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MONEY 8MOODY'S REVIEWS BPCL'SRATING FOR DOWNGRADE

ANALYSIS 7UTILISE LEADERSHIPSKILLS OF WOMEN

SPORTS 12‘DHONI WILL DECIDEFUTURE AFTER IPL’

HYDERABAD, WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2019; PAGES 12 `3

}ROLES OVERRUPEES FOR VK NARESH

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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

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HYDERABADWEATHER

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Month & Paksham:Margashirsha & Shukla PakshaTithi : Pratipada: 06:59 pmNakshatram: Anuradha: 08:13 amTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 12:03 pm – 01:26 pmYamagandam: 07:54 am – 09:17 amVarjyam: 01:40 pm – 03:13 pmGulika: 10:40 am - 12:03 pmGood Time: (to start any

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PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onTuesday passed an interimorder to conduct a floor testin the Maharashtra Assemblyon Wednesday after consid-ering the competing claims ofthe parties.

Having heard the parties,the bench of the top courtcomprising Justices N.V.Ramana, Sanjeev Khanna andAshok Bhushan was of theopinion that since oath takingof the MLAs has not takenplace a floor test should beconducted as soon as possibleon November 27, saying theexercise should be completedbefore 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

The court said a pro temspeaker would be appointedand the floor test would notbe conducted by secret ballotand the proceedings would betelecast live.

The court said the oath toMLAs is to be administeredbefore 5 p.m. on November27.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibalappearing for Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance, mentionedbefore the apex court anapplication seeking directions

to restrain the DevendraFadnavis government fromtaking important policy deci-sions.

The apex court has giveneight weeks' time to therespondents to file a reply.

The court said it is neces-sary to pass an interim orderfor the floor test to determinemajority in Maharashtra,which is essential to upholddemocratic values and the cit-izens' right to good gover-nance.

The court observed thatthere is a need to respect theseparation of jurisdictions ofthe legislature and courts andthe latter's interventionshould only be as the lastresort. Justice Ramana said,"This is one such case."

Continued on Page 2

Fadnavis quits, makes way for Sena-NCP-Cong GovtPNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis resignedon Tuesday, barely 80 hoursafter taking oath for the sec-ond time, the move necessi-tated by his deputy AjitPawar's resignation citing"personal reasons". Fadnaviswas sworn in on November23 in an early morning hushhush ceremony, with the sup-port of Ajit Pawar, who thenheaded the 54-member NCPlegislature party. The NCPremoved Ajit Pawar as itslegislature party leader thesame day after he took oath asthe deputy chief minister ofthe state. The stage is now setfor Shiv Sena chief UddhavThackeray to be sworn in asthe new chief minister. He willbe the first from theThackeray to assume a gov-ernment post. His father lateBal Thackeray wielded the'remote control' over the firstSena-BJP combine govern-ment during 1995-99 butnever assumed a position inthe government.

Continued on Page 2

Uddhav will benew Chief MinisterSwearing-in on December 1PNS n MUMBAI

In the changed politicaldynamics in Maharashtra afterthe resignation of DevendraFadnavis as chief minister,the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congresscombine has decided to electUddhav Thackeray as itsleader to stake claim for gov-ernment formation, a seniorSena leader said on Tuesday.Shiv Sena is the second largestparty in the state Assemblywith 56 MLAs, after the BJPwhich won 105 seats, andentitled to be invited byGovernor Bhagat SinghKoshyari to stake claim forgovernment formation afterBJP's Fadnavis announced hisresignation.

"Uddhav Thackeraywill be elected theleader of the threeparties to stakeclaim for govern-ment formation at theevening meetingscheduled to beheld in a cityhotel. Thethree parties- Sena, NCP

and Congress - will then sub-mit a joint statement to thegovernor to stake claim forgovernment formation," theSena leader said.

Most of the issues amongthe Sena, NCP and Congresshave been sorted out, a seniorNCP leader said.

"I don't think the threeparties would need any moretime to stake claim for gov-ernment formation," he said.

A senior official fromVidhan Bhavan said that withFadnavis announcing his deci-sion to quit, there was no needto hold a floor test in theAssembly on Wednesday, asdirected by the SupremeCourt.

"Instead, the governor mayinvite the second largest

party - Shiv Sena - tostake claim for govern-ment formation," he said.The governor will

require a joint statementfrom the Sena,

NCP andC o n g r e s salong withsignatures oftheir MLAs.

Guv appoints BJP's Kolambkaras pro-tem speakerMUMBAI: MaharashtraGovernor Bhagat SinghKoshyari on Tuesday appointedBJP MLA Kalidas Kolambkar aspro-tem Speaker of theAssembly. Eight-time WadalaMLA Kolambkar was one of thecandidates recommended forthe post to the governor. "Thegovernor has administered oathto Kolambkar as pro-temspeaker of the assembly.

Kolambkar will administer oathto remaining 287 MLAs duringthe assembly session," said anofficial from Raj Bhavan. Earlierin the day, ordering a floor testfor the Devendra Fadnavisgovernment, the SupremeCourt asked Koshyari toappoint a pro-tem speaker andensure all elected members ofthe House are sworn in onWednesday.

CONSTITUTION DAY CELEBRATED SC orders Mahafloor test

RenownedcartoonistSudhir Dardies at 87NEW DELHI: Award-win-ning Indian cartoonist SudhirDar died on Tuesday morn-ing after suffering a cardiacarrest, his familysaid. He was 87.

Dar, whosew o r k sappeared invarious news-papers in acareer spread over58 years, was considered thesecond generation editorialcartoonists who were activefrom the 1960s to 2000.These included R.K. Laxman,O.V. Vijayan, Rajinder Puri,and Abu Abraham.

Dar, a Kashmiri, was bornin Allahabad in 1932 and heearned a Master's inGeography from theUniversity of Allahabad.

ISRO chiefoffers prayersat TirumalashrineTIRUPATI(AP): Nov 26(PTI) ISRO chief K Sivan onTuesday offered prayers atthis famous hill shrine here,a day ahead of the launch ofIndia's imagingsatellite, CAR-TOSAT-3.

ISRO is allset to launchthe earth imag-ing and map-ping satellite CAR-TOSAT-3 along with 13 othernano-satellites from the US,from Sriharikota onWednesday. Sivan offeredprayers to the presiding deityof Lord Venkateswara atTirumala here. Later, speak-ing to reporters here, Sivansaid Chandrayaan-2 Orbiterwas doing well and sendinga lot of information about theMoon.

Sindhu fetcheshighest Rs 77lakh in PBLauctionNEW DELHI: World cham-pion P V Sindhu was onTuesday retained byH y d e r a b a dHunters for Rs77 lakh in theauction for thefifth season ofthe PremierB a d m i n t o nLeague here. Worldnumber 1 women's singlesplayer Tai Tzu Ying of ChineseTaipei was also bought forjoint highest amount of Rs 77lakh by defending championsBengaluru Raptors after abidding war with the Pune 7Aces.

Govt to sell onions at Rs 40 a kg PNS n HYDERABAD

Onions will be sold at Rs 40 akg at Saroor Nagar andMehdipatnam Rytu Bazars,with the quantity being limit-ed to one kg per head, startingWednesday. Officials will inau-gurate the outlets for sellingonions on Wednesday evening.The arrangement has beenmade in view of the sky-rock-eting prices of onions.

Acting on the directions

from Agriculture MinisterSingireddy Niranjan Reddy,agriculture principal secretaryC Parthasarathi and marketingdepartment director Laxmi Baiheld discussions with onion

wholesale traders at Malakpetand took steps for sale ofonions at subsidized prices.

In phases, the sale of subsi-dized onions would be extend-ed to all rythu bazaars in phas-es. Initially, 2 tons of onions willbe made available for sale atsubsidized prices. TheAgriculture Minister decided towrite a letter to the Centerrequesting allotment of some ofthe imported onions toTelangana.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Court onTuesday expressed its inabili-ty to give any directions to thestate government on the RTCworkers' suicides. A divisionbench of the High Court, com-prising Chief Justice RSChauhan and Justice AbhishekReddy, opined that trade unionleaders should be held respon-sible for the suicides since itwas they who had called thestrike. The bench sought toknow from the petitioner howthe government could be heldresponsible for the suicides.

The bench was disposing ofa petition filed in High Courthold the government respon-sible for suicidal tendenciesamong a section of the RTCworkers who had gone onstrike. There could be many

reasons for a person to commitsuicide and for a person to suf-fer a heart attack, the benchsaid, and asked the petitionerwhether there was any evi-dence that the RTC workersended their lives because of thestate government.

It observed, "The state gov-ernment did not announcethat it is dismissing the RTCworkers from service."

Continued on Page 4

Govt cannot be held accountablefor RTC workers' suicides: HC

Another RTC driverdies of heart attack PNS n NIZAMABAD

An RTC driver belonging toMangalpad village of Yedapallimandal died of heart attack onTuesday morning. He wasidentified as Rajender (55).Rajender, attached to theBodhan depot of TSRTC, suf-fered heart attack on Monday.Family members rushed himto a private hospital inNizamabad where he suc-cumbed while undergoingtreatment. According to hisfamily members, Rajender wasagonised as the governmentdid not take the RTC employ-ees back into service evenafter they called off their strike.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao has calledfor a cabinet meeting onThursday and Friday to decidethe future course of action onTSRTC, in the wake of RTCJAC calling off the 52-day-longstrike.

The cabinet is expected totake a 'crucial decision' on thefate of TSRTC as well as over48,000 employees who went on52-day strike. The cabinet willconsider whether to take backthe staff and whether RTCshould be privatized com-pletely or partially.

Early this month, the cabi-

net had decided to privatise5,100 RTC bus routes out ofover 10,500 bus routes operat-ed by RTC.

Continued on Page 4

Woman techie run over by RTC busDriven by temporary bus driver

PNS n HYDERABAD

A TCS employee, on her wayback home from office on hertwo-wheeler, was crushed todeath by a speeding RTC busat Banjara Hills here onTuesday.

The deceased, identified asSohini Saxena, 33, was return-ing home after night shiftwhen the TSRTC bus (service127K --Kondapur to Koti),driven by a private driverhired by the government, hither vehicle. The lady was onher scooter near the divider,when the bus driver tried toovertake her, but ended upcrushing her. She died on thespot. The mishap took placeon Road No 12, Banjara Hills.

Immediately after themishap, residents and passers-by thrashed the driver. Someof them damaged the windowpanes of the bus for his negli-

gent driving. The policearrived subsequently and tookthe driver into custody.

According to Banjara HillsPolice, the front tyre of the busran over her, resulting in herdeath.

Continued on Page 4

PNS n HYDERABAD

In the absence of specificorders from the government,police personnel deployed atvarious RTC depots acrossthe state did not allow RTCworkers who turned up onTuesday to resume their dutiesin the wake of withdrawal ofstrike by the TSRTCEmployees Unions' JAC.

Police personnel wereguarding all the bus depots toprevent any untoward inci-dents. The ad hoc driversand conductors continued to

run the limited bus services asusual.

RTC workers gheraoed the

bus depots and did not allowbuses to ply, but were round-ed up the police.

As a precautionary mea-sure, the police took RTC JACleaders into custody in the weehours of Tuesday. There werereports of police and RTCworkers clashing at many of thebus depots.

Prohibitory orders underSection 144 were imposed atNalgonda bus stand when itlooked as if the situation wasslipping out of hand.

The police took into custodymany RTC workers as theyreached the Sangareddy busdepot.

Continued on Page 4

K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

The Telangana PradeshCongress Committee may geta new chief within 15 days ifthe party high commandspeeds up its action on expect-ed lines. Actually, TPCC wouldhave had a new chief by now;however, the developments inMaharashtra delayed matters.In any case, according tosources, the high commandwill appoint a new PCC chiefwithin 15 days, with formerminister and Manthani MLAD Sridhar Babu being thefront-runner for the position.

There are speculationsamong Telangana leaders thatthe high command could zeroin on Sridhar Babu to forestallrevolt from factions headed byKomatireddy and RevanthReddy as appointing either ofthem would be asking fortrouble. At the same time,there is another view that thehigh command may pick oneamong two MPs --Komatireddy Venkat Reddy(Bhongir) or A Revanth Reddy

(Malkajgiri), keeping aside itspreference for Sridhar Babu.For, these two MPs are con-tinuing their efforts relentlesslyto grab the position.

Many other leaders likeCLP leader Mallu BhattiVikramarka, Sangareddy MLAT Jagga Reddy, MLC T JeevanReddy, V Hanumantha Raoand AICC secretary SASampath Kumar have alsobeen in the fray.

According to sources, someof the party leaders preferSridhar Babu, who is known tobe soft, non-controversial anda silent worker.

Continued on Page 4

Police personnel rounding up protesting RTC workers on Tuesday

Manthani MLA D Sridhar Babu

The RTC bus which ran over the techieand (right) her body at the spot

HYDERABADI STUDENTFOUND DEAD IN CHICAGO PNS n HYDERABAD

A 19-year-old Indian-American from Hyderabadwas found dead inside herparked car in a garage atUniversity of Illinois, Chicago(UIC) on Saturday.

The deceased, identified asRuth George, was studying atChicago, after having gradu-ated in 2018 from Naperville

Central High School. Ruth,majoring in Kinesiology, wasin her second year at UIC, offi-cials said.

The parents of Ruth, for-merly residents of Red Hillshere, migrated to the US 30years ago. Her mother is amedical professional, whileher father works in the USPostal Department.

Continued on Page 3

Tension at bus depots as police foilRTC workers’ bid to rejoin duty

KCR convenes 2-day cabinetmeet to decide fate of RTC, staff

TPCC may get newchief in 15 days;Sridhar front-runner

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Ca npeopleh o p e

to witness poli-tics with princi-

ples, moralsand ideolo-

gy? Can peopleexpect all political

parties to work within theframework of the country'sConstitution as well as theirown constitution? On suchmatters, are people asking formuch?

In present-day politics, thecaste element is becoming apotent weapon to weakenpolitical opponents. This sit-uation is evident in Telugustates as well. The ruling par-ties in Telugu states seem to befollowing Dr. BR Ambedkar'sdictum of 'Annihilation ofcaste' with a different purpose.

The architect of theConstitution had propoundedhis theory to eliminate casteonly for the betterment of the

lives of people. However, theruling parties in the Telugustates are weakening thoseparties that have potential tounseat them in future byvirtue of being led by personsbelonging to 'powerful' caste!

In Telangana, caste-centricpolitics with new equationshave come to the fore. Despitedenials by TRS, it is a fact thatthe spotlight now is on theVelama community to whichChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao belongs!It is a different matter thatJalagam Vengal Rao ruled theunified state of AndhraPradesh for five years (1973-78). The situation that unfold-ed following the Emergencycame in handy for VengalRao to remain in the saddlefor a long time, though itmight not have been other-wise possible for ChiefMinisters belonging to theCongress in those days. Thatis why one cannot describe

Vengal Rao as a leader withcaste base!

As for KCR, he emerged asan undisputed leader by virtueof his stewardship of the state-hood agitation. Soon politi-cal situation turned caste-centric as the powerful Velamacommunity in Telangana ral-lied behind KCR. If one con-siders events subsequentlyorchestrated by TRS, theyseem to be aimed at weaken-ing the Reddy communitypolitically mainly by destroy-ing the leadership fount of the

Congress party. The Reddy community is

considered the backbone ofthe Congress. The Velamacommunity can sustain itspower if the Congress is van-quished. With caste-centricpolitics gaining prominence inT-state, other issues aimed atachieving socio- politicalequality have taken a backseat. The same caste-centricsystem will continue shouldthe Congress return to powerin future, influenced mostly bythe strong Reddy community.

Coming to AndhraPradesh, political parties arestooping to get rid of rivalswho could pose threat infuture. Being a ruling party atthe national level, BJP is try-ing to set foot in AP by a dif-ferent style of functioning,rather than in an acceptable,democratic way. It isunabashedly luring public rep-resentatives of other parties,

mainly YSRCP and TDP. BJPis eyeing MPs of YSRCongress party as the latterhas 'sufficient flock' to attractpolitical horse traders!

The episode relating to LokSabha member of YSRC KRaghuramakrishnam Raju is acase in point. Raju had joinedBJP, but returned to YSRC justbefore the recent elections. Hesuccessfully established con-tacts with BJP and is slowlyalienating himself from theparent party after allegingthat some 'insiders' of YSRChad conspired against him.

The possible influx fromYSRC into BJP might beginwith him. MLAs from YSRCand TDP may be lured intoBJP for preparing the groundfor the future of saffron party.BJP is believed to haveplanned to give shape to itslegislature party with the helpof turncoat MLAs from otherparties so that it can have itsvoice on the floor of the

House! The spirit of the anti-defection law has been dilut-ed by various parties, includ-ing TDP, which during its2014-19 government, admit-ted 23 MLAs and 3 MPsfrom YSRC. Ironically, TDPis left with the same numbersboth in Assembly and LokSabha after its humiliatingreversal in the 2019 elec-tions. TDP could lose itsopposition status in theAssembly if just six membersswitch sides.

The point is such defectionsare clearly against ethical andmoral values in politics whenwe are talking about a truedemocracy. It is painful to seethat public representativeswho get elected on one party'sticket switch their loyalty atthe drop of a hat to anotherparty by circumventing theanti-defection law. In mostunacceptable way, four mem-bers of YSRC had becomeministers in the erstwhile

TDP government. Likewise,some persons deserted TDPwhich had provided them anopportunity to glimpse theAssembly, for political bene-fits from YSRC. YSRC select-ed these persons, belonging tothe Kamma community, todeliver a big blow to TDP,whose mainstay is that com-munity.

Strictly speaking, the twoprincipal political players inAP, YSRC and TDP, willbecome rudderless if theirleadership slips into the handsof people belonging to anoth-er caste!

Although caste-centric pol-icy has become the norm forruling parties in Telugu states;in the larger interests ofdemocracy, there is dire needfor responsible political par-ties. The moot question is:Who will bell the cat to unfolda new era in democracy aspeople's role is presently con-fined to casting their vote?

M D RATNA KUMAR Senior Journalist

In Telangana, caste-centric politics withnew equations have come to the fore.Despite denials by TRS, it is a fact that thespotlight now is on the Velama communityto which Chief Minister K ChandrasekharRao belongs! It is a different matter thatJalagam Vengal Rao ruled the unified stateof Andhra Pradesh for five years (1973-78)

PINPOINT

PNS n JAGTIAL

In a tragic incident, SomaChinnaiah, a 75-year-old manwas burnt alive when the cat-tle shed he was sleeping in wentup in flames in Etikyala ofRaikal mandal late on Mondaynight. Though the exact reasonfor the fire mishap is yet to beascertained, police suspect itwas an accident. Chinnaiah,sources said, had undergonesurgery for head injuries he suf-fered in an accident two yearsago, and since then his behav-iour was not normal, particu-larly in the recent past.

While some villagers believethat the mentally imbalancedseptuagenarian deliberately setfire to the shed after he let off

the cattle. The deceased alsohad the habit of smoking beed-is. Some believe that this mayhave led to the fire in the cat-tle shed while he was asleep.However, family members, wholodged a complaint with police,asserted that it was purely a caseof accident. Based on theircomplaint, police registered acase and are investigating intothe incident.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Royal Aeronautical Society(RAeS) London, the oldestaeronautical society in theworld will be conferring theHonorary Fellowship of theSociety for the year 2019 to DrG Satheesh Reddy, SecretaryDept of Defence R&D andChairman DRDO.

The Society's highest awardis bestowed in recognition ofDr Reddy's pioneering tech-nological contributions overthe past three decades, whichhas enabled the country torealise frontline military sys-tems & world class missiletechnologies. Dr Reddy willreceive the Honorar yFellowship during the Medals

and Awards presentation cer-emony, which is scheduled tobe held on 25 November atLondon, UK.

Honorary Fellowship fromRAeS is one of the world's

highest distinctions for aero-space achievement awardedfor only the most exception-al contributions to the aero-space profession. It is consid-ered as equivalent to theNobel Prize in the aerospacedomain.

