I CONTD. ON PAGE 12 I DETAILS ON PAGE 5 PM ...southasiandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/1-24_-1.pdfUsha Mangeshkar also expressed her anger and said, "Our songs (the songs sung

CIRCULATED THROUGH : TORONTO, MARKHAM, SCARBOROUGH, RICHMOND HILL, VAUGHAN, WOODBRIDGE, ETOBICOKE, NORTH YORK, MALTON, REXDALE, BR AMPTON, MISSISSAUGA, OAKVILLE, HAMILTON, MILTON, STONEY CREEK, BURLINGTON

(L-R) MAYOR OF BRAMPTON PATRICK BROWN, PANORAMA INDIA CHAIR ANU SRIVASTAVA, SEEMA BHATIA,CONSUL GENERAL OF INDIA MR. DINESH BHATIA, MAYOR OF MISSISSAUGA BONNIE CROMBIE DURING THEOPENING CEREMONY.

PM TRUDEAU SAYS HE IS SURPRISED AND DISAPPOINTEDBY JODY WILSON-RAYBOULD'S RESIGNATION

Y MEDIA PRESENTS

WHO WILL WIN ?INDIA DECIDES - ELECTIONS 2019

AA GROUP WINS LEADERSHIP IN IMMIGRANT RECRUITMENT AWARD

PM MODI ACTED LIKE A SPY, SAYS RAHULGANDHI IN NEW RAFALE ATTACK, TRIGGERS

SHARP REBUTTAL

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORTSINNOVATION HUB IN MISSISSAUGA

I CONTD. ON PAGE 12

Congress pres ident Rahul Gandhi launched yet anotherscathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Rafaledeal case on Tuesday alleging that the irregularities hap-pened on three fronts of “compromising national security,procedural lapses and corruption” in the multi-bil-lion defence contract with France.

I CONTD. ON PAGE 12

Collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship aredriving Canada's economy forward. That is why theGovernment of Canada is helping Canadian entrepre-neurs access the tools, networks and skills they needto succeed. Today, the Honourable Navdeep Bains,Minister of Innovation, Science and EconomicDevelopment and Minister responsible forFedDev Ontario, along with Omar Alghabra,Member of Parliament for MississaugaCentre, announced that FedDev Ontariois investing $1.5 million to provide abroader range of entrepreneurial suppor tand services at the EDGE (Entrepreneur-ship Discovery and Growth Engine) -Sheridan College'sinnovation hub located atthe Hazel McCallion Campus in downtown Mississauga. The EDGE is acollaborative space where innovators can get resources, such asmentorship, networking and skills development, and gain access to financing tohelp start and grow their businesses. Originally focused on student-led ventures,the EDGE is now expanding its programming to include entrepreneurs across theMississauga region with FedDev Ontario funding.

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PANORAMA INDIA CELEBRATES INDIA'S 70TH REPUBLIC DAY

I DETAILS ON PAGE 5

HARJIT SAJJAN APPOINTED AS ACTING VETERANS AFFAIRS MINISTER

67,000 NEW JOBS ADDED IN CANADIANECONOMY IN JANUARY 2019

The number of people employed grew by 67,000 in January, mostly amongyouth aged 15 to 24 and in the services-producing industries. The unem-ployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 5.8% as more peoplelooked for work.On a year-over-year basis, total employment was up 327,000 or 1.8%, re-flecting increases in both full-time (+166,000) and part-time (+162,000)work. Over the same period, total hours worked were up 1.2%.Employment rose in six provinces, led by Ontario and Quebec. At the sametime, employment declined in Alber ta and Saskatchewan, while it was littlechanged in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island.The number of people working in services-producing industries increased,led by wholesale and retail trade; professional, scientific and technical ser-vices; and public administration. At the same time, the number of workers ingoods-producing industries decreased, most notably in agriculture.

I CONTD. ON PAGE 9

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he was surprised and disappointedby Jody Wilson-Raybould's resignation.The former justice minister resigned from the federal cabinet one dayafter Trudeau suggested her continuing presence there was proof shedidn't think she'd been improperly pressured to help SNC-Lavalin avoidcriminal prosecution.PM Trudeau said the government did its job on the SNC-Lavalin file and ifanyone in the cabinet thought anything improper had happened,they had a duty to raise it with him at the time. Wilson-Raybould never mentioned it, he said.In a letter to Trudeau published on her website, Wilson-Raybould said she was resigning "with a heavy heart" butdid not explain why.However, she said she's aware that "many Canadi-ans wish for me speak on matters that havebeen in the media over the last week" - refer-ring to the furor that erupted after a news re-por t last Thursday alleged she was demotedto veterans-affairs minister in January fromthe prestigious justice and attorney generalpor tfolio because she had refused to give into pressure last fall from the Prime

Minister's Office on the SNC-Lavalin case.Never theless, her depar ture added fuel to opposition accusations of po-litical interference in the justice system. And it lef t Tr udeau's reconcilia-tion agenda with Canada's Indigenous Peoples in tatters.Wilson-Raybould had been Canada's first Indigenous justice min-ister and the face of Tr udeau's commitment to make reconciliation histop priority.

As the former attorney general, Wilson-Raybould had earlier refused tocomment on the allegation, citing solicitor-client privilege.Wilson-Raybould said she intends to continue serving as the MP for the

riding of Vancouver-Granville.Federal Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion will in-

vestigate claims that the Prime Minister's Officepressured former attorney general Jody Wilson-

Raybould to help Quebec engineering firmSNC-Lavalin avo id criminal prosecution.

He informed the NDP MPs who re-quested the investigation Monday

that there is sufficient cause toproceed with an inquiry into the

actions of Prime Minister JustinTrudeau in this matter.

(L-R) ALI ABUKAR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SASKATOON OPEN DOOR SOCIETY, ATIQ AHMAD- PRESIDENT (AA GROUP OFCOMPANIES) ,BILAL PARACHA - DISTRICT MANAGER, FAREAH AHMAD - RESTAURANT MANAGER & JANE DOMETITA -RESTAURANT MANAGER . I DETALS ON PAGE 4

MAMATA BANERJEE HEADS FOR DELHI DHARNAAMID LINGERING QUESTIONS

I CONTD. ON PAGE 12

As Mamata Banerjee leaves for Delhi to join the protest by opposition leaders in theCapital, she will be handling a challenge of turning a threat into an opportunity. Itwas a difficult process that she launched on the evening of February 3, a couple ofhours after a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team went to the official resi-dence of Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday kickedoff the BJP’s poll campaign for the Lok Sabhaelect ion to be held later th is year inHaryana’s Kur ukshetra on Tuesday wherehe is also addressed a programme dedi-cated to women.

‘THE CORRUPT HAVE A PROBLEM WITHMODI’, SAYS PM MODI INKURUKSHETRA

2 MidWeek MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019

MidWeek 3MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2012

MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


PAGE 3HERE'S HOW KAPILSHARMA DEALT WITH ADRUNKARD WHOFORCIBLY TRIED TO BITEHIS NECK ON HISWEDDING DAY

VALENTINE HUES OF 2019

(LEFT TO RIGHT): KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN IN A PINK-AND-RED COLOUR-BLOCKED GOWN; SONAKSHI SINHA SPORTS AN OUTFIT IN THE LIVING CORAL HUE; ALIA BHATT’S BABY PINK ENSEMBLE;AND PRIYANKA CHOPRA IN A STRAPLESS CORAL GOWN.

SONCHIRIYA: BHUMI PEDNEKAR WORKED HARD AT

BEING UNRECOGNISABLEBhumi Pednekar has had only three releases so far, but she’sstriving for per fection with every film. Ever since the trailer herupcoming movie, Sonchiriya, have been out, the actress ispleased to hear how she looked unrecognisable and became thecharacter she’s por traying in this dacoit drama. After all, she hadto endure long hours for her make-up sessions ever y day, toundergo the metamorphosis into her character. A source tells usthat the actress wore a lot of make-up for this Abhishek Chaubey-directorial, to make her skin look sunburnt, weather-beaten andpigmented. “The idea was to get her tanned down three to fourshades to make her resemble someone who works under the sunin the arid, hot, burnt Chambal valley. It was quite a process everysingle day for her to look the par t,” explains our informer.It sure is commendable for a cool urban girl-next-door to con-stantly change herself for her on-screen avatars and carry difficultpar ts with conviction. Af ter star ting her movie career as anoverweight but self-assured woman in her debut, Dum Laga KeHaisha (2015), she has consistently taken diverse roles in hersubsequent ventures like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Shubh MangalSaavdhan (2017) and the anthology, Lust Stories (2018). “InSonchiriya, Bhumi plays a village girl from the 1970s Chambalwho picks up the gun to fight for what she believes in. So herconstant endeavour is to attempt something different in every filmshe does,” points out our source.

Kangana Ranaut calls Alia Bhattafter her apology, suggests her to

grow a spine and stop beingKaran Johar's puppet

After calling her out for not suppor ting her latest release'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi', Kangana Ranautlaunched a fresh attack at actor Alia Bhatt on Friday. In arecent interview with Pinkvilla, Kangana said that she per-sonally called Alia after the latter's apology and suggestedher to grown some spine. She went on to say that Alia's"existence is all about being Karan Johar's puppet."Read her full statement here:"I reached out to Alia (Bhatt) and asked her what makesher think Manikarnika is my personal controversy, it’s afilm whole nation is talking about and wondering whyBollywood is keeping quiet on such a relevant work...Iasked her if I can be courteous and gracious to acknowl-edge her requests for encouraging relevant work that shedoes, why is she so scared to see my film.

The makers of the upcoming movie Total Dhamaal had recentlyreleased a song ‘Mungda’ which featured Sonakshi Sinha. The songwas a recreation of Helen’s song from the movie Inkaar. It wascomposed by well-known composer Rajesh Roshan and sung byLata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle’s sister Usha Mangeshkar.The recreation has not gone down well with the netizens, but theyaren’t the only people who are disappointed. Rajesh Roshanand Usha Mangeshkar also expressed their disenchantment overthe newer version of the song which features Sonakshi Sinha andAjay Devgn."I think there is less of inspiration and more of perspiration in themusic industry. The filmmakers have lost confidence in creatingnew songs," Rajesh Roshan told a daily. Recollecting about how heand Usha collaborated, the composer added, "I gave Usha Mangeshkar ji the song to sing. She sang several songs for me and was one of thosecompetent singers who could breathe life into a tune."Usha Mangeshkar also expressed her anger and said, "Our songs (the songs sung by the Mangeskar sisters Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and UshaMangeshkar) were created after a great deal of thought and they were done with sensitivity and care. To rip them off in this arbitrary manner is notcorrect," to which Lata Mangeshkar questioned, "We are not asked if we approve or not. No one seeks our consent before using our songs. Is thatright?" The trend of repacking old songs began in Bollywood a few years back. There are many songs like ‘Aaj Phir, Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast,Gulabi Aankhen Jo Teri Dekhi, Dil Kya Kare, Saara Zamaana, Na Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai, Har Kisi Ko Nahi Milta Yahan Pyaar, Yeh Chand Sa RoshanChehra, Laila Main Laila, Hungama Ho Gaya, Oye Oye, Parda Hai Parda, Jaat Kahan Hai Deewane, Ajeeb Dastaan, Lag Jaa Gale, Aap Ki Nazron Ne,Kajra Mohabbat Wala, Dheere Dheere Se, An Evening In Paris’ or the last year ’s most-spoken-about remixed song ‘Ek Do Teen’. In fact, Total Dhamaalhas also reworked the song, ‘Paisa Yeh Paisa’, which was the first song that they unveiled. That song featured the whole cast – Anil Kapoor, MadhuriDixit-Nene, Ajay Devgn, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffery and Sanjay Mishra.

OUR SONGS WERE CREATED AFTER GREAT DEAL OF THOUGHTUSHA MANGESHKAR VEXATED OVER SONAKSHI SINHA’S MUNGDA Here's how Kapil Sharma dealt with

a drunkard who forcibly tried to bitehis neck on his wedding dayKapil Sharma might have hosted grand wedding recep-tions with high security, but the actor had to face a malestalker, actually a drunkard, who tried to bit the comedi-ans’ neck forcefully time and again. Kapil recalled the inci-dent on his show. It so happened that Kapil had invitedShilpa Shetty Kundra, Anurag Basu and Geeta Kapoor onhis show. They were promoting their reality show ‘SuperDancer: Chapter 3’. This is when the comedian asked theguests about receiving weird demands from their fans ask-ing them per form at their wedding functions.On being probed by his show’s judge Navjhot Singh Sindhu,Kapil Sharma narrated his own horrendous tale from hisrecent wedding with Ginni Chathrath. Kapil narrated theincident saying that there was a man, not known to him,who got drunk, and started getting close to him. He bit onhis neck a few times. The comedian further said that hegot so annoyed with the man's behaviour that he had tonudge him hard to shoo him away. Surprisingly, Kapil isunaware about this anonymous person’s identity till date.


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019s p e c i a l r e p o r t

AA GROUP WINS LEADERSHIP IN IMMIGRANT

RECRUITMENT AWARD

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen - Saskatoon is a franchise owned and operated by the AA Group of Companies.A point of pride and honour for the AA Group is that 88.2% of their employees and managers are immi-grants. With this diverse employee base, they benefit from exposure to different methods of doing busi-ness. They work with new immigrants to help them do better not just in their work but also in theirpersonal lives, by helping them find places of worship and grocery stores that offer items from thehomeland. Their management team takes special care with training, for example by using more picturesor keywords and facilitating language acquisition if language is a barrier at the initial stages of employ-ment. Newcomers are offered time off and suppor t to attend SODS training programs or activities thatmight benefit them. The group has promoted many newcomers over the past year to management posi-tions, where they can win fur ther promotion to such high-profile positions as Area Trainer, District Man-ager, Director of Operations, and more. As the AA Group of Companies puts it, "Our people are our biggestasset and we are proud to be a world diversified workplace here in Saskatoon and beyond."

PREMIER DOUG FORD VISITED STAR NAVIGATION SYSTEMS GROUP LTD HEAD OFFICE IN BRAMPTONALONG WITHH MPP AMARJOT SANDHU, MPP NINA TANGRI & MPP DEEPAK ANAND .



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 s p e c i a l r e p o r t

PANORAMA INDIA CELEBRATES INDIA’S 70TH REPUBLIC DAY

PHOTO COURTESY - BASHIR NASIR

Panorama India celebrated the 70th India Republic Day on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at the PearsonConvention Center, Brampton. The event united the local Indian community through celebrating the diver-sity of Indo-Canadians in Canada.Overwhelming suppor t for the event was garnered by community leaders, political dignitaries and spon-

sors, all of whom came together to celebrate India's 70th Republic Day. Attendees included the ConsulGeneral of India in Toronto, Dinesh Bhatia, Federal Minister of Science, Kirsty Duncan, MP Ruby Sahota,MP Ramesh Sangha, MP Bob Soraya, MPP Nina Tangri, MPP Deepak Anand, MPP Amarjot Sidhu, Mayorof Mississauga Bonnie Crombie and Mayor of Brampton Patrick Brown.

Consul General of India Mr. Dinesh Bhatia enthusiastically addressed the crowd and brought the RepublicDay greetings on behalf of the President of India. Consul General emphasized his appreciation for theIndian Diaspora in Toronto and gave a recap of the past three years in Toronto.

Dr. Kristy Duncan, Federal Minister of Science, began with a greeting to all in Hindi. She talked about thefamily values that are reflected in the Indo-Canadian community here in Canada.

Mayor Patrick Brown reiterated his enthusiasm and support for India stating that he visited India eighteentimes and is amazed with the cultural diversity.

Mayor Bonnie Crombie spoke eloquently and greeted the audience.

Ramesh Chotai was felicitated at the official opening ceremony by Chair Anu Srivastava and ConsulGeneral of India Dinesh Bhatia for receiving the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by Presi-dent of India Ram Nath Kovind at the PBD held in Varanasi in January.

MPP Nina Tangri brought greetings from Premier Doug Ford and was joined on stage by MPP DeepakAnand and MPP Amarjot Sidhu.

The program consisted of 20 community organizations of which 200 local performers were given thePanorama India Platform. These groups showcased talent in all forms of artistic expression such asdancing, singing and drawing.

Opening ceremony commenced at 12pm with Republic Day greetings and poignant messages from digni-taries. Panorama India Chair, Anu Srivastava welcomed everyone and recognized the political dignitaries,community leaders, and guests. She said “Unity in Diversity and building Indo Canada bi-lateral relationsthrough culture is the prime objective of this celebration.”





MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 c o m m u n i t y

Mississauga's Family DayActivities Offers Something forYoungest to the MostSeasoned at Little to No CostWe know it could be tricky to keep family and friendsactive and content during the winter months.So why not take advantage of a full day of fun and excite-ment already planned for you and your love ones thisFamily Day on Monday, February 18, 2019.Get out your jackets, toques, scar fs and favourite mittensand check out the activities Mississauga is serving up forall ages and interests:Family Day Activities to Try in Mississauga" Cross country skiing" Snowshoeing" Indoor and outdoor skating" Tobogganing" Fishing" Indoor swimmingCULTUREFamily Day PJ Skate at Mississauga Celebration SquareJoin us on the rink for a PJ Skate or head inside to warm upwith cool crafts and treats. You can also check out theRoyal Ontario Museum's Travelling Planetarium for aunique look at the universe! This event is proudly presentedby Tim Hor tons. [MAP]Monday, February 18, 2019Noon to 4 p.m.Cost: FreeRide MiWay to Celebration Square or park at the under-ground lot at the Civic Centre, Central Library and the LivingAr ts Centre. For more information, visitmississaugacelebrationsquare.ca.RECREATIONActivities at select Recreation facilities and CommunityCentresEnjoy free activities including swimming and skating atMississauga community centres, pools and arenas,proudly presented by Jerry Love Children's Fund.For a complete schedule of events, visit our onlineschedule.FAMILY DAY HOLIDAY CITY SERVICE HOURSCity offices will be closed on Monday, February 18 forFamily Day. Regular hours will resume on Tuesday,February 19.Transit: MiWay will operate on a holiday service scheduleon Monday, February 18. Visit MiWay's Trip Planner to plan yourtravel and get real time trip updates on your next bus arrival or call905-615-INFO (4636) for assistance.Libraries: Closed on Sunday, Februar y 17 and Monday,February 18.

TO SERVICE AND PROTECT-PEEL REGIONAL POLICEHave you ever been stranded?Imagine that your only mode of transpor tation is an electricwheelchair and your battery is now dead. On Tuesday,January 8, 2019, Mississauga resident Jason Graves foundhimself in that situation. It was cold, windy, and Jason wasstranded in the area of Drummond Road andBurnhamthorpe Road, Mississauga. Thankfully someonenoticed Jason's plight and contacted police.11 Division Constables Josalyn Hilts, David Salerno, andMatthew Kerr arrived on scene and jumped intoaction. Given the cold temperatures that day and therisk of exposure from the elements, these officersmade the decision not to wait for a service person toarrive. Constable Kerr pushed Jason in his wheel-chair for over a kilometer to his residence, whileConstables Hilts and Salerno assisted with traffic toensure the journey was made safely. Af ter returninghome, officers helped Jason make the necessaryrepairs to his wheelchair in an effor t to prevent asimilar situation from happening again.This is a shining example of the excellent work themen and women of our organization do every day toserve and protect the citizens of our Region and makeus Proud to be Peel.

Peel Police Charged Robert Stackin a Child Luring InvestigationREGION OF PEEL- Investigators from the Internet ChildExploitation Unit have arrested and charged a male ina child luring investigation.Between January 3, 2019 and February 5, 2019officers from the Internet Child Exploitation Unitinvestigated a male that was communicating onlinewith someone he believed to be under 16 years ofage for sexual purposes. The male used the nickname"Matthew 51 YO".On Tuesday, Februar y 5, 2019, Robert Stack, a 56year-old man from Guelph, was arrested and chargedwith two counts of Child Luring, one count of Breachof Recognizance and one count of Breach of Under-taking. He will appear for a bail hearing on Wednes-day, February 6, 2019, at the Ontario Cour t of Justicein Brampton.To see a picture of Robert Stack, please visit ourwebsite.Anyone who had contact with "Matthew 51 YO" inrelation to these charges is asked to contact investi-gators with the Internet Child Exploitation Unit at(905)453-2121 ext. 3490. Information may also be leftanonymously by calling Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or by visitingpeelcrimestoppers.ca.

More Transit, Increased Public Safety are Highlights of the Approved 2019 BudgetToday, Mississauga City Council approved the 2019 - 2022 Business Plan and 2019 Budget. The impact of the budget is an $83.08increase on the City's por tion of the proper ty tax on an average residential proper ty valued at $645,000 or $12.88 per $100,000of assessment."This year's budget proves that Mississauga is working. We have a solid financial plan that will allow us to invest in our Citywhile providing the quality local services our residents have come to rely on," said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. "We heard fromour residents what was most impor tant to them and designed our budget accordingly. From investing in public transit andsafety, to better managing traffic signals to improving housing affordability, this year's budget makes strategic investmentswhile ensuring programs and services continue to be delivered in a cost-effective manner. Over the past decade, we havesaved taxpayers nearly $55 million and this year, we are projected to save an additional $3 million. I want to thank ourdedicated staff, my Council colleagues and our community for working together to help lay the groundwork for Mississauga'sbright and promising future."In 2019, Mississauga residents will see more transit service hours, additional transit security and public safety and moreproactive fire prevention education. This is in addition to road, traffic and other infrastructure improvements, winter roadmaintenance, recreation programs, libraries and parks."Service excellence, fiscal responsibility and continuous improvement are key elements of our business planning and bud-geting activity," said Janice Baker, City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer. "This, combined with the exper tise andprofessionalism demonstrated by our staff, helps us build on our progress and advance our city building priorities. We haverealized $3.1 million in cost savings in this budget. This is equivalent to reducing the City tax levy by 0.6 per cent."Highlights of the 2019 Business Plan and Budget:" The total increase in Mississauga's residential proper ty tax will be 2.90 per cent. The increase includes 1.56 per cent

for City services and 1.34 per cent for Region of Peel services." The City advances on its Strategic Plan in 2019 by adding approximately $9.9 million worth of new services, including:o 31,000 additional MiWay service hourso increased investment in transit enforcement and public safetyo continued redevelopment of the Small Arms Inspection Building, the City's newest ar ts and cultural facility" Council did not approve the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) Capital Funding Levy of $1 million in the 2019 Budget.

INDIA HONOURS RAMESH CHOTAIWITH THE HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARDCONGRATULATORY MESSAGES POUR IN FROM EVERYWHERE

TORONTO: Congratulatory messages have been pouring in fromacross Canada to Ramesh Chotai, the co-founder and past chair ofCanada India Foundation, on being awarded the prestigious PravasiBharatiya Samman Award, the highest civilian award bestowed uponoverseas Indians by the Government of India.Mr. Chotai was honoured with the award by the President of India HisExcellency Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony on 23 January,the concluding day of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the annual con-glomeration of the Indian diaspora, held this year in the holy city ofVaranasi, India.The Canada India Foundation had nominated Mr. Chotai for the award.Mr. Anil Shah, Chair, CIF, said, "Ramesh Chotai epitomizes the strengthof the Indian diaspora in Canada. He has selflessly and sincerelyworked for the Indo-Canadian community for nearly five decades. Hedeserves this honour and we are proud of his achievement."Mr. Satish Thakkar, National Convener, CIF, said, "Ramesh Chotaicommands great respect from the Indo-Canadian community becausehe always puts the community first and always comes forward tohelp everyone. This award is a recognition of his indefatigable spirit."His Excellency Vikas Swarup, the High Commissioner of India toCanada, while congratulating Mr. Chotai, said, "The Pravasi Bhar tiyaSamman Award is a well-deserved recognition for Mr. Chotai's de-cades of service to the community."Echoing this sentiment, Canada's Minister for Immigration, Refugeesand Citizenship, Hon. Ahmed Hussen, said, "I would like to congratu-late Mr. Ramesh Chotai on receiving the Pravasi Bharatiya Sammanaward, India's highest civilian award."The Minister added, "Mr. Chotai is an inspiring example of an indi-vidual who made Canada his new home and gives back to the com-munity locally and internationally in so many ways. I would like tothank Mr. Chotai for his hard work and dedication."India's Minister of External Affairs, Hon. Sushma Swaraj; the ChiefMinister of Uttar Pradesh Hon. Yogi Adityanath; and the Governor ofUttar Pradesh, Hon. Ram Naik, were present at the award presenta-tion ceremony.An ecstatic Mr. Chotai, upon receiving the honour, said, "I am de-lighted and humbled to receive the Parvasi Bharati Saman from thePresident of India, H.E Ram Nath Kovind ji. I am very thankful to thecommunity and par ticularly to my wife Krishna Chotai, a woman whostood beside me in this journey of community service."The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour/Award) isan award constituted by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Gov-ernment of India, in conjunction with the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas(Non-Resident Indian Day), to honour exceptional and meritoriouscontribution in their chosen field/profession. The Award carries abilingual Sanad under the hand and the seal of the President ofIndia in addition to a citation and a gold medallion.Hon. Deepak Obhrai, Member of Parliament from Calgary FairLawn, and recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award,said, "I am proud of Ramesh Chotai's many accomplishments

ever since arriving in Canada in 1972. This award recognises hishard work and innovativeness in building trade and cultural bridgesbetween Canada and India. I wish him all best as he continues hisgood work."Mr. Chotai received the honour in category of philanthropy, businessand promoting Canada - India relations. He is the President of BromedPharmaceuticals, one of the leading pharmaceuticals companies inCanada, bringing employment to several individuals and one of theleaders in pharmaceutical formulation technology.Mr. Chotai was CIF's Chair during 2009-2011 and under his leader-ship, many strategic initiatives were organized such as Canada IndiaEnergy Forum and Canada India Mining and Metals Forum. He wasalso member of two delegations led by Premiers of Ontario to India.He was also the Co-Chair of Canada India Health Care Summit whichwas held both in Canada and India. Mr. Chotai pursued his educationas Pharmacist in the UK and Switzerland and joined ICI Pharmaceuti-cals in Kampala, Uganda. He came to Canada in 1972 as a refugee.Star ting as a Pharmacist/Manager at an Oshawa Pharmacy, he hasbuilt a successful group of companies that manufactures and distrib-utes medical and healthcare products around the world.Acknowledging the immense contributions of Mr. Chotai, His Excel-lency Dinesh Bhatia, the Consul General of India in Toronto, who willsoon take charge as the Ambassador of India to Argentina, said, "Myhear tiest congratulations to Mr. Ramesh Chotai on being conferredthe well-deserved Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, by the Hon'blePresident of India, on 23 January 2019. The conferment of the Awardon Mr. Chotai recognises his contribution to the Indo-Canadian com-munity activities."His Worship Patrick Brown, the Mayor of Brampton, in a tweet, said,"Congratulations to my good friend Ramesh Chotai on being awardedthe Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from the President of IndiaRam Nath Kovind. Way to go, Ramesh!"A prominent community builder and a philanthropist, Mr. Chotai is thepast President of the Hindu Mandir and Cultural Centre, the Vice-Chairman of the Canadian Museum of Indian Civilization, the Presi-dent of Vraj Canada Community Centre and Canada Serves, and aformer President and current Advisory Board Member of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce. He has received many awards fromthe Government of Ontario and various community organizations.Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament from Mississauga-Malton, Hon. Deepak Anand, in a tweet, said, "Congratulations Mr.Ramesh Chotai on getting the Government of India's highest civilianaward - the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award. Thank you for yourcontinuous service as a global community builder and a philanthro-pist. Best of success for future endeavours."In 2001, Mr. Chotai was instrumental to raise $1.6 million in threeweeks for Gujrat Ear thquake relief and it created a par tnership withCanadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to match $3.2million to build 802 homes, 32 schools, 4 community center and fourmedical mobile clinics in the ear thquake-ravaged areas in Gujarat.


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019opinion

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SUNIL VERMASUNIL VERMASUNIL VERMASUNIL VERMASUNIL VERMAGRAPHICS DEPARTMENT

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LEGAL ADVISORNAVEEN SHARMANAVEEN SHARMANAVEEN SHARMANAVEEN SHARMANAVEEN SHARMA

INDIA MARKETING HEAD

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DISCLAIMER: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE THE PERSONAL OPINIONS OF THE AUTHORS.THE INFORMATION, FACTS OR OPINIONS APPEARING IN THEARTICLES DO NOT REFLECT VIEWS OF MIDWEEK AND ITS MANAGEMENT AND SO THE PAPER DOES NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR THE SAME.

GURPREET SINGH LOONAGURPREET SINGH LOONAGURPREET SINGH LOONAGURPREET SINGH LOONAGURPREET SINGH LOONAOPERATIONS MANAGER

INDIA MUST STEP IN TO PREVENT

TRADE CONFLICTS

E-mail : For [email protected]

PRITAM SINGH

‘Washington seems blind to the factthat in the run-up to a tightlycontested national elections, NewDelhi would find it politically moreexpedient to exchange blows thancome to a settlement that could becriticised by the opposition

India and the United States are squaring up for an exchange ofblows on trade issues as space for a negotiated agreement isr unning out. The United States Trade Representative’s Office(USTR) has run out of patience over a two-year dispute onmedical device price controls, not least because New Delhisuddenly walked away from a negotiated settlement. The USTRnow wants zero-tariff privileges for Indian textiles and otherimpor ts, under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO)generalised system of preferences, be revoked. The mostobvious Indian retaliation would be to impose tariffs on US steeland aluminium impor ts, something it has delayed despite theunilateral imposition of similar tariffs on India.Neither of these actions will have significant economic impact.The real danger would be for this tit-for-tat to trigger an escala-tory series of actions. Of concern would be the formal disputespreading to incorporate a whole set of new sources of tradefriction such as data localisation norms or the rules governinge-commerce investment. Neither side is faultless in the presenteconomic fracas. Much of India’s problems arise from arbitrarydecisions by domestic regulators who have little understandingof India’s multilateral trade obligations, complicated by a

political unwillingness to override these decisions no matterhow foolish they may be. Washington seems blind to the factthat in the run-up to a tightly contested national elections, NewDelhi would find it politically more expedient to exchange blowsthan come to a settlement that could be criticised by theopposition.Trade disputes are hardly new in Indo-US relations and arecommon between any two nations that have a substantialeconomic relationship. The environment today is different fortwo reasons. One is that the Tr ump administration divorcesstrategic and trade issues. It sees no contradiction in havingfriendly strategic relations and a confrontational trade policywith the same country. The US is also running two separatetrade policies. President Donald Tr ump’s revolves around tradedeficits and temporary obsessions like Harley-Davidsonmotorcycles. The USTR remains concerned about policy shiftsthat undermine US corporate interests. Two, India is strugglingwith a whole set of new norms regarding the digital economy,

ranging from data privacy to payments structures, that it hasyet to settle at home. The Modi government had mooted the ideaof putting all these issues into one basket and working on a US-India trade pact. It is perhaps time to dust off this idea andbegin a process designed to prevent potential trade conflicts,most of which are easily predictable.

Of concern would be the formal dispute spreading to incorporate a whole set of new sourcesof trade friction such as data localisation norms or the rules governing e-commerceinvestment. Neither side is faultless in the present economic fracas. Much of India’s

problems arise from arbitrary decisions by domestic regulators who have littleunderstanding of India’s multilateral trade obligations, complicated by a political

unwillingness to override these decisions no matter how foolish they may be.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 c a n a d a

General Accounting & Bookkeeping

CONTD. FROM PAGE 1This funding will be used to deliver new mentorship program-ming, create new workshops and education programs, andprovide suppor t targeted to the needs of the region. Throughthis project, 60 high-potential companies will be suppor ted,over 80 industry par tnerships will be established andstrengthened, and 70 jobs will be created and maintained inthe Mississauga region.Established in par tnership between Sheridan College, the Cityof Mississauga and Ryerson University, this initiative isstrengthening Mississauga's role in the innovation network tobridge the Toronto-Waterloo corridor.This project is in line with creating a culture of entrepreneur-ship and strengthening innovation ecosystems, which is par tof the Government's Innovation and Skills Plan a multi-yearstrategy to create good jobs and ensure Canadians have theskills to succeed.Quotes"The Government of Canada has an ambitious plan to helpmake Canada a world leader in innovation and entrepreneur-ship. We are pleased to suppor t Sheridan College in provid-ing more oppor tunities for early-stage businesses to accessthe resources needed to build innovative companies andcreate more jobs for Canadians."" The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister ofInnovation, Science and Economic Development and Ministerresponsible for the Federal Economic Development Agencyfor Southern Ontario.

