and it had col-lected a total of over Rs74 lakh from the exercis-es.

NEW DELHI, FEB 17With Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) facing a crush-ing defeat in the DelhiAssembly polls, theRashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) has reportedlydecided to closely monitorthe strategy for Bihar elec-tions, scheduled for laterthis year, reports said onTuesday.

In the recently held polls,while Arvind Kejriwal-ledAam Aadmi Party won 67seats in the 70-memberDelhi Assembly, the BJPmanaged to bag only three.

Reports stated that RSSfunctionary DattatreyaHosabale met several BJPleaders, includingBhupendra Yadav,Murlidhar Rao, V Satish,Saroj Pandey and Vinay

Sahastrabudhi Mondayevening to discuss Biharelections.

It is being learnt that theRSS is also against BJP'spossible intervention duringBihar Chief Minister Jitan

Ram Manjhi's floor test onFebruary 20.

JD(U) leader NitishKumar last week targetedPrime Minister NarendraModi for "encouraging"horse-trading in Bihar and

alleged that the Centre"pressured" the Governorinto giving the incumbentChief Minister a long timeto prove his majority so thatMLAs could be "lured".

In a frontal attack onModi, Kumar said that the"script" to what is happen-ing in Bihar was writtenafter Manjhi met the PrimeMinister here on February 8.

"All kinds of allurementare being made to MLAs.They are being offered min-isterial chairs and even BJPtickets," Kumar toldreporters.

Kumar said "license forhorse-trading" was issued inDelhi and alleged BJP'sinvolvement. Asked ifmoney is also being offered,he said this is being talkedabout everywhere.

Delhi polls fallout: RSS to decide BJP'sstrategy for Bihar elections, say reports

E-auction of VIP vehicle num-bers fetches over Rs 39 lakh

NEW DELHI, FEB 17In a breather to traders

at Lajpat Nagar Centralmarket here, the NationalGreen Tribunal onTuesday allowed single-lane parking on the met-alled roads till the munici-pal corporation providesan alternative site.

A bench headed NGTChairperson JusticeSwatanter Kumar directedSouth Delhi MunicipalCorporation (SDMC) todemarcate area on VeerSavarkar Marg, ShivMandir Marg and FerozeGandhi Marg with redlines for single-lane park-ing and install jersey bar-rier to separate lanes fortraffic. During the hear-ing, the Tribunal alsopulled up SDMC officialswhen they failed to satisfyit on the issue of identifi-cation of sites for con-struction of multi-levelparking in Lajpat Nagar.

"Why have you notidentified any designatedsite for the purpose ofbuilding multi-level park-ing. It is really unfortu-nate.

"Don't make speeches ifyou know nothing. Youcannot take the courtslightly. All you know ishow to create mess," thebench said while slam-ming SDMC officials.

The bench also grantedtime to SDMC officials todiscuss the issue of alter-native parking sites withhigher authorities and then

apprise it about the timeperiod required for con-struction of multi levelparking in order to decon-gest the roads in LajpatNagar.

The Tribunal also direct-ed Joint Commissioner ofDelhi Police, SHO LajpatNagar police station andtraffic inspector of LajpatNagar to ensure that thesedirections were compliedwith and in event ofdefault, all these officersshall be responsible.

It also asked SDMC toinform about the utilisa-tion of Rs 159 crore paidin 2006 for developmentof parking.

Meanwhile, DelhiUrban ShelterImprovement Board toldthe bench that it will tem-porarily provide parkingfacilities on the land avail-able next to KasturbaNiketan opposite to MCDhospital till the construc-tion of multi-level parkingwas over. Earlier, theTribunal had imposed acomplete ban on parkingof cars on metalled roadsin the national capital anddirected that any violationwould lead to a fine of Rs1,000.

It had also directedLajpat Nagar and KarolBagh markets to be con-sidered pilot projects forimplementing the banwhile hearing a petition ofVardhaman Kaushikagainst air pollution in thecity.

NGT allows single-lane parking in

Lajpat Nagar market

NEW DELHI, FEB 17BJP on Tuesday took

potshots at the AAPgovernment for itsdirection stopping dem-olitions in slums andresidences in Delhi, say-ing it was doing "eye-wash politics" as there isalready a ban on pullingdown of such structuressince December.

BJP Spokesperson andNew Delhi MPMeenakshi Lekhi saidthe Centre had alreadystatutorily granted unau-thorised colonies pro-tection from demolitionsince December 2014,which Delhi govern-ment has now so "glam-orously directed".

"It would seem that

the new AAP govern-ment is not only sellingold wine in new bottlesbut is now resorting toselling old wine in evenolder bottles... In theirhurry to appear as keep-ers of poll promises,they are delving into therealm of 'eyewash poli-tics'," shesaid.? Lekhi said inDecember 2014, theCentre had introducedthe Delhi Laws (SpecialProvisions) Bill, 2014 toprotect millions of liveswho would have beenleft bereft had demoli-tions of unauthorisedcolonies been carriedout.

She said the ground-work has already been

set by the Centre on theissue of unauthorisedcolonies since it tookover.

"In this show of polit-ical brandishing,instructions were alsosent out to organisationssuch as NDMC andMCD, without havingacquired the necessaryinformation that theseorganisations have beenon standby in respect oflaw passed by?theParliament," shesaid.

The BJP leader furthersaid, "I would urge thefledgling AAP govern-ment to do its home-work before issuingdirectives for appear-ances sake, instead of

merely moving on thecoattails of policiespassed by the Centre.

It will take more thaneyewash and a ruse tograb media headlines toresolve these problems,especially since theseare not problems thatcan be resolved in lessthan 49 days."

The party spokesper-son said the basic thumbrule that should be fol-lowed while taking suchsteps is to find out whatis already on the booksand what has alreadybeen done by the execu-tive "before springinginto meaningless actionand putting up a pre-tense of accomplish-ment".

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Environment Minister Prakash

Javadekar on Tuesday directed hisofficials to "immediately put up thefile" regarding Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal's letter seeking serv-ices of IFS official SanjeevChaturvedi.

In an indication that the govern-ment would take a positive view onKejriwal's request, the minister alsosaid the NDA government gives"equal importance" to the communi-cation it receives from chief ministersof all states.

"I have asked officials to put up filebefore me immediately. We giveequal importance to the letters, com-

munication we receive from all chiefministers," Javadekar said in responseto Kejriwal's letter.

Kejriwal wrote to the Centre yester-day seeking services of Indian ForestService officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi,who is likely to head the anti-corrup-tion branch of Delhi government.

Chaturvedi is currently serving asthe deputy director of AIIMS.Kejriwal has sought services of theIFS officer in Delhi government as anOfficer on Special Duty.

The anti-graft body is controlleddirectly by the chief minister.

In his letter to Javadekar, who is thecadre controlling officer of all the IFSofficers, Kejriwal has asked his inter-vention into the matter.

AAP selling old wine in even olderbottles: BJP on demolition directive

Prakash Javadekar asks officials toput up Chaturvedi file immediately

Continuation 3NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY | FEB 18, 2015SAADDA HAQ

Committed to...India...Our Constitution has roots in the

traditional beliefs of India.”The PM also mentioned Gurudev

Rabindranath Tagore, saying his words hadinspired us to dream of a land where themind is without fear and the head is heldhigh.

Expressing concern over growing reli-gious intolerance in the world, he said, “Theworld is increasingly witnessing divisionand hostility on religious lines. This hasbecome a matter of global concern.”

“The ancient Indian plea of mutualrespect for all faiths is now beginning tomanifest in global discourse,” the PMadded.

Refereeing international interfaith confer-ence on "Faith in Human Rights" held atThe Gauge in 2008 where religious leadersrepresenting every major world pledged touphold the Universal Declaration of HumanRights and freedom of religion or belief, thePM said, “My government stands by everyword of the above declaration and my gov-ernment will ensure that there is completefreedom of faith and that everyone hasundeniable right to retain or adopt religionof his or her choice, without coercion.”

The PM added that fanaticism won’t betolerated and said, “My government standsfor personal freedom. Religion is a person-al choice.”

“Mine will be a government that givesequal respect to all religions. India is theland of Buddha and Gandhi. We cannotaccept violence against any religion in anypretext and I strongly condemn such vio-lence,” the PM said.

“I appeal to all religious groups to actwith mutual respect as has been the tradi-tion of India,” he added.

Reiterating his mantra ‘Sabka Saath,Sabka Vikas’, the PM said, “I have a visionof a modern India and I have embarked on ahuge mission to convert that mission into areality.”

The Prime Minister paid glowing tributesto Saint Chavara and Saint Euphresia, say-ing that "their life and deeds are an inspira-tion to humanity as a whole.”

AAP govt...whose contractual term was nearing com-

pletion would also benefit as they will beallowed to continue in service.

Delhi government was in the process ofcarrying out a thorough review of the issueof contractual employees to finalise a poli-cy framework, the sources said.

Various government departments includ-ing Education, PWD, Health and FamilyWelfare and Women and ChildDevelopment had recruited employeesunder contractual scheme in the last fewyears.

In the its election manifesto, AAP hadpromised to regularise services of contrac-tual employees in various Delhi govern-ment departments and agencies.

Govt to set...CCTVs across the national capital and

deploy marshals in every bus to ensuresecurity of passengers, especially womenand build 47 fast track courts in the city.

"The committee of experts will be a partof Chief Minister's Office and will help CMArvind Kejriwal implement AAP's pre-pollpromises," said a senior government offi-cial.

The official said that the government hasstarted looking for such officers, addingthat it is yet to take a decision on the num-ber of committee members.

"The expert committee will also supervisethe work of different departments andapprise the CM about regular develop-ments," the official added.

On the first working day of the govern-ment, Kejriwal yesterday issued directionsto various agencies not to carry out anydemolition across the city until it reviewsthe existing policies governing demolitions.

Besides, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhigovernment also directed finance andpower departments to immediately sendtheir proposals on slashing power bills by50 percent.

SBI to soon...the meeting is held.Besides, Reserve Bank nominee director

Urjit R Patel (RBI Deputy Governor) is apart of the executive committee.

Adani Mining is building a 300-km railline for its about USD 16 billionCarmichael coal mine project in Australia.

The development of the coal mine locatedat Queensland in Australia and requiredinfrastructure including railways is estimat-ed to cost USD 7.6 billion.

Queensland state's Coordinator Generalhas approved USD 2 billion (2.2 billionAustralian dollars) rail line project calledthe North Galilee Basin Rail (NGBR) thatwould link Adani's Carmichael Coal Minewith Abbot point coal terminal.

Opposition party Congress had raisedconcerns over SBI's USD 1 billion loan pactwith Adani Group signed during PrimeMinister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia.

SBI had already said that it had justsigned a memorandum of understandingand not sanctioned loans for the Australianproject as yet.

The infrastructure conglomerate has

signed a memorandum of understanding fora loan of up to USD 1 billion from the SBIfor the mine, rail and port project, which itaims to build by end-2017.

Australia's federal and Queensland gov-ernments are eager to see the mine built fol-lowing the loss of more than 4,000 coal jobsover the past two years.

Talks between...on the issues of AFSPA and Article 370.Agency reports claimed that the BJP has

already given in to PDP's claim to chiefminister's post for the full six-year term.PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed willtake over the post when a new governmentis formed.

"The BJP will have the deputy chief min-ister and a major share in portfolios toensure equitable development of all thethree regions of the state.

"We feel to forge a development-orientedruling alliance with the PDP in the country'sonly Muslim majority state would do goodto the image of the BJP nationally and inter-nationally," reporters quoted a senior BJPleader as saying in Jammu.

The leader, requesting anonymity, said atthe same time the party would not make anycompromises on its "basic principles".

The BJP's stand on contentious issues likeArticle 370, Armed Forces Special PowersAct (AFSPA) and the settlement of westPakistan refugees in Jammu and Kashmirhas been diagonally opposed to that of thePDP.