This honor is conferred onthose whose careers, leader-ship, inspiration and impact

mark them out as among themost eminent, widely recog-nised and influential aero-space professionals of theirgeneration.

The f irst Honorar yFellowship was awarded in theyear 1917 and eminent per-sons across the world havebeen conferred with thisaward which includes doyens

of Aerospace such as Manydistinguished academiciansand senior professionals fromreputed Aerospace establish-ments including NASA havealso been awarded theHonorary Fellowship. DrReddy will be first Indianrecipient of this prestigiousaward in over 100 years.

A visionary and an institu-tion builder, he led the indige-nous design, developmentand deployment of state-of-the-art mission critical aero-space technologies andadvanced missile systems.These cutting edge technolo-gies have been the backbonefor key strategic programmesand other defence applica-tions in India.

RAeS confers honorary fellowship on DRDO chiefl Dr Satheesh Reddy first Indian recipient in over 100 years

The Society's highest award has beenbestowed in recognition of Dr Reddy'spioneering technological contributions overthe past three decades, which has enabledthe country to realise frontline militarysystems & world class missile technologies

l Meets Union Minister Smriti Irani, seeks sanction of Rs 897.92 crore for infrastructurePNS n HYDERABAD

Minister for Industries KTRama Rao called on UnionMinister for Textiles SmritiIrani, on Tuesday in UdhyogBhavan, New Delhi and soughtsupport for development ofKakatiya Mega Textile Park,Warangal and sanction forMega Powerloom Cluster atSircilla.

The Minister, in his letter toSmriti, requested the Center tosanction Mega PowerloomCluster at Sircilla and sanctionan amount of Rs 49.84 crorefrom out of the projected out-lay of Rs 993.65 crore. Thesefunds are towards filling variousgaps and to implement thecomponents, includingInfrastructure gaps, modernisa-tion and expansion of produc-tion base; strengthen of valuechain; market development;skill development & capacitybuilding and administration,studies & Project Monitoringcosts of Textile Park, Weaving &Apparel Park, at Sircilla.

He also mentioned that "theTelangana Government is verykeen to setup PowerloomDevelopment Corporation to

look after various marketingstrategies under Powerloomsector. It would be justifiablethat the PowerloomDevelopment Corporation willbe the implementing agencyand SPV on behalf of StateGovernment. Since, theGovernment of Telangana havebeen contributing major shareof Rs 756.97 crore in the pro-ject".

Regarding the WarangalTextile park, KTR requested theCentre to sanction sanctionthe total outlay of Rs 897.92

crore for infrastructure of theproject and requested for earlyapproval of the project. Heinformed the Center that,"Memorandums ofUnderstanding (MoUs) havebeen entered with 14 large tex-tile/apparel companies, with atotal investment outlay of Rs3,020 crore. The park hasalready received commitment ofFDI of about USD 145 millionfrom M/s YoungoneCorporation, South Korea".

He urged the Center tofinalise the policy for

'Development of ManufacturingRegions for Textile and ApparelSector (MRTA)' so that, projectsof such scale like Kakatiya MegaTextile Park can be suitably ben-efitted and can have a positiveimpact for development of tex-tile sector in our country.

He said, "Government ofTelangana has separately sub-mitted proposals for grant sup-port under the SITP and

Integrated ProcessingDevelopment Scheme (IPDS)for the Warangal park".

He said that TelanganaGovernment has represented anearly approval of the proposalsubmitted under IPDS schemeas proposed Common EffluentTreatment Plant (CETP) withZero Liquid Discharge is aunique proposition and is keyin attracting investors in meet-

ings held By Smriti Irani inSeptember and October. Hesaid, "The success of the projecthinges upon setting up of theCETP wherein Ministry ofTextiles, GoI has a major role asan important stakeholder. TheCETP will also complement theother infrastructure develop-ment in the park which is in advanced stages of comple-tion."

KTR seeks aid for Mega Textile Park

IT Minister KT Rama Rao with Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani in New Delhi

‘TELANGANA STATE POLICIES TAILOR-MADE’HYDERABAD: Minister for IT and MA&UD KT Rama Rao said that there was a balanced approach towardsbuilding infrastructure of the state and also financial discipline. He delivered key note during the core sessionon Enhancing capability-states gearing up in the CRISIL India Infrastructure Conclave 2019- The 'Central'role of states in India's Infrastructure build -out held in Leela Palace, New Delhi on Tuesday. He haspresented the youngest State challenges and successful governance from the past 5years. He said that, "Thepolicies adopted by the state are tailor-made in accordance with the citizens expectations and requirements".Further, he as presented on the policies adopted by the state in employment generation, infrastructuredevelopment and mobiling investments in social infrastructure. He has mentioned the important 3 I 's thatthe state should focus on, which are Innovation, Infrastructure and Inclusion. The state government hasinvested RS 45,000 crore in providing safe drinking water to all households by construction of 50 new watertreatment plants, 19,000 service tanks and by constructing 1.05 lakh km of water pipe lines. Theinfrastructure created under Mission Bhagiratha is 4 times more than that has been created sinceindependence. He said that the new industrial policy TS IPASS has created a friendly and robust eco-system,which provided employment to a close about million people. The state has planned and concentrated toovercome the power shortage of 2700MW in 2014. In a short span of 5 years the state governance hasadded 8650MW of contracted capacity and have added 3640MW of solar energy. Today the state is selfsufficient and supplying free power to all the farmers in the state.

Man burnt alive in cattle shed fire

Netherlands to set up seed park in TS PNS n HYDERABAD

The Netherlands delegationhas agreed to cooperate withthe Agriculture Departmentof Government of Telanganato set up a seed park in thestate at a meeting held at theTelangana Seed and OrganicCertification Authority hereon Tuesday. The other areas ofmutual cooperation are iden-tified as seed developmentsector, cultivation of horticul-tural crops, seed processingmachines, seed testing,exports of seeds from thestate and setting up of aninternational advisory coun-cil on seeds.

Telangana Seed andOrganic Certif icationAuthority director DrKesavulu explained the

growth of seed developmentand opportunities available instate for production of qual-ity seeds to the delegation. Hesaid that the Telangana SeedsDevelopment Corporation isexporting seeds to 10 states.Seed exports to theNetherlands would beencouraged through OECD

international seed certifica-tion. Agricultural PrincipalSecretary C Parthasarathysaid the country occupiesfourth place in global seedmarket because of significantcontribution from Telangana.The Netherland delegationcomprises Pooja Choudary,senior policy advisor,

Agriculture and Food quality,Embassy of the Netherlands,and EA Lse Van Diji, attachéfor agriculture, Nature andFood Quality in the embassy.

Parthasarathi said that hecame across a scheme likeRytu Bandhu, vogue inTelangana, in Europe too dur-ing his tour of theNetherlands and theGermany.

He listed out seeds of man-goes, sweet lemons, turmeric,red chilli, hybrid paddy, maizeand fodder crops are beingexported to Asia and Africancountries. He asked DrKesavulu to prepare propos-als to enter into an MoUwith the Netherlands delega-tion on agriculture, seed and horticulture developmentsectors.

Netherlands delegation with Agriculture Prinicipal Secretary C Parthasarathy at ameeting in Hyderabad on Tuesday

Time to go beyond caste-centric politics in Telugu states

Infant abducted from govt hospitalPNS n KHAMMAM

Ramadevi, a native ofKadndukuru in Telangana'sVemsuru mandal, had to cometo Khammam GovernmentHospital to seek treatment forher 16-day-old baby girl. A fewmoments later, the baby wasabducted from the hospital.The baby was born in the samehospital. The incident tookplace around 6.30 am.

The mother, Ramadevi, sus-pects a woman who befriend-ed her when the baby startedcrying in the hospital.According to Ramadevi, thewoman, who did not identifyherself, took the baby from thegrandmother, claiming that she

will give the newborn milk andtake her to the doctor's room.

Ramadevi said she had goneto the washroom, leaving thechild with the maternal grand-mother. "But as I came out ofthe washroom, I saw anunknown woman giving milkto my baby, who was crying.Minutes later, the woman tookmy baby to the ground floor,saying she has to be giveninjection, and then fled with thechild." The parents and relativesstarted searching for the babyin and around the hospitalpremises, but to no avail. CCTVfootage from the hospital showsa woman walking away fromone of the halls of the mother-child healthcare section.

FADNAVIS QUITS, MAKES WAY FOR SENA-NCP-CONG GOVT

Continued from Page 1

Balasaheb Thorat (Congress)and Jayant Patil (NCP) may besworn in as deputy chief minis-ters, sources said. The resigna-tions of Fadnavis and Ajit Pawarcame hours after the SupremeCourt Tuesday ordered floor testfor him on Wednesday to provehis majority in the House sayingthere is a "possibility of horsetrading" in case of delay.

As a month has elapsed afterthe declaration of results of theAssembly elections it is "incum-bent upon the court to protect

the democratic values" for which"immediate floor test" is the"most effective mechanism" tocurtail unlawful practices suchas horse trading as well as toavoid uncertainty and to effec-tuate smooth running of democ-racy by ensuring a stableGovernment, it said.

The apex court askedMaharashtra Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari to appoint a pro-tem speaker and ensure that allthe elected members of theHouse are sworn in onWednesday itself by 5 pm forpaving the way for floor test.

SC orders Maha floor test... Continued from Page 1

The court observed MLAshave not been administeredoath, though a month haspassed since declaration ofelection results in Maharashtra.It said that an interim order forconducting floor test is essen-tial to avoid horse-trading andcorrupt methods deployed to

gain majority. Earlier, in anunprecedented hearing onSunday on the brewing politi-cal drama in Maharashtra, theSupreme Court had asked theSolicitor General to produceletters of support, used byFadnavis in staking claim toform the government, onMonday morning at 10.30 a.m.for passing orders.

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 27, 2019 hyderabad 03

RIMEORNERC

HYDERABAD: Tollywood actorPrince Cecil, whowas caughtdrivingunder theinfluence ofalcohol onSaturdayappearedbefore the court,who slapped a fine of Rs 5,000on Tuesday. The actor, who roseto fame as a Big Bosscontestant, was booked underdrunken driving offence byCyberabad Police on Saturday.According to the police, Princewas checked for drunken drive atBachupally, near VNR college.The breath analyser showed 48mg/ml BAC (Blood AlcoholContent) against the prescribednorm of 30 mg/ml, followingwhich the Cyberabad traffic copsbooked a case against him .Later on being produced beforethe 4th Metropolitan Magistratespecial court Judge, Kukatpally,he was fined Rs 5000 .The Hyderabad and Cyberabadtraffic department haveintensified their drunk drivingchecks, this follows the numberof accidents reported due to overspeeding, rash driving anddrunken driving in bothjurisdictions, namely Hyderabadand Cyberabad.

Tollywood actorfined for drunkdriving

HYDERABAD: The MeerpetPolice arrested two persons forstealing bikes by divertingpublic's attention on Tuesday.The arrested were identified asSalambin Ali Timimi (23), aflower decorator fromChandrayangutta andMohammad Sohail (19), aresident of Amberpet. Officialsrecovered 2 Yamaha FZ bikes, 2Bajaj Pulsar 220 CC bikes, and aHonda Dio Motorcycle, all worth Rs 4.10 L from their possession.The police said that the duo wasinvolved in three cases atMeerpet police station and onecase each at LB Nagar and Uppalpolice station.

Two arrested forstealing bikes

NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

The very idea of cashless trav-el cannot be realised anytimesoon in Telangana as the StateGovernment is not keen oninvesting in commonmobility card. Touted as'One Telangana card', itfailed to take off in itsinitial stages due tothe budgetary con-straints. Despite allthe talk around themobility card, thegovernment seemsto be not expect-ing anything out ofthe project so it doesnot want to invest money in it.The card would enable citizensto commute across multiplemodes of transport in bothpublic and private transportsystems like the metro, RTC,rental cabs.

"While the governmentwants to provide the facility forcitizens, it doesn't want toinvest money or make moneyfrom it. Service providers feelthat this won't work and wantthe government to pay some-thing and a decision has to betaken. Service providers feelthat float and advertisement isnot enough for the invest-ment. We have tried but thatinterest is not coming from

them, ultimatelymarket hasto accept,"

said asenior offi-

cial from the ITdepartment.

National CommonMobility Card (NCMC) wasproposed to make sure onlyone card is used for travellingin both public and privatevehicles, toll plazas and evenretail shopping. After invitingproposals for open loop cardsystem, the governmentchanged it stance to closedloop. With the uncertaintyover TSRTC, officials are notsure if the state will ever havesuch card. However, otherMetros such as Kochi,Bengaluru and Delhi are pro-gressing with implementationof NCMC card.

On sidelines of inaugural ofTransacation Next hub, VishalAnand Kanvaty, Chief ofInnovation at NPCI said,

"Some of the metros havestarted prior to the issuance ofNCMC standards and roadmap is to come onto this stan-dards. There are three metros,which have already commis-sioned and one of them isalready live. Kochi, Bengaluruand Delhi already accepted it.On issuance side we have seentremendous progress, likebanks have completed certifi-cation and issuance cards is onfull swing. I see that this willpick up in next few months.Even bus operators have takenit. The work is in progress anddefinitely on the growth path."

NPCI officials state thatNCMC is quite innovative andwant this to be one-stop solu-tion for everything. Whenasked a NPCI official aboutprogress of common mobilitycard for Telangana, the officialsaid, "We are asking them touse the same standards asNCMC, we are discussing itand progressing".

‘One Telangana card'fails to take offl Govt not keen on investing in common mobility card anytime soon

The mobility card would enablecitizens to commute across multiple modes of transport in both public and private transportsystems like the metro, RTC and

rental cabs

CONRAD DIAS n HYDERABAD

The Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation hasbeen advertising 'SwachhHyderabad Swachh Telangana'campaign from a long time.However, in reality, theremoval of garbage by GHMCis becoming a matter of con-cern for the residents of thecity. Many parts in the city havegarbage piled up, be it outsidean apartment or in a vacantland.

The residents of Pragathienclave are facing a similar sit-uation where a pile of garbageoutside the apartment has notyet been cleared. Talking to 'thePioneer', Ravi T, a resident ofthe apartment said, "It has

been over a week since I havecomplained to the GHMCabout the issue but no actionhas been taken yet. TheSwachh Hyderabad campaignby GHMC seems to be on

paper as there is garbage allacross the city. Also it becomesthe responsibility of the citizensto keep the city clean."

Recently, a large pile ofgarbage was dumped and

burnt near Shilparamam. Thecomplaint had been reportedto GHMC and the people ofthat locality are waiting foraction to be taken. Similarly,different parts of the city hasbeen facing similar problems.Gautami Enclave ResidentsWelfare Association (GERWA)in Kondapur has been cleaningup their locality and has beenconducting garbage-liftingdrive for a few years now.

GHMC has been trying towork on the problems and aretrying to clear the garbageacross the city. The GHMCofficial has said that they lookafter every complaint that isregistered to them online andwill make sure that the resi-dents of the city live in a cleanenvironment.

Garbage piles become a nightmare

NAVEEN KUMAR n HYDERABAD

Amberpet police in a differentcase now booked a 27-year-old law student, who wasarrested by the Abids Policeearlier this month for threat-ening men with police casesafter honeypotting them, onTuesday. According tosources, she targets wealthybusinessmen and approachesthem under different aliases tolure and extort lakhs ofmoney. Hyderabad police saidthat she had filed several falsecases against innocent menusing fake names and identi-ties.

The accused, ShadanSultana Nizami, is a residentof Amberpet who introducedthe victim, a private employ-ee, in 2015 with the guise ofa Group-II exams aspirant,said the Abids Road police,adding that the victim SyedAbdul Raheem has evenattempted suicide because ofher torture. On Tuesday,complaint was received froma victim and cases werebooked under SC/ST Act.While she was released fromChanchalguda Jail after 17-day remand, Amberpet Police

got a PT warrant and arrest-ed her from outside the jailand produced her in front ofmagistrate and then sent herto a women's prison inChanchalguda.

Speaking about her history,police said, "We first receiveda complaint from Raheem onOctober 28 stating thatSultana Nizami approachedhim in 2015 by introducingherself as an aspirant ofGroup-II exams and devel-oped a friendship with him.She then started harassinghim and made him pay Rs 3lakh by threatening him thatshe will file false cases himand his family members. Shealso filed a case by changingher name as Sirisha Agarwalat Osmania University Police

Station and another com-plaint by changing her nameas Ms Suzane Khan atMalakpet Police station usingthe name of the complaint aswitness," the police said. Shecontinuously harassed anddemanding him to pay Rs 5lakhs more, due to fear, heswallowed tablets near St.Joseph church on October19, the police further said.

Following the fresh com-plaint, the Amberpet policeplaced Nizami under arrest onTuesday and remanded herinto judicial custody. It maybe mentioned here that thewoman has previously allegedthat Advocate ImmaneniRama Rao, who exposed theshell companies allegedlylinked to the Congress work-ing president A. RevanthReddy, has raped her.

He was arrested by theChilkalguda police in April onthe grounds of rape, extortion,and criminal intimidation. Itmay also be noted that arowdy-sheet was openedagainst him under the samepolice station limits, and itwas found that the accusedhas reportedly been involvedin 16 criminal cases pertain-ing to land grabbing.

E-auctionpre-bid meettomorrowPNS n HYDERABAD

In connection with e-auc-tions at Uppal BhagayathPhase-II plots, HyderabadMetropolitan DevelopmentAuthority (HMDA) is con-ducting a pre-bid meeting on28 November at 11am at itsTarnaka office. In view of theabove, the intending bidders,buyers, individuals, firmsmay attend the pre-bid meet-ing to clarify on any doubtsabout e-bidding process, reg-istration etc.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Hyderabad Traffic Policeheld an awareness programmeand distributed ISI approvedhelmets for free to the bike rid-ers, who were caught withoutnot wearing one after counsel-ing them at Secunderabad.Anil Kumar, AdditionalCommissioner of PoliceHyderabad Traffic police, spokeabout traffic rules and trafficsafety, asking every citizen tofollow them.

"In the last week an incidentoccurred in the limits ofCyberabad wherein a car felldown from the flyover due toover speeding, resulting in thedeath of a lady and injuring sixpersons. Also, on the previousnight in another incident, fourpersons were injured while

taking a U turn at Tankbundroad. Two wheeler's headcountis the most among fatal acci-dents and people should startwearing the gear for safety," saidthe official.

"Every year, Telangana Stateclocks in about 7,000 deathsand in our country and about1,50,000 deaths are reporteddue to road accidents, which isa huge loss to the country andalso affects our GDP. As aresponsible citizen, it is the dutyof all of us to follow the roadand safety rules. All citizens arerequested to buy a good qual-ity helmet of ISI standard alongwith the vehicle," he said.Hyderabad Traffic Police coun-selled motorcycle riders, whodid not wear helmets, on thespot and presented ISI standardHelmet.

Bikers counseled, givenaway helmets for free

PNS n HYDERABAD

A local court on Tuesday con-victed a 30-year-old teacher ofa private school here for killinga woman colleague by settingher ablaze in March 2015 andsentenced him to life imprison-ment. The city Court foundChalla Shiva Prasad guilty underIPC Section 302 (murder)andsentenced him to life imprison-ment. It also slapped a fine of

Rs2000 on him, a release fromthe Rachakonda PoliceCommissionerate said. Policesaid the 32-year-old womanteacher and Shiva Prasad usedto have frequent quarrels overcertain financial transactionsbetween them and also runningof the school.

On March 24, 2015 ShivaPrasad went to her house, wherea quarrel again broke out overhow the school should be run.

When she went into the kitchen,Shiva Prasad locked the frontdoor, pushed herdown, dousedher with kerosene and set herablaze. Hearing her screams,neighbours rushed to the house,broke open the front door andfound her lying dead with ShivaPrasad standing near the body.Based on a complaint filed bythe womans husband, a case wasregistered and Shiva Prasad wasarrested, police said.