Federal Government SupportsInnovation Hub in Mississauga

Free Fishing on Family Day WeekendTORONTO - Ontario's Government for the People invites fami-lies to par ticipate in free fishing on the Family Day weekend.From February 16 to 18, Canadian residents of all ages canenjoy fishing in Ontario without having to purchase a licence."We want to encourage families to enjoy the outdoors by providing a funand affordable way to connect with each other and with nature," saidJohn Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. "Whetheryou are a fishing enthusiast or a first-timer, this is an opportunity to createlasting memories with family and friends, and I encourage everyone totake advantage of this weekend - I know I will." Family Day weekend isthe first of four free fishing events in 2019. The Ontario governmentcontinues to reduce barriers, making it easier for people to exploredifferent angling opportunities and enjoy Ontario's world-class lakes,rivers and streams."Our government is committed to making life more affordable, which iswhy we have introduced two new licence-free fishing events this yearon the weekends of Mother's Day and Father's Day," said MinisterYakabuski. "This is in addition to our decision to freeze fishing licencefees and remove the $2 service fee in 2019."

67,000 NEW JOBS ADDED IN CANADIANECONOMY IN JANUARY 2019

Overall employment gains were entirely driven by privatesector employees, while the number of self-employed de-creased and the number of public sector employees was littlechanged.Employment increased for both young women and men aged 15to 24, as well as for men aged 55 and over. At the same time,employment was down for women aged 55 and over.Overall employment increase driven by OntarioIn Ontario, the number of people employed rose by 41,000 inJanuary, the result of an increase in full-time work. At the sametime, more people looked for work (+31,000), pushing theunemployment rate up 0.3 percentage points to 5.7%. In the 12months to January, employment in the province grew by 2.4% or170,000.Employment was up 16,000 in Quebec in January, driven byyounger workers. The unemployment rate in the province waslittle changed at 5.4%. In the 12 months to January, employmentin Quebec rose by 0.9% or 38,000.In Nova Scotia, employment increased by 6,100 compared withDecember 2018. The unemployment rate was little changed at6.9%. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment in theprovince increased by 2.6% or 12,000, mainly the result of morefull-time work.Employment increased by 4,800 in Newfoundland and Labradorin January and the unemployment rate was little changed at11.4%.In Manitoba, employment was up 4,400 compared with Decem-ber 2018. The unemployment rate in the province declined 0.5percentage points to 5.5%, as fewer people looked for work.Employment rose by 3,600 in New Brunswick, while theunemployment rate in the province was little changed at 8.2%.In contrast, employment in Alber ta declined for the secondconsecutive month, down 16,000 in January. Unemployment inthe province was up 9,500 and the unemployment rate in-creased 0.4 percentage points to 6.8%. On a year-over-yearbasis, employment in Alber ta was little changed.In Saskatchewan, the number of employed people decreased by2,800 and the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.5%.Industry perspectiveIn January, overall employment growth was entirely driven byservices-producing industries (+99,000).Compared with December, employment in wholesale and retailtrade increased by 34,000 in January, led by Ontario, Alber taand British Columbia. On a year-over-year basis, nationalemployment was little changed in the industry.In professional, scientific and technical services, employmentrose by 29,000 in January. Most of the increase was in Quebecand Ontario. In the 12 months to January, employment at thenational level in the industry increased by 5.0% or 72,000.

Employment in public administration increased by 21,000, ledby gains in Ontario and Quebec. Year over year, employment inthe industry was up 2.9% or 27,000.Among the services-producing industries, only accommodationand food services saw a notable employment decline (-15,000).Compared with January 2018, employment in accommodationand food services was little changed.Employment in the goods-producing industries decreased by32,000 compared with December, most notably in agriculture (-8,900). On a year-over-year basis, employment in the goods-producing industries was vir tually unchanged.Employment gains entirely driven by private sector employeesIn January, the number of employees increased by 112,000 inthe private sector, while it was little changed in the publicsector for the third consecutive month. At the same time, thenumber of self-employed declined by 61,000. On a trend-cyclebasis, self-employment has levelled off in recent months.On a year-over-year basis, the number of private sectoremployees rose by 293,000 (+2.5%), while the number ofpublic sector employees grew by 62,000 (+1.7%). Over thesame period, there was little change in the number of self-employed workers.Employment growth led by younger workersThe number of employed youth aged 15 to 24 was up 53,000 inJanuary, split evenly between men (+27,000) and women(+26,000). The unemployment rate was little changed for bothyounger women (9.6%) and younger men (12.6%). In the 12months to January, youth employment was unchanged.In January, employment among people aged 55 years and olderwas little changed, as an increase among men (+28,000) waspar tially offset by a decline among women (-18,000). Theunemployment rate was little changed for both older women(4.7%) and older men (5.5%). On a year-over-year basis,employment for this age group increased by 2.3% or 90,000,mostly the result of gains for men (+88,000).Canada-United States comparisonAdjusted to US concepts, the unemployment rate in Canada was4.8% in January, compared with 4.0% in the United States.Compared with 12 months earlier, the unemployment rate waslittle changed in both Canada and the United States.The labour force par ticipation rate in Canada (adjusted to USconcepts) was 65.6% in January, compared with 63.2% in theUnited States. On a year-over-year basis, the par ticipation rateincreased by 0.2 percentage points in Canada, while it was up0.5 percentage points in the United States.The US-adjusted employment rate in Canada was 62.5% inJanuary, compared with 60.7% in the United States. On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate rose by 0.5 percentagepoints in the United States and 0.3 percentage points in Canada.

HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE MEANT MOREFULL-TIME JOBS: ONTARIO NDP JOBS CRITICQUEEN'S PARK - Catherine Fife, Ontario NDP Employment and Jobscritic, released the following statement in response to labourmarket commentary from the Financial Accountability Office ofOntario (FAO): "The FAO's labour market commentary shows that increasingOntario's minimum wage to $14 an hour meant higher wages andmore full-time jobs. Women in par ticular benefited from last year'swage increase as women's wage gains outpaced men's wagegains, chipping two cents off the gender pay gap.Instead of building on these hard-fought gains, Doug Ford is makinglife harder for the people who work for a living. He's cancelled aplan to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour and is taking

Ontario backwards by undoing gains in full-time positions. MonthlyLabour Force Surveys have shown that under the Ford government,new job creation has skewed to part-time positions. Too manyOntarians are already forced to worry about making ends meet andgo without benefits or job security. We need more full-time jobs.The people who work for a living in the province deserve better thanto see their hard-fought gains slip away. The Liberal choice to delayminimum wage increases for years, then use the $15 wage as anelection bargaining chip, let Ontarians down. Doug Ford is makingthings worse for working folks. That's why Andrea Horwath and theOntario NDP will continue fighting for a $15 minimum wage andcalling for targeted investments that create good, full-time jobs."


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019c a n a d a

Prime Minister Trudeau announces investmentsfor safer, more affordable housing in Vancouver

Every Canadian deserves to have a safe and affordable place tocall home. That is why the Government of Canada launchedCanada's very first National Housing Strategy - a once-in-a-generation $40 billion investment to fight homelessness andimprove access to affordable housing from coast to coast tocoast.The Prime Minister, Justin Tr udeau, today highlighted aninvestment of $40 million through the National Housing Strategyfor a project to develop new, affordable housing in Vancouver.The new project, which will be completed this year, will include115 rental housing units located close to public transit, schools,and local services.The Prime Minister also announced funding for three newprojects to build new affordable homes, provide housing forpeople in transition, and expand shelter capacity in Vancouver.Through the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, theGovernment of Canada is helping Vancity credit union to providefinancing for new affordable rental housing developments,which will create as many as 2,500 new homes for middleclass families in Vancouver and across the province.The Fund will also help the city's most vulnerable find a placeto call home, by providing funding to the Vancouver AffordableHousing Agency for a temporary modular housing initiative.This will help lower-income residents and those experiencinghomelessness to transition into longer-term housing. Oncecompleted, this initiative is expected to provide over 600 pre-constructed units, which can be easily relocated andreassembled across Vancouver as needed.The Government of Canada is also suppor ting theredevelopment of the Union Gospel Mission's Women andFamilies Centre in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside community.The Centre will expand to over 60 units, providing a safe shelterfor women who are recovering from addiction.By making smar t investments in housing initiatives that putpeople first, the Government of Canada is making a realdifference in the lives of Canadians from coast to coast tocoast.Quote"Having a roof over our heads is something many of us take forgranted, but for others, it's not only top of mind, it's everything.

By investing in affordable rental housing, temporary shelters forpeople who are living on the streets, and suppor t centres forwomen battling addiction, we're not just investing in ourcommunities - we're investing in people. Because everyCanadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home."-The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of CanadaQuick Facts" In 2017, the Government of Canada announced a 10-year, $40 billion National Housing Strategy that will help reducehomelessness and improve the availability and quality ofhousing for Canadians in need. The strategy sets clear goals toremove 530,000 Canadians from housing need and reducechronic homelessness." Through the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, theGovernment of Canada is contributing $6 million to Vancity'sPre-construction Equity Loan Fund to suppor t the developmentof new affordable housing. The Fund provides low interestfunding for affordable housing projects, offering a lower ratethan other financial institutions." The Government of Canada is providing $1.5 millionthrough the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund to theVancouver Affordable Housing Agency, for an initiative thatassembles temporary housing in underused sites in the city,using factory-built housing units that can be relocated andreassembled as needed." The Affordable Housing Innovation Fund is providing$200 million over five years for projects that showcase newfunding models and innovative building techniques, loweringthe cost and risks of financing affordable housing projects." Through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, theGovernment of Canada has a financial commitment of over$11.3 million to redevelop a new Women and Families Centre inthe Downtown Eastside of Vancouver that provides temporaryhousing to women recovering from addiction. The new centrewill expand to over 60 units, and will be more affordable,accessible, and energy efficient." The National Housing Co-Investment Fund provideslow-cost loans and financial contributions to suppor t anddevelop affordable housing that is energy efficient andaccessible.

Prime Minister highlights project toimprove public transit in MapleIn 2016, the Government of Canada launched the biggest in-frastructure plan in Canadian history. Since then, we haveinvested in and approved thousands of infrastructure projects,including 650 public transit projects in Ontario alone.As Canadian cities continue to grow, we need to make suretheir public transit systems keep pace with current and futuretransportation needs. The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to-day visited Maple, Ontario, where he highlighted an invest-ment of over $1.8 billion from the Government of Canada toexpand GO rail public transportation infrastructure, includingbetween Barrie and Union Station in Toronto.These improvements will be funded as par t of the ongoing GOExpansion project - the single largest transit project the fed-eral government has ever funded.With construction soon to be under way, the project will con-tinue to create good, middle class jobs. Once completed, itwill cut traffic, reduce air pollution, grow transit ridership, andmake it easier and safer for people to get around the GreaterGolden Horseshoe area of Ontario.Quote"Smar t investments in public transit help connect communi-ties, create good, middle class jobs, and protect our environ-ment. They also make a real difference in people's lives, helpingthem get to work on time in the mornings, and be home withtheir families in the evenings. We will continue to work withand listen to communities, and invest in the infrastructurethey need - today and into the future."-The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of CanadaQuick Facts" The Barrie Corridor project, which runs throughMaple, includes the construction of approximately 51.2 km ofnew track between Union Station and Barrie, train layoverfacilities, and station upgrades." The Government of Canada is contributing more than$1.8 billion to the Metrolinx GO Expansion project through theNew Building Canada Fund's Provincial-Ter ritorial Infrastruc-ture Component - National and Regional Projects." The New Building Canada Fund's Provincial-Territorial Infra-structure Component provides funding to support infrastructure projectsof national and regional significance that contribute to economic growth,a clean environment, and stronger communities.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 i n d i a

STOPPED AT LUCKNOW AIRPORT BY COPSAKHILESH YADAV PANS UP’S ‘ROKO, THOKO NEETI’

‘The Samajwadi Party leader alsoposted a series of photographs fromthe Lucknow airport showing anofficial standing at the stairs of theaircraft apparently blocking his path.Akhilesh Yadav was seen in anotherphoto surrounded by a sea of people,including policemen.

Alleging that he was stopped from boarding a plane from Lucknow toAllahabad, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at the YogiAdityanath government on Tuesday. He said this government believes in“roko, thoko neeti” (policy of stop and encounter).Yadav claimed that he was prevented from par ticipating in a function atthe Allahabad University, where he was scheduled to attend an event ofthe students’ union. In December last year, Samajwadi Par ty backedcandidate Uday Yadav had won the union poll.“I was prevented from boarding the airplane without any written orders.Currently detained at Lucknow airpor t,” the former chief minister tweeted.“It is clear how frightened the govt is by the oath ceremony of a studentleader. The BJP knows that the youth of our great country will not toleratethis injustice anymore!” Akhilesh posted.Yadav said that he had informed the Yogi government in December abouthis visit to Allahabad University. “We sent the first programme on De-cember 27…A detailed programme was sent on February 2 so that sothat the administration could make necessary arrangements in the viewof the Kumbh,” Yadav said at a press conference in Lucknow.“But this government believes in ‘roko, thoko neeti’. It stopped me fromboarding the plane. This government is scared of students,” he saidadding, “I was also invited by a seer at Kumbh over lunch but this govern-ment led by a yogi has problem with that also.”The Samajwadi Par ty leader also posted a series of photographs fromthe Lucknow airpor t showing an official standing at the stairs of theaircraft apparently blocking his path. Akhilesh Yadav was seen in anotherphoto surrounded by a sea of people, including policemen.Officials from the police and administration were already present whenAkhilesh reached the airport to board the plane for Prayagraj. Themoment Akhilesh stepped out the car, the officials made a ringaround him.“Do not touch me. Keep your hands off me,” he said.Akhilesh said the officials did not have any written orders andfailed to explain the reason behind their action.I was stopped at the airpor t without any written order. The officialscould not clear the issue despite being asked. The only motivebehind stopping me from going to the students union programmewas to suppress the socialist thoughts amongst the youth,” Akhileshtweeted in Hindi.Yogi Adityanath said that Akhilesh’s visit would have sparked a row inPrayagraj. “Samajwadi Par ty should do away with its negative activi-ties. At Prayagraj, Kumbh Mela is going on and Akhilesh’s visit couldhave created chaos there. Therefore, his visit was cancelled. The partyis known for creating the ruckus,” he told newspersons in Lucknow.Yogi Adityanath and the Bharatiya Janta Par ty slammed Akhilesh’s alle-gation that his government had stopped him from attending a swearing-in

ceremony of the students union at Allahabad University. A leader of theSamajwadi Par ty Chatra Sabha, the student’s wing of the SamajwadiPar ty, holds the post of president of the university’s students’ union.“Barely 10 days back Akhilesh Yadav had visited Kumbh and taken bathat Sangam. He has been detained to ensure that the situation remainspeaceful as Kumbh is on in Prayagraj,” Adityanath said in Lucknow soonAkhilesh accused his government of vendetta.“The Samajwadi Par ty should stop indulging in negative activities,”Adityanath said.BJP leader Chandramohan said the par ty cadre had checked and ex-posed what he called “Yadav’s lie.” He said, “It is clear that the SamajwadiPar ty is frustrated. The BJP is going to resist such tactics.”The Samajwadi Par ty also released the videos of Akhilesh Yadav’s de-tention at the airpor t. TheSamajwadi Par ty workers, whowere waiting for him at thePrayagraj airport, created a ruckus.Samajwadi Par ty l eg is l a to rsalso tried to raise the issue inthe U t ta r P radesh assemblyduring Question Hour.Anticipating law and order prob-lem at the Allahabad Universitydue to animosity between rival stu-dent groups, the university admin-istration has not permitted any po-litical programme to be held oncampus and intimated them ac-cordingly.Accordingly, the administration inPrayagraj has informed the chiefminister’s office and Lucknow’sdistrict magistrate, said principalsecretary (home) Arvind Kumar.

HIGH ALERT IN DELHI AFTERMANIPUR MP’S CAR RAMS

BARRICADE AT PARLIAMENTA high alert was sounded in the national capital af ter the carof a Member of Parliament rammed a barricade at the Par-liament premises on Tuesday morning.The car belongs to Congress Lok Sabha MP from ManipurDr Thokchom Meinya. The incident took place when thecar got stuck on the security spikes and set off the secu-rity siren. The security personnel immediately took po-sitions to thwar t any hostile challenge as has been thestandard operating procedure since the 2001 Parliamentattack. Though no one was injured in the incident, the carsuffered some damage. The MP was not in the car whenthe incident took place. Parliament security personnelare investigating the cause of the incident, news agencyANI repor ted.In December 2018, a similar incident had led to a secu-rity aler t af ter a taxi had rammed the barricading pole atan entry point. The security siren was set off when theToyota Innova coll ided with a pil lar at the Parl iamententry gate.Security at Parliament House was upgraded soon after the2001 suicide attack. The attack had left nine people dead.