The PDP has been seeking firm assur-ances on protection of Article 370, whilethe BJP is for a national debate on whetherthis temporary provision of the IndianConstitution, granting special status toJ&K, should stay or go.

According to the PDP, the west Pakistanrefugees are not permanent residents of thestate, as it existed before the accession ofJ&K to India in 1947. Therefore, the PDPsays there is no constitutional or legal justi-fication in granting these refugees the samerights like other citizens.

Incidentally, these refugees who camehere after the India-Pakistan wars of 1947,1965 and 1971 do not have the right to buyproperty or vote in the state AssemblyElections, though they can vote in theParliamentary Elections.

While the BJP maintains that the AFSPAcan only be revoked after the security forcesrecommend it, the PDP wants its gradualwithdrawal to be determined by the stategovernment and not the security forces.

PDP's chief spokesman Naeem Akhtar,however, dismissed reports that an agree-ment on an alliance is likely to beannounced within the next two to threedays.

"We have to agree on a CMP (commonminimum programme) in a transparent,structured dialogue. The CMP would bemade public before the PDP and the BJPstake claim to form the government,” hesaid.

Even BJP's GVL Narasimha Rao todaysaid, “Discussions did take place betweenPDP and BJP over government formation inJ&K. There are issues to be discussed; it'stoo early to give any time.”

Suicide attack...in the area have been put on high alert and

the injured have been rushed to Mayo andSir Ganga Ram hospital. A policewoman isalso said to be amog those injured.

The area has been cordoned off by securi-ty forces and rescue teams have rushed tothe blast site.

According to report, the area where theattack took place is a heavily populated one,and has in its neighbourhood importantoffices like the headquarter of PakistanRailways and Pakistan BroadcastingCorporation office (Radio),Bibi Pak Damanshrine and also several schools and col-leges.

President Mamnoon Hussain and PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif have strongly con-demned the Lahore blast and instructedauthorities to provide the best possiblemedical treatment to the injured.

The responsibility for the attack wasclaimed by Jamaat ul Ahrar, a faction ofTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, according toreports.

Spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said thatthe bombing was in retaliation to death of"all the martyrs who were dragged out ofprison and killed or hanged", the AFP quot-ed.

"We want to make it clear to the rulersthat we will take revenge for the blood ofinnocent Muslims -- our operations willcontinue till Islamic system is imposed,"Ehsan said in an emailed statement.

It can be noted that Jamaat ul Ahrar wasalso the group that claimed responsibilityfor suicide attack at Wagah border crossingthat left 60 dead in November.

The attack in Lahore comes just twomonths after Taliban staged the deadlyattack on Peshawar’s Army Public Schoolin December, claiming 140 lives, most ofthe victims being children and students.

The deadly massacre of children atPeshawar school prompted Pakistan to stepup its fight against militants, and the gov-ernment scrapped a six-year moratorium onthe death penalty, hanging many terror con-victs.

AAP to ...

Manohar Lal Khattar government in thestate, farmers faced shortage of urea fertilis-er as the urea import made by the Centredropped from nearly 43.82 lakh tonnes inJune-October 2013 to just 17.37 lakh tonnesin the corresponding period in 2014.

"Question arises whether the governmentwants to decontrol urea, which at present isunder its control, and bring in private play-ers in this sector," he said, adding AAPdemands a judicial probe to go into reasonsthat resulted in "urea shortage" in someparts recently.

AAP must ..."striking similarities" in AAP and BJP's

style of governance after Arvind Kejriwal'sgovernment in Delhi banned media fromthe state secretariat on its first working day.

Congress leader Manish Tewari tweeted: Striking Similarities- AAP&BJP's

Governance style PM as Gujrat CM bannedMedia from Gujarat Secretariat AAP in bothit's stints emulates him

- Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari)February 17, 2015

Media was not allowed entry into theDelhi Secretariat yesterday, which was thefirst working day of the AAP government.

Journalists from both print and electronicmedia were denied entry.

On Monday, the first working day of theAAP government, media persons werebarred from entering the Delhi Secretariatfollowing a scuffle among some journalists,TV crew and photographers.

A press conference by Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia and Delhi govern-ment spokesperson Nagendra Sharma wascalled off following the scuffle.

Security personnel at the secretariat saidthey have directions from government offi-cials not to allow in media persons.

However, the Delhi governmentspokesperson denied any such directive wasissued by the government banning the entryof journalists inside the secretariat.

Miscreants in..."This kind of thing should not happen in

the US. Who are you telling to get out? Thisis a nation of immigrants," Nitya Niranjan,chairman of board of trustee of the HinduTemple and Cultural Centre, Bothell,Washington said.

Today the temple is celebratingMahashivratri.

Niranjan said some kind of painting wassprayed on the outside wall of the temple afew years ago, but they did not bring it tothe notice of the law enforcement authori-ties as nothing was written.

"We have no idea, who did it," Niranjansaid.

While the temple has been there for near-ly two decades, the construction on the sec-ond phase of the current building beganrecently.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF)condemned the incident.

"The timing of this crime, occurringbefore a major Hindu festival, warrants spe-cial attention from law enforcement," saidJay Kansara, director of GovernmentRelations, Hindu American Foundation.

"We are encouraged by the ongoing thor-ough investigation of the Bothell CityPolice Department. HAF will continue toengage through the local community withcity, state, and federal officials until the per-petrator is brought to justice," Kansara said.

Of late there has been increasing incidentsof vandalism of Hindu temples in the USincluding one in Loudoun County, Virginiaand Monroe, Georgia last year.

As of January 1, 2015, the Department ofJustice ordered all crime reporting forms toinclude the category anti-Hindu under thepossible motives of hate crimes.

"Houses of worship are places where peo-ple should be able to be safe, at peace, andinspired to serve others," said PadmaKuppa, HAF board member.

"Instead, the vandalism of the Hindu tem-ple in Seattle and the arson of a mosque inHouston this past weekend incite fear andresult in distrust among communities," hesaid.

Kiran Bedi...the BJP`s prospects but she was brought

in after the party realised that it was losing,"said Yadav.

Yadav`s comments come after an articlein RSS mouthpiece `Panchjanya` raisedquestions over BJP`s choice of Kiran Bedias its chief ministerial candidate in therecently concluded Delhi Assembly polls,which were swept by the AAP.

The article had also flayed the BJP for its`arrogance`, claiming that the party`s lead-ership was too confident of a victory andignored sentiments of party workers.

Bihar crisis..ministers on grounds of anti-party activi-

ties.Speaking to ANI, JD(U) president Sharad

Yadav said, “State president had asked meand I told him he was authorised to takeaction on problems emerging there,”adding, “When he finished the assessmentand action, the letter was received by meand I consented with his decision.”

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview toZee Media, former Bihar CM Nitish Kumaradmitted that it was a mistake to appointManjhi as the chief minister of Bihar.

Nitish today said JD(U) was forced to askManjhi to step down owing to the contro-versies surrounding him.

“It is before everyone what happened. Allhumans commit mistake,” Nitish said whenasked if he had appointed a wrong man aschief minister.

“After a point of time, we were forced tostep in, to ensure course correction andwork as per people's mandate,” the formerCM said, adding it was a mistake to havechosen Manjhi as his successor.

He also took pot shots at the BJP forallegedly supporting Manjhi.

“BJP once used to criticise Manjhi. Nowthey are supporting him,” he told ZeeMedia.

Nitish said when JD(U) was trying tobring together Janata Parivaar, Manjhi wasallying with the BJP to spoil everything.

He further accused the BJP of trying tosplit JD(U).

“Like they (BJP) have split JVM(Jharkhand Vikas Morcha) in Jharkhand,they are trying to do the same with JD(U),”he alleged.

Bihar deadlock...strategy. "The BJP has made its stand

clear, we have meeting of MLAs onFebruary 18 in which, we are going todecide on the strategy for February 20. Wehave kept all our options open, we will dis-close our strategy on the floor of the houseon February 20," Yadav told a news agency.

When asked about the possibility ofPresident's rule in Bihar, he added, "Thereis no question of President's rule, we havenever demanded President's rule, and thereis no need for it."

Bihar is facing a political crisis afterManjhi refused to resign after being askedto do so by his party, the JD(U). Irked bythis, the party expelled Manjhi and electedNitish Kumar as the legislature party leader.

Now, both factions of the JD-U are hop-ing to prove their majority during theFebruary 20 confidence vote.

Swine flu...has soared to 585 with 100 more casual-

ties reported across the country in threedays since Feb. 12.A total of 8,423 peoplehave contracted swine flu this year in thecountry.

Till February 12, the total number ofswine flu deaths had stood at 485.According to the latest official datareleased, 100 more people succumbed to theH1N1 virus in the three days till Feb. 15,taking the toll to 585.

The worst affected states are Rajasthan,Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtrawith their respective tolls standing at 165,144, 76 and 58 according to official figures.ASSOCHAM estimates that tourism inRajasthan and Maharashtra has taken a bighit with losses of over Rs 5500 crore due toswine flu.

Punjab has the highest ratio of the numberof deaths to those affected by the disease.Thus, 25 of the 68 people who contractedthe virus in the state this year have suc-cumbed to swine flu. Delhi and Tamil Nadutoo have reported a high incidence of swineflu cases but the death toll in the two statesis relatively low due to high level of aware-ness and a better developed health sector.

"The government has already placed anorder for enhancing stocks of diagnostickits for testing for the H1N1 virus to be sup-plied to the lab network under IntegratedDisease Surveillance Programme.

"To enhance the level of preparedness,additional stocks of the drug, Oseltamivir,and 10,000 N-95 masks are also being pro-cured," an official statement said.

Health Minister JP Nadda has asked peo-ple not to panic and be cautious and alertabout it.

Baby survives ...tiny toilet cubicle on Monday after giving

birth on the train, which had briefly haltedbefore reaching Hanumangarh station inRajasthan.

"The woman... felt acute labour pain, soshe went to the toilet to relieve herself andgave birth to a baby boy who slipped downthrough the toilet bowl and fell on thetracks," senior railway police officialSubhash Vishnoi said.

Most Indian trains have western-style andsquat toilets with filthy chutes that emptydirectly onto the tracks.

The train had already left forHanumangarh by the time the woman`sfamily members found her unconscious inthe toilet.

A local guard spotted the newborn cryingon the tracks and informed the police, whoadmitted the baby to a nearby hospital.

"When the woman and her husband foundtheir newborn alive and safe, they werevery happy," another police official RamSingh said.

"They had not expected that the newbornwould be alive."

Striking similarities..."Striking Similarities- AAP&BJP's

Governance style. PM as Gujrat CM bannedMedia from Gujarat Secretariat. AAP inboth it's stints emulates him", party leaderManish Tewari tweeted.

Media was not allowed entry into theDelhi Secretariat yesterday, which was thefirst working day of the Aam Aadmi Party

(AAP) government.Journalists from both print and electronic

media were denied entry."We have orders from senior government

officials not to let mediapersons enter thepremises," a security person had said.

Congress general secretary DigvijaySingh had recently sought to gave a newtwist to the AAP victory in Delhi by tweet-ing that "Kejriwal is a part of the overallplan of RSS for a Congress Mukt Bharat.Iknow I would be abused by both RSS andKejriwal fans."

"When I said RSS was behind AnnaMovement, no one believed me I was calledMad. But ultimately I was proved right & Iwould be this time too," Singh had said.

Man's unwillingness...claim maintenance for their survival".Additional Sessions Judge Sudesh

Kumar, while dismissing the appeal of theman from Jharkhand, said he was supposedto maintain his wife, who happened to beliving separately from him due to matrimo-nial dispute between them.

"Simply because it is claimed that he isnot working at his own will for last manyyears, is not sufficient to deprive his wifeand child to claim maintenance for theirsurvival," the court said.