Black buck rescued,three arrestedPNS n HYDERABAD

Officials of theCommissioner's Task Force,South Zone Team and theForest Department officialsapprehended three personsand rescued a black buck akaKrishna Jinka on Tuesday.The arrested were identified asMohd Anwar Ali (58), Mohd.Javeed (20) and ChapalaSiddaiah (32). Anwar Ali is aresident of Bahadurpura,Javeed is a resident of PahadiShareef and Siddaiah, who isa professional hunter, is a res-ident of Wanaparthy.

Mohd Anwar Ali, a bird

seller since 40 years at MurgiChowk in Hussaini Alam,acquires different types ofbirds and animals to sell to cus-tomers. Anwar met Javeed andstarted selling rabbits andother birds in the same market.The duo then met Siddaiah,who also has a habit of hunt-ing different birds and animalsfrom the Krishna River beltand comes to Hyderabad forselling them. A few days ago,Siddaiah caught a Black Bucknear Krishna River and sold itto Anwar. Police said thatAnwar and Javeed usually sellblack Buck's meat for Rs 3,000per kg to customers.

Teacher sentenced to life for setting ablaze colleague

ARUN DANIEL YELLAMATYn HYDERABAD

They are everywhere! AtRailway stations, traffic signals,temples and bus stations, streetvendors are omnipresent. Theyoccupy majority of the roadsleading to traffic snarls in thecity. They are the primary rea-son for the traffic congestion atmany junctions across the city.

Traffic snarls at three majorbus stands- Jubliee Bus Stand,Mehdipatnam andDilshukhnagar are a regularaffair. The street vendors occu-py most part of the roads lead-ing to traffic congestion, caus-ing inconvenience to the com-muters and pedestrians. Peopletravelling through these

stretches always get stuck intraffic jam and its worst duringthe morning and eveninghours.

"Mehdipatnam stretch is oneof the worst places to pass

through. The traffic manage-ment is not up to the mark andthere is no one to man the traf-fic. There are many U-turnshere and buses take a turnwherever they want to. Sharing

auto rickshaws too add to thewoes and stop right in betweenof the roads," said A Rahul, aprivate employee.

Also, the absence of zebracrossings at most of the traffic

signals has become a majorconcern. The lack of roadinfrastructure for pedestriansto cross the arterial roads alsocontributes to the causes oftraffic congestion in the city."It's a big struggle for us to crossat these bus stops, as there areno zebra crossings. Very fewvehicles stop at the pedestrianssignals," said S Shilpa, a house-wife.

Many also complained thatthere are no traffic police at themajor bus stops, which usual-ly witnesses traffic conges-tion. Nithya M, a student, whoregularly takes bus to her col-lege from Dilsuknagar said,"You'll find no traffic police inbusy hours. We will find themwhen there is hardly any traf-

fic. We need police personal tomanage these bus stands," shesaid. When checked with aTraffic Police official, he said,"We are trying our best toensure free flow of traffic. Butthere are so many vehicles atpeak hours and it surly gets dif-ficult with less manpower.

We are trying our best forsmooth flow of traffic in thebusy junctions which are oneof the toughest places to trav-el through." Speaking on theissue, a GHMC official saidthat they are taking stringentactions on the street vendorsand others who occupy mostpart of the roads, and making way for the com-muters to ensure smooth flowof traffic.

Vendors continue to occupy roads, cause traffic snarlsStreet vendorsoccupy most part of the roadsleading to trafficcongestion at majorbus stations in the city, causinginconvenience tothe commuters andpedestrians

Police officials giving away helmets to bike riders in the city on Tuesday

PNS n HYDERABAD

The GHMC town planningwing of west zone conduct-ed a special drive andimposed heavy penalties onongoing constructions,which lack safety precau-tions. This include, lack ofdust screens, unsafe cellardigging and C&D dumping.About Rs 1.5 Lakh penaltywas imposed on constructionby owner D Ganesh at Indiranagar, Gachibowli for failingto take precautions duringcellar excavation work.

Another Satyanarayanaof Jayanti Enclave wasslapped with fine of Rs 1lakh for dumping C&Dmaterial on road and dam-aging the road.

Builderspenalisedfor violation of rules

NPCI sets up an Innovation Lab at T-HubPNS n HYDERABAD

National PaymentsCorporation of India (NPCI)officially opened transactionnext (Txn Nxt) lab at T-Hub onTuesday to enable startupsaccess the latest technologicaladvancements in the digitalpayments. Principal SecretaryJayesh Ranjan and Vishal

Anand Kanvaty Chief ofInnovation at NPCI officiallyinaugurated the lab, located onthe fifth floor of T-Hub. Forthis first edition of the pro-gramme, T-Hub has partneredwith DST and NPCI being theumbrella organisation for retailpayments system in India.

The Fintech Accelerator pro-gramme, presented by DST as

per its NIDHI (NationalInitiative for Developing andHarnessing Innovations) accel-eration scheme, will be execut-ed by T-Hub and NPCI tobring in scale-up opportunitiesfor fintech startups with prod-ucts and services for the digitalpayments sector. The call forapplications for the FintechAccelerator programme will

start on 26 November and willclose on 5 January 2020. T-Hubwill help NPCI source the mostinnovative solutions that couldhelp bring efficiencies to nation-al-level payments platform.

Vishal Anand Kanvaty, Chiefof Innovation at NPCI said, "Weare glad to be associated with T-Hub and DST for the FintechAccelerator programme.

Kin of student express shock over Ruth’s deathPNS n HYDERABAD

Relatives of a 19-year-oldIndian-American student,who was sexually assaultedand strangulated to death inthe US, on Tuesday expresseddeep shock and grief over herkilling. In their condolencemessage on social media, thevictim's kin described her asa "loving and wonderfuldaughter, sister and cousin.""We all are praying for you,"they said in a post.

Ruth George's family hadmigrated to the US around30- years ago, a distant rela-tive said. He said they weredevastated on hearing thenews of her death from fam-ily friends.

The woman, an honoursstudent at the University ofIllinois, was found dead in theback seat of a family-ownedvehicle in a campus garage onSaturday. The brutal murder

of the woman has shocked theIndian community in the US.The assailant, Donald

Thurman, 26, was arrestedSunday from a Chicago metrostation. He is not associated

with the university. OnMonday, he was formallycharged with first-degree

murder and aggravated sexu-al assault for killing of thewoman.

Continued from Page 1

After being reported miss-ing from about 11 am onSaturday (November 23) byher family, Ruth was founddead in the backseat of her carat the Halsted Street ParkingGarage near Taylor Street.

After an autopsy, the Cookcounty medical examiner'soffice said on Sunday that Ruthwas strangled to death. The sus-pect, identified as DonaldThurman, a 26-year-old with acriminal record and sentencedto a six-year prison term in anarmed robber case, was releasedon parole in December 2018.

UIC Police chief Kevin Bookersaid: "Her phone was 'pinged' toUIC's Halsted Street ParkingGarage and we found her unre-sponsive in the back seat of afamily-owned vehicle."

Thurman allegedly confessed tothe crime after being arrestedon Sunday morning at thenearby Harrison and HalstedBlue Line stop. Investigatorssaid they had staked out thatstation after tracking his trav-el patterns with the help ofnearby cameras.

"All of us are devastated bythe loss. She was a student withdreams and aspirations tobecome a health professionaland help others. Our thoughts,our hearts, and our condolencesare with her family and friendsduring this trying period,"University Chancellor MichaelD Amiridis said in a statement.

Yellow ribbons were hungaround campus in memory ofGeorge, who was nicknamed'Baby Color'. On Monday night,dozens of people gathered at theplace where George was killed,remembering the honors stu-dent who dreamed of becom-ing a health professional. "It'svery shocking because I don'treally hear things that are oftenhappening at this campus, butlike I said, this is Chicago," saidUIC student Myles Turner.George was a sophomore, anhonors student and aKinesiology major. Ruth's sisterposted on Facebook that Georgewas the light of the family.

Ruth George

HYDERABADI STUDENT FOUND DEAD IN CHICAGO

HONEY TRAP

Another case against arrested law student

PNS n HYDERABAD

Employees of the TelanganaState Road TransportCorporation (TSRTC), whohave been detained by policewhile reporting for duty,alleged on Tuesday that therewere being treated likeMaoists and terrorists. "Wewere ready to join our dutiesbut the government is notready to accept it. Since 4 am,we have been waiting for themanager to accept our appli-cation but we are beingdetained instead," Rajkumar,an RTC employee atBarkatpura depot here said.

Echoing similar senti-ments, another RTC employ-ee Govind Rao said he wasnot allowed to have his break-fast and condemned thedetention by police. "We arebeing treated as Maoists andterrorists in the state. Wehave served in TSRTC for somany years. This is not cor-rect. Few of our employeesreached the depot to submitan application to the depotmanager allowing us toresume our duties. But we gotdetained by the police. I wasnot allowed to have breakfast.This is not the way to treatus," Rao said.

Police detained 100 TSRTCworkers ready to report forduty, a day after the TSRTC-Joint Action Committee(JAC) issued an order to calloff the nearly two-monthstrike and asked the workersto re-join services. Thedetained employees weretaken to Osmania UniversityPolice Station. The TelanganaHigh Court on November 23refused to adjudicate on theissue of strike by around48,000 TSRTC employees. Itdecided to refer the matter tothe Labour Department for asettlement. Also, the stategovernment has said it willnot accept the agitatingemployees back for work.

Heavy police deploymenthas been made at bus depotsand at Bus Bhawan. A two-tier police system was put inplace at the SecunderabadJubilee Bus Station. The RTCemployees have made it clearthat they will report for dutyand have officially called off

their strike. Police said theyare ready to detain moreworkers if they agitate. Policeforces also blocked RTCemployees at the KachegudaRailway Station.

A state cabinet meetingwill be held at Pragati Bhavanhere on November 28(Thursday). There is a possi-bility that it could be extend-ed by a day. The RTC issue isexpected to be taken upamong other issues duringthe meeting. The RTCemployees on Monday calledoff their 52-day strike, duringwhich at least five workersemployed with the state-runorganisation committed sui-cide. The employees had beenprotesting since October 5over several demands,including revision of pay.

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 27, 2019 hyderabad 04

Continued from Page 1

"Sridhar Babu is in firstplace because he maintainsbalance in regard to emo-tions, besides working silent-ly", one of the party leadersopined. Another leader opinedthat Sridhar Babu may be thebest fit for TPCC chief post asof now since there are noAssembly elections as of now.

It is under-stood thatSridhar Babuand Bhattimet partyhigh com-mand regardingTPCC chief postrecently. According to sources,the present TPCC chief NUttam Kumar Reddy has stat-ed that he would be replacedby "a new face." Indicating thatUttam is on the way out, it wasTPCC vice-president andMedia Committee chairmanMallu Ravi who issued a pressnote on Tuesday announcingthe appointment of two newTPCC official spokespersons.

T Jagga Reddy, who hadsent his bio-data to high com-mand expecting TPCC chiefposition, said that the partyleaders might not make theappointment now. In the nextbreath, he observed laughing-ly: "But anything happen inCongress party."

Continued from Page 1

Woman workers wereturned away. Many womenworkers were reduced totears.

In Hanmakonda, policepersonnel and RTC workersclashed. Later, the workerswere bundled away in waitingpolice vans and moved to var-ious police stations.

Demonstrations werereported fromMahabubnagar, with policetaking protesting workers intocustody. The police picked upeven workers who had beenworking out in DIET groundsin the city. In Nagarkurnool,there were reports of policeand RTC workers pushingeach other. MRPS presidentManda Krishna Madiga wasplaced under house arrest inKollapur as he had pledgedsupport to the RTC workers.

In Kalwakurthy, womanworkers had a wordy duelwith the police while seekingto speak to the RTCd e p o tmanag-er.

In all,25 RTCw o r k e r swere takeninto cus-tody atv a r i o u s

depots across Khammam.Tension prevailed in undi-vided Adilabad district as thepolice did not allow RTCworkers to enter the busdepots.

At Mancherial bus depot,the police frustrated theefforts of the RTC workerswho had reached the depotwith intent to resume duty. InNirmal, SP Sasidhar Raomade heavy bandobust. TheRTC workers, displaying plac-ards demanding the govern-ment to allow them to resumeduty, tried to barge into thebus depots. However, thepolice foiled their efforts lead-ing to tension. In the process,one of the workers sufferedchest pain and was immedi-ately rushed to hospital.

In Hyderabad, protestswere held at all bus depots,including Jeedimetla andHayatnagar. The police tookinto custody 60 workers whohad reached Kachiguda busdepot to resume work.Similarly, 40 workers were

taken into custody inBarkatpura. They

were rushed toOU PoliceS t a t i o n .Further, 13persons weretaken intocustody in

Mehdipatnam.

Tension at busdepots as police...

Heavy policedeployment wasmade at busdepots and atBus Bhawan. Atwo-tier policesystem was putin place at theSecunderabadJubilee BusStation

PNS n NEW DELHI

Telangana Congress MPs -TPCC president N UttamKumar Reddy, KomatireddyVenkatreddy and A RevanthReddy expressed deep anguishand agony at the inhumanmanner in which RTCemployees are being treated byChief Minister

K Chandrashekhar Rao andhis cohorts like RTC MDSunil Sharma.

The Congress MPs firstsought the appointment withPrime Minister NarenderModi to discuss the RTC issue.The PMO said that theappointment might bearranged on Wednesday. Later,they met Union TransportMinister Nitin Gadkari at hisoffice and urged that theCentral Government to imme-diately intervene into the RTCissue.

Uttam Kumar Reddy saidthat the Central Government

holds 33% share in the RTCand therefore, it was its duty toprotect the institution andemployees. He said nearly50,000 employees have ren-dered services for severaldecades and the RTC busesoperate services in all rural andremote areas. Therefore, hesaid that the CentralGovernment could not aban-don the institution. He urgedNitin Gadkari to play pro-

active role in resolving theissue. Responding to therequest made by CongressMPs, the Union Ministerassured that he could convenea meeting on Thursday. UttamKumar Reddy said that theChief Minister was neitherresolving the demands raisedby RTC employees nor allow-ing the workers to re-joinduties unconditionally.

"The Chief Minister's direc-

tions to the RTC manage-ment not to take back theemployees only shows his cru-elty, inhuman attitude andvindictiveness which is rarelyseen in public life in India.What the CM is trying to do?Is he trying to drive nearly50,000 families to suicide?" heasked.

The Congress MP said KCRcame to power on the promiseof providing a job to everyhousehold. "KCR not only failedto fulfil this promise, but nowhe is to remove existing jobs ofRTC employees," he said.

Strongly opposing privati-sation of RTC, Uttam KumarReddy said that the privatisa-tion of RTC would increase thecost of travel for general pub-lic and permanent closure ofRTC. Uttam Kumar Reddystrongly condemned KCR fordenying employment to RTCemployees and the way he hasbeen trying to oust them fromtheir jobs.

TPCC working president and MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy, A Revanth Reddy andKomatireddy Venkat Reddy with Union Minister Niting Gadkari in New Delhi

Police bundling away women RTC employees at Jubliee Bus Station in Secunderabad on Tuesday

Telangana Cong MPs meet Nitin Gadkari

HYDERABAD: NationalMazdoor Union former leaderSayyad Mahmood on Tuesdayblamed the RTC JAC for thefailure of strike. He opined thatthe JAC leaders failed to getdemands fulfilled by the gov-ernment. As a recognised tradeunion, the NMU alwaysremind the elders in the gov-ernment of its demands, butshould not criticise the CM atwill while observing strike.The criticism proved detri-mental to the workers.

The NMU leaders without anyexperience in handling situa-tions like this put the careers ofover 48,000 RTC workers at risk.Mahmood pointed out that KCR,during his previous stint asTransport Minister, strived hardfor development of the RTC. Acommittee should study on theproposed merger of the RTC withthe government. On the basis ofthe committee report, the gov-ernment would decide whetherthe merger is feasible or not.

JAC leaderscome under fire

WILL STAND BY RTCWORKERS: CONGRESSHYDERABAD: Stating that they will not allow the TRS government toprivatise 5,100 RTC routes, Telangana Congress made it clear thatthey will nationalise the RTC again after coming to power. TheCongress also stated that it will merge the RTC into stategovernment immediately after coming to power saying it is theiragenda. On Tuesday, several Congress leaders separately spit venomon the state government for not allowing the RTC employees toresume their duties on Tuesday morning. CLP leader Mallu BhattiVikramarka alleged that the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao isviolating the rights provided by the Constitution. It is atrocious on the part of the government to state that it will notallow the employees to resume their duties. "How RTC in-charge MDwill speak like that? Either Chief Minister or Transport Minister hasto speak on RTC issue. IAS officers are crossing their limits. KCR istrying to run the state with some police officials and IAS officials.We will obstruct the privatisation of RTC by preparing an action asan opposition party if the government tried to privatize the RTC. Wewill stand by the RTC workers", he said. Stating that November 26is Constitution Day, Bhatti said that the merger of CLP would havenot taken place if the Speaker initiated action against the CongressMLAs, who shifted their loyalties to other parties as per 10thSchedule. There could not be the merger of 2/3 merger process atall if the Speaker initiated action against the MLAs immediately afterthey announced their defection to TRS, he opined.

KCR ridiculing democracy: Jeevan ReddyCongress MLC T Jeevan Reddy said that the High Court didn't tellthat the RTC strike is illegal. KCR is ridiculing the democracy. RTCMD is crossing his limits and is stating that he will not allow theRTC workers to resume their duties, he pointed out alleging that theissue has been turned as complicated one due to stubborn attitudeof KCR. Government has no right to implement the VoluntaryRetirement Scheme (VRS) forcefully, he said alleging that KCR willstay in the seat only for five years. On one hand when the nation iscelebrating the Constitution day, the State government on the otherhand is violating the rights of RTC workers by not taking them backto work, said Congress senior leader V Hanumantha Rao.

GOVERNMENT CANNOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR RTC WORKERS' SUICIDES: HC Continued from Page 1

The petitioner had placedbefore the bench the suicidenotes blaming "the style offunctioning" of the govern-ment for the suicides amongthe workers. After goingthrough them, the bench feltthat the trade union leadersshould be made accountablefor the suicides since theyhad called the strike.

Further, the petitioner com-plained to the bench that thepolice had been arresting RTCworkers reporting for duty atdepots following withdrawal ofthe strike. The petitionerexpressed his apprehensionsover the possibility of "manymore workers committing sui-cide" because of the "adamantattitude" of the government,which was not inclined totake them back into service.

On this, the court observedthat, if the police had notallowed the RTC workers to

enter bus depots, the petitionercould file another affidavit. Itposted the matter to Thursday.

KCR convenes 2-daycabinet meet to decide...Continued from Page 1

Although this decision waschallenged in the High Court,the court dismissed thepetition, saying that the stategovernment had powers totake a decision onprivatisation of RTC routes asper the provisions of the newMotor Vehiclea Act enactedrecently by the Centre.In this backdrop, the cabinet

is expected to take a call onthe privatisation of remaining

routes and the role of RTC inthe eventuality ofprivatization, among otherthings. On Monday, the JAChad announced its decision tocall off the 52-day-long strikeand asked employees to beready to rejoin duties onTuesday. However, the stategovernment rejected JAC'soffer, saying that LabourCourt is seized of the RTCissue and hence thegovernment could not takethe staff back into dutiespending resolution by court.

CONRAD DIAS n HYDERABAD

The Mental health of youth hasbeen a topic of concern for quitesome time now and studieshave shown that in India, suicidemortality rate is highest in theage group of 20-30. The youthare losing hope for reasonsrelated to career or personal life.The southern states have wit-nessed more suicides in recenttimes as compared to others.

"Suicide by young people hasbecome a common phenome-non these days and every day wecome across at least one news of

suicide by a young boy or girlacross the country," said Prof.Vikram Patel, a clinical scientist.He was speaking at the 32ndanniversary of the CSIR-Centrefor Cellular and MolecularBiology (CCMB), Hyderabad,on Tuesday. On the occasion,Vikram Patel spoke about men-tal health and also explainedhow it can be cured with thehelp of science.