‘WHERE DID RAHUL GANDHI GETAIRBUS’ INTERNAL EMAIL’, ASKS

RAVI SHANKAR PRASADCongress president Rahul Gandhi addressed a special con-ference on Rafale deal on F riday.“Everyday there are new revelations about RAFALE that makeit clear that the PM helped his friend Anil Ambani, steal30,000 Cr of your money,” tweeted the Congress chief.On Monday, taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi,Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said he used to boast abouthis “56-inch chest”, but the “hollowness” of his claims isnow coming out in the open. The Central government onMonday rejected allegation of “conflict of interest” levied bythe Congress par ty against CAG Rajiv Mehrishi over theaudit agency’s proposed report on the Rafale deal, sayinghe never dealt with expenditure proposals from the Ministryof Defence as Finance Secretary. The development comes aday after the Congress par ty accused Mehrishi of commit-ting “gross impropriety” by auditing the Rafale deal, sayingas the Finance Secretary he was involved in the deal an-nounced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2015.“He (Rahul Gandhi) has thrown muck at his own face byabusing our honest prime minister... We will expose his liesbefore the public,” senior BJP leader and Union ministerRavi Shankar Prasad said.

JANUARY CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS: INDIARAISES THE MATTER WITH PAKISTAN

India has strongly raised the matter of ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the month of January.There were 216 ceasefires violation by Pakistan in the month of January 2019 in which two BSFpersonnel were injured and one mar tyred.2018, on the other hand, saw 2140 ceasefire violation by Pakistan in which 14 BSF personnel weremar tyred and 53 injured.Speaking in the Parliament on Tuesday, minister of state in the home Ministry Hansraj Ahir said,"Diplomatically, India has repeatedly emphasised, including at the highest level, the need forPakistan to uphold the sanctity of the Line of Control (LC) and abide by the ceasefire commitmentsalong the International Border and LC."India has been taking the issue of cease-fire violation with Pakistan authorities at the appropriatelevels. The matter is also raised through Directorate Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs)talks via hotline which happen almost every Tuesday. In May 2018, Indian and Pakistani DGMOsspoke to each other and agreed to fully implement the Ceasefire Understanding of 2003 in letterand spirit and ensure that Ceasefire is not violated by any sides.

KAROL BAGH FIRE: AT LEAST 17 DEAD, DELHIGOVT ANNOUNCES RS 5 LAKH EX GRATIA

The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial probe into a massive fire at a hotel in centralDelhi's Karol Bagh area on Tuesday in which at least 17 people were killed, its Home MinisterSatyendar Jain said.Jain, who visited the Arpit Palace Hotel where the fire broke out in the early hours of the morning,told repor ters that he has also directed the fire depar tment to inspect buildings which are fivefloors or more and submit a repor t on their fire safety compliance within a week."We have ordered for a magisterial inquiry into the case. Seventeen people have died, most ofthem of suffocation. Apparently, there were lapses (from the hotel administration's side) andaction will be taken against those found guilty," he said.Generally, four floors are allowed for such establishments, the minister said."We saw a canopy was put up on the terrace and tables and chairs were laid out. Inside in therooms, wooden panels were there on the walls," Jain said."So I have also directed the fire depar tment to inspect such multi-storeyed buildings which havefive floors or more and submit a repor t in a week's time," he said.


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019i n d i aY MEDIA PRESENTS

WHO WILL WIN ?INDIA DECIDES - ELECTIONS 2019

MAMATA BANERJEE HEADS FOR DELHIDHARNA AMID LINGERING QUESTIONS

‘THE CORRUPT HAVE APROBLEM WITH MODI’, SAYSPM MODI IN KURUKSHETRA

‘It was a difficult process that MamataBanerjee launched on the evening ofFebruary 3, a couple of hours after a CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI) team wentto the official residence of Kolkata Policecommissioner Rajeev Kumar.

CONTD. FROM PAGE 1 As police personnel were locked in a widely televised jostle with aCBI team trying to enter the red brick building at 2 Loudon Street,tongues began to wag in Bengal that the Trinamool Congress chiefwill now have face the heat as the federal agency could now crackdown on those close to her in the Ponzi scam cases just before theLok Sabha elections. But hardly could her rivals predict that the 64-year-old would park herself on a chair on the pavement at a busyintersection in the business district of Kolkata close to 8:45pm andannounce a ‘satyagraha’ against the Narendra Modi government, al-leging the Centre is bent of destroying the Constitution, the federalstructure of the country, the police force and democracy itself.From the extremely awkward situation that the rivals began con-juring up for her in early evening, Mamata Banerjee began acounter-offensive by late evening that brought a few leaders ofopposition par ties to her platform over the next two days, cata-pulted her to the headlines and prompted more than a dozen ofother leaders to issue statements suppor t ing her stand andcriticising the Union government.It seemed that Mamata Banerjee picked up from where she leftduring the rally on January 19 when almost two dozen leaders ofpar ties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Par ty gathered at herunity show in Kolkata’s Brigade Parade ground pledging to keeptheir differences aside and continue a united fight against theModi government.While the possibility of a CBI crackdown on those who benefittedfrom Saradha and other scams still looms, Mamata Banerjee hassucceeded, at least initially, to par tially diver t attention towardssomething that might benefit her politically and salvage her froma gloomy situation. It is with this objective of taking the attackright into the rival camp that the Bengal chief minister will bevisiting Delhi to par ticipate in another dharna.Her critics admit it’s a high-risk game and unlike any other thatshe has under taken in her long political career. The dharna inKolkata has committed her to a position where she will be heldguilty of trying to shield police officers if they are found guilty ofwrongdoing, something that opponents pointed out she did notcar ry out even when senior T rinamool leaders such as SudipBandyopadhyay were ar rested in connection with the Rose Valleyscam.The dharna has done two things for the Trinamool Congress chief.While it has made her one of the most prominent anti-BJP faces inthe country, it has also brought her into a sharp attack by seniorBJP leaders. Since Mamata Banerjee’s Kolkata gambit, both PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and his par ty president Amit Shah havemade it a point to highlight her in election rallies across the coun-try as “the first chief minister in the country to stage a dharna insuppor t of persons accused in the Ponzi scams.”Most political observers feel the special mention of Didi helpsimprove her position as a leader of the emerging anti-BJP front, italso indicates that she is moving far ther and far ther beyond thepoint of no return. There are a few other apprehensions too. Manyfeel that over the years Mamata Banerjee has failed to build atrusted circle of her own in the nation’s capital that is crucial tobe recognised as a leader leading a platform of opposition par-ties. “Building this acceptability is crucial for a bigger politicalrole in Delhi,” said a senior bureaucrat, who has watched her

long as both as an opposition leader and as an administrator.Political observers also point out that the Bengal chief ministeralso has to fix her relationship with India’s oldest political par ty.The Congress is still the country’s only opposition par ty that hasa countrywide footprint and after the victory in the assembly pollsin Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh it is more upbeatthan it has ever been in the recent years. Mamata Banerjee’srelation with the Congress, and especially its president RahulGandhi, has been cold at best.She did not even congratulate him after the assembly electionresults and though Sonia Gandhi and her son warmed up to herbefore the January 19 rally in Kolkata by sending personal lettersand senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Abhishek Manu Singhvito the programme, Mamata Banerjee’s par ty continues to aggres-sively wean away Congress leaders away to her outfit. Since shecame in power in May 2011, as many as 29 MLAs and one MPfrom Congress have joined the Trinamool Congress that has ledstate Congress leaders to allege that she is bent on obliteratingthe par ty from West Bengal.Over the past one year, Mamata Banerjee has been purveying thetheory that if in each state the par ty that is the strongest takes onthe BJP (and the rest of the opposition rally behind it), the rulingpar ty at the Centre will be roundly defeated in the Lok Sabhaelections. But many have questioned the theory, wondering whetherthe rather simplistic theory would work on the ground in the ab-sence of a cementing force either in the form of a wave or anindividual.None ar ticulated this need more emphatically than former primeminister HD Deve Gowda, who during his brief speech in Kolkataon January 19, said that the senior leaders of the opposition havea lot of hard work to do beyond Modi bashing. He reminded themthat a small group of senior leaders have to work out how theycan go ahead and give good governance to the country that seemedto be a clear hint at a common minimum programme.Deve Gowda, the Janata Dal(Secular) supremo, also said that theleaders have to work out the contentious issue of seat sharing.As the atmosphere of the bitterness and tension continues and theopposition leaders join the dharna in the national capital on Wednesday andThursday, these questions would perhaps be tormenting the Trinamool Congresschief, who has risen from a lower-middle class family without any godfather tooust the world’s longest-running elected Communist government. But if the lead-ers continue to pursue their individual goals of maximising their own seats inorder to increase their post-poll bargaining power, it might help theirindividual objectives but not the purpose with which they have cometogether in the first place – something similar to what many filmswith power ful individual per formances held together by a loose screen-play suffer from.

CONTD. FROM PAGE 1The state government and district administration have, how-ever, claimed that the day-long visit is a non-political eventas Modi will take par t in Swachh Shakti 2019 but it assumespolitical significance as it comes a few months before theLok Sabha polls.His trip to the state also comes on the heels of the BharatiyaJanata Par ty’s victory in Jind bypoll and a good show in themayoral elections earlier.

PM Modi acted like a spy, saysRahul Gandhi in new Rafaleattack, triggers sharp rebuttal

CONTD. FROM PAGE 1Gandhi demanded probe in the Rafale deal challengingPM Modi to “an investigation if you have not doneanything wrong.” “His chief negotiator was sitting inthe French denfence minister’s office and telling themthat draft of the contract was being prepared,” saidGandhi citing an email to up his ante against PM?Modi.Earlier, a media repor t claimed that industrialist AnilAmbani held a meeting with French defence ministryofficials a for tnight ahead of the announcement of newRafale deal during PM Modi’s visit to France in 2015.Stepping up the attack on the prime minister, Gandhisaid, “This is now treason. Mr Narendra Modi is doingwhat spies do. He is informing somebody of a defencematter. He is under oath to protect these secrets.”He alleged that it is now in “black and white” that theprime minister shared defence secrets with a “privateperson” in order to benefit him.Responding to the charge by Gandhi, Union LawMinister Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Congresspresident of “working as a lobbyist” for a competitivedefence supplier. “Rahul Gandhi is working as alobbyist for competitive aircraft supplier companies,”news agency ANI quoted Prasad as saying, The Unionminister fur ther said, “Rahul Gandhi has quoted anemail from airbus. It is about the helicopter notRafale… From where did he get the email of Airbus?Airbus itself is under clouds for deals during UPAregime.”Gandhi said, “Prime Minister compromised nationalsecurity. He has given defence secrets to a private person. Thesecond irregularity was procedural lapses, where hebypassed the defence ministry. And, the third issue is ofcorruption.”

AFTER BSP ENDS ALLIANCE,INLD SAYS OPEN TO TIE-UPWITH LIKE-MINDED PARTIESTwo days after the BSP ended its alliance with the IndianNational Lok Dal (INLD) in the wake of its humiliatingdefeat in the Jind bypoll, party supremo Om PrakashChautala on Monday said they are ready to go in for a tie-up with any “like-minded par ty as nobody is our enemy.”Chautala, out on furlough from Tihar jail where he isserving a ten-year sentence in the JBT recruitment scam,addressed a public meeting here.Interacting with the media persons after the meeting, hesaid, “The world lives on hope. We don’t have any malicetowards anyone. If like-minded people are willing to takeus along for the bright future of the country, we would nothave any objection.”“This could be any political par ty”, he replied when askedabout the possibility of forging alliance with the ruling BJP,which had been its ally in the past too.Chautala, however, did not comment on BSP supremoMayawati’s move to join hands with Loktantra SurakshaPar ty after par ting ways with INLD. “Several alliances arebeing formed ahead of elections,” he quipped.Asked if he could imagine such a humiliating defeat ofINLD candidate Umed Redhu, who lost his deposit, in Jindbypoll, Chautala said, “I was not expecting such a result.But don’t want to discuss the reasons behind it.”



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 i n d i a

AT VAJPAYEE PORTRAITUNVEILING, CONGRESS INVOKES

EX-PM TO TARGET PM MODI

Chandrababu Naidu takes out protest marchover Andhra special status, meets PresidentAndhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu took out a pro-test march in Delhi demanding special status for his state. All theMPs, MLAs and MLCs of his Telugu Desam Par ty (TDP) will take par tin the march that began from the Andhra Pradesh Bhavan and endedat Jantar Mantar.Naidu has alleged that the Narendra Modi government has gone backon its promise and also from the commitment made by the previousregime during the passage of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act,2014. The law provided for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and creationof Telangana as a separate state.Following the protest march, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister andTDP legislators met President Ram Nath Kovind at the RashtrapatiBhavan and submitted a memorandum seeking special status forAndhra Pradesh. Naidu. The memorandum to President Kovind talksabout the status of implementation of assurances made in the parlia-ment during the passing of the state reorganisation legislation.Naidu had staged a dharna on Monday at the Andhra Pradesh Bhavanto press for his long-standing demand. His day-long hunger-strike aday ago turned out to be a rallying point for the opposition par ties inDelhi as leaders from nearly two dozen political par ties, includingCongress president Rahul Gandhi, visited him to express solidarity.Among those who suppor ted Naidu’s demand for special status forAndhra Pradesh was BJP’s ally Shiv Sena, whose Sanjay Raut saidhe was “told” by the par ty chief Uddhav Thackeray to visit the AndhraPradesh chief minister at his dharna site. The development comesamid attempts by the BJP to reach out to the Shiv Sena, which isapparently not happy with the rul ing par ty at the Centre andMaharashtra. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, disgruntled BJPleader Shatrughan Sinha, former prime ministers Manmohan Singh

and HD Deve Gowda, NCP presi-dent Sharad Pawar, TMC leaderDerek O’Brien and former FinanceMinister Yashwant Sinha also vis-ited Naidu, who has been cam-paigning against the BJP-led gov-ernment for past several months.Naidu’s TDP was par t of the rul-ing NDA t i l l mid-March 2018,when he pulled out of the allianceci t ing “neglect” of AndhraPradesh by the Narendra Modigovernment. Naidu had held PrimeMinister Narendra Modi “respon-sible” for the political fallout say-ing that he flew to the nationalcapital “29 times” but nothingcould be gained for the state.Naidu and West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee have been trying toform an opposition unity ahead of theLok Sabha elections, likely to beheld in April-May this year. Banerjeeis scheduled to hold a two-daydharna in Delhi beginning Wednes-day and Thursday. Both Banerjeeand Naidu have alleged that theModi government has launched an“attack on federalism”

‘I WAS MOCKED FOR TALKING ABOUT TOILETS FROM

RED FORT RAMPARTS’: PM MODI

‘Referring to the mahagathbandhan(grand alliance) as the ‘mahamilavat’PM Modi alleged that those in thealliance were threatening the courts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi came down hard on his detractors on Tues-day and said that those who were corrupt were the ones who had problemswith him. The prime minister was speaking at the inauguration of variousdevelopment projects in Kurukshetra in Haryana.“Middlemen and those who loot rights of the poor have been eradicated fromthe system. Today all honest people have faith in chowkidaar,” he said,referring to himself as the watchman.“Lekin jo bhrasht hain, unko Modi se kasht hai (The corrupt have a problemwith Modi),” he said.Referring to the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) as the ‘mahamilavat’ PMModi alleged that those in the alliance were threatening the courts.“The faces of ‘mahamilavat’ are in a competition among themselves tothreaten cour t, CBI, and abuse Modi,” he said.He also launched an indirect attack at the Congress party.“Some people thought that the country’s history began from 1947 and fromone family only. They tried to cut themselves off from the country’s roots and

rewrite history,” Modi said.Speaking about his campaign to build toilets across the country, he said thatthere had been people who had mocked him for speaking about it from theRed For t.“You must have seen how those who were earlier in power mocked me,called me names, asked what kind of a PM I am for having spoken abouttoilets from the rampar ts of the Red For t. But it was these same poeple whodid not understand the pain of the women of the country. I felt their pain andunderstood it and decided to do something about it,” he said.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Leader of Opposi-tion in the Rajya Sabha, invoked late BJP stalwart Atal BihariVajpayee to take a dig at P rime Minister Narendra Modi at afunction in Parliament, where President Ram Nath Kovindunveiled a por trait of the former prime minister on Tuesday.The por trait was unveiled at the Central Hall of Parliament.Praising Vajpayee, Azad said there was “no anger” in hishear t towards the opposition for the criticism of the formerprime minister ’s policy. “Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji will be re-membered because there was criticism in his words foropposition but in his hear t, there was no anger against oppo-sition,” Azad was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.Azad’s comment comes amid Congress president RahulGandhi’s repeated charge against the BJP-led governmentand the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that he wouldcriticise the Narendra Modi regime in the severest mannerbut “harbours no anger towards them”.Gandhi had made a speech to this effect in the Lok Sabhalast year, when he famously walked up to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and hugged him. Gandhi said the Congressstands for “love” unlike the BJP and the RSS.PM Modi, too, praised Vajpayee for keeping “public inter-est” as his top priority in politics. He said, “Atal Ji had a longpolitical career, a large par t of that career was spent in op-position. Yet, he continued raising issues of public interestand never ever deviated from his ideology.”Vajpayee was the prime minister thrice between 1996 and2004. Born on December 25, 1924, in Gwalior in MadhyaPradesh, Vajpayee passed away last year on August 16 fol-lowing a prolonged illness.At a meeting of Parliament’s Por trait Committee chaired byLok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on December 18 lastyear, the decision to install Vajpayee’s por trait was taken.The leaders whose por traits are already in the Central Hallinclude former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, IndiraGandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.