It refused to interfere with the trial courtorder directing the man to pay Rs 10,000interim maintenance to his wife and childsaying there was no illegality or irregularityin the order passed by the magistrate.

"He (husband) himself has furnished asalary slip showing his salary to be Rs28,000 in 2010. Metropolitan magistrate,however, without considering any nominalincrease after 4 years has taken up his pres-ent income to be at least Rs 25,000 andgranted a maintenance of Rs 10,000 permonth to both the wife and the child whichin my considered view is very reasonable,"the sessions judge said.

The court said that the appellant (hus-band) was an able bodied person, well edu-cated, capable of working and has "no otherliability except to maintain his wife and hischild who are unable to maintain them-selves".

Directing the husband to clear the arrearsof interim maintenance within three monthsfrom the date of the order, the court reject-ed the man's contention that DomesticIncident Report (DIR) as mandated by lawin the domestic violence case was not con-sidered by the magistrate.

It said that the "basic objective of the ben-eficial legislation would fail in case the DIRis to be considered mandatory before pass-ing any urgent order in favour of the vic-tim".

The magistrate had earlier passed theorder on the petition of the woman, a Delhiresident, seeking maintenance from herestranged husband alleging that she wassubjected to cruelty by him and her in-lawsdue to which she was forced to live sepa-rately with her minor son.

14-year girl ...Yadav, who belongs to the same village,

overpowered her and raped her there," saidGovindpur SHO, Dharmendra Kumar.

The girl somehow managed to come backto her house and narrated the incident to herfamily members, he added.

The accused is absconding and efforts areon to nab him, Kumar said, adding, the vic-tim has been sent to Nawada sadar hospitalfor medical examination.

Private participation..."Developing infrastructure along the bor-

der has become mandatory and privatecompanies' support is required in thisregard," Parrikar said.

"This is huge task and there are manychallenges but these can be overcome bythe use of modern techniques and materi-als," the Minister said, adding that construc-tion companies need to play a big role in thetask.

The Minister was addressing a nationalworkshop on Border Roads for private sec-tor's participation in construction of roads,bridges and tunnels in border areas, an offi-cial release said.

The aim of the workshop was to enhanceprivate sector participation in the construc-tion of roads, bridges and tunnels in borderareas thereby enhancing the speed of con-struction and meeting strategic needs of theArmy, the release said.

Border Road Organisation (BRO) isentrusted with the responsibility of devel-oping infrastructure in the border areas ofthe country and there has been a phenome-nal increase in quantum of works entrustedto it.

There exists a gap in the desired level ofstrategic infrastructure and constructioncapability of BRO. Hence, there is a need tocorrect this imbalance for which participa-tion of private sector for infrastructuredevelopment in border areas has becomemandatory, the release noted.

Among other issues, the workshop alsoaddressed issues pertaining to regulatorymechanism and procedural hurdles forenhancing private sector's participation inconstruction.

Besides Parrikar, the workshop wasattended by Defence Secretary R K Mathur,Director General, Border Roads, Lt Gen RM Mittal and Director General, CII,Chandrajit Banerjee among others.

BY ARUN KUMAR

NITI Aayog has had its firstmeeting with the economicexperts. This was crucial

since the government is trying torevive economic growth. The econo-my has experienced slow growth inspite of the revised national incomedata that has indicated faster growth.Industry, exports and so on, haveshown tepid growth in recent years.The National Democratic Alliance’selectoral promise of an economicturnaround seems elusive in spite ofits accelerating “reforms” by liberal-ising foreign direct investment (FDI)flows and land acquisition policies tosignal its pro-corporate sector andbig business inclinations.

Contradictory views

The budget is first a macroeconom-ic exercise and then a micro onecatering to sectors of the economy.Two contradictory macroeconomicviews are emerging from the govern-ment and its policy advisers. This issimilar to the policy dilemma that theUnited Progressive Alliance facedearlier. The first view is to have alarger fiscal deficit so as to boostdemand. The other view is to cut thefiscal deficit to keep the credit ratingagencies (proxy for financial inter-ests) happy so as to prevent a down-grade of the economy.

The Finance Minister favours thelatter view and argues that a fiscaldeficit imposes a burden on futuregenerations who will have to repaythe debt. This conservative viewassumes that resources are con-strained, so if the government spendsmore, the private sector has less tospend. But that cannot be true whenthe economy has spare capacity andcan produce more. Increased govern-ment expenditures then boost theeconomy and lead to more invest-ments via the accelerator. If increasedspending is financed by increaseddirect taxation, that is even better.This is feasible in India since directtaxes are around 7 per cent of GDPwhich is low when compared to mostother countries. But a governmenttrying to signal its pro-business incli-nation would not wish to raise directtaxes like income, corporation and

wealth taxes.

Actually, tax rates need not beraised but only the concessions givenin taxes (these are called tax expendi-tures and amount to 4.5 per cent ofGDP) need to be curtailed to getmore resources. But this may also beseen as anti-business. The other pos-

sibility is to tap the black economy(more than 50 per cent of GDP,according to me.) This requires polit-ical will which is not yet visible. Thebusiness community, the largest gen-erator of black incomes, would seethis also as anti business — it hasbeen opposing introduction of gener-al anti avoidance rules (GAAR).Even if the economy grows fasterdue to the reduction of the size of theblack economy and businessmengain, they fear it since a bird in thehand is worth two in the bush.

The NITI Aayog meeting does notseem to have considered these deeperissues. Advice was sought from for-mer bureaucrats, journalists, industrylobbyists and academics. Mediareports suggest a lack of coherence inthe discussion or in the advice given.Some of the invitees had been pres-ent in the Finance Ministry pre-budg-et meeting last month. So, what wasthe point of the meeting now when itdid not lead to clarity on long-term

issues? Further, the time for incorpo-ration of policies in the budget is oversince most of it would have been for-mulated by now. It may have beenbetter to circulate for comments adiscussion paper on the Indian econ-omy’s slowdown and its global inter-linkages.

Dilemma with global echoes

India’s current economic dilemmahas global roots. The eurozone, Japanand Russia are in trouble, the Chineseeconomy has slowed down and theU.S. economy is the only big one thathas improved. In such a scenario,increasing exports in a big waywould be difficult. Declining com-modity prices (like that of petroleumgoods) signal a weakening globaleconomy. Uncertainty is deepened bythe arc of instability due to failingstates, from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq,Libya, Nigeria to East Africa. Thewar in Ukraine and the rise of IS arecompounding the problem.

Greece threatens the economic sta-bility of the eurozone. The new gov-ernment there is defying the dictatesfrom the world of finance and haspromised to end the austerity regimehoisted on the people of Greece. TheGreek Prime Minister is telling theEuropean powers that the economic

rules of integration of the weakereconomies of Europe into the euro-zone need change. He is arguing thata substantial portion of the debtresulting from the earlier wrong poli-cies needs to be written off. The othertroubled economies of Europe —Portugal, Spain and Italy — areunder increasing political pressure to

follow Greece’s example.

U.S. President Barack Obama hasproposed increasing taxation of therich while giving more to the middleclasses to reverse the growinginequity there. This move not onlyhas a political strategy underlying itbut also economic reasons thatfavour it. Given the Republican dom-ination in the legislature and theirconservative inclinations, it is unlike-ly that this proposal would be accept-ed any time soon. But, other coun-tries would be forced to think aboutthe idea, especially in the context ofthe developments in Greece.

In 2011, Mr. Warren Buffett gave acall to tax the rich more not only forthe sake of equity but also to tacklethe global economic crisis. This callwas picked up in Europe with 16 ofthe wealthiest French urging theirgovernment to tax them more. Fiftywealthy Germans backed this peti-tion. In Italy, the chief of Ferrari also

lent support.

Inequity has grown in most coun-tries since the mid-1970s followingthe domination of global financialcapital over policies — spearheadedby the World Bank and theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF).These policies have not only margin-alised other sectors of the economybut also promoted bubble economiesthat are prone to periodic collapse asit happened beginning 2007 and fromwhich the world economy has yet tofully recover.

These policies promoted shadowbanking and all manner of opaquefinancial instruments that createdeconomic instability. A casino econo-my emerged with speculation leadingto a fictitious boost in paper wealth,promoting a false sense of well-beingamong individuals and increasedconsumption by them. As inequalityincreased dramatically, and there wasthe marginalisation of the vast major-ity, there followed the “Occupy WallStreet movement”, termed as the“99% v the 1%” and which also pop-ularised the term, “Main street versusWall street”.

For people policies

Events in Greece and Mr. Obama’ssuggestion suggest that the time hascome to end the domination offinance capital over the rest of socie-ty. Policy space has to be recapturedfrom the world of finance by thedemocratic forces so that policiesfavouring the people can be initiated.

The dilemma currently facingIndian policymakers reflects theseglobal trends. India’s rightward driftstarted with the Emergency in 1975when Sanjay Gandhi marginalisedthe left of Centre thinking in theIndira Gandhi government. The trendcontinued during the Janata regimeand thereafter under the IndiraGandhi government which had toapproach the IMF for adjustment in1980. Rajiv Gandhi, under consider-able influence of the liberalisers,pushed this tendency faster. With theNew Economic Policies in 1991 andthe emergence of the World TradeOrganization (WTO) in 1995, there

was a paradigm change, with thepolicies of finance capital becomingentrenched.

For India, which remains very poorand very unequal, policies based onthe interest of finance capital and anarrow section of society can onlyspell disaster. These policies pushmarkets and technology-based solu-tions which marginalise the individ-ual. The underlying idea is that ifmaking democracy work is difficult,substitute it with technology. Thoselacking faith in democracy and socialinstitutions are (in the name of thepoor) pushing an autocratic agendabased on greater use of technology.The hard work of creating and nur-turing institutions that can deliver tothe people and strengthen democracyis sought to be circumvented. So, oneof the key proposals today is to pushGoods and Services Tax (GST) evenif it does not suit the needs of the vastunorganised sectors of our economyand benefits the MNCs and big busi-ness. The hard work of making taxa-tion simple and effective and shiftingto direct taxes is hardly on the agen-da. Creating a large number of jobs issecondary to cash transfers, bullettrains for the elite and smart cities forthe upwardly mobile.

The flyovers of Delhi were built toensure smooth traffic flow but nowhave speed bumps to slow downvehicles and which leads to jams.The technological solution failedbecause the institutional design ofmanagement of urban traffic isflawed and that is because policy-makers did not go deeper into theproblem in their urge to providequick fix technological solutions.The NITI Aayog could throw light onsuch long-term issues (with solutionsthat are not just economic or techno-logical but also social and political)of strengthening democracy, buildinginstitutions, regaining policy spaceand so on.

(Arun Kumar is the author ofIndian Economy since

Independence: Persisting ColonialDisruption.)

Editorial4 NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY | FEB 18, 2015SAADDA HAQ

BY NARAYAN LAKSHMAN

When 57-year-oldSureshbhai Pateldecided to take a walk

across the quiet suburban neigh-bourhood in Madison, Alabama,where he had been staying withhis son last week, he might nothave expected to be lying in ahospital bed partially paralysedfrom spinal column injuries afew hours later after a violentencounter with the local police.

Yet this was precisely whathappened after Eric Parker, aMadison police officer, who hasnow been arrested and faces sus-pension from the force for hisunprovoked aggression toward aharmless individual, decidedthat smashing Mr. Patel’s faceinto the asphalt during a routinestop-and-frisk was the appropri-ate course of action under thecircumstances.

The incident, whose disturb-ing violence was captured in the“dash-cam” video of the policeofficer’s car, resulted in justifiedoutrage not only within theIndian-American community,but also elicited a sharp reactionfrom India’s Ministry ofExternal Affairs, whosespokesperson Syed Akbaruddinmade a direct reference to theuse of “excessive force” bypolice.