Speaking on the occasion, hesaid that the percentage of sui-cides among youth is way aheadthan that of US. The NationalCrime Records Bureau (NCRB)data of 2012 shows that there

were around 60,000 suicides inIndia, which is double the num-ber of suicides reported theprevious year.

"Peer pressure and influenceof social media is probably oneof the main reasons of suicidenot just in India but also acrossthe globe and it has increased inthe last decade as all of us alsolive a virtual life," he further said.He also said about the plastici-ty of the brain and how itmoulds itself to any environ-ment. This determined thebehaviour of a person once heis matured. That's why it is saidthat kids and toddlers should be

kept in a good environment fora healthy mental growth.

"Role of parents play animportant part in the mentalhealth of their children.Sometimes more than parentalpressure, pressure from peersalso becomes a reason for sui-cides among youths," he said. "Inever forced my children to joinIIT. I would also say this that thepressure on the young guns areno more coming from homesbut from their peers. We as par-ents are just adding onto thatpressure by adding up moreexpectations," Vikram Patelsaid.

Peer pressure reason behind suicides, says Vikram Patel

Prof. Vikram Patel, a clinical scientist, and other dignitaries during the 32ndanniversary of the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad

TPCC may getnew chief in15 days...

PNS n AMARAVATI

Former Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister N. ChandrababuNaidu on Tuesday sought theresignation of senior CabinetMinister Botsa Satyanarayanafor comparing Amaravati witha 'burial ground', saying thecomment is dreadful andunpardonable.

Slamming Minister forMunicipal Administration andUrban Development, theleader of opposition said heinsulted five crore people ofthe state and all the prominentpersonalities who had partic-ipated in the foundation stonelaying ceremony. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadlaid foundation stone forAmaravati on October 22,2015. Naidu was then theChief Minister. Amaravati isthe brainchild of Naidu, whois the president of the TeluguDesam Party (TDP).

"If you can't respect yourCapital City, at least respect thesentiments of farmers whopooled their lands," tweetedNaidu. "Respect the namewhich was derived from theglorious civilization of yore,respect the identity and hopesof 5 Crore Telugu peoplewhom you represent," he said.

Stating that he is pained atwhatever is happening,

Naidu alleged that ChiefMinister Y.S. Jagan MohanReddy is on course to eraseboth the past and futureleaving nothing for the com-ing generations. Naidu saidevery citizen of Andhrawishes to see Amaravati asthe most magnificent city inthe world.He claimed thatduring TDP rules Amaravatiwas abuzz with activity asconstruction works worthRs 52,000 crore were takenup. "There was hectic activ-ity with thousands of work-ers and large number of vis-itors. Even an enemy wouldnot call it a graveyard", hesaid. "Do you see the uni-versities standing there asgraveyard? Are the highcourt, assembly and secre-tariat looking graveyard toyou?" asked Naidu.

Naidu slams Botsa for‘graveyard’ remarks PNS n HYDERABAD

Another petition was filed inTelangana High Court onTuesday objecting to the filmtitle ‘Kamma Rajyamlo KadapaRedlu’, directorial flick of RamGopal Verma, stating that thetitle is likely to foment com-munal trouble.

Therefore, the petitionerprayed to the court to issueorders stopping the release ofthe film, which is all set to hitscreens across Telugu states onNovember 29.

The petitioner, IndrasenaChowdary, moved the HighCourt and his counsel BalajiVadera told the court that the

film, if released, would triggerclashes between Kamma andReddy communities. Therefore,he prayed to the court to takeup the petition for urgent hear-ing. However, the High Court bench told the counselfor the petitioner to take uphearing on the petition onWednesday.

Petition against RGV's new flick

PNS n BRAHMANAVELLAMLA

Secretary in the CMO SmitaSabharwal on Tuesdayinspected UdayasamudramLift-Irrigation Scheme worksand also the surge pool worksunderway atBrahmanavellamla and theUdayasamudram deliverymain canal works.

Chief Engineer Narasimhatold the official that 90 percent of the lining works of thesurgepool pump house workshave been through.

Reviewing the progress withEngineer-in-Chief MuralidharRao, Incharge collectorChandrasekhar at the 12thBattallion conference hall here,she asked the officials to speedup execution of theUdayasamudram project works

which aims to irrigate onelakh acres under its right andleft canals. The officials told herthat 1349 acres are yet to be

acquired for the canals and tun-nel lining works up to a dis-tance of 4 km has been com-pleted.

Speed up Udayasamudramproject works, officials told

Secretary in the CMO Smita Sabharwal with Irrigation department officialsinspecting the Udayasamudram Lift-Irrigation Scheme works on Tuesday

Woman techie runover by RTC bus

Continued from Page 1

"Brake failure could be the reason. She was profuselybleeding, lying dead on an uneven patchy road. The busbelongs to the Barkatpura Depot," said the police.

The victim's body was sent for a post-mortem exami-nation. A case under section 304-A of the IPC, which per-tains to negligent driving causing death, has been registeredagainst the driver. The accident comes two days after aspeeding car flew off the recently inaugurated flyover atBiodiversity Complex Junction near Gachibowli, killing awoman bystander and injuring four others grievously,including the woman's daughter and the car's driver.

WE WERE TREATED LIKE TERRORISTS: RTC STAFF

PNS nMUMBAI/NEW DELHI

Shiv Sena chief UddhavThackeray will be the first mem-ber of the Thackeray family tobecome Maharashtra chief min-ister. Uddhav is set to lead theShiv Sena-Nationalist CongressParty-Congress alliance gov-ernment, called Maha VikasAghadi, in Maharashtra.

This is also the first time thatthe Shiv Sena, a regional partyfounded in 1966 by Uddhav'sfather Balasaheb Thackeray, isjoining hands with the Congressand the NCP.

After he becomes chief min-ister, Uddhav will have to seekelection to the MaharashtraAssembly or the LegislativeCouncil within six months.

Uddhav has never contestedan election and is not a memberof either of the House of the statelegislature. His son Aadityabecame the first member of theThackeray family to contest anelection when he won from theWorli assembly constituencylast month. Uddhav may chooseto contest an election after get-ting one of the party's MLAs toresign. His son Aaditya couldalso resign from the Worli seatto pave way for his father.

In the assembly elections, theBJP won 105 seats and Shiv Sena56, while the Congress-NCPcombine won 98 seats in the288-member assembly.

Uddhhav, born on July 27,1960, took charge of the partyafter his father passed away in2012. He started his politicaljourney when he began han-dling the daily business of theShiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamna.

He openly criticised theadministrative skills and work-ing style of Narayan Rane, whowas the Sena chief minister of

Maharashtra in 1999 and hisspat led to Rane's resignation.Rane was expelled from theparty as well. Uddhav led theShiv Sena to a massive victory inthe Brihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation elections in 2002.

In 2003, he was made theparty working president. Aftera fallout between him and hiscousin brother Raj Thackeray in2006, the latter went on to formthe Maharashtra NavnirmanSena. Uddhav's son, Aaditya, ispresident of the Yuva Sena.

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 27, 2019 nation 05

In the Assemblyelections, the BJPwon 105 seats andShiv Sena 56, whilethe Cong-NCPcombine won 98seats in the 288-member assembly

PNS n NEW DELHI

The legal tussle between theBJP-led parties and the ShivSena-NCP-Congress combineover government formation inMaharashtra pertains to a sit-uation calling to "maintaindemocratic values" and "facili-tate the fostering of the citizens'right of good governance", theSupreme Court said Tuesday.

The 3-party alliance, MahaVikas Aghadi, raised questionsconcerning important consti-tutional issues "touching uponthe democratic bulwark of ournation" and "there is no doubtthat the contentions have to beanswered", it said. A benchcomprising Justices NVRamana, Ashok Bhushan andSanjiv Khanna in the first paraof the 19-page order spokeabout the boundaries withinwhich the apex court had to actin the situation over govern-ment formation.

"There is no gainsaying thatthe boundaries between thejurisdiction of Courts andParliamentary independencehave been contested for a longtime. "However, there is a needand requirement for recogniz-ing institutional comity and

separation of powers so as totailor judicial interference in thedemocratic processes only as alast resort," the bench observed."This case pertains to one suchsituation, wherein this Court iscalled upon to adjudicate andmaintain democratic valuesand facilitate the fostering of thecitizens' right of good gover-nance," it said.

It also noted that the situa-tion was such that when bothsides are agreeable to the con-duction of a floor test, and anorder directing it is not preju-dicial to anyone, then there isno reason to defer the same.

The bench said: "At thisinterim stage, we may note that

it is imperative for this Court tobe cognizant of the need to takeinto consideration the com-peting claims of the parties,uphold the democratic valuesand foster constitutional moral-ity." The issue of constitution-al morality was also dealt by theapex court in its recent Nov 13,2019 verdict while dealing withthe disqualification of MLAs ofKarnataka Assembly.

In the Karnataka judgement,the apex court had emphasizedthe requirement of imbibingconstitutional morality by theconstitutional functionaries andundemocratic and illegal prac-tices within the political arenashould be curtailed.

Ajit Pawar's resignationsparks memes,captions on TwitterPNS n NEW DELHI

Maharashtra Deputy ChiefMinister Ajit Pawar onTuesday resigned from thepost ahead of the floor test inthe Assembly, setting Twitterabuzz with humorous memes,clippings and comments.H a s h t a gAjitPawarResignswas trending with1,830 tweets, withusers quoting variousmedia reports on theissue.

One post had aclipping of men dancingmerrily along with the caption:"Sanjay Raut's reaction afterAjit Pawar tesigns." In oneclipping, a man was seen cart-wheeling while dancing.

One user posted a meme ofa crying Bollywood actresswith a caption: "We still need-ed more humiliation".

One meme was of aHollywood actor. He wrote:"Ajit Pawar resigns as DeputyCM and re-signs with NCPand his uncle Sharad pawar.Will NCP now say 'Come join

us'." One netizen posted aclipping from a Hollywoodmovie with the caption: "Letthe campaign begin." Hewrote: "Ajit Pawar resigns asthe Deputy Chief Ministerthe day after a case he wasaccused in was closed. Thingsjust get spiced up". Another

w r o t e :"Yesterday: Ajit

Pawar gets cleancheat (sic) in the irri-gation scam. Today:

Ajit Pawar resigns asDeputy CM."A post had a morose-

looking man standing akimboalong with the caption 'public'and a timeline of the devel-opments that took place inMaharashtra for govermentformation since November 23.

One post was critical of theBJP moves on new govern-ment in the state, with onecommenting: "Tables haveturned ... Ajit Pawar resigns asDeputy CM, CM Fadnavis tobrief media at 3:30pm."

A post read: "They are mak-ing a fool of the public".

An Eventful day with lot oftwists and turns9.14 am: In an editorial inShiv Sena mouthpiece‘Saamana', the party lashesout at Maharashtra governorover the hush hush swearing-in ceremony of Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis. It saidwhile one Bhagat Singh wentto the gallows for freedom, theother one "hanged" democracyin the darkness of night.

10.39 am: Floor test in MahaAssembly for Chief MinisterFadnavis to prove his majorityin the assembly will be held onWednesday: SC

10.42 am: SC directs MahaGovernor Bhagat SinghKoshyari to ensure all electedmembers of the House aresworn in on Wednesday itself.

11 am: Prithviraj Chavan sayshis party, Sena and NCP aresatisfied with SC order of floortest, Constitution has beenrespected on Constitution Day

11.03 am: End of BJP's game,says NCP on SC's ruling overMaha political drama

11.22 am: Shiv Sena leaderSanjay Raut says truth cannotbe defeated

11.32 am: Opposition parties,including the Congress and theShiv Sena, skips a joint sittingof both houses of Parliamenton the Constitution Day tomark their protest against theBJP's alleged high-handedness in Maharashtra.

11.39 am: Sharad Pawar sayshe is grateful to SC forupholding democratic values

11.46 am: Security steppedup around the Vidhan Bhawanin Mumbai. Elaborate policearrangement has been madeto avoid any untoward incidentoutside the premises.

11.50 am: The BJP says floortest in the Maha assembly onWednesday will establish theposition of different parties inits entirety. Its nationalspokesperson Nalin Kohli alsorejects the contention that theSC order is a "setback" to theBJP

12.07 PM: Shiv Sena leaderEknath Shinde says ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavisshould resign as the UddhavThackeray's party-led coalitionhas the support of "162 MLAs"to prove majority in theMaharashtra Assembly

12.18 pm: Congress presidentSonia Gandhi expressesconfidence of a win in MahaAssembly floor test

12.34 pm: Ex-PM ManmohanSingh says the way the Centrebehaved in Maharashtra, notcertain constitutional normssafe in hands of presentestablishment

1.18 pm: All newly electedBJP MLAs in Maharashtrahave been asked to reachMumbai to attend a meetingwhich will be addressed byFadnavis on Tuesday evening

2.17 pm: Ahead of floor test inthe Maharashtra Assembly,Congress calls forappointment of senior-mostlawmaker in assembly as pro-tem speaker, sayingprecedents and conventionsshould be followed

2.29 pm: Union Minister RaviShankar Prasad criticisesCongress for boycotting theConstitution Day celebrationsin Parliament and said it is an"insult" to Bhim Rao Ambedkar

3.01 pm: Narendra Modi holdsa meeting with BJP chief AmitShah, who is also the party'sworking president J P Naddaafter the SC orders a floor testin the Maha Assembly onWednesday.

3.16 pm: Shiv Sena ChiefUddhav Thackeray to be chiefminister for five years: SanjayRaut after meeting of ShivSena-NCP-Congress allianceleaders

3.18 pm: Shiv Sena leaderSanjay Raut claims Ajit Pawaris now with Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance

3.20 pm:Maharashtra DeputyChief Minister Ajit Pawar hasresigned, says Shiv Sena MPSanjay Raut

3.42 pm: NCP's leader AjitPawar gave his resignationleading to realisation we don'thave the numbers: ChiefMinister Fadnavis

3.44 pm: CM Fadnavis tellspress conference that he willgo to Raj Bhawan to tenderresignation. He said Senathreatened BJP over ChiefMinister's post

PNS n MUMBAI,

The BJP received a big jolt inMaharashtra as rebel NCPleader Ajit Pawar quit asDeputy Chief Minister afterhectic parleys and persuasionby Sharad Pawar and family,Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rautsaid, adding that this is a "bigvictory" for the Maha VikasAghadi. After the SupremeCourt ruling for a floor test inthe Assembly on Wednesdaythe opposition was in a jubilantmood. Junior Pawar quit tomake truce with the NCPsupremo as the supportingMLAs withdrew from AjitPawar and went back to theparent party.

An isolated Ajit Pawar wasleft alone. But at the meeting on

Tuesday where Sharad Pawarand Supriya Sule were present,it was decided that he will quitand not break the family.

Earlier after the SC ruling,leaders of Shiv Sena-NationalistCongress Party-Congress saidon Tuesday that it would be a

transparent and clean affair onthat day, and the BJP's "gamewas over". "Since there will bean open vote which will be tele-cast live, there is no scope forany manipulations in the floortest by the Bharatiya JanataParty and the claimed sup-

porters of Ajit Pawar," saidSena leader Kishore Tiwari.NCP's National SpokespersonNawab Malik termed the apexcourt ruling as "SatyamevaJayate... BJP's game is over".

BJP state PresidentChandrakant Patil said that

the party respects the court ver-dict and "we shall prove ourmajority on the Assembly floortomorrow". Sanjay Raut hailedthe verdict and said the apexcourt had given "30 hourstimes, but we can prove ourmajority in 30 minutes today".

This is the biggestsetback for Modi,Shah: AntonyNEW DELHI: Former DefenceMinister A.K. Antony onTuesday termed thedevelopments in Maharashtraand the verdict of the SupremeCourt as the biggest setbackfor Prime Minister NarendraModi and Home Minister AmitShah. The Supreme Court onTuesday directed conductingthe Maharashtra Assemblyfloor test on Wednesday. "Nodoubt, this is the biggestsetback for Modi and AmitShah. But I am sure that theywill not sit idle. What's mostimportant is today is theConstitution Day," said Antonywhile speaking to the media,here. "This government hasbeen using all agencies — theCBI, IB and Enforcement,Directorate — for things thatshould not be done," saidAntony, who is also aCongress Working Committeemember.

MUMBAI: MaharashtraCongress president BalasahebThorat has been elected as theparty's legislature wing leader,the Congress said on Tuesday.AICC general secretary in-charge for MaharashtraMallikarjun Kharge made theanouncement at a meeting ofthe party MLAs held at a hotelhere. "The Congress president(Sonia Gandhi) has approvedthe name of Balasaheb Thoratas the Congress LegislatureParty leader in the MahaLegislative Assembly," Khargetold the MLAs. Thorat is aneight-term MLA and currentlyheads the MaharashtraPradesh Congress Committee.The Congress has tied-up withthe NCP and Shiv Sena toform government inMaharashtra. The SupremeCourt on Tuesday directed thatthe floor test for Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis to provehis majority in the MahaAssembly be conducted onWednesday. It also directedGovernor Koshyari to ensurethat all elected members of theHouse are sworn in onWednesday itself. The apexcourt also said that the entireproceedings have to betelecast live. Voting in theAssembly shall not be on thebasis of secret ballot, it said.

Balasaheb Thoratelected Maha Conglegislature leader

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress on Tuesdaycalled for the appointment ofthe senior-most lawmaker inMaharashtra Assembly aspro-tem speak-er, sayingp r e c e -d e n t sand con-ventionsshould befollowed.

The party'sassertion comes ahead of theMaharashtra Assembly floortest on Wednesday after theSupreme Court gave direc-tions for holding it onWednesday.

"It has happened in ninecases. If you remember inKarnataka, first K G Bopaiahji was made speaker, but thenhe was changed as he was notsenior-most. So automatical-ly, it is a tradition that thesenior-most (legislator) ismade pro-tem speaker. We goby conventions and tradi-tions," Congress spokesper-son Abhishek Singhvi toldreporters.

‘Senior MLAshould bemade pro-temspeaker’ PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court gave thebest gift to the nation on theConstitution Day on Tuesdayby ordering the floor test in theMaharashtra Assembly tomor-row, said the lawyers for theShiv Sena-NCP-Congresscombine which challenged theGovernor's decision allowingDevendra Fadnavis to form thegovernment in the state.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, who appeared for theSecretary to the Governor,maintained that the order was"no setback" and it has to berespected and complied with.

Upbeat over the order,senior advocate AbhishekManu Singhvi, appearing forthe NCP and the Congress,thanked the apex court for itsorder and said that the entirepolitical episode was the low-est level of morality and con-stitutional values which has allhappened due to BJP. "Todayon Constitution Day, this is thebest gift to the nation from theSupreme Court. We thank theapex court that the Saturday'splea was heard immediately onSunday, again on Monday andtomorrow by 5 pm the floor

test has to be conducted,"Singhvi said.

It has never happened inIndia's history that constitu-tional authorities, on the basisof a list in which no MLA hadgiven support in writing, wenton to "shamelessly" form gov-ernment in Maharashtra, hesaid, adding that the BJPbrought a black name fordemocracy.

"This is a unique event initself. It has neither happenedin Karnataka, Goa, Manipur,Arunachal Pradesh orUttarakhand. This is the low-est level of morality and con-stitutional values and all thishas happened due to BJP. Thisis a black letter day for the BJP.

We are very thankful to theSupreme Court that onConstitution day it has givengift to the nation of the pre-cious constitutional values wehave," Singhvi said. AdvocateDevadutt Kamath, who hadappeared for Congress in thecase said that the other con-stitutional aspects of the casesuch as powers of theGovernor will be done at a laterdate.

"The court has said thiscase raises constitutional issuesregarding the powers of theGovernor and the manner inwhich this swearing in hashappened, all these issues willsubsequently go into a laterdate," said Kamath.

PNS nMUMBAI

With Deverndra Fadnavisresigning as MaharashtraChief Minister, Shiv Senawill get its third ChiefMinister in the state: UddhavThackeray. The path forUddhav Thackarey became clearafter the four-day-old BJP gov-ernment led by DevendraFadnavis resigned, a day beforethe crucial floor test in the 288-member House.