BJP slams Chhattisgarh govt for renaming five schemesThe newly-formed Congress government in Chhattisgarh has rechristened five schemes namedafter late Jan Sangh leader Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya by the previous BJP-led dispensation.These schemes of the urban administration and development depar tment have now beennamed after former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and architect of theIndian Constitution Dr. B R Ambedkar.The opposition BJP, however, expressed unhappiness, saying the step indicated "politicalvindict iveness".The order to rename the schemes was issued on Monday night, a senior government officialhere told PTI.As per the order, Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya Swavlamban Yojna has been renamed as RajivGandhi Swavlamban Yojna while Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya Sarvasamaj Manglik BhavanYojna will now be known as Dr. B R Ambedkar Sarvasamaj Manglik Bhavan Yojna, theofficial said.Similarly, Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya LED Path Prakash Yojna has been rechristened as IndiraPriyadarshini LED Path Prakash Yojna, Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya Ajivika Kendra (livelihoodcenter) Yojna is now Rajiv Gandhi Ajivika Kendra Yojna while Pt Deendayal UpadhyayaShuddh Peyjal (clean drinking water) Yojna has been named as Indira Priyadarshini ShudhhPeyjal Yojna, he added.The former chief minister and senior BJP leader Raman Singh said they would protest against thegovernment's move during the ongoing session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly."The state government deliberately rechristened schemes named after Pt Deendayal Upadhyayajion his death anniversary, which was observed on Monday (February 11). This reflects Congress'mentality," Singh said in a statement.He sought to know what the incumbent government had done to make these schemes better."Without making any new provisions, they have just renamed the schemes which clearly indi-cates that it's a new episode of 'Badlapur' (vindictive politics)," he alleged.


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019w o r l d

‘VERY CLOSE TO SECURING IMFBAILOUT’: PAKISTAN FINANCE

MINISTER ASAD UMAR

In El Paso, Donald Trump and Beto O’Rourkego head-to-head over US-Mexico border wall

2 US WARSHIPS SAIL CLOSE TO DISPUTED ISLANDCHAIN IN SOUTH CHINA SEA; IRKS BEIJING

Standing in a packed stadium under agiant American flag and banners saying“FINISH THE WALL,” Trump insistedthat large portions of the project arealready under construction and vowed tofulfil his 2016 campaign promiseregardless of what happens in Congress.‘President Donald Trump charged ahead Monday with his pledge to

build a wall at the US-Mexico border, skimming over the details oflawmakers’ tentative deal that would give him far less than he’s beendemanding and declaring he’s “setting the stage” to deliver on hissignature campaign promise.In the first dueling rallies of the 2020 campaign season, Tr ump’s“Finish the Wall” ral ly in El Paso went head-to-head againstcounterprogramming by former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a former Demo-cratic congressman and potential Tr ump rival in 2020, who arguedthat walls cause more problems than they solve.The rallies across the street from each other served as a preview ofthe heated yearslong fight over the direction of the country that hasnow begun in earnest. And they made clear that Trump’s long-prom-ised border wall is sure to play an outsized role in the presidentialrace, as both sides use it to try to rally their supporters and highlighttheir contrasting approaches.Standing in a packed stadium under a giant American flag and ban-ners saying “FINISH THE WALL,” Trump insisted that large portionsof the project are already under construction and vowed to fulfil his2016 campaign promise regardless of what happens in Congress.“Walls work,” said Tr ump, whose rally was repeatedly interr upted byprotesters. “Walls save lives.”O’Rourke, meanwhile, held a countermarch with dozens of local civic,human rights and Hispanic groups in his hometown, followed by aprotest rally attended by thousands on a baseball field within shoutingdistance from the arena where Tr ump spoke.“With the eyes of the country upon us, all of us together are going tomake our stand here in one of the safest cities in America,” O’Rourkesaid. “Safe not because of walls but in spite of walls.”More than a half-hour in his rally, Tr ump had scarcely mentionedimmigration, offering just a passing suggestion that those chanting“Build the Wall” switch to “Finish the Wall.” Instead, he mockedO’Rourke, insisting the Texan has “very little going for himself excepthe’s got a great first name” and deriding his crowd size, even thoughboth men drew thousands.“That may be the end of his presidential bid,” Tr ump quipped, adding:“You’re supposed to win in order to run.”The rallies began moments after negotiators on Capitol Hill announcedthat lawmakers had reached an agreement in principle to fund thegovernment ahead of a midnight Friday deadline to avoid anothershutdown.Republicans tentatively agreed to far less money for Trump’s borderwall than the White House’s $5.7 billion wish list, settling for a figure

of nearly $1.4 billion, according to congressional aides. The fundingmeasure is through the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.Three people familiar with Congress’ tentative border security dealhave told The Associated Press that the accord would provide $1.375billion to build 55 miles (90 kilometers) of new border barriers —well below the $5.7 billion that Trump demanded to build over 200miles (320 kilometers) of wall along the Mexican boundary. The moneywill be for ver tical steel slats called bollards, not a solid wall.The talks had cratered over the weekend because of Democratic de-mands to limit immigrant detentions by federal authorities, but law-makers apparently broke through that impasse Monday evening. Nowthey will need the suppor t of Trump, who must sign the legislation.But Tr ump appeared oblivious to the deal, saying that he’d been in-formed by aides that negotiators had made some progress but that hehad declined to be fully briefed because he wanted to go on stage.“I had a choice. I could’ve stayed out there and listened, or I couldhave come out to the people of El Paso, and Texas, I chose you,”Trump said. “So we probably have some good news. But who knows?”Trump, who has been threatening to declare a national emergency tobypass Congress, added, “Just so you know, we’re building the wallanyway.”Trump has insisted that large por tions of the wall are already under-way. But the work focuses almost entirely on replacing existing bar-riers. Work on the first extension — 14 miles (23 kilometers) in Texas’Rio Grande Valley — star ts this month. The other 83 miles (134kilometers) that his administration has awarded contracts for arereplacement projects.Tr ump has repeatedly pointed to El Paso to make his case that aborder wall is necessary, claiming that bar riers turned the city fromone of the nation’s most dangerous to one of its safest.“You know where it made a difference is right here in El Paso,” hesaid Monday, adding: “They’re full of crap when they claim it hasn’tmade a big difference.”

The US sailed two guided-missile destroyers close to the disputedislands in the South China Sea on Monday to challenge China’s ex-cessive maritime claim, drawing the ire of Beijing which accusedWashington of trying to “stir up trouble”.The USS Spruance and USS Preble sailed within 12 nautical miles ofthe Spratly Islands as part of what the US Navy calls a “freedom ofnavigation operation,” CNN repor ted.The move angered Beijing at a time when the US and China ton arelocked in a trade war and are negotiating a deal ahead of a March 1deadline when US tariffs on $ 200 billion wor th of Chinese impor ts areexpected to increase to 25 per cent from 10 per cent.Reacting to the US’ move, China accused Washington of trespassingin its territorial waters.The US is “determined to stir up trouble in the South China Sea, createtension and undermine peace”, Chinese foreign ministry spokes-woman Hua Chunying told a press briefing.She urged the US to cease the “provocative actions”.The Spratly Islands are a disputed group of islands, islets and caysand more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls,in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of thePhilippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam.China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, though Taiwan, thePhilippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it.Monday’s operation was carried out “to challenge excessive mari-time claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed byinternational law,” Commander Clay Doss, a spokesman for the USNavy’s 7th Fleet, said.“All operations are designed in accordance with international law anddemonstrate that the United States will fly, sail and operate whereverinternational law allows,” Doss said, adding “that is true in the SouthChina Sea as in other places around the globe.” The operation was thesecond in the South China Sea repor ted by the US Navy this year. InJanuary, the destroyer USS McCampbell sailed within 12 nautical

miles of the Paracel Islands. Shor tly af ter that operation, China ac-cused the US of trespassing in its territorial waters -- and said it haddeployed missiles “capable of targeting medium and large ships.” Inlate September, the USS Decatur also sailed within 12 nautical milesof Gaven and Johnson reefs in the Spratly Islands as par t of a similarfreedom of navigation operation.During that operation, a Chinese destroyer came within 45 yards ofthe US warship, forcing it to maneuver to avoid a collision. The USlabelled the Chinese warship’s actions unsafe and unprofessional,while Beijing said the US was threatening the safety and sovereigntyof China. The two countries have traded barbs over what US said was Beijing’smilitary installation building on artificial islands and reefs.Over the last five years China has rapidly built artificial islands housing significantmilitary infrastructure on what had been low-lying reefs. The United States hascriticised China for militarising the islands by constructing long run-ways used by jet fighters and deploying anti-aircraft missiles.

Pakistan is likely to secure an International Monetary Fund(IMF) bailout soon to stave off a balance of payment crisisand help shore up its economy, Finance Minister Asad Umarsaid on Monday, as talks between Islamabad and the fundcontinue. A day earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan met IMFchief Christine Lagarde in Dubai to discuss a bailout, andthe country’s foreign currency reserves have dwindled toaround $8 billion, just enough to cover about two months ofimpor ts. That meeting ended with a pledge to continue talks,and while there had not been any indication of a break-through, Umar said an agreement was coming into view.“Our differences have narrowed,” he told business groupsin the nor thwestern city of Peshawar. “It seems we havecome very close to having an agreement with the IMF.”Talks with the IMF began soon af ter Khan’s government wasappointed last August but a package has been held up bydifferences over the pace and scale of reforms that Pakistanwould be required to under take. The IMF has pressed Paki-stan to improve tax revenue collection, bolster foreign cur-rency reserves and narrow a current account deficit expectedto top 5 percent of gross domestic product this year.Pakistani officials say they agree on the need for reformsbut do not want to sign up to conditions that would derail theeconomy, with growth set to slow this year to around 4 per-cent from 5.2 percent last year.Khan has long resisted foreign loans, once declaring he wouldrather commit suicide than seek an IMF loan. HoweverPakistan’s fast depleting foreign reserves and a wideningcurrent account deficit left him little choice than to seekinternational assistance.

‘I don’t want to hide’ says SalmanRushdie, 30 years after fatwa

After decades spent in the shadow of a death sentence pro-nounced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Salman Rushdieis quietly defiant. “I don’t want to live hidden away,” he toldAFP during a visit to Paris.The novelist’s life changed forever on February 14, 1989,when Iran’s spiritual leader ordered Rushdie’s executionaf ter branding his novel “The Satanic Verses” blasphemous.Like a kind of reverse Valentine, Tehran renewed the fatwayear af ter year. Rushdie, who some say is the greatest writerIndia has produced since Tagore, spent 13 years living un-der a false name and constant police protection. “I was 41back then, now I am 71. Things are fine now,” he said inSeptember. “We live in a world where the subject changesvery fast. And this is a very old subject. There are now manyother things to be frightened about -- and other people tokill,” he added ruefully. Rushdie stopped using an assumedname in the months after September 11 2001, three yearsaf ter Tehran had said the threat against him was “over”.

SAUDIS DON’T KNOW WHEREKHASHOGGI’S BODY IS: OFFICIALRiyadh does not know the location of dissident JamalKhashoggi’s body, despite having detained the Saudi teamthat murdered him, a high-ranking foreign affairs officialin the kingdom said in an interview broadcast Sunday.The dissident journalist was dismembered after his mur-der October 2 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul but hisremains have yet to be found. Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi min-ister of state for foreign affairs, said the murder wascarried out by Saudi officials “acting outside their scopeof authority” and that 11 people have been charged withthe crime.But asked where Khashoggi’s body is, he told CBS’s “Facethe Nation,” “We don’t know.” Jubeir said the public pros-ecutor responsible for the case had sought evidence fromTurkey but had received no response. Questioned why thosein custody couldn’t tell them where the body was, Jubeirresponded: “We are still investigating.”



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY




WHY KATRINA KAIF IS NOTGETTING MARRIED ?

KESARI POSTERS: AKSHAY KUMARSHARES NEW GLIMPSES FROM

BATTLE OF SARAGARHI FILM, SAYSMORE TO FOLLOW

AKSHAY KUMAR SHARED A NEW POSTER OFHIS UPCOMING FILM, KESARI, AND ALSO SAIDTHAT HE WILL BE SHARING MORE GLIMPSESFROM THE FILM BASED ON THE BAT TLE OFSARAGARDI FROM TUESDAY ONWARDS.

I DETAILS ON PAGE 18

PRIYANKA CHOPRA AND NICK JONASWERE HAND IN HAND AS THEY ATTENDED

THE PREMIERE OF HER THIRDHOLLYWOOD FILM, ISN’T IT ROMANTIC.


SHRADDHA KAPOOR RETURNS TOTHE FRANCHISE, JOINS TIGER

SHROFF IN BAAGHI 3


KATRINA KAIF, WHO IS CURRENTLYBUSY WITH THE SHOOT OF HERUPCOMING FILM BHARAT WITHSALMAN KHAN, TOOK TIME OUTFOR AN INTERVIEW WHERE SHE

SPOKE ABOUT MARRIAGE AMONGOTHER THINGS.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA, NICK JONASATTEND ISN’T IT ROMANTICPREMIERE, SHARE A KISS

COLIN DE GRANDHOMME MUSCLES ONE OVER DEEP MIDWICKET. NEW ZEALAND BEAT INDIA IN THE 3RD T20 AND WON THE SERIES BY 2-1.

2019 IS THE YEAR OFCRICKET WORLD CUP

TOTAL DHAMAAL SONG SPEAKER PHAT JAAYE FEATURES AJAY DEVGN, ESHA GUPTA, ANIL KAPOOR AND MADHURI DIXIT.

TOTAL DHAMAAL SONG SPEAKER PHAT JAAYE: ANIL KAPOOR,MADHURI DIXIT ARE MAGIC EVEN ON THESE JUVENILE LYRICS

Before Gully Boy, how Alia Bhatt has emerged as Bollywood’s most unpredictable actorIs there anything that Alia Bhatt can’t do? At the age of 25, Alia has afilmography that is envy of many of her colleagues. The actor is backin yet another never-seen-before avatar in Gully Boy – the girl fromthe wrong side of the tracks who promises to ‘dhoptungi’ a rival inlove. Ranveer Singh may be the eponymous Gully Boy but Alia holdsher own in the film. Once called a masterpiece by her filmmakerfather Mahesh Bhatt, Alia has emerged as a powerhouse per formerwho has earned her stripes within seven years of her debut. Out of the

10 films she has starred in, all have got love from viewers sans one,Shaandaar. However, more impor tantly, she has happily walked thefine line between enter tainers and roles that are hard to come by forwomen in the Indian film industry. Alia can safely be called the bestdefence of nepotism in Bollywood. After her debut in Student of theYear, she could have been yet another heroine on the periphery of herown films as the camera followed the hero’s trajectory but she provedher acting acumen with her second film, Imtiaz Ali’s Highway.

Bollywood star Shraddha Kapoor, who was last seen in Stree along-side Rajkummar Rao, has been officially signed up for the third in-stalment of hit franchise Baaghi. Shraddha, who featured in the firstpar t, returns to the franchise and joins Tiger Shroff, who has head-lined the previous two instalments.Tiger’s rumoured girlfriend Disha Patani was the female lead in Baaghi2. Disha and Sara Ali Khan were two names rumoured to be roped inas the female lead but Shraddha has now been finalised for the role.The film’s producers, Nadiadwala Grandsons, said in a statement,“The entire team of Baaghi is very happy to have Shraddha Kapoorback. Tiger and Shraddha’s pair was extremely loved in Baaghi and I am surethat fans of the franchise will be as excited as we are to have them together.”Director Ahmad Khan, who directed Baaghi 2, will direct Baaghi 3 as well. It willbe produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. Baaghi 2 was one of the biggesthits of 2018 and also marked Tiger’s career best at the box office,collecting Rs 250 crore worldwide. Starring Disha Patani and Tiger, itwas a remake of Telugu film Kshanam. Baaghi 2 worked wonders atthe box office, despite being panned by critics.