Prejudice towards minorities

The episode begs two ques-tions. First, how often areIndians thus victimised by locallaw enforcement agencies in theU.S.? Second, “Excessive com-pared to what?”

The short answer to the firstquestion is: not as frequently asother minorities such as African-Americans but often enough tosuggest a similar prejudice.

The most recent, notable caseof an Indian national left to themercies of American lawenforcement rule books was

Devyani Khobragade, whosediplomatic credentials could notsave her from an invasive stripsearch by the U.S. Marshals.

The former Deputy ConsulGeneral was not even the high-est-ranking diplomatic officer tobe handled in a manner thatcould be considered beyond therealm of normal protocol.

In December 2010 formerIndian Ambassador to the U.S.,Meera Shankar, was pulled outof a passenger security line andsubjected to an intimate pat-down at Jackson-EversInternational Airport inMississippi, an incident thatonce again fomented anger inNew Delhi.

In February 2011 KrittikaBiswas, daughter of the IndianVice-Consul in New York, washandcuffed publicly in herschool, wrongfully arrested anddetained with criminalsovernight on allegations that shehad sent obscene e-mails to ateacher, which were ultimatelyproven false.

In 2010, Vijay Kumar, anIndian filmmaker, was jailed for20 days after he was arrested inHouston International Airportfor carrying “Jihadi literature” inhis baggage even though, ironi-cally, the material was intendedfor a lecture he was set to deliv-er to the Hindu Congress ofAmerica on an interfaith discus-sion between Hindus andMuslims.

These and numerous otherinstances of law enforcementexcesses against persons ofSouth Asian origin, which haveoccurred since 9/11, arguablyreflect deep prejudices linkingthe community to terrorists, tooutsourcers who steal Americanjobs, or just plain outsiders towhite Anglo-Saxon culture, the“purest” form of racial biasbased on skin colour.

No protection

Whatever the motivation ofthe law enforcement officialsinvolved in each case, the causefor greatest alarm stems fromthe fact that local law enforce-ment in the U.S., whether thepolice, the TransportationSecurity Administration, theU.S. Marshals Service, or a sim-ilar entity, is in some senses alaw unto itself and the federalgovernment can be powerless tointervene in the process, even inthe interest of bilateral harmony.

In the Patel case a StateDepartment spokesperson meek-ly deferred to local investigatorswhile extending an apologyfrom the Secretary of State.

The fear for visitors such asMr. Patel and Mr. Kumar, or res-idents such as Ms. Khobragadeand Ms. Biswas, is that evenwhere remedies and recourseexist in law for compensatoryand punitive damages, there isfar less to protect them from theactual acts of violence beinginflicted in the first place, andthat is a profound difference.

This brings us to the secondquestion of “Excessive com-pared to what?”

If the bloodied nose that thefrail Indian grandfather endedup with thanks to the judo-stylethrow-down by Parker is com-pared to the killing of unarmedand innocent African-AmericanAkai Gurley by a New Yorkpolice officer, then it was notexcessive.

If the spinal column injuryreceived by Mr. Patel is com-pared to the six bullet wounds ofunarmed Michael Brown in alethal encounter with whitepolice officer Darren Wilson inFerguson, Missouri, then it wasnot excessive.

If the trauma inflicted uponMr. Patel by the police is com-

pared to the shooting dead ofMiriam Carey, Trayvon Martinor Eric Garner , all African-Americans who were unarmedwhen they died, then it was notexcessive.

Yet excessive it was, and insome ways Mr. Patel may havebeen more fortunate than manyAfrican-Americans who havefound themselves in a similarsituation.

Indeed, it is possible that aneven worse fate could havebefallen Mr. Patel had he notclearly said “India” severaltimes in reply to the police offi-cers advancing menacingly uponhim, even as he tried to explain“No English.”

That the police initiallybelieved he might be African-American could not be ruled outsince the 9-1-1 call alertingauthorities to a “suspicious” Mr.Patel complained of a “skinnyblack guy” peering into neigh-bourhood garages.

Mr. Patel may have also had alucky escape when he reachedinto his pocket at some point topull out a handkerchief, anaction that would in many a casehave resulted in instant death bygunfire in the land where theright to bear arms is enshrined inthe constitution.

Excessive force

So what is it that drives policeofficers across this country toattack first and ask questionslater? Is it simply the belief thatthe use of excess force is theirprerogative? What about givingroom for the possibility that thepolice’s instructions are some-times not understood owing tocultural or language backgroundof the person they are threaten-ing?

In the wake of the attack onMr. Patel community organisa-tions called for a review of

police training procedures withrespect to interacting with SouthAsians of limited English profi-ciency and immigrants and todisclose the criteria used bypolice to determine and respondto tips of “suspicious” activity.

While this may be a goodplace to start, it is disconcertingthat law enforcement agenciesdo not collect and publish com-prehensive and exhaustive annu-al data on the use of excessiveforce by police, as they arerequired to do by the ViolentCrime Control and LawEnforcement Act of 1994.

Any lasting effort to bringdown the level of anti-minorityviolence by law enforcementagencies will have to addressboth the historical prejudicesconcerning minority communi-ties and the threshold for the useof violence against them, espe-cially in situations where theremay be a sociocultural chasm.

Weakening the JD (U) in BiharWednesday | February 18, 2015

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I n A m e r i c a , b i a s w e a r s a b a d g e

Whether or not Bihar Chief Minister Jitan RamManjhi wins the battle against former mentorNitish Kumar, he is ensuring his opponents

will have a political cost to bear for seeking to unseathim. Mr. Manjhi, who was chosen to succeed Mr. Kumarafter their party, the Janata Dal (United), suffered ahumiliating defeat at the hands of the Bharatiya JanataParty in the Lok Sabha election last year, is now wooingboth JD (U) members of the Assembly and the BJP lead-ership in an attempt to stay on in power. In order to winover some of the MLAs, the Chief Minister is keen on aCabinet expansion before the trust vote. But given thatthe vote is only a few days away, and the majority of Mr.Manjhi is in serious question, Governor Keshari NathTripathi would be well-advised not to accede to Mr.Manjhi’s request. Neither the demands of governancenor political propriety require a Cabinet expansion at thisstage. Whatever Mr. Manjhi’s explanations, ministerialberths cannot be blatantly on offer in exchange for polit-ical support. Indeed, allowing a Cabinet expansion atthis stage will put a question mark on the propriety of theGovernor’s decision to give Mr. Manjhi time tillFebruary 20 to prove his majority. For the BJP, the onlyincentive for supporting Mr. Manjhi is the prospect of anearly election. The incumbent Chief Minister, who hasbeen busy trying to carve out his own political con-stituency among Dalits and the poorer and weaker sec-tions of Bihar, is also working on longer-term plans.After offering free power to farmers with agriculturalland up to five acres, he held out the promise of extend-ing it to farmers who own up to ten acres if he got anoth-er chance at power. By refusing to resign at the proddingof his party leadership, and offering sops to farmers andteachers, Mr. Manjhi is eyeing Mr. Kumar’s supportbase. Already Mr. Kumar has been deliberately cast in abad light by his successor, with hints that the JD (U)leader is restless and unwilling to wait till the next elec-tion to return to the chief ministerial helm. Mr. Kumar’splan to resign as Chief Minister to own responsibility forthe party’s electoral defeat appears to have done himmore harm than good. In the popular perception the res-ignation might have a taint of insincerity, however unin-tended in the initial gesture. Instead of edging out theBJP in the manner of Odisha Chief Minister and BijuJanata Dal leader Naveen Patnaik, Mr. Kumar appears tohave left the field wide open to the BJP to gain domi-nance even as other formations could take the JD (U)’splace in political contestation.

India’s current economic dilemma has global roots. Theeurozone, Japan and Russia are in trouble, the Chinese

economy has slowed down and the U.S. economy isthe only big one that has improved. In such a scenario,

increasing exports in a big way would be difficult.Declining commodity prices (like that of petroleum

goods) signal a weakening global economy. Uncertaintyis deepened by the arc of instability due to failing

states, from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria toEast Africa. The war in Ukraine and the rise of IS are

compounding the problem.

In the wake of theattack on Mr. Patel

communityorganisations called

for a review of policetraining

procedures withrespect to interact-

ing with SouthAsians of limited

English proficiencyand immigrants and

to disclose thecriteria used by

police to determineand respond to tips

of “suspicious”activity.

State Watch 5NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY | FEB 18, 2015SAADDA HAQ

CHANDIGARH, FEB 17Haryana government has decided

to set up 'Gram Sachivalayas' in thestate to bring Gram Panchayat andvillage level functionaries of alldepartments under one roof.

The move is aimed for ensuringbetter functioning, coordination, effi-ciency, transparency, and accounta-bility in the working of GramPanchayat and other agenciesengaged in the process of rural devel-opment, an official release said hereon Tuesday.

Apart from this, 'Panchayat Ghar'in nearly 3,000 villages will beupgraded. The government has alsodecided to create 803 more posts ofGram Sachivs keeping in view theincreasing function of Panchayats.

A proposal to this effect has beenapproved by Chief Minister ManoharLal Khattar.

In the first phase, one 'GramSachivalaya' will be set up in eachcluster. There are 6,645 villages inthe state which have been clubbed in2,294 clusters.

Each cluster consists of 3-4 vil-lages. Therefore, one villageSecretariat in one cluster would bedeveloped in the village havinglargest population.

Apart from this, Panchayat Ghar in

nearly 3,000 villages will be upgrad-ed. In village clusters which do nothave a Panchayat Ghar, a new villageSecretariat building will be construct-ed. Construction of new 100 'GramSachivalayas' will also be taken up inthe village clusters where no suchbuilding exists. As many as 2,294'Gram Sachivalayas' will be set upover a period of three years and eachwill be set up over one acre of land atan estimated cost of Rs 30 lakh

including the cost of furniture andfixture. The 'Gram Sachivalayas' willfacilitate devolution of functions,functionaries, and funds to the GramPanchayats. Also, it would help time-ly redressal of public grievances byGram Panchayat and other agencies,the release said.

The other objectives of 'GramSachivalayas' is to facilitate e-con-nectivity and to provide space for cit-izen services, among others.

Haryana to set up Gram Sachivalayas

NEW DELHI, FEB 17Janata Dal (United)

leader Nitish Kumar onTuesday admitted that itwas a mistake to appointJitan Ram Manjhi as thechief minister of Bihar.

Nitish made the admis-sion in an exclusive inter-view.

It may be recalled thatManjhi was appointedBihar CM after Nitishstepped down claimingmoral responsibility forJD(U)'s loss in the LokSabha polls last May.

Nitish today said JD(U)was forced to ask Manjhito step down owing to thecontroversies surroundinghim.

“It is before everyone

what happened. Allhumans commit mistake,”Nitish said when asked if

he had appointed a wrongman as chief minister.

“After a point of time,

we were forced to step in,to ensure course correctionand work as per people's

mandate,” the former CMsaid, adding it was a mis-take to have chosen Manjhias his successor.

He also took pot shots atthe BJP for allegedly sup-porting Manjhi.

“BJP once used to criti-cise Manjhi. Now they aresupporting him,” hesaid.

Nitish said when JD(U)was trying to bring togeth-er Janata Parivaar, Manjhiwas allying with the BJP tospoil everything.

He further accused theBJP of trying to splitJD(U).

“Like they (BJP) havesplit JVM (JharkhandVikas Morcha) inJharkhand, they are trying

to do the same withJD(U),” he alleged.

“BJP leaders at theCentre have become arro-gant. They are only work-ing for some corporates,”Nitish said further.

Responding to a questionon the BJP-JD(U) split inthe run-up to last year'sLok Sabha polls, Nitishsaid they had ended thealliance because BJP hadstarted thinking other par-ties were no more allies butfollowers.