Before Fadnavis, Deputy CMAjit Pawar submitted his resig-nation to him. Earlier in the day,

the SupremeCourt passed an interim ordercalling for a floor test in theMaha Assembly on Wednesday.After considering the competingclaims of the parties. TheSupreme Court gave its verdicton a joint petition filed byCongress-NCP-Shiv Sena

against the decision ofGovernor B.S. Koshyari toinvite the BJP to form a gov-ernment in Maharashtra. Thetop court also said that dur-ing the impending floor test,

there will be no secret ballot,that the entire process has to becompleted before 5 p.m. and theproceeding would be telecastlive. The Sena, which hadjoined hands with the BJP inMaha in 1989, got the first suc-cess in 1995 assmbly polls afterthe two parties won 73 and 65seats respectively, paving the wayfor the Shiv Sena's first CM.

MAHA ‘DRAMA’

Uddhav first Thackeray family member to be CMAfter Manohar Joshi, Narayan Rane,Sena to get 3rd Chief Minister

Opposition rejoices as Ajit Pawar quits as Dy CMAjit Pawar yielded to persuasion by his clan and NCP leaders?MUMBAI: Resignation of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday afternoon, which led tothe collapse of the four-day-old government headed by the BJP, came amidst sustained persuasion by hisfamily members and senior NCP leaders, sources said. Party patriarch Sharad Pawar spoke to his prodigalnephew over phone in the morning asking him to revisit his decision to align with the BJP and stay in power.In the morning hours, Ajit Pawar met with Sadanand Sule, husband of his cousin and Sharad Pawar'sdaughter Supriya Sule, at a hotel in south Mumbai, sources said. "Dada (as Ajit is fondly called) helddiscussions with Sule at the hotel on Tuesday morning. Pawar saheb also spoke to him over phone in themorning," they said. After meeting Sule, Ajit Pawar went to 'Varsha', the official bungalow of MaharashtraChief Minister, where the BJP held its core committee meeting. After the meeting, Ajit Pawar tendered hisresignation citing "personal reasons".

PM Modi meetsAmit Shah, J P NaddaPNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi held a meeting onTuesday with BJP chief AmitShah, who is also the Unionhome minister, and theparty's working president JP Nadda after the SupremeCourt ordered a floor test inthe Maharashtra Assemblyon Wednesday.

Though there was no offi-cial word on what tran-spired in the meeting, theleaders are believed to havedeliberated on theMaharashtra situation.

The rival Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress al l iance hasexpressed confidence of hav-ing a majority in the 288-member assembly, insistingthat the Devendra Fadnavisgovernment lacks the req-uisite number.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Shiv Sena-C o n g r e s s - N C Pcombine has wel-comed theSupreme Court'sorder to hold af loor test inMaharashtra onWednesday as avictory for democ-racy and constitu-tional principles while theBJP asserted that the ruling isnot a "setback" for it.

Asked whether the three-party combine will be able todefeat the BJP government inMaharashtra, Congress pres-ident Sonia Gandhi toldreporters, "Absolutely".

In Mumbai, NCP chiefSharad Pawar hailed theSupreme Court's directionsaying he was grateful to theapex court for upholdingdemocratic values and con-stitutional principles.

"I am grateful to Hon'bleSC for upholding democrat-ic values and constitutionalprinciples. It's heartening thatthe Maharashtra Verdict came

on the #ConstitutionDay, aTribute to Bharatratna Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar!" Pawarsaid in a tweet. The SupremeCourt on Tuesday orderedMaharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis to provehis majority in the stateassembly by Wednesday, a dayafter hearing a petition chal-lenging formation of the BJPgovernment there.

The Congress-Shiv Sena-NCP combine had challengedthe way BJP leader Fadnaviswas sworn in as chief minis-ter and NCP's Ajit Pawar asdeputy chief minister onSaturday morning, anddemanded an immediatefloor test.

Shiv Sena-Cong-NCPcombine hails SC rulingon Maha floor test

SC: Maintain democratic values,citizens' right of good governance

MAHA SITUATION

‘Maha floor test best gift tonation on Constitution Day’

There is now heightened awarenesson the crucial need for the worldto take action against human-induced climate change. Thisincludes initiatives by

Governments, businesses, civil society and,in general, the public at large. It was in 2011that the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) brought out a special reporton Managing the Risks of Extreme Events andDisasters to Advance Climate ChangeAdaptation, which altered perceptions aboutclimate change. The public then understoodand associated with climate change, theincrease in frequency and intensity of extremeevents all over the world. While nationalGovernments have the prime responsibilityfor action under the Paris Agreement, thereis also a need for regional initiatives.

There are, no doubt, universal efforts onmitigating the emissions of greenhousegases (GHGs) and carbon dioxide in partic-ular. But some of the fundamental changesthat would be required to minimise the risksfrom the impacts of climate change in thefuture are not fully understood. Pope Francisin his message on the “World Day of Prayerfor the Care of Creation” stated: “It is also aseason to reflect on our lifestyles and howour daily decisions about food, consumption,transportation, use of water, energy andmany other material goods can often bethoughtless and harmful. Too many of us actlike tyrants with regard to creation.”

Lifestyles, unfortunately, across the globe,in both developed and developing countries,are being directed towards a monoculture ofexcessive consumerism and escalating gen-eration of waste. There are societies which areignoring their own historical and culturalroots, blindly embracing the lifestyles estab-lished in the developed world, particularly inthe US. There is a growing need for societiesto look within, pursue culturally consistentlifestyles through opportunities for cooper-ation among countries, which face similarproblems as a result of climate change.

Nature does not recognise geographicalboundaries. While sharing common cultur-al and geographical features, several nationsfail to see the common good in workingtogether to meet the serious challenge of cli-mate change. South Asia is one such region,which ignores this reality, leading to a neglectof poverty, which would be exacerbated withthe impacts of climate change.

The IPCC clearly stated in its fifthassessment report, “Climate change willamplify existing risks and create new risks fornatural and human systems. Risks areunevenly distributed and are generally greaterfor disadvantaged people and communitiesat all levels of development.” It also stated thatclimate change is projected to increase dis-placement of people and some would “expe-rience higher exposure to extreme weatherevents, particularly in the developing coun-tries with low income” along with increasedrisks of violent conflicts resulting from dri-

vers of these conflicts such aspoverty and economic shocks.South Asia could see an increasein these unfortunate trends.

South Asia has a shared cul-ture and history and high vulner-ability to climate change impacts.If we take only the landmassextending from Afghanistan tothe southern tip of India, exclud-ing Sri Lanka and the Maldives,this landmass is home to around1.75 billion people.

Regional impacts of climatechange, which are rapidly on theincrease, show that a decline inwheat productivity would varyfrom seven per cent for a 1.5oCincrease in temperature to 24 percent at 3oC. South Asia is vulner-able to extreme events, the fre-quency and intensity of which isincreasing. These would affecthuman health, security, liveli-hoods and poverty.

The IPCC identified anincrease in heat waves, heavy rain,floods and droughts, some ofwhich would lead to an increasein diarrhoeal disease, denguefever and malaria. The monsoon,which provides the bulk of watersupply for this region, will seefuture increase in precipitationextremes and in contrast a declinein productivity of rainfed agricul-ture in semi-arid areas. A largepart of the population in thecountries of South Asia lives inlow-lying coastal zones and floodplains, which leaves them vulner-able to sea level rise.

Since island States like SriLanka and the Maldives faceproblems somewhat different

from the landmass of SouthAsia, for the present, we mayinclude them in separate effortsinvolving adaptation and miti-gation initiatives. As yet inSouth Asia, the spirit of coop-eration even on issues of com-mon concern has been largelymissing. Given the high densi-ty of the population in thisregion, the large number ofhuman beings exposed to cli-mate change impacts is perhapshigher than in any other regionof the world.

South Asia has sufferedgrievously from terrorism,which has been fostered bysome countries as a part ofGovernment policy. It should beobvious that carrying on the das-tardly practice of terrorism alsoresults in serious and long-termdangers for countries that breedand support terrorism. If theyare serious about the welfare oftheir people, they have to movefrom terrorism to terra-ism.

There are, unfortunately,serious political differencesamong some of the countries ofthe region but given the com-mon challenge of climatechange, perhaps rising abovehostile and contentious issuethrough a programme of mutu-ally beneficial action would bein the interest of all. Such an ini-tiative should include adaptationmeasures in Afghanistan,Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,Nepal and Pakistan and cost-effective mitigation measures.

Developing country negotia-tors have argued for several years

under the United NationsFramework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) for“common but differentiatedresponsibilities”, whereby the his-torically high emitters of GHGsare required to do much more inmitigating their emissions thanthose nations, which are on thethreshold of development.

There is also a rationale forthe developed nations to pro-vide financial resources to helpdeveloping countries as part ofcollective action to deal with cli-mate change. Unfortunately,the principles behind thesedemands have been forgotten bythe developed countries. Thenations of South Asia couldraise their collective voice forprojects to be funded by theindustrialised nations.

South Asia, with its excel-lent insolation and wind ener-gy potential, would be in aunique position to collaborateboth in scientific and econom-ic terms across national bound-aries. Can the leadership ofSouth Asia rise above currenttensions and political differencesto serve the interests of theirown deprived populations,which would be exposedincreasingly to the growingimpacts of climate change?Perhaps as a beginning, this sub-ject could be a serious area ofresearch and advocacy at therecently established South AsianUniversity.

(The writer is former chair-man, Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change, 2002-15)

Results of the district council elections in HongKong, which saw pro-democracy partiesscoring a landslide victory, have dealt a

severe blow to China in the perception war thatit so convincingly wins. It may try to dismiss theselocal polls as inconsequential, considering theseform the lowest political tier that is responsible forneighborhood issues like garbage collection andpublic transport. But because China allows theseself-governance elections to be fully democraticunlike legislative elections, they become a barom-

eter of the popular mood. One that ensured scrapping of an extradition law andwill now push for release of political detainees and the removal of Chief ExecutiveCarrie Lam. No wonder she is making the right noises about an “open mind.”Protests in the city-state are still making headlines across the world and China’sspinmasters are failing to contain news of police brutality leaking out. A BritishConsulate employee gave an interview to the BBC where he alleged that the Chineseauthorities had tortured him. And when the city’s riot police surrounded thePolytechnic University, images of students trying to escape from barricades wentviral. Worse still, the continuing impact of events over there is not just hurtingChina’s image in the West, it is impacting Chinese investment plans. Global lead-ers, too, are watching the news and are not liking what they see. As it is, China’sBelt and Road Initiative is facing huge problems as nations across the world realisehow it is trying to strangulate them economically by trapping them in debt. TheHong Kong crisis in the middle of all this is, therefore, egg on Xi Jinping’s face.

Even if Hong Kongers may not consider themselves fully Chinese, they are,as the authorities keep reminding us, citizens of the People’s Republic of China.Xi’s attitude towards their problems sounds similar to those leaders of theCommunist Party of China, who led the nation into the Tiananmen Square deba-cle. He needs to learn from the attitude of Deng Xiaoping and his immediate suc-cessors that led China towards the path of immense growth and helped lift mil-lions out of poverty. He harks back to history and wants China to retain its statureas the “Middle Kingdom” between heaven and earth. But his current attitude isleading to a war-like situation. That’s not good for either China or the world.

Faithless is he that says farewell when theroad darkens,” wrote JRR Tolkein in TheFellowship of The Ring. And in the con-

centric rings of Maharashtra politics, NationalistCongress Party (NCP) rebel Ajit Pawar, whodecided to break bread with the BJP, quicklyretracted when he realised that he could failin a floor test of numbers and be disqualifiedas his uncle and grandmaster Sharad Pawarstill held the party flock. His dalliance withshort-term BJP Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis lasted all of 72 hours and as that road

led to nowhere, he resigned as his deputy and did an about-turn with one callfrom Pawar senior. Fadnavis was left high and dry on the aisle again after allyShiv Sena dropped out when it was refused chief ministership. If there is onelesson that the make, break and remake politics in Karnataka and Maharashtrahas taught us, it is that loyalty bought on the traders’ exchange is a fragile com-modity and comes with no guarantee, not even a limited warranty. The partywith a behemoth of a difference has suffered a huge loss of face. And Fadnavishimself looked worse than a cardboard when he upheld the reason for his res-ignation, saying he didn’t want to encourage horse-trading. Perhaps now theBJP, which has manipulated power games regardless of poll verdicts to seizepower, should drop Operation Lotus for good and test its mettle electorally on asingularity of purpose. After all, it has that faith, spouting the benefits of one-party-one-India all the time. But people’s faith is different from the one propa-gated and has to be earned democratically and not bought by stealth. The BJPmust realise that you can punch somebody into a corner, only so much and nofurther. From the beginning, the national party, in its bid to retain one of India’srichest States, decided to go subterranean. Once the Sena drifted away and soughtsupport of the Opposition Congress-NCP alliance for its chief ministership, theBJP, which had reconciled itself to the virtues of a “friendly” spell of President’sRule, turned government formation into an ego issue. It swooped down on thePawar family nest and fled with a weakling nephew, who was ambitious at thesame time. It got the list of 54 MLAs he had, which was intended to endorsethe CM of the Opposition combine but was tweaked to indicate their consentfor Fadnavis. Then it coerced the Governor into an early morning swearing-inritual against norms. Except for Union Minister Nitin Gadkari who said, “In pol-itics and cricket anything can happen,” there was no inkling of the not so sacredgames in resorts. Trying to buy time with the Governor, who slotted a floor teston November 30, was the last straw. Had the BJP spent so much effort in engag-ing with its former ally, it would still have had a government. Even the Sena’sintransigence on chief ministership was about pushing the wrong buttons.

It is because of these misadventures that the BJP virtually gifted its oppo-nents a shot at governance. It may scream and shout that a coalition of threedivergent allies would be unstable but had it not indulged in the politics of sub-terfuge, it would perhaps be proven right. The Opposition, particularly the Sena,now has the sympathy of the entire Marathi manoos on its side. And UddhavThackeray, who may not have the flamboyance of the Thackeray clansmen, hastenacity of purpose and long-term gains in mind. He should be credited for stand-ing ground and holding on to his cadres, not losing them to poaching expedi-tions. Needless to say the new Sena, with a more broad-based acceptability,has managed to convince the Congress to not only make an ideological crossoverbut be part of governance. The Congress, on its part, invested its legal eaglesin moving courts and focussing on Constitutional improprieties. On that count,it may have just negotiated a little accommodation of its interests. Still this is arisky venture for the party which has been reduced to the fourth position in aState which it once commanded. If it looks at the joint tenure as a way of strength-ening its presence and keeping its legislators invested, this could work for it. Butthe one man who seems to have taken it all by wrapping himself in enigma isNCP patriarch Sharad Pawar. Did the palace coup by Ajit Pawar have his bless-ings, knowing the nephew could be the pivot of his weathervane? At one level,it could be read as confusing the BJP and his manner of avenging the hijackingof NCP cadres before the polls. At another level it could be interpreted as a trans-actional overture to the national party for securing the interests of his kin andkeeping them relevant in State politics. Did Pawar, the wily warhorse, indeed takepart in the intriguing mystery to keep the fulcrum of power to himself? Questionsare many. For the time being, it is enough that the mandate matters. A little bit.

Twists and turns

Sir — As we witnessed theunfolding of drama and dilem-mas in the formation of a govern-ment in Maharashtra, we mustponder over BR Ambedkar’s pre-scient words on the adoption ofemergency provisions such asthe President’s Rule. He statedthat “every part of theConstitution” could be abused forpolitical purposes.

It is pointless to talk of moral-ity, Constitutional values andgubernatorial excess when noneof the players involved in themonth-long drama showed anyconcern for the very same prin-ciples and proprieties.

It was a naked power gamewhere all parties played theircards well. Dilly-dallying, delib-erate dalliance or deft design —put it in any way —proves theold adage that politics is an artof improbabilities and impossi-bilities.

J AkshobhayaMysuru

Tread with caution

Sir — Although the Home

Minister’s idea of compiling anationwide National Register ofCitizens (NRC) has its merits, oneis not sure whether the exercisewill actually help in identifyingillegal immigrants.

The implementation of theNRC in Assam has already raisedquestions about the Government’scompetence. Over 19 lakh people,many of whose families havebeen living in Assam for gener-ations, were excluded from the

final list. These administrativeflaws need to be addressed first.

While some argue thatrefugees and illegal migrants canbe a financial burden on a coun-try, the process of identifyingthem must not jeopardise therights of the Indian citizens. Thesituation in Assam should be alesson for the Government toexercise caution.

NR RamachandranChennai

Futile exercise

Sir — Union Home MinisterAmit Shah’s proposition of updat-ing the National Register ofCitizens (NRC) in Assam hasfinally been welcomed byHimanta Biswa Sarma, theFinance Minister of the State, onthe basis that there are shortcom-ings in the final list as of now. Itis disheartening to see that after

spending enormous resources,the exercise is being consideredunsatisfactory by the very peoplewho undertook it. When Shahproclaims that no person, nomatter what their religion, needsto be afraid, one wonders ifthese assurances are akin to theCentre’s repeated declarationsthat the situation in the KashmirValley is “normal.”

The NRC exercise in Assamhas led to the installation ofdetention camps for alleged ille-gal migrants. The eventual cre-ation of concentration campslike those in Nazi Germany doesnot seem impossible. There, thesegregation began with theGovernment demanding that allJewish people register their assetsexceeding a certain limit withauthorities. At that time, suchacts had been carried out underthe guise of nationalism.Considering the rise of Hindutvaand the enthusiasm for the imple-mentation of the NRC, one won-ders if atrocities similar to thoseof the Third Reich’s might berepeated here.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 27, 2019

06

Go for regional initiatives

RK PACHAURI

Several nations in the South Asian region, who share similar cultural and geographicalfeatures, have failed to see the common good in battling challenges of climate change

Everyone should followConstitutional morality andConstitutionally-mandatedprocedures regardless ofany ideological differences.

President—Ram Nath Kovind

It has now become habitualfor people to be negative andbitter, probably because ofwhat they might be dealingwith in personal lives.

Actor—Arjun Kapoor

We don’t want to get inbetween the power strugglesof superpowers... We are sosmall and we can’t survive toget into this balancing acts.

Sri Lankan President—Gotabaya Rajapaksa

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Time to look at real issues

With Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader DevendraFadnavis announcing his decision to resign with-out even facing a trust vote as mandated by the

Supreme Court, the three-day old Government inMaharashtra has collapsed, bringing an end to the long-drawn-out suspense. This development will now paveway for the formation for a Government led by theNationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Shiv Sena-Congresscombine. What, however, must concern us is the factthat we have been confronting such situations rather toofrequently for comfort, especially when we have a writ-ten Constitution.

The conduct of our legislative and Constitutionalaffairs must go through a process of evolution, hope-fully progressive, on the strength of an exemplary judi-ciary. That said, the BJP has increasingly been demon-strating that its skill in managing politics far outweighsthat of mastering its economics. The gall, chutzpa and

sharp tools employed by the party to sustain its politi-cal clout tend to invite a hubris of absolutism and, hence,little need for accountability. Slogans and spin cannotbe a cover-up for social fissures or a failing economy.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

CAN THELEADERSHIP OF

SOUTH ASIA RISEABOVE CURRENT

TENSIONS ANDPOLITICAL

DIFFERENCES TOSERVE THE

INTERESTS OFTHEIR OWN

DEPRIVEDPOPULATIONS,

WHICH WOULD BEEXPOSED

INCREASINGLY TOTHE GROWING

IMPACTS OFCLIMATE

CHANGE?

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Hong Kong strikes back Those in a minority whoabducted ‘people’s opinion’have been unmasked. It’s clearthe BJP’s chanakyaniti meansabduction of democracy.

Congress leader—Randeep Singh Surjewala

As Ajit Pawar chickens out and the SC shuts windows forhorse-trading, Maharashtra becomes a repeat of Karnataka

Xi Jinping’s hardline tactics have come up againstthe strong will of citizens who won local polls

Exit Fadnavis

op nion

Utilise leadership skills of women

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Worldwide, gender diversity in the board-rooms is on the rise, as appointingwomen in leadership roles has tangible

and intangible gains for businesses. These ben-efits can be categorised into four sections:Financial performance; leveraging talent; reflect-ing the marketplace and building reputation;increasing innovation and group performance.