Amitabh Bachchan has to defend TaapseePannu again, this time it is murder

Amitabh Bachchan has his job cut out in Badla trailer. He has todefend Tapsee Pannu again, and this time she is accused of murderand looks guilty to boot. The actor managed to defend her success-fully in Pink -- can he do it again? Sujoy Ghosh has woven an intrigu-ing tale in Badla with Amitabh’s lawyer Badal Gupta as the audience’sstand-in. With his rather impressive record -- he hasn’t lost a case in40 years -- he is given a rather difficult one. Taapsee’s character isfound in a locked room with a dead body, a lot of money and her handscovered with blood -- both literally and figuratively.

HARBHAJAN SINGH PICKS HIS 15-MEMBER SQUAD FOR WORLD CUP;

INTERESTING ADDITIONS MADEAs the selectors and the Indian management try to identify their poolof 15 players for the World Cup, veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singhhas named the set of players he would want to fly over to England.The team has the regular set of players who took par t in the ODI series in Australiaand New Zealand along with Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. He has alsobacked Vijay Shankar to come good if given a chance during the World Cup.Shankar was impressive in the limited opportunities he got in Australia and NewZealand and it could well be a shootout between him and Hardik Pandya for the all-rounder’s role in the side. The offie also believes that conditions in England can bequite hot and humid which brings Jadeja into the game and hence, the manage-ment can look at him as another all-rounder. “If you remember, during the2017 Champions Trophy, the weather in the UK was hot and humid.So, if conditions are same, Jadeja could still be used as a package, ifthe opposition team has five to six right-handers in their line-up.

TO WATCH ALL THE LATEST GOSSIP IN ENTERTAINMENT,WATCH CHANNEL Y ROGERS 857, BELLFIBE 828, TELUS 2418

DHONI, PANDYA , PANT, RAHANE PART OFWORLD CUP PLANS - PAGE 23


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019b o l l y w o o d

AKSHAY KUMAR’S MONDAYMOTIVATION IS HIS ‘SUPER

GLAMOROUS CO STAR’KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN

WHY KATRINA KAIF IS NOT GETTING MARRIED ?

After sharing screen space in films including Ajnabee,Kambakkht Ishq, Tashan, and Aitraaz, Akshay Kumar andKareena Kapoor Khan are set to impress the audience onceagain with their blistering on-screen chemistry in Good News.Good News is a hilarious family drama where Akshay &Kareena and Diljit & Kiara play married couples trying for ababy. The film is being directed by Raj Mehta and is a DharmaProduction.Megastar Akshay Kumar took to his social media account toshare a photo with his co-star, and captioned it,, “My#MondayMotivation, Bebo… trying to keep up with my su-per glamourous co-star #KareenaKapoorKhan #Goodnews”Good News is slated to release this year on September 6.In 2019, Akshay Kumar will be first seen in Kesari. He alsohas the four th instalment of comedy franchise Housefulland Mission Mangal in the pipeline.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA, NICK JONAS ATTEND ISN’TIT ROMANTIC PREMIERE, SHARE A KISS

‘Katrina Kaif, who is currently busywith the shoot of her upcoming filmBharat with Salman Khan, took timeout for an interview where she spokeabout marriage among other things.

Katrina Kaif was recently on Famously Filmfare and answered ques-tions like a professional. However, one answer has got everyoneinterested. The Zero actor was asked how she felt watching many ofher contemporaries get married. The past few months saw the wed-dings of Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, Deepika Padukone andRanveer Singh, and Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli the year before.Katrina said that she felt like asking them not to leave her behind. Shesaid: “I am like everyone’s getting married, wait... don’t leave mebehind,” complete with funny expressions.Katrina has, in the past, been in a relationship with Ranbir Kapoor,before they broke off some years back. She was said to be datingSalman Khan before that.Katrina, meanwhile, has been busy shooting for her next film, Bharatwhere she co-stars with Salman Khan. Her last film, Zero, failedbadly at the box office, despite boasting of other big names like ShahRukh Khan and Anushka Sharma. However, Katrina’s act as an emo-tionally unstable but highly successful film star had many applaudingher for her acting. Katrina was also in news over her reply to Karan

Johar ’s statement on item numbers in his previous films. Repor tedlyKaran has said that he regretted having item songs in his productionslike Agneepath in the wake of the MeToo movement that hit Bollywoodin 2018. Incidentally, the said film featured an item song called ChikniChameli, which had Katrina in it. Reacting to his comments, Katrinasaid that while she hadn’t had a face-to-face discussion with Karanon the subject, she had a difference of opinion on the subject. Withregard to such songs, she said it depended on how the scenes wereshot. She said she never felt objectified and gave the examples ofMadonna and Beyonce in her defence.

Priyanka Chopra attended the premiere of her third Hollywood film,Isn’t It Romantic, with husband, American singer Nick Jonas, onMonday. The couple arrived hand in hand on the red carpet and alsoshared a kiss before posing with the film’s lead Rebel Wilson.Priyanka and Nick earlier celebrated the Grammy’s weekend withtheir friends. While the couple was not seen at the Grammy awards,they were very much a part of all the fun. The film’s lead, LiamHemswor th, was also absent at the premiere but was represented bywife Miley Cyrus. Sources told E! News that the Australian actor issuffering from kidney stones. Wilson told Extra in an interview, “Hetexted us this morning — he was in hospital overnight, so hopefully

he will be fine.” Miley said at the premiere that Hemswor th is cur-rently “recovering.” Isn’t It Romantic stars Rebel, Priyanka, LiamHemswor th and Adam Devine. The film will stream exclusively onNetflix India on February 28 this year. Priyanka plays a yoga ambas-sador in the film headlined by Rebel as Natalie, a New York Cityarchitect who works hard to get noticed at her job but is more likelyto be asked to deliver coffee and bagels than to design the city’s nextskyscraper. She is attacked by a mugger and wakes up to discoverthat her life has become a romantic comedy featuring her as theleading lady. Todd Strauss-Schulson has directed the film from ascript penned by Erin Cardillo, Dana Fox and Katie Silberman.

Alia Bhatt: I’m strong yet sensitiveOver the last seven years, Alia Bhatt has emerged as one ofthe most power ful Gen-Y actors, thanks to her acting prow-ess and eclectic mix of films. However, despite her stardom, the 25-year-old has ensured that her choices aren’t dictated by the idea ofsuccess or failure. We caught up with the talented actress, who dis-cussed her character Safina, in her upcoming release, Gully Boy, andexplained how she needs to respond to a film instinctively before givingher nod to it. Excerpts...You’ve maintained that you want to do a good mix of com-mercial and content-driven films. Which space does yournew film fit in?It falls in the space of an honest and a good story. For me right now, topay attention to categorising any of my films would be wrong becauseI feel times are changing. People are looking at cinema as good or badand that’s the way it should be. The commerce par t of it depends onhow much the movie reaches out to people. I don’t think one can decideits commercial outcome before its release. So, Gully Boy is more aboutsomebody’s journey — it has its intensity as well as entertainmentbecause of the music. There’s a real, rooted love story but at the end ofit, it’s a journey and once you get in, it can take you anywhere. That’swhat I love most about this film.In Udta Punjab, you played a girl who’s weak initially, butlater becomes strong due to the situation around her. Buthere, you are quite feisty…The character in Udta Punjab belonged to a much lower social strata. Asa person, what I like about Safina is that she’s strong but vulnerable. Shehas certain insecurities and sensitivity. She’s extremely intelligent be-cause she’s a medical student. She knows exactly what she wants andI connect with that aspect. I’m strong yet sensitive. But I’m definitelymore brave than I’m strong. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have fears. I dohave them but I’m constantly working on my strengths.You’ve been instrumental in changing the prototype fornewbie actors in the industry...I think everybody has their own instinctive journey which iscarved out for them and works beautifully for them. There’sno fixed way of working at all. If it’s about me giving adviceto newcomers, I don’t think they need any of it.Look at thecurrent crop of new actors — whether it’s Janhvi (Kapoor),Sara (Ali Khan), Ishaan (Khatter) or Radhika (Madan) —they are so fabulous. All of them have their own individualityand that’s what makes them special. I wasn’t taken too se-riously after my debut film and no one could believe I wasdoing a Highway. But nobody forced me or told me to steermy career that way. The best thing that happened to me, when Istar ted out, was that I didn’t get too much advice. There may have beensomething specific about which I lacked knowledge but my mentorslooked out for me. Other than that, all my film choices have beendictated by my instincts.You have tried various genres. While picking a subject, howdifficult is it to find something new?It’s not that just because my movies are doing well andthings are going my way, I'm becoming more particular inthe way I look at myself. After every film, I try and forgetwhat happened on it, as in why I chose it, etc. I don’t wantany of it to cloud my judgment. I want to respond to a filmpurely on my gut feeling or maybe see if I would pay towatch that film, as an audience. These are the two param-eters which I look out for. And if it ticks these boxes, I knowI’ll be happy and satisfied with my decision. What becomesharder is not to find something new but to get that feelingwithin where you have to constantly tell yourself that this isjust another project. Suddenly, you have a little more expec-tation from yourself. But that doesn’t mean that we treat ourfilms lightly. There’s a fine line between the two.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui backs another biopic, this time on folk singer Teejan BaiNawazuddin Siddiqui, who seems to be fond of the trend of biopics,has now backed another biopic on folk singer Teejan Bai. Nawazrecently featured in the biopic on Bal Thackeray, which was titledThackeray and had also produced brother Shamas NawabSiddiqui’s shor t film ‘Miyaan Kal Aana’ (Mister Come Tomor-row). Nawazuddin has been a huge admirer of Teejan Bai sincehis theatre days and was also one of the priveldged who saw herper form live. The veteran ar tiste (Teejan Bai) per forms Pandvani,a traditional per forming ar t form involving nar ration of tales fromthe Mahabharata.The initial idea of making a film on her was of Nawazuddin’s wifeAaliya. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is one of the producers in Magic IfFilms with his wife Aaliya and brother Shamas Nawab Siddiqui.The biopic on Teejan Bai too will be jointly produced by them.On the film front, Nawazuddin is looking forward the release ofhis next two ventures, Motichoor Chaknachoor opposite AthiyaShetty and Photograph alongside Sanya Malhotra. The actor-pro-ducer will also be wrapping up the shoot of ‘Sacred Games 2’ anddirector Honey Trehan’s directorial debut ‘Raat Akeli Hai’ with

Radhika Apte. Post that, he will begin shooting for his brother ShamasNawab Siddiqui’s feature debut Bole Chudiyan under the banner ofWoodpecker Movies.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


SAOIRSE RONAN-MARGOT ROBBIE COMBO CAN'T

SAVE THIS UTTERLY DULL AFFAIR

CAST: SAOIRSE RONAN, MARGOT

ROBBIE, JACK LOWDEN, JOE ALWYN,

DAVID TENNANT, AND GUY PEARCE

DIRECTOR: JOSIE ROURKE

M O V I E R E V I E W

b o l l y w o o d

It's a dramatic retelling of the power tussle between twocousins who happen to be Mary Stuar t (Saoirse Ronan) andQueen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie). Mary has a claim to theEnglish throne because of her bir thright and because she canproduce an heir (which was a big deal for medieval men ofcour t) unlike her cousin Elizabeth. But raised a Catholic, awayfrom the freshly Protestant England, Mary has quite a fewhurdles ahead of her en route the throne. History buffs knowwhat happened to Mary in the end, movie buffs may not care.Colour ful British history is a remedy to the dull weather on thatlittle island. When cooped up, thanks to snow or a torrentialdownpour, plotting against each other and expanding theempire seemed to be the favourite pass time of the monarchs.There have been many beautiful retelling of these chapters inthe past. Star ting from Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth series to lastyear's Victoria and Abdul to the current Oscar frontrunner TheFavourite. Mary Queen of Scots fails to even come close tothese gems.Writer Beau Willimon of House of Cards fame forgot to estab-lish the characters. The audience is expected to know every-thing about these royal people in advance so that they jumpstraight to investing in the political tension caused between

two queens by the people in their cour ts. Mary monotonouslymakes moves to stake a claim on the throne she believes to berightfully hers but shows no calibre proving her capable ofhandling the responsibilities of the crown. If you see one sparkof determination when she takes down her rebellious brother, itis immediately undermined by scenes highlighting her naivetyin treating an ambassador from Elizabeth's cour t. Elizabeth isalso treated poorly. On one hand, she talks of becoming 'a man'to be taken seriously by the men around her, in the next shethrows a fit obsessing over her lover. The two monarchs whoknow what they want are not really bothered about how theywill get there. In the end, the movie feels like a build-up to thebir th of King James who was the first monarch to r ule bothScotland and England. Mary's only purpose was to be a mother?Give me a break.At one level, this narrative is not surprising if you have fol-lowed the diminishing quality of Williamson's House of Cards.Ronan and Robbie try their best within the poor outline set bydirector Josie Rourke. It's the story and its helmer that failthem. The makeup and costume design are top notch, andsometimes a welcome distraction that stops you from yawning.These depar tments deserve their Oscar nominations.

RANVEER SINGH’S 'APNA TIMEAAYEGA' RULES THE CHARTSRanveer Singh is on a dream run. After delivering blockbust-ers like Padmaavat and Simmba last year, the actor haskick-star ted 2019 on a high note with Zoya Akhtar’s GullyBoy in which he debuts as a rapper. One of the songs fromthe film, Apna Time Aayega, for which he has lent his voice,is currently the number one track across all streaming plat-forms! Ranveer says, “It is truly gratifying to be accepted asa hip-hop ar tiste. I was thrilled to be in Zoya’s film as I hadalways wanted to do such a movie. I’ve a natural, in-bornaffinity towards hip-hop. I loved this genre of music since Iwas a kid and I would have been heartbroken if I didn’t dothis movie. I would like to believe that I have given my heartand soul to it and I hope audiences love Gully Boy. It’s alsoincredible that Zoya decided that I should sing in the album.It was definitely a challenge and I’m happy that people areliking the music. It’s an extremely personal, emotional and aspecial moment for me in my cinematic journey.”

Farhan Akhtar penned poetry for his ladylove ShibaniDandekar some time back. She responded to it not with po-etry, but by giving him a cute nickname. While Farhan tried tomake Shibani happy, she very lovingly called him ‘Foo’. Thisis a nickname that we never heard when it came to FarhanAkhtar, and of course, since Shibani definitely would’vewanted to keep this pet name limited to her usage.Farhan had in actuality attended Shibani’s sister ApekshaDandekar’s wedding. Apeksha got married to TV actorAbhishek Sharma, and the news seems to have overwhelmedShibani. In order to make his sweethear t happy, Farhan shareda candid photo of them from the wedding. He captioned thephoto as, “Tum muskuraado zaraa Chiraag jalaado zaraaandhera hataado zaraa roshni phai laado zaraa ?@shibanidandekar Image - @neelio”

SHIBANI DANDEKAR RESPONDSTO FARHAN AKHTAR’S POETRYWITH THIS CUTE NICKNAME


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019b o l l y w o o d

hollywoodM O V I E R E V I E W

The ghost that irritates

CAST: SACHIIN JOSHI, NARGIS FAKHRI AND

MONA SINGH

DIRECTOR: BHUSHAN PATEL

RATING:

First look at Will Smith's Genie in'Aladdin' remake leaves Disneyfans appalled: Stuff of nightmares

Horror in Bollywood, as a rule, is a genre so poor in its execution thatit leaves more to be desired than ever achieves its goal of sending achill down your spine. But even the worst of horror films will at itsvery worst make you want to laugh out loud. Amavas, however, isthat one strange film which makes you scream alright, only in purefrustration.If you judge a book by its cover there is nothing much to recommendanyway. The hero Sachiin Joshi is also the producer, no slight meant;if actors can don the producer’s hat why not the other way around.Only as rather uncharismatic Sachiin decides to back his acting genes(seen previously in some Telugu films too), acting needs to take coverand not be found ever. More so the actor playing his love interest inthe film is equally bad in histrionics. Nargis Fakhri rising from thedead (not literally, just joking) is back in Bollywood after a brief breakwith same old deadpan expressions.Ha, whoever cared about acting in a game of thrills and chills? Pointtaken; so give us the scare.Indeed, in the first half the scary bits are handled with some skill. Theghostly apparitions, a haunted summer house, ‘a ladies bhoot’ sing-ing a song in the middle of the night, hints of a back-story; the setting

despite being all too familiar does create the right mood.But, post interval the film plummets and plummets. Logic we knowhas little place in a story about superstition and evil spirits. OnlyAmavas doesn’t even make a pretence at rationale and is ludicrous tothe point of sheer idiocy. As it hops, jumps and skips from one trackto the other romance, murder mystery and horror all it manages togive you is a big yawn. To be fair, till the cards are laid on the table weare mildly interested. But once the cat (perhaps unfair to call VivanBhatena so) is out of the bag, all critical faculties fail. If you believe ingod, you have to believe in ghosts; says Mona Singh as psychiatristShivani. Only Amavas employs all forces at its disposal to make youbelieve in neither. At one moment the spiritual symbol stalls the evilforce in his tracks and the very next he has the power to spat it out ofthe arm on which it is inscribed.The last half an hour devoted to the final battle steered by NargisFakhri and Mona Singh on the one hand and the ghost on the other isso incredulous that unbelievable acquires a new synonym. And it iscalled unwatchable. Touching, however, is the faith of the makerswho have lef t leeway for a sequel. Really, seriously who can live thisnightmare again?