“See what they are doingwith the Shiv Sena and theAkali Dal. A coalition gov-ernment is run in a mannerAtal ji did. You can'timpose your views on oth-ers,” Nitish said.

Nitish Kumar admits appointing Jitan RamManjhi as Bihar CM was a mistake

PATNA, FEB 17Bihar Chief Minister

Jitan Ram Manjhi, whoreturned from Delhi onTuesday, cancelled hisofficial programmes andwas closeted with minis-ters and legislators to drawup the strategy for theFebruary 20 trust vote.

Manjhi did not take anyquestion from mediaper-sons at Patna airport andwent straight to his officialresidence.

In addition to cancellingtwo functions here, he alsocalled off his visit toKhagaria, Chief MinisterOffice sources said.

State Art and Cultureminister Vinay Bihari, whoreceived Manjhi at the air-port told reporters "We areconfident of provingmajority on the floor ofHouse on February 20."

Though BJP is yet tospell out its strategy onconfidence vote, he said"Our talks with senior BJP

leaders in Delhi have beenpositive."

Dissident JD(U) leaderGyanendra Singh Gyanoo,who met Manjhi at his res-idence also exuded confi-dence of sailing throughthe confidence vote.

"We will get it. Goodresponse has been coming

from legislators," he saidrefusing to disclose thenames of MLAs who hadpromised support toManjhi.

Expelled JD(U) formerMP Shabir Ali also metManjhi.

"The scenario willchange in the state in the

next 24 hours," Ali saidlater.

Bihari said Manjhi hasheld consultation withlegal experts for actionagainst JD(U) MLA AnantSingh, a close confidanteof Nitish Kumar, who hadrecently threatened to beatthe Chief Minister.

Jitan Ram Manjhi closeted withsupporters for Feb 20 floor test

NEW DELHI, FEB 17The Centre on Monday contested

Assam Chief Minister TarunGogoi's statement that not a singlepenny was given to his state forflood relief and management, say-ing "substantial funds" had beenreleased or sanctioned and the onusof executing plans and creatingassets with the state governmentwhich apparently had not beendone.

The Centre countered Gogoi'sargument by listing the steps takenby it in the wake of last year'sfloods and the funds sanctioned orreleased at various stages undervarious heads to the state.

Referring to Gogoi's statement,sources in the central governmentsaid today, "Nothing can be morefar from the truth."

The central government has pro-vided substantial assistance to the

state government for flood reliefand rehabilitation measures, theysaid.

According to the sources, thecentral government has providedshort term as well as long termassistance to the state to deal withthe flood problem.

"While substantial funds havebeen sanctioned/released by thecentral government, the onus ofcareful execution and asset cre-ation lies with the state govern-ment," they said.

Giving details, the sources saidex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each wassanctioned to the next of kin ineach death case and Rs 50,000 forevery serious injury case wasapproved by the Prime Ministerunder the Prime Minister'sNational Relief Fund (PMNRF) forthe floods in Assam in July andAugust, 2014.

Thus Rs 170 lakh was released tothe state government in respect of85 death cases "but it is not yetknown whether the state govern-ment has disbursed this amount tothe needy beneficiaries. TheUtilization Certificates (UCs) forall the 85 PMNRF cases are yet tobe received", the sources said.

Further, considering the floods inJuly and August last year in Assam,the central government had deput-ed a high level Inter-MinisterialTeam to visit flood-affected areasof the state, they said adding theteam is expected to submit itsreport soon.

During the current financial year,the central government has alsoreleased Rs 288 crore as on date,including the Rs 144 crore releasedon October 1, last year, the sourcessaid.

"But state government has appar-

ently not released this amountunder SDRF to the affected dis-tricts. It has not even submittedUCs for the earlier releases.

"It is apparent that the state gov-ernment has not utilised even thecentral funds available with itunder State Disaster Relief Fund(SDRF)," they said.

Being a northeast state, the cen-tral government contributes 90 percent share to SDRF of Assam,while the state government has tocontribute 10 per cent fund. Underthe long term efforts for flood man-agement, the

sources said the central govern-ment set up the Brahmaputra Boardfor assisting the northeastern statesto deal with flood and erosion chal-lenges.

After rigorous technical studies,the Brahmaputra Board prepared57 master plans for the affected

areas. These plans have beenshared by the Board with the gov-ernment of Assam.

"But the state government hasnot fully implemented these impor-tant plans yet," the sourcessaid.

"The central government, in fact,has recognised the recurrent floodsand erosion problem in Assam asan issue of national importance.Considering the utility of integrat-ed River Basin Managementapproach, the central governmenthas taken up the restructuring ofthe Brahmaputra Board asBrahmaputra River BasinAuthority (BRBA) with the stategovernments," they said.

The central government also pro-vided substantial financial assis-tance to the state governmentthrough various Plan schemes tomanage the flood problem.

Centre rejects Gogoi claim, says 'substantial funds' released Devotees take holydip in Godavari on

'Mahashivratri'RAJAHMUNDRY, FEB 17

Over two lakh devotees took holy dip inriver Godavari in East and West Godavari dis-tricts in Andhra Pradesh on festival 'MahaShivratri' on Tuesday.

Devotees thronged the 14 ghats across riverGodavari since wee hours today and offeredprayers at Draksharama, Kotipalli,Pithapuram, Samarlkota, UmakotilingeswaraSwamy, Uma Markendaya Swamy temples inthe district. Due to heavy rush, VIP darshanwas curtailed at some of the temples and onlylimited special tickets were issued so that alldevotees can pay obeisance, a temple officialsaid. Meanwhile, over 70,000 devotees tookdip in river in Gospada Kshetram in Kovvur,around 10 kms from away here. Other famoustemple of Lord Shiva in Pattiseema in westGodavari district saw devotees in large num-bers from various places.

Naxals kill jawan inChhattisgarhRAIPUR, FEB 17

A police jawan was killed byNaxals in Chhattisgarh's worstinsurgency-hit Bijapur district,police said on Tuesday.

Assistant constable NehruPunem (40), posted with Bodlioutpost was shot dead last nightwhile he was heading towardshis workplace under BandapalPolice Station limits, BijapurSuperintendent of Police KLDhruv said.A small action teamof Naxals attacked Punem whilehe was returning to the outpostlocated in the dense forest patchof Bijapur, after taking dinner athis home in the village, the SPsaid. Soon after getting infor-mation about the gunshots inforests, security forces rushedto the spot and found his body,the SP said.

The body has been sent forpost mortem, the SP said addingthat a combing operation hasbeen launched in the region totrace the assailants.

AHMEDABAD, FEB 17A 16-year-old boy studying in

class X at a school in Banaskanthadistrict allegedly committed suicideafter he was severely beaten up byfour teachers for damaging a schoolproperty, police said on Tuesday.

Deputy Superintendent of PoliceSG Patel, who is investigating thecase, said the four teachers -Sangaram Patel, GK Patel, BMPatel and Bhathiji Thakore - ofGayatri Vidyalaya in Banaskantha'sTharad taluka allegedly confined theboy in the school premises yester-day before thrashing him.

"Prakash Chauhan, a Class X stu-dent of Gayatri Vidyalaya, commit-ted suicide yesterday by hanginghimself at his home inAmbekarnagar society on Mulupurroad in Banaskantha," police stationofficer (PSO) Reva Gujarati said.

"Prakash was beaten by the fourteachers for damaging a camera,which is the school's property, and

he was under trauma after that,"Gujarati said, adding that the boyhad narrated the incident to hisfather a few hours before he endedhis life.

Based on a complaint by the boy'sparents, police have registered acase under relevant IPC sections,including 306 (abetment of suicide),342 (wrongful confinement) and114 (abettor present when offence iscommitted) against the four teach-ers.

The body was sent for post-mortem, police said.

After the boy committed suicide, afurious mob, which included theboy's relatives, burnt and damagedthe school property, leading to ten-sion in the area, Deputy SP Patelsaid. Additional police force hasbeen deployed in the area to controlthe situation, he said. Police willalso escort the funeral procession ofthe boy to avoid any untoward situ-ation, he added.

Gujarat: Boy commits suicideafter being thrashed by teachers

PATNA, FEB 17A panchayat in Bihar has

ordered one of its membersaccused of raping a womanto pay her Rs 31,000 andasked the victim to forgetthe incident, police said onTuesday. But the accused, amember of a powerful localfamily in Nawada districtabout 150 km from here,refused to pay the money,threatened the victim andher family and told them notto disclose it to anyone,police said. "The accused'sfamily has threatened herwith dire consequences ifshe opens her mouth,"police official VirendraKumar Sahu said.

This forced the victim toapproach police and thanksto pressure by the localmedia, an FIR was lodgedagainst the accused."Initially, police refused to

register a case but after localmedia persons inquiredabout it, a case was lodged,"the victim's father said.Sahu has ordered an investi-gation into the incident.

According to police, theincident occurred last weekwhen the victim was goingto answer nature's call. Theaccused abducted her andraped her for two days.

Early last month, a pan-chayat in Katihar districtordered one of its membersaccused of raping aMahadalit woman to pay herRs 41,000 and asked thevictim to not report the inci-dent, police said. Last year,a panchayat in Kishanganjdistrict ordered a minor girl,who was raped by fourbrothers and was sevenmonths pregnant, to take Rs50,000 and undergo an abor-tion.

NEW DELHI. FEB 17A two-day special recruitment drive beginning Wednesday will

be conducted in Kupwara area of Jammu and Kashmir by theNational Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the HomeMinistry. Under the special industry initiative for Jammu &Kashmir or Udaan, more than 10 corporate firms from acrossIndia will visit Kupwara for the recruitment drive on February 18and 19. The corporates from various sectors including finance,tourism, human resource, construction, automation andInformation Technology and IT-enabled services will be scoutingfor fresh talent from the border district of Kupwara, a HomeMinistry release said. This drive is part of a series of mega selec-tion drives being conducted in the state to scout fresh talent.Eight more such drives are planned in the state in the next twomonths to cover the far-flung areas including Samba, Sopore,Baramulla, Kathua, Reasi and Doda. Three drives have alreadybeen conducted in Srinagar, Jammu and Udhampur whichshowed tremendous response from the students. In these drivesnearly 2,400 candidates were selected and many more from thefinal year academic session were shortlisted for selection in thecorporate sector. Special industry initiative or Udaan was con-ceived with two objectives of providing exposure to the gradu-ates and post-graduates of Jammu and Kashmir to the best ofcorporate India and providing corporate India with access to therich talent pool available in the state.

Training, recruitment drivefor J&K youths to start today

Bihar panchayat offers victimRs 31,000 to forget rape

NAGROTA SURIAN, FEB 17Chief Minister Virbhadra

Singh on Tuesday said thestate was always consider-ate towards the demand ofthe Pong Dam oustees andhad always taken initia-tives to re-locate them.

Addressing a publicmeeting in Nagrota Surianin Kangra district, he saidthe Rajasthan government,one of the beneficiarystates, was not seriousabout resolving the vexedissue and had shown itsinability in allocating landto the Pong Dam oustees.

He said the state wouldtake up the matter with theRajasthan governmentagain.

He also said that thesepeople were rehabilitatedin Rajasthan in such places

which were not worth liv-ing but were desert.

The Rajasthan govern-ment was now not in amood to have a re-look atthe issue as 17 meetings ofthe high-powered commit-tee were held and nothingconcrete had come out ofthem which showed lack ofpositive approach on thepart of Rajasthan to adhereto the tripartite agreement,the chief minister said.

"The oustees were givenplots in areas where therewas no water. TheRajasthan governmentnever gave them the justicethey deserved," he said.

The Pong dam reservoirwas built on the Beas riverin 1975 and is spread over41 km with a maximumwidth of 19 km.