Women evaluate information differently,have a capability to deal with risk effectively andhave different insights into consumer behaviourwhen compared to men. This is particularly trueof industries where women are the primary pur-chasing agents and their perspective leads toimproved decision-making.

After all, women drive 70-80 per cent of allconsumer purchases through their buying powerand influence. In addition, women exhibit high-er levels of trustworthiness and cooperation. Notonly do they better address the concerns of cus-tomers, employees, shareholders and the localcommunity, they also tend to focus on long-termpriorities, thus improving boardroom dynamics.Having at least one women director on boardmakes a significant contribution to corporate gov-ernance, with several studies showing increasein attendance at meetings and improvement inCorporate Social Responsibility ratings.

Apart from this, women directors serve asrole models and therefore, improve femaleemployees’ performance and boost the firms’image and reputation. Several rating agencies andinvestment funds use the extent of genderdiversity as one of their investment criteria. Astudy by Boston Consulting Group and TechnicalUniversity of Munich also found that presenceof women in management teams can increaseinnovation significantly.

Finally, from the standpoint of public poli-cy, gender diversity is an important social valueand one that is consistent with equality.Notwithstanding these benefits, women still findit hard to reach the top. Globally, one-third ofbusinesses still do not have women in seniormanagement roles. At this pace, women will notreach parity with men until 2060.

In its most literal form, diversity is definedas “differences” and it becomes a purposeful,strategic direction once these differences are val-ued. On boards, diversity brings together indi-viduals with different backgrounds and a num-ber of benefits, including new ideas, better com-munication, debate and corporate governanceprocesses. Studies have shown that compared tohomogeneous groups, diverse groups exhibitincreased information search and a greaterrange of perspectives. Further, they generate morealternative solutions to problems.

Understanding the importance and relevanceof promoting gender diversity in the true sensein Indian corporate boards, it is critical to eval-uate what it takes to reach the board, that is, thehuman and social capital that help women reachapex positions. Gender diversity in the board-room is an issue that has received increased atten-tion both in academia and in the popular Pressduring the last decade. Studies concerning thepractice have been conducted in a number ofcountries, including the United States (US),Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), France, NewZealand, Australia, Spain, Jordan, Tunisia,Denmark, Iceland and Norway.

From a resource perspective, the board mem-bers’ contributions are typically based on their

human capital which can be defined asa combination of human resources, i.e.the knowledge and skills embodied inpeople, acquired over a number of yearsand the outcomes of the developmentof these human resources, throughcareer experience, learning and special-isation. Each director brings a uniqueset of human capital resources to theboard. Research on top managementteams shows that managers’ pre-exist-ing knowledge systems and repertoireof skills are derived from prior profes-sional experiences, which help explainand predict managerial inclinations,strategic choices, biases, and accom-plishments.

Here are some of the variables:Director education and experience:Human capital investment in educationand particularly advanced education isa starting point for development ofindependent thinking, a key facet ofrole requirements for non-executivedirectors. It is evident that minoritygroups can gain public and objectivecredentials through education, partic-ularly postgraduate qualifications,thereby levelling the playing field andcompensating for the effects of any dis-crimination and subjective bias inselection and promotion. Educationalqualifications are valued by the publicand employers can then benefit fromthe expertise and credibility of the edu-cational human capital of their staff anddirectors.

Reputation: Reputation is associ-ated with human capital derived frominvestments in education and other vis-ible individual attributes that stand asproxies for the actual capabilities of theperson. Individuals gaining director-ships are likely to have acquired repu-tational capital that signals competenceand reduced risk to the beholders whouse their social networks to select andappoint new directors. A noticeable fac-tor in the profile of women directors inthe Financial Times Stock Exchange

100 since the 1980s is that significant-ly more women than men, have titles,whether academic, aristocratic, civic orpolitical. There is also a preference inthe US for “branded women” directors,including those with a degree from IvyLeague universities, which signalsupper-class status to senior managers.The same could be said for the repu-tational capital value of degrees fromOxford and Cambridge universities inthe UK, which are well-represented inthe higher echelons of business andGovernment. Another facet of reputa-tional capital is the extent to whichdirectors appear in the Press and indirectories of well-known people. Asrole models, these high-profile womenoften make speeches or are featured inthe Press, so their names are likely tobe picked up by internet search enginessuch as Google.

Previous experience: Previously,women were more likely to work part-time or to settle for lower paid but con-venient jobs, and hence would be lesslikely to participate in on-the-job train-ing for more senior roles, as neither theynor their employers would gain a rea-sonable return on the investment intraining. But in recent times, womenhave invested in education, and adopt-ed a lifetime work pattern similar to thatof men. So today’s women workers areacquiring more senior-level experiencethan did previous generations andinequalities such as the gender pay gapare reducing, albeit slowly.

Hence all directors are expected tohave successful and relevant careerexperiences in their sectors and profes-sions before their appointment.However, given that women are oftenmore attracted to public and not-for-profit sector careers, it is also expect-ed that women directors’ work experi-ence human capital would be biased infavour of those sectors, in contrast totheir male peers. The human capital ofwomen directors could also be differ-

ent from their male peers in terms ofprofessional background, with moremale directors with career experiencein traditional “masculine” sectors wheremen comprise the majority of thoseemployed, such as engineering and sci-ence.

International work experience:Given recent trends in globalisation andthe increasing numbers of cross-nation-al mergers and acquisitions of manylarge corporations, it is expected thatinternational experience will play anincreasingly important role as directorsare being asked to monitor, govern andadvise on corporate activities andopportunities across a range of coun-tries and different national and businesscultures.

International experience is regard-ed as highly developmental as it buildson and integrates other related humancapital management experienceacquired in the home environment.However, it may be more difficult or lessattractive for women to acquire thisform of human capital as traditionallymen are more internationally geo-graphically mobile than women.

Human capital theory leads us toexpect that directors’ appointments arebased, in part, on the human capital(knowledge, skills, experience) they canprovide to the firms. Women have beenpresent in the full-time workforce formany years now. Hence, proper stepsneed to be taken to ensure that womenare not absent from corporate board-rooms and are not being used astokens when they are present there. Weneed to question ourselves to examineif women have failed to accumulate suf-ficient relevant human capital? If not,then what steps are being taken toencourage their growth and develop-ment in an organisation and make themacquire relevant experience to be onboards and contribute meaningfully?

(The writer is Assistant Professor,Amity University)

Proper steps need to be taken to ensure that the human capital of women is recognised and they are

not absent from corporate boardrooms or being used as tokens when they are present there

analysis 07

The maha game of thrones goes on

DEEPAK SINHA

Irrespective of who retains the coveted seatin the end, the fact remains that the people

of Maharashtra have lost in a big way

HIMA BINDU KOTA

WE NEED TOQUESTION

OURSELVES TOEXAMINE IF

WOMEN HAVEFAILED TO

ACCUMULATESUFFICIENT

RELEVANT HUMANCAPITAL? IF NOT,

THEN WHATSTEPS ARE BEING

TAKEN TOENCOURAGE

THEIR GROWTHAND

DEVELOPMENT INAN ORGANISATION

AND MAKE THEMACQUIRE

RELEVANTEXPERIENCE TOBE ON BOARDS

AND CONTRIBUTEMEANINGFULLY?

Henry Luis Mencken (1880-1956), a well-known American jour-nalist and essayist, once wrote: “As democracy is perfected, theoffice of President represents, more and more closely, the inner

soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks ofthe land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House willbe adorned by a downright moron.” As we sit back and watch theimpeachment drama play out in the United States (US), one cannot helpbut marvel at Mencken’s prescience. The election of Donald Trump doesseem to suggest that the American public has indeed found its innersoul. But as to whether it has really perfected democracy in the processremains questionable. Especially, more so, if it was to compare itselfto what passes for democracy in India. In short order, they would thenrealise the distance they have yet to cover to reach true perfection.

As a matter of fact, Americans would do well to follow the powerplay in Maharashtra, which incidentally is only the latest manifestationof what perfection in a democracy looks like and has all the ingredientsof a true Bollywood potboiler. That is the only way in which realisationwould dawn on them that Mencken’s deductions were slightly awry.Invariably in perfect democracies, it is not the political leaders who aremorons but the people who voted them to power. That is the funda-mental reality we have been confronting ever since Independence, regard-less of the political ideologies of the parties we vote into power.

Whatever the host of legal eagles, who fought the case in the SupremeCourt, said to justify their arguments and regardless of the apex court’sorder for a floor test in the Assembly today, which prompted MaharashtraChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawarto throw in the towel and quit, the simple truth of the matter is that forall sides concerned, Maharashtra is too important to lose.

To start with, the inability to form the Government in Maharashtrais not just a simple loss of face but utter humiliation for the BJP, andmore importantly, for its mentors from Nagpur, located in the heart ofthe State. If they cannot control their own fiefdom, what control will theyexercise tomorrow over the rest of the country, more so given that elec-tions are due in Bihar and Jharkhand in the coming months?

Similarly for the Shiv Sena, after having openly cast aside the cloakof morality and gambled everything, including the kitchen sink, in itsblatant attempt to go one up and grab the chief ministership for Balasaheb’sscion, a loss now after a defeated BJP has left the floor open for it, wouldspell utter disaster and lead to questions of survivability of the dynasty.

For the NCP, and especially the Pawars, being on the winning sideis the only hope for redemption for past transgressions. As events haveplayed out, it is now obvious that the younger Pawar was carried awayby the brashness of youth (and is obviously bitterly regretting it now, ifhis resignation is anything to go by) and the fact that leadership of theparty would remain just a mirage due to circumstances of birth as longas the elder Pawar has any say in the matter.

Finally, for the Congress that continues to be on the ventilator, thisturn of events is an unexpected bonus, a fleeting opportunity to startagain.The party has already indicated that it will ask for the MaharashtraGovernor’s resignation and has also questioned the President’s role.

While each of these stakeholders had their own particular motiva-tions for their actions, however, the most important incentive for all inthis battle royal for the stewardship of the State was the simple fact thatnot only is Maharashtra a large State, governing which is undoubtedlyprestigious, but also an extremely rich one. It doesn’t exactly require aleap of faith to suggest that whosoever controls the money controls thevotes. After all, is that not the very reason that controversy dogs theissue of electoral bonds that were introduced not too long ago? Leaveaside mundane issues of malfeasance, personal greed, overarching ambi-tion and rank opportunism, what was indeed truly astounding to seewas the utter lack of constitutional propriety and ethical conduct on thepart of those charged with its very protection. For them to let petty loy-alties and servility take precedence over self-respect and principled con-duct is not just a reflection on how unworthy they are to hold such posi-tions of eminence but, also a shameful blot on our social mores thatencourage such people to claw their way up, despite lacking an iota ofintegrity or moral fibre.

One cannot but feel embarrassment for the President, a former advo-cate, who unquestioningly accepts the recommendations of a PrimeMinister without the requisite Cabinet approval, justified by the use ofa most inappropriate rule to cover the lapse. That such a rule can beinvoked at the dead of night to swear-in a Government at dawn, in thefutile hope that it would provide stability, after weeks of confusion, isindeed laughable, if it were not so tragic. Now, with these fast-paceddevelopments, we don’t really know which way this cliffhanger is goingand who will emerge the eventual winner, (the Sena-NCP-Congress com-bine has staked claim). But we already know who has lost.Unmistakably that has been the people of Maharashtra who were, inMencken’s words “moronic” enough to vote these ingrates into power.

(The writer is a military veteran and consultant with theObserver Research Foundation and a Senior Visiting Fellow with The

Peninsula Foundation, Chennai)

In October, protests erupted on thecampus of the BalochistanUniversity. Even though the protests

were against the alleged harassment ofsome students by the university’sadministration, the renewal of studentunions also became one of thedemands. Recently, various youthactivists in Punjab and Sindh haveraised similar demands, with a solidar-ity march being planned on November29.

What’s more, Sindh’s ruling party,the PPP moved a resolution to restorestudent unions and this was adopted bythe Assembly on November 5. Studentunions were banned in Pakistan by theGeneral Zia dictatorship throughMartial Law Orders in February 1984.In his 2009 book Revisiting StudentPolitics in Pakistan, Iqbal Haider Butt

interviewed many former student lead-ers, most of whom became successfulpoliticians and journalists. Almost allof them lamented that the 1984 bannegatively impacted the quality ofpolitical leadership and participation.They said that at least two generationsof Pakistanis lost touch with howdemocracy worked and what it stoodfor when activities like electoral cam-paigning, participating in polls andnegotiating better academic and recre-ational facilities through student unions,were outlawed. Thus, generally speak-ing, those demanding a revival of stu-dent unions in this context, have a con-vincing case which can be favourablyargued with some compelling evi-dence. However, it is equally importantto understand that the nature of studentpolitics that culminated in a ban in 1984was largely a Cold War phenomenon.It cannot be reactivated in its originalshape in today’s changed scenario. Forexample, many forget that the ban wasrepealed in January 1989 by the firstBenazir Bhutto regime (1988-90). Butdespite the fact that elections for stu-dent unions were successfully held inPunjab’s many State-owned universities,

the venture soon collapsed on itself.Violence between student groups

had become pandemic in the 1980s.And when it flared up again after the1989 revival of student unions, a 1992petition against their restoration wasaccepted by the Supreme Court and in1993 it banned all political activity oncampuses. But whereas there had beenviolent protests by student groupsagainst the 1984 ban, none took placein 1993. One of the reasons for this wasthe erosion of the traditional forms ofstudent politics. This erosion was large-ly triggered by a new reality, in whichyoung people were increasingly optingfor privately-owned universities where-as much of the country’s customary stu-dent politics had been centred in State-owned educational institutions.

Those against the ban on studentunions had argued that the violence thathad engulfed campus politics in the1980s, had been largely due to Zia’s dic-tatorship and (after 1984) due to thecurbing of the students’ democraticrights. However, the court observed thatthe restoration of student unions in1989 had failed to stem violence and itcould only be checked with a blanket

ban on all political activities on cam-puses. Indeed, by the early 2000s, theviolence had greatly receded. But,again, the reasons were far more com-plex than simply the restriction orrestoration of student unions. Privately-owned (and apolitical) colleges and uni-versities had swelled and State-ownedones had become pale reflections ofthemselves. The memory of studentpolitics being just about violence entire-ly drowned the fact that, till the late1970s, it had been a vibrant democra-tic cornerstone on campuses.

Another reason for the attrition oftraditional student politics was the grad-ual disinterest of mainstream politicalparties, that had founded and fundeda majority of student outfits. With thedeclining influence of conventional stu-dent politics, the parties simply beganto use their student groups as props tobe exhibited at rallies, instead of beingtheir electoral extensions on campus-es. The fact is, the decline of student pol-itics in Pakistan was part of a univer-sal trend. Student politics and activismhad witnessed a peak globally in the1960s. But this peak had begun torecede from the mid-1970s onwards. In

Blood & Rage, Michael Burleigh writesthat one of the reasons behind the riseof student activism in the 1960s was thata large number of middle and lower-middle-class men and women hadbegun to enrol in colleges and univer-sities after the end of World War-II.

According to Burleigh, althoughmost European countries, the US andmany new post-colonial realms inAsia and Africa enjoyed economicbooms of one kind or the other in the1960s, their colleges and universitieswere not able to accommodate such alarge influx of students. This creatednumerous logistical and administrativeproblems that left students feeling dis-gruntled and angry.

Burleigh writes that many studentschannelled this anger through radicalpolitical ideologies, mainly those of theLeft. By the 1970s, and due to the grad-ual disillusionment towards Left-lean-ing ideas, similar feelings of disgruntle-ment began to be expressed throughrightest gesticulations. However, asconditions in educational institutionsbecame more accommodating, and, incase of Third World countries, privatecolleges and universities swelled, these

eventually rendered traditional 20th-century student politics obsolete.

Yet, in Pakistan — from 2007onwards — and also in many othercountries, there is once again a clearfeeling of restlessness among the youth.Indeed, one can explain this as govern-ments and educational institutions areonce again falling short of accommo-dating the changing socio-politicalneeds of another generation. But thoselooking to revive organised student pol-itics will have to apply brand new strate-gies and offer newer models instead ofthe ones that have become obsolete dueto the reasons already discussed.Whatever the newness in this contextis, or can be, it will have to get the atten-tion of mainstream centres of power.And, on a lighter note, it cannot sim-ply rely on the many meaningless newbuzzwords that have been flying fromleft to right (and vice versa) on socialmedia; and/or terms that have actual-ly trivialised even the most urgent andalarming issues. They have simply“gamified” radicalism. So, the first stepin this context should be to become avoice taken seriously, and not just noise.

(Courtesy, Dawn)

Who is afraid of student activism?Organised student politics needs brand new strategies and newer models instead of those from bygone times

NADEEM PARACHA

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 27, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

HOW CAN AMARAVATI BE CALLED CAPITAL CITY WHENONLY FIVE PER CENT WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED?

NAIDU TURNED IT INTO A GRAVEYARD—ANDHRA PRADESH CABINET MINISTER

BOTSA SATYANARAYANA

IF YOU CAN’T RESPECT YOUR CAPITAL CITY, AT LEASTRESPECT THE SENTIMENTS OF FARMERS WHO POOLED THEIR LANDS (FOR IT).—FORMER ANDHRA PRADESH CHIEF MINISTERCHANDRABABU NAIDU

F O R E I G N E Y E

Everyone knows thedestructive effect thatimprisoning parents has onfamilies. For mothers to be,prison should be consideredonly in exceptionalcircumstances. More than 20years after a Conservativeprisons minister, AnnWiddecombe, defended theshackling of pregnantprisoners, it is horrifying tolearn that labouring womenare being treated so poorly.Never again must a baby beborn or die in a British jail.

(The Guardian editorial)

NEWBORNS MUSTNOT DIE IN JAILS

F I R S T C O L U M N

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 27, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

RBI red-flags rising Mudra bad loansMUMBAI: Reserve BankDeputy Governor MK Jain onTuesday raised concerns overthe growing NPA levels inMudra loans and asked banksto monitor these loans closely.The Mudra loan scheme waslaunched by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in 2015 to helpthe highly under-funded smalland medium industries withcheap bank loans. "Mudra is acase in point... while such amassive push would havelifted many beneficiaries out ofpoverty, there has been someconcerns about the growinglevel of non-performing assetsamong these borrowers," Jainsaid at Sidbi event onmicrofinance. He said banksneed to focus on repaymentcapacity at the appraisal stageitself and monitor loansthrough the life cycle muchmore closely.

CSB Bank IPOsubscribed79.72 timesNEW DELHI: The initial publicoffering of CSB Bank wassubscribed a whopping 79.72times so far on the final day ofbidding on Tuesday. The initialpublic offering (IPO) of theKerala-based companyreceived bids for over 92 croreshares against the total issuesize of 1.15 crore shares, asper the NSE data till 15:45 hrs.CSB Bank's IPO wassubscribed 4.35 times on thesecond day of bidding onMonday. The IPO comprises afresh issue of Rs 24 crore andan offer-for-sale of 1,97,78,298equity shares, including ananchor portion of 94,54,080equity shares. CSB Bank onThursday raised Rs 184 crorefrom anchor investors. Thecompany, which aims to raiseup to Rs 410 crore, has fixed aprice of Rs 193-195 per sharefor the IPO. Axis Capital andIIFL Securities are managingthe offer.

Vistara, SBI launch co-brandedcredit cardNEW DELHI: The State Bankof India (SBI) and full-servicecarrier Vistara on Tuesdaylaunched a premium, co-branded credit card, which letsusers avail benefits like freecancellations, lounge access,and extra frequent flyer points."The two variants of the 'ClubVistara SBI' card come withseveral benefits and privileges,such as complimentary ClubVistara Silver/Base tiermembership, welcome ticketson Vistara's domestic network,one-class upgrade voucher(and) free cancellation onVistara bookings," said thepress release by the airline.Other benefits include "travelinsurance protection, loungeaccess vouchers,complimentary membership topriority pass programme, andattractive rewards on reachingmilestone spends," accordingto the press release by Vistara.