KESARI POSTERS: AKSHAY KUMAR SHARES NEW GLIMPSESFROM BATTLE OF SARAGARHI FILM, SAYS MORE TO FOLLOW

Post the success of Reema Kagti directorial Gold, Akshay Kumar isgetting ready for next projects, a period-cum action-drama Kesari anda comedy, Good News, with Kareena Kapoor Khan.Late on Monday, Akshay shared a new poster of Kesari, also an-nouncing that he would be sharing “glimpses of Kesari” from Tuesdayonwards. The poster shows Akshay as Havildar Isher Singh of theSaragarhi unit of the 36th Sikh Regiment, standing in front of manyAfghan soldiers holding a sword in one of his hands. He tweeted,“Unraveling the pages of history to the bravest battle ever fought.#GlimpsesOfKesari from tomorrow, are you ready?”He followed it up with another poster. Sharing it, he wrote: “Aaj meripagdi bhi Kesari, jo bahega mera woh lahoo bhi Kesari, aur merajawaab bhi Kesari. Get ready for #GlimpsesOfKesari from 2pm on-wards. #Kesari”

Directed by Anurag Singh, Kesari is based on the battle of Saragarhifought between the British Indian army’s Sikh Regiment and Afghantribesmen in September 1897. The British Indian contingent compris-ing 21 Sikh soldiers were attacked by around 10,000 Afghans anddecided to fight to death, which is considered by some as one ofhistory’s greatest last-stands.Talking about his experience of working on the film, Akshay had ear-lier said,” I’ve star ted shooting for my film Kesari, where I’m in theheaviest turban and beard I’ve ever had to wear. So I shaved my headto make my life a little easier. I’m known for hating wigs, prostheticsand so on, and Kesari is quite demanding. It’s probably my favouritelook, though it’s taxing to fight and sweat in this avatar. But I wouldn’tchange it for the world.”The film is slated to release on March 21.

AMITABH BACHCHAN AND SHAH RUKH KHAN’S FUN TWITTERBANTER LEADS TO 'BADLA' FIRST POSTERS LAUNCH

Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have always shared alove-hate relationship on screen, but they have always been fondof each other off-screen. Shah Rukh Khan’s son AbRam in factthinks that Big B is his grandfather. Thus, when Shah Rukh Khantweeted that he wants to take Badla from Amitabh Bachchan,it lef t everybody puzzled. However, the chat was nothing buta fun banter between the legendary actors which was soongoing to reveal Badla posters.Shah Rukh Khan went first and out of the blue, tweeted, “Mainaap se Badla lene aa raha hoon @SrBachchan saab! Taiyaarrahiyega.”Amitabh Bachchan replied to that with, “Arey bhai @iamsrk,Badla lene ka time toh nikal gaya .. Ab toh sab ko Badla deneka time hai.”Taapsee Pannu joined the fun and added, “.@iamsrk Galat

cheez maang li aap ne... ab toh ban gayi film. Par phir bhi kuch lenahi hai toh ye Badla ka poster hi le lijiye! @SrBachchan lookinggreat here.,” also revealing Sujoy Ghosh's Badla posters in themeantime. Later revealing her own poster too, the actress alsorevealed that Badla trailer would be out tomor row. These postersfeatured the faces of Amitabh Bachchan and also Taapsee Pannu.While Amitabh Bachchan gave a deadly stare, Taapsee Pannu lookedin the distance with anger showing all over her face. The posters alsohad a tagline which read, “Maaf Kar Dena Har Baar Sahi Nahi Hota.”This isn’t the first time when Sujoy, Big B and Taapsee collaboratefor a film. They previously came together for the widely-acclaimedand hard-hitting film Pink. However it is the first time when ShahRukh Khan’s Red Chillies Enter tainment has come into the picture.Red Chillies, in association with Azure Enter tainenment, is produc-ing Badla.

Disney released a new trailer for their upcoming live-ac-tion remake of its classic animated movie 'Aladdin' on Feb-ruary 10 and fans do not seem too impressed by the mod-ern day genie played by Will Smith. Directed by Guy Ritchieand also starring Mena Massoud as Aladdin and NaomiScott as Jasmine, 'Aladdin' trailer has met with some re-ally harsh and strong reactions."It turns out that Will Smith's Aladdin Genie will haunt mynightmares," tweeted one user. Another added: "I'll neversleep again and it's all Will Smith's fault."Within less than 24 hours, the trailer sure has garneredover 2.1 Million views but it has also amassed some 20thousand dislikes, perhaps a first for a Disney film. Peopleare not just calling out the bad CGI but also questioningDisney's casting of Will Smith as the iconic blue Genie.Earlier while speaking to Enter tainment Weekly about therole, which was originally per formed by the late RobinWilliams, Smith had said, "There’s a little bit less mimicking —there’s a James Brown piece that we do but a little bit less mimicking.The thing that will be the major addition from me playing the Genie isthe hip-hop base. I think that’ll be fun for people. I think it’ll stand outas unique even in the Disney world. There hasn’t been a lotof that hip-hop flavor in Disney history!"

Jennifer Lawrence is officiallyengaged to Cooke Maroney

Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney have got engagedafter dating for over nine months.According to PageSix, the 28-year-old Oscar winner wasrecently seen wearing a massive engagement ring whileshe was hanging out with the 34-year-old ar t gallerist inNew York City. "It was a giant rock. They seemed like theywere celebrating and people were talking about it," a sourcetold the outlet. "The ring was very noticeable. They weresitting back in a corner. She was wearing a cute blackdress with white polka dots," it added.A representative of the actor confirmed to the outlet thatthe couple will be getting married soon.She was first romantically linked to Maroney in June 2018.They are reported to have been introduced by Lawrence'sbest friend Laura Simpson.Before Maroney, Lawrence was in a relationship with di-rector Darren Aronofsky, who directed her in 2017's mother!.

Here's how Rosa Salazarbecame 'Alita: Battle Angel'

Alita: Battle Angel is a spectacular star t to the CGI movie calen-dar of Hollywood this year. Working in collaboration with PeterJackson's motion-capture team, director Robert Rodriguez hasmanaged to create dazzling pieces of action choreography thatlets Rosa Salazar's titular female cyborg shine brightly. Based onYukito Kishiro's manga series, Alita: Battle Angel tells the story ofcyborg warrior who fights for the elevation of those living the hardenedlife of Iron City, a post-apocalyptic settlement that lives at the mercy ofrich population in the last floating city Zalem. Rosa Salazar bringsAlita to life with the help of performance capture tech.

BAFTAs 2019: Britain'shomegrown production 'The

Favourite' rules with most winsNetflix black and white fi lm Roma picked up the topprize at the BAFTAs on Sunday, scooping Best Film aswell as Director, while costume romp The Favouritetook the most honors at the British awards ceremony.Alfonso Cuaron's semi-autobiographical film, about adomestic worker in 1970s Mexico, has won a string ofprizes this awards season, fur ther cementing its path to po-tential Oscar success. On Sunday, the critically-acclaimedmovie had four wins, including Cinematography and Film NotIn The English Language. "I am seriously touched this filmhas been received the way it has been received," Cuaron saidin his acceptance speech for the top director prize.Period drama The Favourite, in which Olivia Colman stars asBritain's 18th century Queen Anne, won seven BAFTAs, includingOutstanding British film, Original Screenplay, Production Design,Costume Design and Make Up and Hair.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY


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Alia Bhatt calls boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor‘one of the greatest actors’, says she

forgets lines when he performs

SUNNY LEONE CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY OF SONS NOAH ANDASHER, SHARES PHOTOS FROM FAMILY ALBUM

‘Actor Huma Qureshi shares that sheprefers staying true to herself evenon social media and does not wantto think about how others wouldreact to her posts.

She has always been smooth, but Huma Qureshi took her witty sideto the next level when she shared a picture of herself juxtaposed witha picture of Hol lywood star Kate Winslet — her take on the#10yearchallenge. It immediately took the internet by storm, and theactor’s fans just couldn’t get over it.“I was just having some fun,” says Huma. “I’ve been a huge fan ofKate Winslet, and have watched all her films. She is such a solidactor and I look up to her. So it was a fun thing that I wanted to do,” sheshares. She is happy with all the “wonder ful, sweet and hilariousthings” her fans said, but Huma also had to face her share of trolling.How does she react to the negativity on social media? “My motheralways said, ‘Your problems and thoughts are yours and other people’sproblems and thoughts are theirs. Aapne kisi ke thoughts ko badalneka theka nahin le rakha’. So, one should know what they want to dowith their life. You must be happy in every moment — it might touchother people’s hearts and make them smile,” she says.Sor ted in the head, the 32-year-old insists that she’s “not a slave tosocial media” and only posts something when she feels like doing it.“I can’t think about how people are going to perceive it. It’s my way ofreaching out to my fans without any filter. It’s my true expression andI can’t cultivate things,” says the Jolly LLB 2 (2017), Dedh Ishqiya

(2014) and Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) actor.Even as many continue to project super ficiality on social media, Humabelieves in staying true to herself. “Whether I’m putting up a picture ofan egg or doing something funny, I don’t care if I’m wearing makeupor not. I’m very happy with how I look. I never had any problem ingetting work or male attention,” says Huma, adding that is sexist howonly women are expected to pander to the gaze.The actor — who has earlier spoken out against prevalent miscon-ceptions per taining to fitness and dieting — adds, “All this is expected fromgirls only — wear makeup and look beautiful. My guy friends don’t always have todo their hair and makeup. I’m of ten told to make my airpor t looksstylish, and I’m like ‘airpor t par kaun heels pehenta hai’?”

Actor Sunny Leone shared pho-tos of her family – husbandDaniel Weber, daughter Nishaand sons Noah and Asher –as they celebrated the twin’sf i rs t b i r thday. Sunny andDaniel had their two sons viasurrogacy a year earlier.“Words can’t explain the feel-ings we @dirrty99 have for ourfamily but I’ll try. The last oneyear with Noah and Asher hasbeen one of the most amazingyears of my life. Nisha is thebest big sister Noah andAsher could ever have. Youare the light of my life andthe reason I want to wake upevery morning. Your smiles,hugs, kisses, and even yourcu te c ry ing and wh in ingbrings me joy! Happy Bir th-day to my two little bundlesof joy!! My mantra to myselfeveryday to enjoy every sec Ihave with my family. I am

here, I am now, In the here, In thenow. Quote by “thigh nanh hunh”,”she wrote on Instagram with thephotos. Sunny and Daniel had an-nounced the bir th of their sonslast year with the statement,“June 21st, 2017 was the dayDaniel and I found out that we

might possible be having 3 chil-dren within a shor t amount oftime. We planned and tried tohave a family and after so manyyears our family is now com-plete with Asher Singh Weber ,Noah Singh Weber and NishaKaur Weber. Our boys were born

a few weeks ago but were alivein our hear ts and eyes for manyyears. God planned somethingso special for us and gave us alarge family. We are both theproud parents of three beauti-ful children. Surprise every-one!”

Some names did shock me but I can’t be judgmental : Ajay Devgn on MeToo in BollywoodBollywood actor Ajay Devgn has said he was shocked by the #MeToo allegations against some of the prominent names in the Indianfilm industry but he believes a due course of law should be followed in such cases. A couple of things came out and some people arelike this but everybody is not like that. I would say some names did shock me but then I can’t be judgmental completely till somebodyproves someone guilty or not,” Ajay told PTI.Kickstar ted by Tanushree Dutta, several A-list Bollywood personalities including directors Rajkumar Hirani, Subhash Ghai, SajidKhan, Vikas Bahl and Rajat Kapoor, actors Alok Nath, Nana Patekar, singer Kailash Kher and music composer Anu Malik were calledout for sexually harassing women over the years.Ajay, who has suppor ted the movement in the past, believes the power game does not work anymore in the industry. “New generationis thinking differently, they are not going to accept the bullshit what people used to accept couple of years back. They are changing andwe are changing and that change is for better. With the media coming in, everything is out in the open. “You can’t say ‘I am verypower ful and you can’t mess with me’, you cannot mess with anybody as everybody is at the same platform, at the same stage. So bigor small doesn’t matter anymore, which is a good thing,” he said.Earlier, Ajay had told IANS, “I would also like to mention that it is good that many stories are coming out (in the public), but one also hasto understand that while most of the accounts are possibly real, some might have taken advantage of the gaining momentum.Therefore, investigation is needed. When people take advantage of the movement, it harms the purpose of the actual cause. Not allpeople are bad. But if we are only projecting one side, the next generation might get scared to step into the industry. That is why it isimpor tant to be responsible.”Also read: #MeToo in Bollywood: Is it time for film units to have an intimacy director?

Actors Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt have been as much in newsabout their upcoming films as their relationship. The two Brahmastraactors star ted dating last year and have been forthcoming about theirrelationship. While Ranbir was the first to accept their relationshipstatus, Alia has now opened up about him and his parents, veteranactors Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor. Talking to Deccan Chronicle,she called Ranbir the most natural actor she has seen in her life.“He’s one of the greatest actors. Not only am I fond of him as an actorbut a lot of girls and guys admire him as an actor,” she said, adding,“I usually remember my dialogues well, I never forget my lines whileper forming a scene but when I watch Ranbir perform, I do forget mydialogues at times... simply because, when Ranbir is emoting, hedoes it with so much ease. I just keep watching him. I tend to forgetabout my performance. He has the most honest and simple eyes.”

Ranveer Singh calls Rakhi Sawant arock star, reveals his 2am friend

Bollywood star Ranveer Singh has claimed that his only 2amfriend is his alter ego; for her knows himself best.Speaking to trade analyst Komal Nahta on Zee Cafe’s StarryNights 2.Oh, Ranveer also revealed that he once dressed upas Arun -- Anil Kapoor’s character from Mr India -- and visitedcasting director Shaano Sharma’s house, hoping to be cast asthe lead in what he thought would be Mr India 2, directed byShekhar Kapur.“During my struggling days, it was rumoured that ShekharKapur was making Mr India 2 and I landed up at ShanooSharma’s house dressed up as Anil Kapoor’s character Arun,”he said on Zee Cafe’s Starry Nights 2.0 aired on Sunday evening.He also called Rakhi Sawant a rock star. He asked Komal toname the worst celebrity he could interview and Komal namedRakhi, triggering Ranveer to say “Rakhi is a rock star! Rakhi,I love you.” Ranveer also talked about his family on the show.He calls his sister as his ‘Other Mother’. “Her nature I guess,she is very caring, very motherly and loving. She always treatsme like a child. She would spend the money she earned to buychocolates for me. Hence, I cannot even call her my eldersister, she is my second mother,” the actor said.