Himachal Pradesh to take up PongDam oustees' issue with Rajasthan

Scientists in Australia have developed a marvel molecule thatfights one of the main causes of inflammatory diseases andcould be the key to improved treatments for diseases like

Alzheimer's, arthritis and multiple sclerosis.Researchers at University of Queensland, in collaboration with

an international team, worked to develop the molecule that couldlead to safer, cheaper treatments.

The molecule known as MCC950 could help prevent inflamma-tion in immune cells, Matt Cooper of the University'sInstitute for Molecular Bioscience was quoted as sayingby the ABC.

"It is one of the first molecules we've ever seen that canattack this complex we call the inflammasome - and that'sin every one of our immune cells, it's a key part of ourresponse to infection," he said.

"But when it goes wrong, it activates these cells so thenpeople become chronically agitated and [their] immunesystem goes into overdrive," he said.

Stating that the molecule was tested on animals andblood samples from patients in the US, Cooper said,"Patients have donated blood samples, these are patientswith a very severe form of inflammation called Muckle-Wells syndrome".

"We can see in those patients this immune response, thisinflammasome is overactive and when we give the com-pound to those blood samples in a laboratory we can stopthat process."

Informing that the new molecule could be taken orallyand would be cheaper to produce than current protein-based treatments, Cooper said, the molecule is very smalland passes from the gut into bloodstream very quickly.

"But it also means it can go places that proteins can't

get... particularly in the brain, and with multiple sclerosis into theCNS - the central nervous system," he said.

It was not clear whether the molecule could cure inflammatorydiseases or just treat the symptoms, he added.

The study is a global venture with scientists from the US, TrinityCollege in Dublin and Germany.

The next step is clinical trials.The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine.

NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY | FEB 18, 2015SAADDA HAQScience & Tech6

Amateur astronomershave spotted twostrange, cloud-like

plumes high over Mars, deep-ening the mystery of what con-stitutes the Red Planet's atmos-phere, a study said Monday.

The phenomenon wasobserved on March 12, 2012over the "terminator", theboundary between day andnight on Mars.

One of the plumes developedin around 10 hours and lastedfor about 11 days, shiftingshape from "double blob pro-trusions" to pillars whichmerged into a "finger", thestudy authors wrote.

A second was spotted nearbyon April 6, 2012, and lastedabout 10 days.

Their trails were vast,extending between 500 and1,000 kilometres (300 to 600miles) in north-to-south andeast-to-west directions.

hubble_spies_mystery_plume_on_mars_esa.png

The "clouds" - if that isindeed what they were - wereseen at high altitude, at about200-250 kilometres, roughlyabove Terra Cimmeria, whichis part of Mars' rugged south-ern highlands, according to thepaper.

Mars is being scrutinised forsigns of water and volcanicactivity, both of which couldtheoretically nurture someform of life.

Clouds of dust or ice crystalshave been spotted occasionallyover Mars in the past.

But they have never been asextensive as the latest two, andthey always formed at an alti-tude below 100 kilometres.

The plumes could be madeof particles of water or carbondioxide, said the paper pub-lished in the journal NatureGeoscience by a team led byAgustin Sanchez-Lavega ofthe University of the BasqueCountry in Bilbao, Spain.

high_altitude_plume_on_mars_2_esa.jpg

Alternatively, it could be anaurora, similar to the shimmer-ing light show that develops inEarth's atmosphere when solarparticles collide with Earth's

magnetic field.

Past surveillance by scientif-ic orbiters have suggestedTerra Cimmeria to have a"strip" with a strong butlocalised magnetic field.

If correct, the Martian "auro-ra" would be a remarkable1,000 times brighter than itsterrestrial equivalent.

But "both explanations defyour current understanding ofMars' upper atmosphere," thescientists admit.

1. The minor planets revolving between the orbits ofJupiter and Mars are calledA. Novas B. CometsC. Meteors D. Asteroids

2.The lowermost and the oldest epoch of the TertiaryPeriod of geologic time isA. Pliocene B. PalaeozoicC. Holocene D. Palaeocene

3.The luminous coloured ring, surrounding the sun iscalled theA. nebula B. cometC. asteroid D. corona

4. The longest ship canal in the world is theA. St. Laurence Seaway (USA and Canada)B. Suez canal, EgyptC. Kiel canal, GermanyD. Panama canal, Central America

5. The major geological events of the Palaeozoic eraincludeA. Caledonian mountain rise, life comes ashoreB. Appalachians and Central European mountainscome upC. both (a) and (b) D. None of the above

6. The major events of Pre-Cambrian era includeA. formation of crust, continents and oceansB. formation of crust, birth of oldest known rock, ori-gin of lifeC. formation of present day atmosphereD. All of the above.

QUIZ TIME

Answer: 1(D), 2 (D), 3(D), 4(A), 5(C), 6(D)

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TV Channels Schedule TODAY’S STARARIES You should be feeling especially passionate now, Aries, especially

regarding partnerships. Romantic partnerships definitely call for anevening alone together. Professional and creative ones, on the otherhand, call for a new project that you both believe in. Look to eventsin distant states or foreign countries for inspiration. Somethingbegun far away from home could capture your imagination.

TAURUS If you haven't been feeling like yourself lately, Taurus, a surgeof inner power could push you over the top and make you feelstrong and healthy again. You could decide to complete allyour unfinished tasks today. You could get most of them doneby day's end. Don't forget to take time out to enjoy yourself.You want to make the most of your newfound strength.

GEMINI A surge of passion could dominate your day unless you find an out-let for it, Gemini. Romantic passion is high, so an intimate eveningwith a lover is a good idea. Creative passion is strong. You couldhave a sudden inspiration, perhaps influenced by a distant place.Don't be afraid to take time from your mundane chores to pursue thisinspiration. Creativity is as important as anything else.

CANCER A romantic evening at home with your partner could bring you twocloser together, Cancer. Your emotions are intense right now,however, so you need to use your intuition to judge exactly howmuch of your feelings you should reveal. An intellectual passioncould also come your way. You might discover a new field of inter-est, and you will want to study it at home for hours.

LEO Information received from far away could compel you tolearn more about the subject, Leo. You might be inspired touse your new knowledge in a project that includes a part-ner. Your mind is insightful now. If you face decisions, thisis definitely the day to follow your heart. Don't be surprisedif you also find your telepathic abilities expanded.

VIRGO Money matters may be advanced through using yourintuition and inner power today, Virgo. You might have ahunch that your idea for making extra money might justwork. Look into it at least. Don't let anyone talk you outof it until you know the facts. You might also rediscovera long-neglected talent that you find useful now.

LIBRA A surge of inner power could make you feel like you can movemountains, Libra. If you've been contemplating actions that oth-ers believe impossible, this is the day to get them going. Careermatters, romance, and creative projects could all be advancedtoday by careful effort on your part. Give it some thought, writedown your ideas, consider all contingencies, and move ahead.

SCORPIO Memories from your distant past could resurface today, Scorpio. Youmay wonder why you're suddenly thinking about them, but they prob-ably represent a release of old emotional hang-ups that have beenholding you back. By midafternoon you should feel more focused,determined, and ready to take on anything. This is definitely a greatday to start a new project or complete an old one.

SAGITTARIUSToday represents a new beginning in many ways. An old friend couldreappear in your life and bring up memories that are both pleasantand disconcerting, Sagittarius. Don't worry too much about this. Itprobably represents a needed release. You may also get involvedwith a group that has goals you embrace. New friends could alsocome your way. Expect a few surprises from all sides today.

CAPRICORN Emotions could be running high, Capricorn. Someone in yourentourage may have a problem with an authority figure and politicalissues could come up. You're likely to feel especially powerful now,and so you might be tempted to throw your hat in the ring. It's betterto stay out of anything political and channel that power and passioninto your own project. That's likelier to bring positive results.

AQUARIUS Heightened mental powers might make you spend a lot of time read-ing or doing research of some kind, Aquarius. Your curiosity is espe-cially sharp right now. You might even consider advancing your edu-cation somehow, especially since new interests have been poppingup for some time. New friends in fascinating fields might also havestarted you thinking. This is a good time to look into this.

PISCES Pisces, your intuition might increase today to the pointwhere you feel like you could deduce the thoughts andmotives of people you've never met before. Reading thenews might bring you sudden insights as to how thingsare going to turn out. You could decide to put this abilityto work to advance your financial condition. Do this if youcan - within reason. Your insights are probably correct.

Samsung GalaxyGrand Max has beenofficially launched inIndia. The smartphonewill be available exclu-sively via online retailerSnapdeal in Grey andWhite colours at Rs.15,990.

Initially launched inKorea last month, theSamsung Galaxy GrandMax features a new pat-tern on the rear panel, awelcome change fromthe typical SamsungGalaxy smartphonelook.

The Android 4.4.4KitKat-based GalaxyGrand Max variantlaunched in India comeswith dual-SIM (Micro-SIM) support, while theone launched in Koreaearlier was a single-SIMsmartphone.

The Galaxy GrandMax features a 5.25-inch(720x1280 pixels) HDTFT display and is pow-ered by a 1.2GHz quad-core QualcommSnapdragon 410 proces-sor that's coupled with1.5GB of RAM.

Samsung Galaxy

Grand Max bears 16GBof built-in storage thatcan be expanded viamicroSD card (up to64GB). It features a 13-megapixel rear camerawith CMOS sensor,LED flash, and a 5-megapixel front-facingcamera that comes with120 degree wide view-

ing angle lens.

Connectivity optionson the Galaxy GrandMax include 3G, LTE,Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n,Micro-USB, A-GPS,Bluetooth 4.0, 3.5mmaudio jack, GPS,Glonass, and FM radio.It is backed by a

2500mAh replaceablebattery. The GalaxyGrand Max measures146.1x75x7.9mm andweighs 161 grams.

Samsung on Saturdayofficially listed theGalaxy A7 on its officialIndia e-store at Rs.30,499.

The metal-cladSamsung Galaxy A7 fea-tures a 5.5-inch Super-AMOLED full-HD(1080x1920 pixels) dis-play and runs Android4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box. At 6.3mm, it is alsoSamsung's slimmestsmartphone to date.

Samsung Galaxy Grand Max With LTE, 5-Megapixel Front Camera Launched at Rs. 15,990

'Cloud' Over Mars LeavesScientists Baffled

Scientists Develop Molecule toTreat Inflammatory Diseases

SPORTSSPORTS 7SAADDA HAQNEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY | FEB 18, 2015

DUNEDIN, FEB 17New Zealand huffed and puffed to

a three-wicket win against a spiritedScotland but jumped to the top ofPool A with their second consecutivevictory in the cricket World Cup, hereon Tuesday.

The Kiwi pacemen, led by TrentBoult (2/21), set up the win as theybundled out Scotland for a measly142 in 36.2 overs after winning thetoss at University Oval ground.

Veteran spinner polished of thelower-order after pacers Boult, TimSouthee (2/35) and Corey Anderson(3/18) had unsettled the Scotlandinnings.

Scotland owed their total to MattMachan (56) and Richie Berrington(50), who struck fighting fifties.

It was too small a total to defendbut Scotland paceman came up allguns blazing as they removed half ofthe Kiwi batting line-up in 21 overs.

The wicket had good bounce andthe batsmen required to apply them-selves throughout and a little lapse ofconcentration resulted in loss ofwicket.

Kane Williamson top-scored forthe Kiwis with his 38-run knockwhile Grant Elliot managed 29amidst an inexplicable collapse. TheKiwis won with 25.1 overs to sparebut the way they achieved the targetwas far from convincing.

Nevertheless, it was their secondwin after a comprehensive victoryagainst Sri Lanka in the opening

match of the tournament.Scotland pace duo of Iain Wardlaw

(3/57) and Josh Davey (3/40) sharedsix wickets between them, makinglife tough for the Kiwis.