PNS n NEW DELHI

India's new liberalised petrolpump norms require licenseesto set up a minimum of 100outlets with at least 5 per centof them in remote areas.

According to a Gazette noti-fication detailing the norms forsetting up petrol pumps, thelicensee would also be requiredto "install facilities for mar-keting at least one new gener-ation alternate fuels like com-pressed natural gas (CNG),biofuels, liquefied natural gas,electric vehicle charging pointsetc at their proposed retailoutlets within three years ofoperationalisation of the saidoutlet."

The government had lastmonth relaxed norms for set-

ting up petrol pumps, allowingnon-oil companies to marketfuel in the world's fastest grow-ing market.

Prior to this change, toobtain a fuel retailing licence in

India, a company needed toinvest Rs 2,000 crore in eitherhydrocarbon exploration andproduction, refining, pipelinesor liquefied natural gas (LNG)terminals.

"Any entity seeking autho-risation for retail marketingonly should have a minimumnet worth of at least Rs 250crore at the time of making theapplication to the central gov-ernment," the notification said.

PNS n GENEVA

Global temperatures areexpected to rise by 3.2 degreecelsius by the end of the cen-tury even if all current uncon-ditional commitments underthe Paris deal are implement-ed, a new UN report warnedon Tuesday and said such a sit-uation will bring more destruc-tive climate impacts.

As per the UN EnvironmentProgramme's annualEmissions Gap Report,released here, countries mustincrease their determined con-tributions (NDCs) ambitionsthreefold to achieve the wellbelow 2 degree celsius goal andmore than fivefold to achievethe 1.5 degree celsius goal.

The report warned thateven if all current uncondi-tional commitments underthe Paris Agreement areimplemented, temperaturesare expected to rise by 3.2degree celsius by the end of thecentury.

"If conditional NDCs arealso effectively implemented,warming will likely reduce by

about 0.2 degree Celsius," itadded. It also said that green-house gas emissions must becut globally by 7.6 per cent tomeet the target of keepingglobal temperature rise at 1.5

degree celsius, as per the ParisAgreement.

"Unless global greenhousegas emissions fall by 7.6 percent each year between 2020and 2030, the world will missthe opportunity to get on tracktowards the 1.5°C temperaturegoal of the Paris Agreement,"the report said.

The report comes a dayafter the head of the WorldMeteorological Organisation,Petteri Taalas, said on Mondaythat the greenhouse gases lev-els in the atmosphere hit arecord high in 2018.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Shares of InterGlobe Aviationon Tuesday closed over 2 percent lower after the DGCAinstructed IndiGo to groundan old A320 neo family aircraftwith an unmodified Pratt andWhitney (PW) engine forevery new A320 neo planeadded to its fleet.

The scrip of budget carrierIndiGo's parent fell 2.46 percent to close at Rs 1,414.80 onthe BSE. During the day, ittanked 4.23 per cent to Rs1,389. On the NSE, it declined2.42 per cent to close at Rs1,415. The DGCA on Mondayinstructed IndiGo to groundan old A320 neo family aircraftwith an unmodified PWengine for every new A320neo plane added to its fleet toprevent large-scale cancella-tion of flights from January 31onwards. The aviation regula-tor issued the directions inview of the January 31 dead-line given by it to IndiGo toreplace all unmodified PWengines on its 97 A320 neofamily aircraft or face ground-ing of planes.

The PW engine-poweredA320 neo planes in the fleetsof IndiGo and GoAir havebeen facing glitches both mid-air and on-ground since theirinduction way back in 2016.

Efforts undertaken byIndiGo to replace all unmod-ified PW engines on its 97A320 neo family aircraft byJanuary 31 next year -- as perthe previous instructions of theDGCA -- do not "instillenough confidence withregard to the timely comple-tion of the said task", a seniorofficial of DGCA said.

PNS n MUMBAI

Retreating from its recordpeak, market benchmark BSESensex ended 68 points loweron Tuesday as investorsbooked profits at higher levelsamid mixed cues from globalmarkets.

After scaling its recordintra-day high of 41,120.28,the 30-share BSE Sensex set-tled 67.93 points, or 0.17 percent, lower at 40,821.30.

The broader NSE Nifty gaveup its life-time peak of12,132.45 and finished 36.05points, or 0.30 per cent, downat 12,037.70.

Bharti Airtel was the toploser in the Sensex pack, drop-ping 4.34 per cent, followed byPowerGrid (2.26 per cent),Sun Pharma (1.75 per cent),M&M (1.67 per cent) andTCS (1.60 per cent).

On the other hand, ICICIBank rose 2.26 per cent,IndusInd Bank by 1.46 percent, Tata Steel by 1.17 per centand ITC by 0.52 per cent.

Analysts said thoughmacros have still not turnedpositive and corporate earn-ings growth remains sluggish,investors are enthused byample liquidity in the systemdriving transmission, gradualnormalisation of risk appetiteof banks, unsold housinginventory beginning to cor-rect, PSU banks being recap-italised, NPA cycle peaking outand base becoming easier postDecember quarter.

During the day, boursespared all gains as investorsbooked profits at higher levels,traders said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Indian economy may haveslowed for the sixth consecu-tive quarter in July-Septemberto 4.7 per cent, Fitch groupfirm India Ratings andResearch said on Tuesday, as itlowered GDP growth forecastfor current fiscal for the fourthtime.

The Indian economyexpanded 5 per cent in April-June, its slowest annual pacesince 2013. The 4.7 per centprojection for the second quar-ter of the current fiscal wouldmark six consecutive quartersof slowing growth, a first since2012. This comes despite arecent series of fiscal stimulus,including reduction in corpo-rate tax rates.

"India Ratings and Researchhas revised its GDP growthforecast for FY20 to 5.6 percent. This is the fourth revisionand has come in after theagency had revised its FY20GDP growth forecast only a

month ago to 6.1 per cent," therating agency said in a state-ment.

The revision, it said, became"inevitable as the high-fre-quency data now suggests thatthe agency's estimate of2QFY20 GDP growth comingin a little higher than 5 per centis unlikely to hold".

"The new projection sug-gests that 2QFY20 GDPgrowth is likely to be 4.7 percent," it said.

Second-quarter GDP num-bers are likely to be announcedon Friday.

"Despite favourable baseeffect, declining growthmomentum suggests that even

the 2HFY20 will now be weak-er than previously forecastedand is likely to come in at 6.2per cent," India Ratings said.

India's growth outlook hasweakened sharply this year,with a crunch that started withthe non-banking finance insti-tutions spreading to retail busi-nesses, car-makers, home salesand heavy industries.

India Ratings' growth fore-cast is a tad lower than 5.8 percent revised outlook for Indiaprojected by Moody's InvestorsService.

This comes despite the mea-sures taken by the Modi gov-ernment to arrest the growthslowdown. In September, itannounced a cut in the corpo-

rate tax rate to 22 per cent from30 per cent. It also lowered thetax rate for new manufacturingcompanies to 15 per cent toattract fresh foreign directinvestments.

The tax rate reductions bringIndia in line with rates inother Asian countries.

The government's other ini-tiatives include bank recapi-talization, the mergers of 10public sector banks into four,support for the auto sector,plans for infrastructure spend-ing, as well as tax benefits forstartups.

India Ratings (Ind-Ra) saidthe 5.6 per cent GDP growthwill require "heavy lifting bythe government".

The revision, it said, became ‘inevitableas the high-frequency data now suggeststhat the agency's estimate of 2QFY20GDP growth coming in a little higher than5 per cent is unlikely to hold’

PNS n NEW DELHI

Moody's Investors Service onTuesday said it has placedBharat Petroleum Corp Ltd'srating on review for downgradeafter the government decidedto privatise the country's sec-ond-biggest state oil refiner.

"The review for downgradefollows the government ofIndia's decision to sell its entire53.29 per cent stake in BPCLand to transfer managementcontrol of the company to astrategic buyer," the ratingagency said in a statement.

The ratings placed on reviewfor downgrade include BPCL'sba1 baseline credit assessment,its Baa2 issuer rating and Baa2backed senior unsecured ratingfor Bharat PetroResources Ltd,a subsidiary of BPCL.

BPCL's Baa2 rating incor-porates its ba1 baseline creditassessment (BCA), a measureof its standalone creditstrength, and a two-notchuplift from expected extraor-dinary support from the gov-

ernment. The Cabinet headedby Prime Minister NarendraModi had on November 20decided to privatise BPCL byselling the government's entirestake to a strategic investoralong with management con-trol.

Moody's said the review fordowngrade takes into accountthe uncertainty with respect toboth the support incorporatedinto BPCL's rating as well as itsBCA.

"Post the government's stake

sale, we will not include thetwo-notch uplift from govern-ment support in BPCL's rating.This could result in a down-grade of BPCL's ratings toBa1, assuming there are nochanges to its fundamentalcredit profile, including ourassessment of liquidity andrefinancing risk which couldimpact the BCA," said VikasHalan, Moody's Senior VicePresident.

"Our assessment of BPCL'scredit profile and any resultant

rating action, post the stakesale, will depend on the abili-ty and willingness of the buyerto provide extraordinary sup-port to BPCL in the event ofdistress, and also the company'sability to maintain its stand-alone credit strength."

Moody's rating action alsoassumes that BPCL's status asa government-owned entity inIndia will continue until at leastthe conclusion of the pro-posed sale.

The sale by the governmentwill also trigger a change ofcontrol on some of BPCL'sbonds, which will require thecompany to redeem its bondswithin 45 days of the change ofcontrol being triggered.

There is no ratings conditionattached to the put option forbondholders.

"Further, BPCL's foreigncurrency bondholders couldalso decide to treat the gov-ernment stake falling below 50per cent as an event of default,which would result in bondsbeing immediately repayable.Any bond redemption will sig-nificantly increase BPCL's refi-nancing risk," it said.

As of November 22, BPCLhad USD 2.3 billion (about Rs16,300 crore) of foreign cur-rency bonds outstanding.

The company had cash andcash equivalents of Rs 970crore as of September 30.

As part of its decision to sellits stake in BPCL, the govern-ment also announced thatBPCL will also sell its 61.65 percent in Numaligarh RefineryLtd to other government-owned oil & gas companies.

‘If conditional NDCsare also effectivelyimplemented,warming will likelyreduce by about 0.2degree Celsius,’ itadded

Rise in global temp will bringmore destructive climate: UN

PNS n STOCKHOLM

Having reservations aboutdrinking recycled sewagewater? Have a beer!

Swedish experts have usedrecycled sewage water, passedit through delicate membranesand cleaning processes includ-ing reverse osmosis and turnedit into the country's first hot-selling beer. The experts at theIVL Swedish EnvironmentalResearch Institute, famousbeer-maker Carlsberg, Swedenand New Carnegie Breweryhere joined hands to use thewater from the city to brewbeer and to overcome themental block regarding drink-ing of recycled water.

The popularity of the recy-cled water beer PU:REST,which was launched in May2018, has soared with 6,000litres of it being sold in themarket so far, IVL expertRupali Deshmukh said.

She said the recycled wateris so clean that they had to addsalt to it. It is all about accep-

tance of that water which ismore of a psychological issue,Deshmukh said, adding thatthe institute is not in the busi-ness of selling alcohol and theproject is to prove a point ofrecycling waste water topotable levels.

The IVL has set up a pilot

and demonstration facility inHammarby Sjostadsverk torecycle sewage water by pass-ing it through delicate mem-branes and cleaning processesand turning it into cleanestpossible water, said projectmanager at IVL StaffanFilipsson.

InterGlobeAviationshares closeover 2% lower

PNS n NEW DELHI

Leading stock exchanges NSEand BSE have decided toexclude as many as four secu-rities including Tata Motorsand NBCC (India) from futureand options trading fromJanuary 31 next year.

Other two stocks to beexcluded are Dish TV Indiaand Castrol India, the bours-es said in separate circulars.

The move is expected toprotect market participantsfrom huge single-day swings.

"The existing unexpiredcontracts of expiry monthsNovember 2019, December2019 and January 2020 shall beavailable for trading till theirrespective expiry and newstrikes shall also be intro-duced in the existing contractmonths," the exchanges said.

Accordingly, no contracts

shall be available for trading inthese securities with effectfrom January 31, 2020, theyadded.

Meanwhile, the BSE lastweek announced that TataMotors will be dropped fromthe the exchange's benchmarkSensex from December 23.

In February, capital marketsregulator Sebi had proposed aslew of measures includingcapping the maximum dailymovement of up to 20 per centfor all stocks including theones that are part of future andoptions (F&O) segment inorder to check excessive pricemovements.

PNS n NEW DELHI

TVS Motor Company onTuesday launched BS VI com-pliant range of TVS ApacheRTR 200 4V and TVS ApacheRTR 160 4V motorcycles,priced up to Rs 1.24 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

TVS Apache RTR 4Vmotorcycles nowcome equipped withrace graphics, all newLED headlamp,among other features.Apache RTR 200 4V - DC,which is powered by a197.75cc single-cylinderengine, is priced at Rs 1.24lakh, while Apache RTR 1604V (disc) is tagged at Rs 1.03lakh. Besides, Apache RTR 1604V (drum) is priced at Rs99,950. (all prices ex-show-

room Delhi). The modelcomes with single-cylinder159.7 cc powertrain.

The 2020 Apache rangenow comes with race tuned-fuel injection technology.Besides, Apache RTR 4Vmotorcycles come equippedwith race graphics, all newLED headlamp, among other

features."The 2020 range of

Apache RTR seriesoffers an array of pre-mium features enabled

by cutting edge technologyand will transform perfor-mance biking. This marks thecommencement of the transi-tion of our vehicles to the BS-VI norms," TVS MotorCompany Head - (Marketing)Premium MotorcyclesMeghashyam Dighole said.

TVS Motor drives in BS VIcompliant Apache bike range

Alembic getsUSFDA nod forSilodosinPNS n NEW DELHI

Alembic Pharmaceuticals onTuesday said it has receivedfinal approval from the UShealth regulator for its gener-ic Silodosin capsules used intreatment of benign prostat-ic hyperplasia.

The approval by the USFood and DrugAdministration (USFDA) forSilodosin capsules is for mul-tiple strengths of 4 mg and 8mg, the company said in aregulatory filing.

It is therapeutically equiv-alent to the reference listeddrug product RapafloCapsules, 4 mg and 8 mg, ofAllergan Sales, LLC, it added.

Silodosin capsule is indi-cated for treatment of thesigns and symptoms ofbenign prostatic hyperpla-sia. Citing IQVIA data, thecompany said Silodosin cap-sules have an estimated mar-ket size of USD 114 millionfor 12-months ending June2019.

Swedish experts use recycledsewage water to brew beer

NSE, BSE to excludeF&O contracts on TataMotors, 3 others

Moody's rating action also assumes thatBPCL's status as a government-ownedentity in India will continue until at leastthe conclusion of the proposed sale

Famous beer-maker Carlsberg, Swedenand New Carnegie Brewery here joinedhands to use the water from the city tobrew beer

The applicant willhave to state thesource of supply ofproducts, tankageand other infra withcapacity, means oftransportation ofproducts and year-wise number ofpetrol pumpsproposed

Sensex retreats fromlifetime high, ends 68 ptslower; Nifty above 12K

India GDP growth in Q2 at 4.7%;FY20 forecast at 5.6%: Ind-Ra

Min100 petrol pumps, 5% in remote areas:India's new liberalised fuel retail policy

Moody's reviews BPCL's rating for downgrade

rtist, Rosy J.Mallaparaju, isshowcasing herlatest solo artworktitled ‘Confluenceof Impressions’ at

the Alliance FrancaiseGallery, Banjara Hills. Rosy isa self-taught artist, an artteacher and an art therapycoach. Her work involves awide array of techniques withoil, acrylic and colour pen-cils. She specialises in paint-ing with her fingers. Shespreads her love for art byteaching it as well as con-ducting regular workshops.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Rosy says, “This exhibition isall about the impressions Imake of people and objectsaround me in my daily life.Most of the paintings aredone with my fingers. Theexhibition is an extension ofmy work representing subtle-ness of energy, themesaround mindfulness andhealing, and bringing out thelife around us in variousform of colours with con-trasting shades flowing fromone entity to another — nat-ural and man-made.”

Rosy captures energy thatradiates from objects aroundus, but is seldom noticed byanyone. The paintings cap-ture the vividness of form,shape and colour of herimagination.

“I practise art therapysince I believe it helps peopleget well and build positiveenergy in them. We haveseven chakras in our bodywhich are linked to variousorgans. I use various coloursin my art because all thecolours are connected to

theseseven chakras. This processhelps to build positive energyin people,” she said.

“Some people feel lonely ordepressed while others mighthave some other issue whichthey are not able to open upwith others. I believe thatpositive energy comes with alot of vibrant colours and thistherapeutic art is more about

helping those people lookinto beautiful things to createpositive energy in them. It allworks like when you see abeautiful flower you feelhappy,” she added.

Explaining one of her artpieces, she says, “I immor-talised Cleopatra, the queenof Egypt. In my painting, Idrew her looking at a cobra

withoutfear. We all know that, in theend, she committed suicidefrom the bite of a snake. Sheis a strong woman whostayed strong till the end.”

Talking about her futureplans, she said that she isplanning to do an art exhibi-tion about women. The exhi-bition will be on view tillDecember 2.

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

ROSY MALLAPARAJUCAPTURES ENERGYTHAT RADIATESFROM OBJECTSAROUND US, BUT ISSELDOM NOTICED BYANYONE.

WednesdayNovember 27, 2019

ARTThe street art

scene inHyderabad isstill nascent.But, a sleepy

neighbourhoodbeside Tank

Bund, withoutthe disguise of

a typical touristspot, has been

graduallynurturing street

art for years,finds

ANUSHKAPRADEEP

aqtha is an art dis-trict unlike anyother. This art dis-trict in the citywas decked withseveral shades of

paint done by various artistswho had come here fromacross the country and theglobe to be part of a colour-ful movement. Each artwork,each hue, each stroke had itsown story to tell.

St+art India, a non-profitorganisation, is behind thetransformation of MSMaqtha near Tank Bund. TheNGO curated a tour of theart district last Sunday whichis a weekly affair attended bymany art lovers in the city.The tours offered glimpsesand insights into a globalstreet art movement, right inour backyard.

Every mural in Maqtha is aunique representation of thecity from the artist’s perspec-tive. The walls of Maqtha hadseveral art pieces producedby several artists such asSwathi, Vijay, Manolo Mesa,Rouge Do and Khatra,Abhedya, and Rouge. Due tothis, the aesthetics of thelocality has changed fromdark and dimly lit areas to

bright yellows, pinks andblues with flying jellyfishesand other characters occupy-ing the forefront.

Thanks to the efforts of theNGO, the once sidelinedlocality, which was no morethan a dumpyard earlier, hasnow turned into a renownedtourist spot. Consciousefforts are being consistentlymade to preserve the artworkat the district.

A Fabric Art, created byRouge — an internationalartist who is part of the cre-ative team — is one of themost prominent works of artin the locality. The artworkwas inspired by clothesdesigned for women, espe-cially the ones displayed atthe stalls at Charminar. Themural painted, in bright huesof reds and blues, was meantto express the vibrancy in theheart of the city. Besidesusing large blank walls as thecanvas, Rouge and otherartists would often go aboutpainting the walls and doorsof the local people in theMaqtha community.

Mohammed Wasi, a localguide who lives at the art dis-trict and is also part of theNGO, enthusiastically

detailed on how the kids ofthe community would eager-ly wait for a new artist tocome to their locality, andmore often than not, comebearing gifts.

Children were gifted artbooks and equipment topaint. Often while paintingthe walls of houses, the localsliving there were also invitedto participate in the creativeprocess.

Among the members whowere a part of the tour wasUdita, a Class 10 student ofKennedy High School, whospread the word about theevent among her circles andalso brought her family andfriends to the tour.