VIRAT KOHLI VS SACHIN TENDULKARShane Warne reveals his thoughts on best batsman debate

Let's make India want to playPakistan: PCB MD Wasim Khan

Virat Kohli does not like being compared to Sachin Tendulkar. However,this has not stopped pundits, former players and fans from talking anddebating about these two. The comparisons between the two havebeen a topic of intense debates and deliberations for last few years asKohli's stature and form has grown steadily.There is no doubt that Kohli is currently the only active cricketer whohas a real hope of coming close to (or even overtaking) some ofTendulkar's records like 100 international centuries, highest runs inTest and ODI cricket etc. The way Kohli has dominated world cricket inlast few years has even prompted some to say that Virat Kohli waseven ahead of Sachin Tendulkar in some aspects of the game. So whois the better batsman of the two? The legendary Australian spinnerShane Warne is the latest to weigh in on this 'best batsman' debate.Warne said that any comparisons between Kohli and Tendulkar aredifficult to make since both have played in different eras and theconditions have changed drastically. He said that the conditions noware more suitable for batsmen then what they were during Tendulkar'splaying days. “Very hard to judge when someone is playing and veryhard to judge eras. Think about the bowlers in the ‘90s. Differentsurfaces that seamed. Now they’re a lot flatter. The ball swung more.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) managing director WasimKhan is not confident about resumption of India-Pakistanbilateral cricket anytime soon but he has suggested a changein strategy to get the two nations playing.Wasim said that the PCB needs to create a situation whereIndia ask Pakistan to play while adding that they need tomove forward as they could not wait forever to play India."It's a massive challenge and I don't think we're going tosee any solutions anytime soon. I think elections are com-ing up in India, so nothing is going to happen in the nearfuture. But, we are trying and [PCB chairman] Ehsan Maniis trying hard to get them to the table and get things mov-ing," ESPNcricinfo quoted Wasim, as saying. "We keep onasking them to play us but let's create a situation wherethey ask us to play. I think we need to do that. It's sad thatwe are not playing against them but life continues. Weneed to move forward and carry on. We can't wait foreverto play India. Our focus is to develop Pakistan cricket andget our team and players a lot of success at the interna-tional level," he added. The PCB had filed a complaint againstthe Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for not play-ing the bilateral series between 2015 and 2023 despitesigning a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The Inter-national Cricket Council (ICC) had, however, dismissed thecase. Mani said that there is no point engaging with Indiaon the matter till the general elections. He added that ifPakistan succeeded in registering their name among topthree cricket teams of the world then India would come ontheir own to play against them.

ICC T20 Rankings: Kuldeep Yadavjumps to second spot, India behindPakistan in team tableTalented wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has moved up a notchto grab a career-best second position in the latest ICC T20International rankings, where India maintained its sec-ond position behind Pakistan despite dropping tworanking points. Kuldeep scalped two for 26 in the fi-nal T20I against New Zealand, which his side lost byfour runs to go 2-1 down in the series. The 24-year-old accounted for well-set openers Tim Seifer t andColin Munro in the only match he played during theseries and reaped immediate dividends. He is nowsecond only to Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khanin the table. There are no other Indian bowler in thetop-10. Kuldeep's spin bowling par tner YuzvendraChaha l a f t e r an i nd i f f e ren t se r i es aga ins t NewZea land , d ropped s i x p l aces to be 17 th wh i l eBhuvneshwar Kumar maintained his 18th rank. In thebatsmen's l ist , Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharmaswapped three places with compatriot KL Rahul, whodidn't feature in the recently-concluded series. Thebatting char t is headed by talented Pakistani bats-man Babar Azam. Rohit is seventh as per latest rankingswhile Rahul has slipped to 10th place. Rohit's opening part-ner Shikhar Dhawan has gained a place to be 11th whileVirat Kohli's absence from the series affected his ranking.The Indian skipper dropped four places to be jointly 19thwith Zimbabwe's Hamilton Masakadza.Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya was another spinner tomove up as he advanced 39 places to a career-best 58th.

India vs New Zealand: In context of 50-over World Cup, T20Iseries win over India an isolated result - Kane Williamson

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson doesn’t want to read too much into the T20 series win over India, especially in the context of theupcoming World Cup and feels the 2-1 result was an “isolated” one. Williamson said the series win was a big confidence booster for hisside and their main aim coming into the rubber was just to gel as a unit.“We were sitting down and looking at what can we get at the end out of the series. It’s just about each game as it comes. Like I said, weare looking at this series as an isolated series,” he said af ter the four-wicket win in the third T20 Sunday.“We just don’t want to sit down and ask ourselves what we want to see in terms of end point, we just wanted to gel as a group, play thesor t of cricket we wanted to play and I think we did see that. The first game was a very good per formance. It’s not always going tohappen in T20 cricket and we saw that in the second game,” he said.India savoured a historic Test and ODI bilateral series win in Australia before recording their biggest ODI series win on New Zealandsoil. A first ever T20 series win would have been an icing on the cake but the hosts held their nerves to pull off a thrilling victory.Williamson was full of praise for his teammates.

KL Rahul’s form has become a big cause of concern: Chief selector MSK PrasadChief selector MSK Prasad has said they are concerned about the form of batsman KL Rahul as he remains too good a player to stay outof the team. Rahul was sent back from Australia following the conclusion of the Tests af ter he and Hardik Pandya were caught in amassive controversy over their loose remarks on women during a television show.The BCCI revoked their interim suspension pending an inquiry. Following that, he was picked in the India A limited-overs squad for theODIs against the Lions. “His (KL Rahul) form has become a big cause of concern. He is too good a player and I am sure he is workinghard to be back among the runs,” Prasad told Times of India. “We have put him in the India ‘A’ squad to play against the England Lionsso that he can spend some time in the middle and get back in some form,” he added. After a poor few games with the bat, Rahul wasback amongst the runs with his 89 helping India A to 540-6 in the first innings of the unofficial Test against England Lions in Wayanad onFriday. Also, Rahul was named the captain of the India A side to take England Lions in the second four-day game to be played in Mysore,star ting Feb 13. India A : KL Rahul (Captain), AR Easwaran, P riyank Panchal, Ankeet Bawne, Karun Nair, Ricky Bhui, Siddhesh Lad, K.S.Bharat (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Nadeem, Jalaj Saxena, Mayank Markande, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Varun Aaron

So many invariables. But to think that someone was better than BrianLara and Sachin - in those mid-’90s - against Wasim, Waqar, Cur tly,Cour tney, McGrath, Donald, Saqlain, Mushy, Vettori, Murali, myself.You can go on,” Warne told Times of India.Warne said that he will rather wait and see Kohli do greater things inhis career before he can make a choice. He, however, added that theattitude and the way Kohli goes about playing is game is brilliant."Virat is breaking all the records, which is great but I want towait. See, what people miss is this: You can set benchmarks,score those many centuries, average that high, score a lotmany runs. But what people are going to remember you for isthe way you played the game. Someone should run down thestreet and ask fans, how many runs did Mark Waugh make orwhat his average was? They wouldn't have a clue but chances are,here's what they'll say: I loved watching him play.""To my mind, what's already evident is that Virat is one of thebest players of all time. In One-dayers, he probably has to godown with Viv Richards as the greatest ever, not so much forthe record but for the way he plays his game. But I'll judge him atthe end of his career," he added.



MIDWEEK NEWS WEEKLY

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2019 s p o r t s

Rohit bhai asked me to bowl ‘bindaas’ after1st T20I against New Zealand: Khaleel Ahmed

‘Speaking to media, Khaleel revealedhow Rohit Sharma was the manbehind his strong comeback in therecently concluded T20I seriesagainst New Zealand.

Figures of 1/48 from four overs at the end of the first T20I betweenIndia and New Zealand in Wellington wasn’t the star t to the series thatyoung pacer Khaleel Ahmed was looking at. In fact, pundits were ofthe opinion that he might find it difficult to make it to the playing XI forthe second game in Auckland. But what followed was figures of 2/27as he impressed one and all with his ability to come back with avengeance.Speaking to Hindustan Times, Khaleel revealed how Rohit Sharmawas the man behind his strong comeback in the T20I series. Speak-ing to the youngster, Rohit not only asked him to relax, but also gavethe left-arm pacer the perspective on how to approach batsmen in theshor test format of the game.“Rohit bhai spoke to me after the first match. He discussed where Iwas going wrong and explained to me the perspective of a batsmanwhen he comes to the crease in a T20 game. He spoke on how Ishould prepare to take on the batsmen who are looking to attack fromthe word go. He spoke about the mindset of different batsmen andalso how I should set specific fields for each opposition batsman. Hereally guided me a lot and most impor tantly asked me to bowl bindaas(carefree) and back my strength.“Rohit bhai has played so many matches and when someone like himguides you, you know how to go about the job. After all, he is one ofthe most destructive batsmen in the shor ter formats of the game. Himcoming forward and sharing that experience helped a lot as I realisedthat I should not take any undue pressure just because the batsmenare looking to attack every ball,” he explained.Commenting on the mood going into his first tour of New Zealand,Khaleel said: “Was very excited about playing in New Zealand as Ihad heard that there is good bounce and the breeze helps the fastbowlers. I was really looking forward to playing in conditions thatfavour swing bowling.” The chat with Rohit changed Khaleel’s ap-

proach completely as he walked onto the field in the second game.“After the first game I was a bit nervous since it didn’t go as per plan.But after speaking to Rohit bhai, I gained in confidence and realizedthat it was important to not over think and bowl to my strength. So Ifollowed the advice and bowled bindaas (carefree). I thought that therewas no point being over cautious in my approach as T20 is anywaya batsman’s game. Backed myself and that helped as I star ted topitch the slower ones and the yorkers in the right areas,” he said.The biggest takeaway for Khaleel after the T20I series against NewZealand was the confidence that the team management showed inhim by giving him the ball in the death overs. “I think it was a greatfeeling when they felt I am talented enough to bowl in the death.This team management realizes that youngsters need that confi-dence. It has been a dream to interact with the likes of Rohit bhai,Virat bhai (Kohli) and MS Dhoni. I think cricket is as much a men-tal game as it is of skills. You need to handle pressure and I thinkthey felt I can do that. I was given the ball in the death as they feltthat I will be able to handle the pressure at the end of the inningswhen the batsmen are looking to hit every ball out of the park. Thishas made me feel more confident as it isn’t a small thing when theteam backs you in these situations. Juniors are always backed by theteam,” he signed off.

RISHABH PANT, AJINKYA RAHANE AND VIJAYSHANKAR ARE ALL IN CONTENTION FOR WORLD

CUP SPOTS, SAYS MSK PRASAD

‘Chief selector MSK Prasad hasconfirmed that Rishabh Pant,Ajinkya Rahane and Vijay Shankarare all in selectors plans for theupcoming 2019 World Cup.

India have a handful of ODI games lef t before the star t of the2019 World Cup in May later this year. The Men in Blue had aneventful tour Down Under winning three out of total five seriesthat they played against Australia and New Zealand respec-tively. While Virat Kohli led the team to historic win in the Testand ODI series against the Aussies, the T20I series ended in adraw. Meanwhile, against New Zealand, Kohli led the side to anODI series win for the first time in ten years before Indiasuffered a close 4-run defeat in the final T20I on Sunday to losethe T20I series 2-1.The tour Down Under saw India emerge on top with a number ofpositives. The middle order in ODIs looks settled with the likesof MS Dhoni, Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav performingwell. Dinesh Kar thik too looks all but set to take his slot in theWorld Cup squad as a pure batsman with Dhoni keeping thewickets. Hardik Pandya made a strong return to internationalcricket to reaffirm his World Cup credentials, while VijayShankar also staked a claim with a decent show against NewZealand.India's chief selector MSK Prasad has reckoned that Shankaralong with Rishabh Pant and veteran Ajinkya Rahane are par t ofIndia's World Cup plans and in contention for a spot in the 15-man squad to be selected for the showpiece event. April 23 isthe deadline for the submission of 15-member squads for theWorld Cup.Shankar was the second highest run-getter for India in T20Isagainst New Zealand behind only Rohit Sharma. He scored 84runs in three games and also showed his hitting prowess in thefinal T20I where he scored a 28-ball 43 batting at the no.3 spot."In whatever oppor tunities he has got, Vijay Shankar has shownthe skillsets required at this level. We have been grooming himthrough India A tours in the last two years. But we will have tosee where he can fit in the dynamics of this team," Prasad toldESPN Cricinfo about Shankar's chance of making it to the WorldCup squad.Pant, who played two trail-blazing knocks of 40 and 28 runsrespectively in the last two T20Is, once again showed hisimpeccable hitting prowess. He had per formed well in red-ballcricket for India scoring centuries in both England and Austra-lia. Pant has been largely tipped to succeed MS Dhoni asIndia's future wicket-keeper and Prasad believes the left-handeris undoubtedly in contention for a spot in the World Cup squad."Undoubtedly he (Pant) is in contention. A healthy headache.The progression of Rishabh in the last one year is phenomenal

across the formats. What we actually felt is he needs a bit ofmaturity now, gain more experience. That is reason we haveincluded him in India A series wherever possible," he said.Prasad also reckoned that veteran batsman Rahane is also incontention for the World Cup and he might be taken to Englandas a backup opener with KL Rahul battling poor form in thelimited-overs format. Rahane has been in fine form in thedomestic tournaments and also played well for India A recentlyagainst the England Lions. His last appearance for India camein February last year."In domestic cricket he has been in form. He is very much incontention for the World Cup," Prasad said about Rahane'schance of playing the World Cup.

Kumar Sangakkara givesreason why Virat Kohli will needMS Dhoni at 2019 World CupLegendary Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkarastated there is no substitute for experience and that iswhy wicket-keeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni willbe an integral par t of Indian team at the ICC World Cuplater this year.Dhoni per formed admirably and played a more thanimpor tant role in India’s historic ODI series wins inAustralia and New Zealand respectively. While Indiaedged Australia 2-1 in the three-match series, theythumped New Zealand by a healthy margin of 4-1.Sangakkara feels that India skipper Virat Kohli will needDhoni’s vast experience in England and Wales. Dhonilifted the World Cup in 2011 and remains the only skip-per in the history of the game to guide his team to allthree ICC titles — WT20 (2007), World Cup (2011) Cham-pions Trophy (2013). “When it comes to a World Cup,experience counts a lot. Not just experience but that isclose to its best. I think MS Dhoni will definitely find aplace in that World Cup 15 for India,” Sangakkara wasquoted as saying by India Today.

ICC Test rankings: Indiacontinue to occupy top spot,England slip to 5th positionEngland have slipped to fifth position in the ICC men’sTest team rankings af ter their 2-1 loss to West Indies inthe series that culminated in St Lucia.Star ting the series with the objective of winning it toremain at the third position, England slipped behind NewZealand and Australia as they have lost four points andare now on 104.Australia edged them on decimals after winning bothTests of their recent two-match series against Sri Lankathat helped them gain three points.West Indies have gained seven points and moved up to77 but remained at the eighth position in the points tableled by India with 116 points and South Africa secondwith 110. New Zealand are third with 107 points.

SHANNON GABRIELBANNED FOR FOUR ODISOVER ‘PERSONAL ABUSE’West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has beenbanned for the first four one-day internationals againstEngland after being found guilty of “personal abuse” inthe St Lucia test, the International Cricket Council (ICC)said on Wednesday.Gabriel, 30, accepted an ICC charge after he was warnedby on-field umpires during the third test for commentsmade towards England captain Joe Root.Gabriel’s remark was not audible to television viewersbut according to Sky Spor ts the England captain washeard replying to the bowler: “Don’t use it as an insult.There’s nothing wrong with being gay”.The charge was under ar ticle 2.13 of the ICC’s code ofconduct, which relates to the personal abuse of a player,player suppor t personnel, umpire or match referee dur -ing an international match.“Gabriel already had five demerit points against hisname for two earlier incidents - three demerit pointsduring the Jamaica test against Pakistan in April 2017and two demerit points in the Chittagong test againstBangladesh last November,” the ICC said in a state-ment. “With the addition of these three demerit points,he has reached the threshold of eight demerit points,which, pursuant to ar ticle 7.6 of the Code, have beenconver ted into four suspension points.”As per ICC regulations, four suspension points equateto a ban from two tests or four one-day matches, which-ever come first for the player.Gabriel had earlier been suspended from the Mirpurtest in November last year when he reached the thresh-old of four demerit points.West Indies host England in a five-match ODI seriesstar ting on Feb. 20 in Barbados.

PLEASING TO SHOWIMPROVEMENT AGAINSTWEST INDIES: JOE ROOTEngland captain Joe Root said that he is pleased withhis per formance in the third Test against West Indies inSt Lucia on Tuesday following a series of low scores.Roots, who scored 4, 22, 7 and 7 in the first two Tests,smashed an unbeaten 111 off 209 balls, registering his16th century to put England in command.“It was really enjoyable because sometimes, whenthings are not quite happening for you, you think you arebattling a little bit. To come out the other side is reallypleasing,” ICC quoted Root, as saying after third day’splay. “My feet have not always been doing what I wantthem to so it has been a constant battle to find a formulathat gets me off to a good star t. Once you are off andrunning things become a little bit easier. It is nice to seeall the hard work comes to the fore by being here at theend of the day not out,” he said.In spite of losing the three Test series 0-2 against WestIndies, with the help of Root’s innings, England are now448 in front with four wickets still in hand.



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I CONTD. ON PAGE 12 I DETAILS ON PAGE 5 PM ...southasiandaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/1-24_-1.pdfUsha Mangeshkar also expressed her anger and said, "Our songs (the songs sung