Earlier, Boult rocked the Scotlandtop-order by taking two wickets intwo balls as he trapped opener CalumMacLeod and Hamish Gardinerbefore the batsmen could open theiraccounts.

Tim Southee (2/35) inflicted more

damage when he accounted for otheropener Kyle Coetzer (1) and rivalskipper Preston Mommsen (0) inconsecutive balls in the fifth over,leaving the opponents reeling at 12for four.

From here the resurrection of theScotland innings began as MattMachan (56) and Richie Berrington(50) dug their heels in for a 97-runstand for the fifth wicket.

Machan faced 79 balls and hit eight

boundaries including a six whileBerrington took 80 balls for his half-century which had four fours and asix.

Left-arm paceman Anderson brokethe stand when he had Machancaught by Brendon McCullum andthe scorecard was reading 109.Anderson added two more wickets tohis kitty and Vettori took last threewickets as Scotland innings foldedquickly.

ICC World Cup: New Zealand jump to top ofPool A after unconvincing win over Scotland NEW DELHI, FEB 17

N o t w i t h s t a n d i n gIndia's winless streakagainst South Africa inWorld Cups, VVSLaxman feels the 'Menin Blue' can beat theProteas as confidencelevels are high after thevictory against Pakistanand the batting line-uphas enough depth totake on Dale Steyn andcompany. "Even thoughthe results did not goIndia's way in Australiaearlier, the current formof Indian batsmen andthe way they playedagainst Pakistan in thelast game is encourag-ing. It shows that, hav-ing been in Australiafor about two and a halfmonths, they have gotused to the Australianconditions and haveadapted themselves toplay on bouncy andquicker wickets,"Laxman, who is one ofthe experts on the StarSports panel, said in aninterview. "Although itwill be a challenge toplay against the likes ofDale Steyn, MorneMorkel or Imran Tahir,the Indian batting line-up has enough depthand talent to do well

against any bowlinglineup in the world," headded. Laxman, a vet-eran of 134 Tests and86 ODIs, also feels thatIndia's bowlers willhave a spring in theirstep after their goodshowing againstMisbah-ul-Haq andcompany. "After win-ning the opening matchagainst Pakistan, theconfidence quotient ishigh among the Indianbowlers and that willcome in handy whenbowling to the formida-ble South African bat-ting line-up. In thegame against Pakistan,all the bowlers bowledto a plan and pickedwickets consistently,"the stylish Hyderabadibatsman said.

"Umesh Yadav andMohammed Shamiexecuted the plan toperfection by bowlingin the right areas whileRavichandran Ashwinand Ravindra Jadejakept pressure on thePakistani batsmen withtheir spin," he added.India lost to the Proteasin 1992, 1999 and 2011and World Cup butLaxman opined thatwhat happened in thepast does not matter.

"The players willknow the strength andthe weaknesses of theopposition team andshould focus complete-ly on playing to theirpotential to overcomethe challenges and dowell in the currentmatch," he said.

PARIS, FEB 17Fresh from a rare week-

end off, Chelsea recom-mence their bid forChampions League gloryon Tuesday when they faceinjury-ravaged Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg oftheir last-16 tie at the Parcdes Princes.

With a shock defeat tothird-tier Bradford Citylast month meaning JoseMourinho`s side were notinvolved in the fifth roundof the FA Cup over theweekend, Chelsea wereable to put their feet up andwatch Paris endure theworst possible preparationsfor one of the glamour tiesof the round.

"The rest is welcome forus. In the end they haveonly one game that wedon`t have. It`s only onemore game, but I welcomethis little rest for the play-ers," said Mourinho beforediscovering what happenedto PSG in a catastrophicafternoon against Caen.

The reigning Frenchchampions lost YohanCabaye, Marquinhos,Serge Aurier and Lucas to

muscle injuries during thehome Ligue 1 game, thatsaw them finish with justnine men and draw 2-2after conceding two lategoals.

Paris coach LaurentBlanc later admitted thatthe quartet were almostcertain to miss the rematchwith a Chelsea side whowon when the clubsclashed in the quarter-finals of the same competi-tion last year.

With Blaise Matuidi tak-ing a knock in the samematch and Javier Pastorebattling to recover from acalf problem in time, PSGcaptain Thiago Silva wasleft to complain that hisside`s European prospectshad not been helped by thepowers that be in theFrench game.

"I think the league couldhave protected us," Silvatold sports daily L`Equipeafter a result that ensured

they would remain twopoints behind Ligue 1 lead-ers Lyon. "The Frenchauthorities must think a bitmore about PSG, but alsoMonaco (who face Arsenalin the last 16).

"It is very hard to playevery three days. And for aspecial event like thismatch against Chelsea, thematch against Caen couldhave been rearranged toallow us to prepare better."

Silva was in the PSGside that beat Chelsea 3-1at the Parc des Princes inthe first leg of their last-eight tie almost a year ago,when his compatriot DavidLuiz scored an own-goal.

However, counters fromAndre Schuerrle andDemba Ba helped Chelseawin 2-0 in the return to gothrough on awaygoals.Since then DavidLuiz has swapped westLondon for Paris and willpartner Silva in the heart ofthe home defence onTuesday, while Schuerrleand Ba have also now leftStamford Bridge.

However, Chelsea are astronger team these days,

with Mourinho`s acquisi-tions in the transfer markethelping take the Bluesseven points clear ofManchester City at the topof the Premier League andmaking them favourites inthis tie.

"They are much stronger.Now they have a greatplayer up front in DiegoCosta and super midfield-ers in (Cesc) Fabregas and(Nemanja) Matic. It will becomplicated but we mustthink positive," addedSilva. Costa in particularwill be raring to go havingjust completed a three-match domestic suspensionand Chelsea can also callon winger Juan Cuadrado,a January recruit fromFiorentina.

As they bid to reach thequarter-finals for the thirdseason running, Paris needa positive result to takeinto the return in Londonon March 11.

Thiago Motta andEdinson Cavani will returnafter being rested at theweekend, while Gregoryvan der Wiel and EzequielLavezzi are set to start.

Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain vs Chelsea: Preview

ZURICH, FEB 17Viswanathan Anand played out a

tense draw with Fabiano Caruana ofItaly and slipped to second spot afterthe end of the third round of theZurich Chess Challenge here. After abrilliant victory against ArmenianLevon Aronian in the previous round,it was a tipsy-turvy battle againstCaruana for Anand that was finallydrawn.

Hikaru Nakamura of United States,meanwhile, regained the sole leaddefeating Russian Sergey Karjakin.In the process, Nakamura became thefirst player from America and 10thoverall to breach the 2800 rating bar-rier in live world rankings. The othergame between Aronian and VladimirKramnik of Russia ended in adraw.With two rounds underClassical format and five under rapidstill remaining, Nakamura sits prettyin the tournament with five points inall, while Anand is in close pursuit afull point behind.

Kramnik is in sole third spot onthree points coming from three drawswhile Karjakin, Aronian and Caruanaare not so far behind the Russian withtwo points apiece. For the purpose ofdetermining rankings, the rules hereare unique as each victory inClassical format earns two pointscompared to one in rapid, which willbe held on the last day of the event.

Caruana surprised Anand early in theopening by allowing the NeoGrunfeld vide a relatively less-playedmove order. Soon it was clear that theItalian meant business as he grabbedAnand's rook for a minor piece byseriously compromising his develop-ment.

Anand won a pawn back toincrease his compensation butCaruana defended valiantly, pushingBlack back step by step after thetrade of queens.

Anand had his task cut out and hestayed put with some wily manoeu-vres even as the Italian seemed tohave seized the control. The mistakefrom Caruana came on 24th movethat met with a super blow fromAnand and the Indian was back intothe game with a bang.

However, Anand was in serioustime pressure by this time andCaruana escaped with an easy drawinstead of suffering for a long time.Nakamura played a gamble and itpaid off big time. Playing white,Nakamura employed a dangerous butdeeply analysed variation in theEnglish opening. Karjakin's attemptsto find out the correct moves in avery wild and complex positionproved futile. When the game endedin just 27 moves, Nakamura still hadan hour left on his clock. Kramnikfaced the Catalan opening fromAronian and it was a topical variationon board in the middle game.Kramnik had to defend unpleasantposition for a long time after he lost apawn but the technicalities were farfrom easy for Aronian. The draw wasa just result after 61 moves.

Results round 3: Fabiano Caruana(Ita, 2) drew with V Anand (Ind, 4);Levon Aronian (Arm, 2) drew withVladimir Kramnik (Rus, 3); HikaruNakamura (Usa, 5) beat SergeyKarjakin (Rus, 2).

Viswanathan Anand plays out tensedraw against Fabiano Caruana

SYDNEY, FEB 17Praising Indian batting

mainstay Virat Kohli, WestIndies great MichaelHolding said the top-orderplayer's knack of convert-ing starts into three-figurescores shows that he hasthe makings of a classcricketer.

Having represented Indiain 151 ODIs, Kohli hasregistered 22 hundreds and33 fifties at an average of51.95 - his conversion rateof innings per hundredbeing 6.5. Holding saidthat Kohli has justified histalent as a batsman.

"See, Virat Kohli, oncehe gets runs he keepsgoing and gets three fig-ures which is what youwant from a class bats-man. You always look atthat as far as the cricketersare concerned," Holdingsaid on ESPNcricinfo'svideo show 'Matchpoint'."A lot of batsmen who arecoming at 6 and 7 find itdifficult to get three fig-ures. But once you come tothe wicket between 1 and 4you should be able to getup there," he added.

A lot has been saidabout the Indian paceattack in recent timesbut MohammedShami, whopicked up fourwickets againstPakistan, and hiscolleagues didsilence their crit-i c s

a f t e rbundlingthe arch-rivals outfor 224.

Holding was impressedwith Shami and UmeshYadav, who picked up 2wickets at a crucial junc-

ture to break theP a k i s t a nb a c k .

"(Mohammed)Shami in par-

t i c u l a r

bowledbeautiful-ly, he hadgood con-trol, he

b o w l e dwith good pace. (Umesh)Yadav bowled with goodpace as well, I think youcould see that, he really put

his foot down on the gas,"said the former West Indiesspeedster.

India did well to defendtheir 300-run target bywinning the game by 76runs and start on a positivenote.

Holding was impressedwith Mahendra SinghDhoni's leadership quali-ties and the way he usedhis bowlers.

"You have to attack, youhave to take wickets. Wekeep on saying it on thesegood pitches with thestrength of batting thatthey have got there is noway you are going todefend and prevent them

from getting the runs.So you have got to

take wickets, andDhoni was good,

he kept onchanging hisbowlers aswell.

He didn'tjust put abowler from

one end and say okay justbowl 5 or 6 overs," saidthe cricketer-turned-ana-lyst.

Virat Kohli converts his starts intothree figures, says Michael Holding

DUBAI, FEB 17Venus Williams, who

could return to the world`stop ten for the first time infour years if she makes asuccessful defence of theDubai Open title this week,began the journey with a 6-1, 6-2 rout of highly-regarded Swiss teenagerBelinda Bencic onMonday.

The 34-year-old holderof seven Grand Slam titlesoutplayed Bencic, a 17-year-old earmarked bysome as the tour`s mostpromising new player, forthe loss of just three gamesin only an hour and nineminutes, making her thefirst player into the thirdround.

Bencic, the winner ofboth the Wimbledon andFrench open junior titlesand last year`s WTA Tournewcomer of the year afterrising 179 places to num-ber 33, frequently hit theball very hard and some-times brilliantly.

But Williams` fitnesslevels and playing standardare higher than for many a

year. She was superb offthe ground on both wings,and her 28 winners madeup for inconsistencies inher serving.

Part of this return to formhas been due to patient andwell thought out long termplans to recover fromchronic illness, but partright now may be comingfrom her liking for theDubai atmosphere andconditions.

It was her 16th consecu-tive win in the Emirate, asequence which takes inthree titles here and dates

back to 2005. It suggests afourth triumph is a distinctpossibility, despite a seed-ing of only eight.

"I`m pleased to havebeen able to get into a posi-tion to win some matches"said Venus, who has wonten out of 11 this year sofar. "Once you win some ithelps you to have thatmomentum. "My strategyis a lot better than five orsix years ago, and now Ihave a backhand slice andactually start to use it, evenwhen I`m not playing bet-ter." she said.

Venus Williams outshines new star intitle defence opener at Dubai Open

ICC World Cup 2015: Indians have got what ittakes to beat South Africa, says VVS Laxman

Face washing is an essentialstep in cleansing. Fromtimes immemorial, indi-

viduals especially womenhave attached importance touse of homemade prod-ucts and masks for facecleaning.

At times it is also neg-lected and taken casuallyregarding the type ofproducts, aggressive-ness of use and suit-ability as per theskin. All in all wecannot ignore thehygiene of face asit can result inmultiple impli-cations for theskin.

Some Do'sand Don'ts....

1. Always useright prod-ucts suitedto the face.As a thumb rule use mildestfacewash. Type of facewashused can vary according to skintype but look for gentle, non irri-tating types. Common miscon-ception is that more the latherbetter is the cleaning. Rathersuch face washes are high ondetergent content. One shouldtry and go for milder washespreferably fragrance free toavoid allergy.

2 .

Use right temperature of water.Use or very cold of very hot andvery cold water can either overdry skin or cause skin to lookblanched.

3. Use same facewash twice dailyatleast in winters and three timesa day in summers followed bymoisturizer. Avoid rushing out insun immediately after washingface. Take time out to apply sun-

screen.

4. Never rub your face vigorouslyafter washing. Mop the face gen-tly with mild towel. Also use oil-free moisturizer in acne proneskin and creamy moisturizer indry skin within 3 minutes afterfacewash.

5. Don't use Facewashes forremoving makeup. Remove

make up with remover or even agood moisturizer. Then wash itoff with facewash. Some peoplelike to follow cleanser, toner,

moisturizer ( CTM) rou-tine. It doesn't work foreveryone as some peo-ple can get allergic rash

to toners asthey area l c o h o l

based. Alwaystry products

behind ears for48-72 hours to see

if they suit and thenstart using.

6. Replacementslike curd or milkdo not actuallywork. Somepeople prefernot to use face-wash or useonly homemadethings asr e p l a c e m e n tlike curd ormilk. These arenot very effec-

tive cleansers and can lead toblackheads or clogged pores.Soaps too are not a good choiceas they are not ph balanced.Facewashes remain the bestchoice.

Face is the mirror of body. Tomaintain face hygiene facewasheshave an important role to play.Something we all need to choosejudiciously.

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Bollywood/FashionBollywood/Fashion8 NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY | FEB 18, 2015SAADDA HAQ

Printer, Publisher, Owner & Editor: S. Harpreet Singh Khalsa, C-35, Hanuman Road, New Delhi-110001, Website:- www.saaddahaq.in, Contact Number :- +91- 9697645357, E-mail: news.saaddahaq@gmail.com, Printed by:- Purraj Print & Puckaging Pvt. Ltd., E-19, Sec-6, Nodia-201301All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi High Court.

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Do’s and Don’t’s of Face Washing“While u are

busy watch-ing the

#IndoVsPak match,here'ssomething 2 chew on in dbreak, let me know if uagree/disagree?” is whatAkshay Kumar tweetedon the morning of 14thFebruary. Along withit, he posted alink to wifeTwinkle’s arti-cle. Formera c t r e s sT w i n k l eKhanna wrotean article onc e n s o r s h i p ,particularly about theongoing controversy aboutthe comedy show ‘AIB’.She expressed her viewson the matter in Times ofIndia. In the article,Twinkle defended ‘AIB’and spoke about issues thatshould be a cause of con-cern- rather than jokes on aTV show.

This is what Twinklewrote for the column,“Shouldn't we save ourstrength to protest againstthings that really matter -like gangs of men stillkilling and raping womenas they did again inRohtak; that we spend$38.35 billion on warfarebut are slashing our healthcare budget by 20%

despite being a countrywhose public spending onhealth is already among thelowest in the world; that abunch of us have beencalled ‘haramzade’ on apolitical platform from amember of the party thatgoverns us and not from astandup comedian but noFIR is filed against thepolitician but is filedagainst the AIB comediansinstead.”

Following this, Twinklegathered praise from sever-al celebrities. PriyankaChopra tweeted, “Suchimperative questions! Welldone!” Sonakshi Sinha wasanother one to supportTwinkle. “STANDINGOVATION”- the

‘Dabangg’ actress tweeted.Actor Vinay Pathak posted,“now that's a roast I like.Let it trend , go viral , andoffend somebody pl. It’s invogue anyways” ArjunKapoor, one of the vic-tims of the ‘roast’ tweet-ed, “Please run foroffice…genius and gen-uine…”

‘AIB’ has been sur-rounded by controversiesthe day it hit Youtube. Ithas been criticizedmostly by politicians-especially theMaharashtra govern-ment. Several

Bollywood personalitiescame forward to supportthe show, but it is surpris-ing to see a prominentactor raise his voiceagainst ‘AIB’. Aamir Khanis not happy with the show,as evident from what hesaid, “I have not seen theentire roast but I haveheard about it and I haveseen 2-3 clips of it. I wasdeeply affected by that. Iscolded them (Karan Joharand Arjun Kapoor) andsaid 'I don't find it funny'. Ipersonally have a problemwith it. I felt it was a veryviolent event. Violence isnot only physical, it can beverbal and emotional too.When you insult someone,you perpetuate violence.”

"Mrsfunnybones" TwinkleKhanna backs ‘AIB’ Roast

In 2002 hit-and-run case, RTO officer said at the timeof incident, Khan did not have driving license and heprocured license only in 2004. Special public prose-

cutor Pradeep Gharat said, "The witness deposed in lieuof a charge framed against Khan under the MotorVehicles Act for not possessing a licence. The witness'cross-examination will be conducted on Tuesday."

The witness had recorded his statement with the police.The witness told the court that he had given Khan'slicense status to the Bandra police. "As per the records, hewas issued a licence on August 17, 2004. It is valid till2015," the witness said. The accident hap-pened in 2002.

There has been contradictoryreport on Khan’s blood samples aswell. It is said that his blood sam-ple were not preserved properlyby the hospital and so it cannotcome out clear whether the actorwas under the influence ofalcohol whenhe rammedhis car intoa bakery insuburbanB a n d r a ,killing oneperson andi n j u r i n gfour otherss l e e p i n goutside.

M o r ethan 20witnessesw e r ed e p o s e dand stillmore willbe ques-tioned infuture pro-ceedings.

2002 hit-and-run case:Salman Khan procured

licence in 2004The ‘PK’ actress AnushkaSharma finally accepted thatshe is in a relationship with ace

cricketer of India, Virat Kohli and atthe same time said that she is notcomfortable to speak about her affairin public and wants to keep it to her-self.

Talking about her relationship,Anushka told Absolute India, “I amin a relationship with him and I haverespect for my relationship. The onlyreason I don’t talk about it is becausewe don’t know where to draw theboundary. If someone comes out inthe open and tells you that yes I am ina relationship and if you are going toconstantly just keep asking questions,it’s like my personal space isn’t beingrespected. It is pretty clear in myhead about what I do and don’t do.The reason I don’t talk about it isbecause it takes away from my work.People don’t take people’s work seri-ously.”

This is not the first time the actressavoids talking about her private lifebut in the past too, she denied talkingabout their relationship. Earlier toothe actress said, “Nobody is hidinganything. We are living our life verynormally. It’s just that we don’t wantto talk about our relationship. Wecan’t subject it to entertainmentnews. We will not hide if you guyssee us together, but we will not talk

about it.”

On the work front, AnushkaSharma is currently busy promotingher film ‘NH10', while Kohli issweating out to win the CricketWorld Cup matches.

Unlike other matches, Anushkacould not accompany her beau to thecricket world cup as BCCI officiallyannounced in a statement that Wives

and Girlfriends (WAGS) would notbe allowed to stay with the cricketersduring the World Cup.

The BCCI official reported to themedia, “This rule of not allowingwives and girlfriends wasalways there in the past. In a big tour-nament like the World Cup, the crick-eters should stay away from distrac-tions.”

I am in a relationship withVirat Kohli, Anushka Sharma

Gautam Gulati is quite thecenter of attention afterwinning ‘Bigg Boss 8’.

He was recently heard talkingabout Alia Bhatt, “Ideally, Iwouldn't want to marry anactress, but if it’s Alia Bhatt, Iwill. She is cute, my kind of girl.She and I go to the same gym butwe haven’t interacted. I am a shytype of person so haven’t spokento her.” But the angry young manof ‘Bigg Boss’ finally got thechance to met Alia- thanks toFarah Khan!

Farah Khan has been hosting ashow ‘Farah Ki Dawaat’ onColors. The filmmaker recentlyinvited the ‘Highway’ star AliaBhatt to cook some tasty meals.Along with Alia, the episode wasmade more delicious by the‘Bigg Boss Halla Bol’ winnerGautam Gulati. The two ladiestook to Instagram to share theirexperience on the show. Theactress posted a photo onInstagram, featuring Farah Khan,along with her two guests AliaBhatt and Gautam Gulati on the

sets. Alia wrote, “FARAH KIDAAWAT !!! Thank you@TheFarahKhan for this “taste-ful” experience ;) and@TheGautamGulati for givingme a HAND ;) hahaha watch outfor the show coming soon onlyon @ColorsTV” While Farahtweeted, “Super fun shootof#Farahkidaawat...Thank u@aliaa08 4 being such a sport n@TheGautamGulati 4 blushingso much.”

Alia sported her girl next doorlooks in a smart black and whitecheck shirt and her hair let down.With a black apron on, sheseemed ready to cook a delec-table meal. Alia then expressedhe joy on Twitter on 13thFebruary, “@TheFarahKhan@TheGautamGulati thank youu-uuu for having me !!!!! Toomuch fun .. I am a proud COOK;) haha Wohoo.” Farah Khanacknowledged Alia’s tweet with,““@aliaa08: @TheFarahKhan@TheGautamGulati thank youu-uuu for having me !!!!! Toomuch fun .. I am a proud COOK

;) haha Wohoo”that is nowTRUE.”

The cookery show will beaired on Colors channel on 22ndFebruary. It features celebritiescooking before the camera andflaunting their culinary skills.

The celebrities would be seenrevealing their favorite recipesfor the viewers.

The show spices up the cook-ing with Farah’s chitchat withthe celebrities, so it is the mostinteresting mix of food and gos-

sip. ‘Farah Ki Daawat’ is sure todraw swarms of viewers once itstarts airing. The show will fea-ture celebrities like AmitabhBachchan and the ‘Happy NewYear’ stars Abhishek Bachchanand Shah Rukh Khan.

Alia Bhatt cooks at 'Farah Ki Daawat', Gautam Gulati helps

Abhishek Bachchanhas his childhooddream come true

recently when he got achance to meet with hisidol legendary basketballplayer Magic Johnson dur-ing NBA All-Star Weekendin New York city.

“Today, a childhooddream of mine came true. Imet my idol.@MagicJohnson. Thankyou for being such aninspiration,” AbhishekBachchan tweeted Monday

along with an image inwhich he's standing next tothe sportsman.

Abhishek Bachchan pre-viously shared how hismost prized possessionsare two jerseys signed per-sonally by Johnson.

Abhishek, who lastrelease 'Happy New Year'sparked gold at the box-office was announced theGoodwill Ambassador forNBA All-Star Weekend2015 in Mumbai Feb 7.

Abhishek Bachchan meets hischildhood idol Magic Johnson