“I’m very enthusiasticabout art and I’m constantlyon the lookout for new artshows. I came to know aboutSt+art India from socialmedia. When I saw that theNGO was holding a tour ofthe art district, I just had tobring along all people I knowhere and I’m glad to havebeen able to be a part of thisexperience. I am writing anovel about the Hyderabadart scene and this locationhas given me a great start. Itteaches us that how beauty is

more than what meets theeye. We stay in Gachibowli,and the landscape is entirelydifferent there.”

Maqtha may not be knownfor its roads or its standardsof living, but it is the art thatbrings people from far andwide to this place. The peo-ple are also extremely warmand courteous, welcominganyone who visit the localityto ensure that they have apleasant experience.

The art may stay for a fewyears and eventually may givein to the harsh sunlight andrains. Maybe new buildingswill come up and the paint-ings might just fade awayinto the background.

But, what will remain arethe stories and memoriesetched in the minds of peoplewho came together to createsomething new at a place thatis often overlooked andignored.

As along as there is anartist who will drop in atMaqtha with brushes andbuckets of paint, staresintently at any wall, eyes lostin imagination and paintsaway without looking back,Maqtha will never be forgot-ten.

M

A

REVOLUTION INOUR BACKYARD

I’m writing a novel aboutthe city’s art scene and thislocation has given me agreat start. It shows howbeauty is more than whatmeets the eye. We stay inGachibowli and the entirelandscape is different there

UDITACLASS 10 STUDENT

Art can help convey a message or help a troubled soul.The colours and shades that an artist chooses inhis/her artwork can calm or agitate the mind, finds V SATEESH REDDY in a chat with a local artist.

Many moods of canvas

Some people feel lonely ordepressed while othersmight have some otherissue which they are notable to open up withothers. I believe thatpositive energy comes witha lot of vibrant colours

ROSY J. MALLAPARAJUARTIST

Bringing folk tales to lifetudents from acity-based inter-national schoolbrought the cur-tain down with ascintillating per-

formance that dealt withconveying lesser knowntopics and myths and after-wards a gallery walk aboutthe same was held.

As a part of their learn-ing, students researchedfolktales from various cul-tures in local and interna-

tional publications.They collaborated with

schools from Nepal,Bangladesh and Moroccoand exchanged informationabout the myths and leg-ends with each other.

Students also exploredhow art is used as a mediumof storytelling in their owncountry and partnernations. As a part of thisactivity they learnt aboutthe 12th century CheriyalScroll paintings which

depicts stories from ancientIndian folktales. The schoolalso organised a Cheriyalpainting workshop that gavestudents an opportunity tolearn more about this localart form of Telangana.

Various other inhouseactivities such as creatingclay models of mythicalcreatures, creating illustra-tive comic strips of folktales,role plays, etc. were alsocarried out as a part of thisISA journey. — PNS

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Hyderabad Wednesday November 27, 2019

l In a tale akin to Romeo and Juliet, the friendshipbetween two children is threatened by their parents'differences. Malu is from an upper-class family andher single mother does not want her to play withJorgito, as she thinks his background coarse andcommonplace. The movie shall be screened atLamakaan today at 7 pm.

CITY GUIDE

ART AAND SSPORTS

MOVIES, PPLAYS AAND CCONCERTS

JOD TODlJod Tod, a Hindi play presented by KalayanTheatre group from Bengaluru,is a fun-filled crackling comedy aboutquintessential relationships and its complications.This light hearted funfilled play will be held atLamakaan on November 30 at 7.30 pm.

lGallery Space, Banjara Hills is presenting a groupart show Space Time Continuum by Sachin Jaltare,Ramesh Gorjala, Anjaneyulu G and Bratin Khan untilDecember 20 between 10 am and 6 pm.

SPACE TIME

VIVA CUBA MOVIE SCREENING

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your events listed,please send your details along with a poster andcontact number to pioneer.features@gmail.com

FUN TIME

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

what’s brewing?

Phot

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TRENDSETTINGStyle Bazaar, a fashion and

lifestyle exhibition, hasbeen launched in the city

recently. Several high profilepersonalities including actors,models and influencers gracedthe event and had a gala timechecking out various designeroutfits. The launch was held at

Hotel Taj Krishna.

PART

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l Sheeta Jain

l Siril Grishma

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anvi

lIs

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kita

KIDS’ DAY OUT Suchitra Academy recently celebrated its 9th Founder's day.BWF World Champion PV Sindhu, was the Chief Guest for theevent. Attendees were mesmerized watching children dancing

to the beats and performing various skits.

s an actor, V.K.Naresh is goingthrough a dream runof late, receiving richaccolades for histurns in films like

Rangasthalam, Sammohanamand Aravinda SamethaVeeraraghava. He admits thatever since he shifted gears toplaying supporting roles fromlead roles, his thoughts havebeen on the late SVR who playedwhatever role that was offered tohim with relative ease.

“The last three years, especial-ly, have been productive for me.I’m happy that I’m playing therole of a father or brother of thehero, or the lead or a villain aswell. My mother Vijaya Nirmalawished to see me busy again. I’veworked for 29 days last month.As many as 13 films of mine arein production this year andalmost all of them are with bigproduction houses,” he declareswith a sense of pride.

He credits the younger lot ofdirectors for making his careershine again. “While on onehand, senior directors likeTrivikram, Sukumar and

Maruthi have always supportedme, young directors like VenkyAtluri and Venky Kudumula arelooking for my dates. I’ve recent-ly signed on C/o Kancharapalemdirector Venkatesh Maha’s next.For me, it’s the roles over rupee.I’m ready to do a film even forRs 1 lakh if the director offersme a great or a different role. Alot of web series are also comingmy way and I believe they arethe future. I want to do one webseries every year. I’m also openfor short films if I get time,” headds.

Right now, his next,Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu,which went through its share ofproduction hassles, has his undi-vided attention. He played thetitular role in the biopic directedby Babji. Naidu was a pioneer inthe production of silent Indianfilms and talkies and is widelyregarded as the father of Telugucinema. Starting in 1909, he wasinvolved in many aspects ofIndian cinema’s history, liketravelling to different regions inAsia to promote film work. In1912, he had built a permanentcinema named Gaiety Theatre

which was the first inMadras to screen filmson a full-time basis.“When my mother wasconferred the Raghup-athi Venkaiah Award, Iwas blown away by thetrophy. Upon Googlinghim, I came to know aboutthe struggles he faced toachieve what he did in the fieldof cinema. I spoke to Babji aboutit and he developed the storyover a period of time. Wewrapped up the film in 40 daysand it will be releasing in closeto 150 theatres,” he mentions.

The late Dasari Narayana Rao,says Naresh, was keen on givingthe film a release. “After watch-ing the film, he hugged me andbecame teary-eyed. I still rem-ember his embrace. He wantedto release it but unfortunately hepassed away. I consider myselflucky to have essayed Raghu-pathi Venkaiah. Also, I have adistant family connection withhim,” he informs.

As an administrator of theMovie Artist Association(MAA), however, the senioractor hasn’t had a great run and

oftenhasbeen in thenews for thewrong reasons. Hewants to steer away from contro-versies and focus on the job athand. “For the first time in thehistory of MAA, 850 membershave been given life insurance.Medical insurance has beenhiked to Rs 3 lakh, while eligibleartistes are getting Rs 6,000 pen-sion deposited in their accountsevery month. We have sufficientfunds and we are ready to con-duct more events to raise funds.Differencesare natur-

alwhen two

panels with different ide-ologies contest in polls. But Iwant to take everyone with me. Iwill be the president for just oneterm. There has been a slightdisturbance because of my filmsschedule but my team has beenof great help. I don’t want toattract controversies and I wantto be above politics. Nobody canremove me from the post as Iwas elected through a due pro-cedure. After my term, I willsimply walk away,” he signs off.

uzz aboutfilmmakerVirinchiVarma set tomake hisnext with his

Uayyala Jampala starcast, Raj Tarun andAvika Gor, has beendoing the rounds forthe past couple ofdays. However, asource in the knowclarified that Virinchihasn’t approached anyother actor after his

rural family dramawith Kalyanram got

shelved. “The directorhasn’t met Raj Tarun in

the last two years, sonews about them

joining forces is nottrue. Also, the actor is

busy with a slew of pro-jects. He is presentlydoing Orey Bujji, postwhich he is committedto do films withSrinivas Gavireddyand Anish Krishna. Sothe question ofVirinchi working withRaj Tarun doesn’tarise right now,”informed thesource.

The source addedthat Virinchi wanted totake the story that hehad for Kalyanram toother actors. “It dealswith farming issues andthe director was keen onmaking it with someone

else after Kalyanram couldn’t do it,fearing that it might have similari-ties with Maharshi script. Butwhen Virinchi got a wind ofSharwanand’s Sreekaram too deal-ing with farming, he decided notto take it up altogether. He is pen-ning a family drama peppered with

lots of humour and aromantic track as

of now. In anothercouple of months,he would getclarity on whowould spear-head it,” stated

the source. — NG

Hyderabad Wednesday November 27, 2019

THE LOOK WASCOMPARED TO ANILKAPOOR’S OBESEAVATAR IN BADHAIHO BADHAI, ANDSMRITI IRANI

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11

tollywood

Naresh shares with NAGARAJ GOUD aboutthe kind of roles he wants to do in the futureand his hope to star in web series, short films

Virinchi is not reteaming with

Raj Tarun

B

he makers ofAnushka andMadhavan-

starrer Silenceunveiled the look ofactress ShaliniPandey from thefilm recently. TheArjun Reddy girlplays Sonali whowill act as the voiceof a mute artistSakshi (played byAnushka). Directedby HemanthMadhukar, the film,a horror-thrillershot in Telugu,Tamil, Hindi andEnglish, doesn’thave a release dateyet.

FirstlookT

It's a wrap forENTHA MANCHIVAADAVURAA

Kangana's sister defendsactress's Jayalalithaa

look against trollsangana Ranaut’ssister andspokespersonRangoli Chandelhas come downheavily on neti-

zens who have trolled theBollywood actress’s look aslate Tamil Nadu chief min-ister J. Jayalalithaa, in thelatter’s upcoming biopic,Thalaivi.

“Anyone who has got eyescan see the brilliance ofprosthetic work bakisamosa gang is there jo dinko raat aur raat ko din kehtehain, they are inconsequen-tial (sic),” claimed Rangolion Twitter, in response tothe countless memes andnegative jibes that have

come Kangana’s way, eversince the first look posterwas released online onSaturday, along with a teaserof the film.

While substantial hypehad been created overKangana’s prosthetic prepa-ration for the role in the US,once the first look wasrevealed, many on socialmedia were far fromimpressed. Rather thanJayalalithaa, the look wascompared by netizens, inturns, to Anil Kapoor’sobese avatar in Badhai HoBadhai, and Smriti Irani.

Beginning withJayalalithaa’s journey as anactress, the film will endwith her becoming CM for

the first time. The ups anddowns she weathered tillthat period will be a part ofthe film. Baahubali writerVijayendra Prasad has writ-ten the story.

Also featuring ArvindSwami, the film, directed byVijay, is slated to open onJune 26 next year. — IANS

K

Roles over rupeesfor VK NARESH

andamuri Kalyanram-starrer Entha ManchiVaadavuraa, which joinedthe Sankranti race afterSarileru Neekevvaru andAla Vaikunthapuramlo, is

the first film to have reached the finishline on the shooting front though. Oneof the film’s producers Umesh Gupta(the other being Sivalenka Prasad)informed that the film’s last schedulehas been wrapped up in Munnar andits surrounding areas recently.

“Dubbing formalities have reached aconclusion, while re-recording willstart from December 1. The sound-track consisting of four songs will belaunched next month,” Umesh added.

In the film, said to be a remake of aGujarati film Oxygen, Kalyanram playsa good samaritan who is loved by hisfamily and everybody in the village.He doesn’t hesitate to help the needy

but when he confronts a situation,which threatens people around him,he doesn’t vacillate to resort with vio-lence. The makers have shot a thrillingclimax action sequence in Godavari,employing 16 boats. The film, co-star-ring Mehreen, V.K. Naresh, SuhasiniMani Ratnam, Tanikella Bharani,Pavitra Lokesh, Vennela Kishore,Praveen and Prabhas Sreenu, will be intheatres on January 15. Gopi Sundar isthe music composer.

N

IN THE FILM, SAID TO BEA REMAKE OF A GUJARATIFILM OXYGEN,KALYANRAM PLAYS AGOOD SAMARITAN LOVEDBY ALL IN A VILLAGE

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | NOVEMBER 27, 2019 sport 12

IANS n KOLKATA

India were one of the favouritesto win the 2019 World Cup tilla 15-minute spell from the

New Zealand fast bowlers inManchester changed everythingand the world came crashing downfor the Men in Blue in the semi-final stages of the showpiece event.Things could have easily gonedownhill from there had it not beenfor the guidance of head coach RaviShastri. He has used the stick in thelast few years as much as he has pat-ted the back of the players when themorale has been down and todaythis Indian team is often comparedto the legendary Windies unit in the1970s and 1980s.

Speaking after completinganother series whitewash, this timeagainst Bangladesh, Shastri threwlight on what made him believe thatthis team could be world beaters,the future of MS Dhoni, how tal-ents like Rishabh Pant need to bebacked and most importantly thejoy of seeing a former cricketer takeover as BCCI President in SouravGanguly.

The World Cup exit was a bit-ter pill to swallow and Shastri saysit has been amazing how the boysdecided to not let that disheartenthem and have only grown instrength from that fateful day —July 9.

“For me, the intensity shown bythis team is fabulous. The way theyhave bounced back after those 15minutes in Manchester. That wasa bitter pill to swallow and hurt oneand all. But then, the ferocity andintensity they have shown after thatin the last three months is unbeliev-able. This is remarkable and that iswhy I say if you look back 5-6 years,this will have to be one of the mostconsistent Indian teams ever acrossall formats,” he said.

The past can’t be changed, butthe road ahead has the World T20in 2020 and winning that will go along way in establishing the invin-cibility tag that has been given tothis team under skipper ViratKohli. But then, a question oneveryone’s mind is whether MSDhoni will take that flight. Thecoach wants one and all to wait, tillthe IPL.

“It all depends on when he

starts playing and how he is play-ing during the IPL. What are theother people doing with the wick-et-keeping gloves or what is theform of those players as opposed toDhoni’s form. The IPL becomes amassive tournament because thatcould be the last tournament afterwhich more or less your 15 is decid-ed.

“There might be one playerwho might be there and there-abouts in case of an injury or what-ever. But your team I would saywould be known after the IPL.What I would say is rather thanspeculating of who is where, waitfor the IPL to get over and then youare in a position to take a call onwho are the best 17 in the country,”he said.

Coming back to the present,this Indian team has moved fromstrength to strength under Shastriand Kohli and now we have anoth-er former captain coming into theBCCI as President in Ganguly.

The loudest cheer at the EdenGardens was actually saved for

when the two men — Shastri andGanguly — shook hands after thewin on the third afternoon. Knownto speak his mind, Shastri says hecouldn’t have been happier thanseeing a former cricketer come inas the BCCI chief at such a crucialjuncture.

“I think it is fantastic. I was oneof the first to congratulate himwhen he became the Presidentbecause I was delighted that moreimportant than anything a BCCIwas back in place to put Indiancricket where it belongs both onand off the field. And I was evenmore delighted that a cricketershould be at the helm at thisimportant phase of Indian cricket.

“And Sourav having been a fab-ulous player and captain and beenaround as an administrator, himbecoming the President adds a lotof value,” he explained.

From a former captain to ayoung turk. Rishabh Pant is the hottopic in Indian cricket at present.While some love him, others liketo pull him up, but for Shastri, there

is a superstar in that lad whojust needs to be given thatcushion to settle down andfeel at home.

So what does hetell a Pant?

“ No t h i n g .Just tell him thatyou are youngand nobodyexpects youto learneverything inone day. You arebound to make mistakes,but as long as you sitdown and thing aboutways to rectify those mis-takes, you know that iswhat this game will teachyou. You are not going tobe a superstar in one day.You will have your ups andyour downs. That is life,but the more you workharder, the more the sac-rifices you make, the bet-ter you will become,” hesmiled.

AFP nMOUNT MAUNGANUI

England players will rallyaround an “emotiona” Jofra

Archer after the paceman wasracially abused by a spectator inNew Zealand, director of crick-et Ashley Giles said on Tuesday,as local officials scoured CCTVfootage to identify the culprit.

“It’s a shame that sort ofthing is still in society,” Giles toldreporters after Archer was sub-jected to racist comments afterbeing dismissed late on day fiveof the opening Test in MountMaunganui.

The Barbados-born bowlertweeted after the match that itwas “a bit disturbing hearingracial insults today whilst bat-tling to help save my team”.

The 24-year-old later toldESPNcricinfo that the abuser wasa solitary New Zealand specta-tor making comments “aboutthe colour of my skin”.

Archer has been a powerfuladvocate for diversity in crick-et and Giles, when asked howthe player was faring, replied:“The tweet, it was obviouslyemotional, it hurts.

“We fully support Jof, thereis no place for racism in the

game... you know what ourteam is like, they’ll rally roundhim.”

Black Caps captain KaneWilliamson described the tauntas “horrific”, while New ZealandCricket said the culprit would bereported to the police and facea life ban if identified from thevenue’s CCTV footage.

Williamson said suchracism was “against everythingthat we as Kiwis are about”.

“It’s a horrific thing. In acountry and a setting where it isvery much multi-cultural,” hetold news website stuff.co.nz.

“It’s something we need toput to bed quickly and hopenothing like that ever happensagain.”

Both Williamson and NewZealand Cricket chief executiveDavid White apologised toArcher.

New Zealand and Englandare working together to investi-gate the incident and BlackCaps coach Gary Stead said hewanted the person responsiblecaught.

“Hopefully, it was just oneidiot in the crowd and they dealwith it,” he told Radio NewZealand.

highest ranked bowler in the for-mat and arguably most potentweapon, makes it even moreimpressive.

The trio of Ishant Sharma,Mohammed Shami and UmeshYadav were almost unplayable inthe two matches.

“I can’t say how long ago, butwhen I first came here, you wouldhave Madan Lal opening thebowling,” Simmons was quoted assaying by ‘ESPNcricinfo’.

“Now you have guys bowlingat 90 miles per hour opening andyour premier fast bowler(Bumrah) was injured for thisTest, so you still have him to comeback. It’s exciting for world crick-et.

“Teams know now that youhave to play properly on bothsides — you have to have properfast bowlers and proper spinnersto beat India. Fast bowling fromanybody is exciting, so it’s great tosee that happen.”

He was impressed with whathe had seen of India’s inauguralday-night, pink-ball Test at theEden Gardens.

"I did watch the first day. Itwas exciting to see Eden Gardensfull. It's an awesome sight,"Simmons said. PTI

PTI n KOLKATA

Indian cricket icon SachinTendulkar feels BCCI

President Sourav Gangulyshould initiate a revamp of theDuleep Trophy as players com-peting in the event seem morefocussed on individual perfor-mances than their teams.

The batting maestro feelsthat team bonding is missingfrom the four-day tournament,which can be reinvented bybringing in four Ranji Trophysemifinalists along with twoteams of promising U-19 and U-23 players.

“I want him (Ganguly) toconsider looking at the DuleepTrophy...I feel Duleep Trophy isone tournament where one isgetting to hear that players arepossibly more focused on theirown performances and what thenext tournament is and they playaccordingly,” Tendulkar said.

“For instance if there’s anIPL auction, or an upcomingT20 tournament or one-day,players end up playing in thatmode and not for their team orlooking at the need of the hour,”he said.

The Duleep trophy was afive-team zonal tournament butnow features India Blue, IndiaGreen and India Red in a round-

robin format.As the former captain gears

up for the BCCI’s first AnnualGeneral Meeting on Sunday,Tendulkar wants him to sparesome focus on Duleep Trophy.

“This is one change I wouldlike to see because cricket hasalways been a team sport. It is allabout team spirit bonding andplaying together as a team. Notas individuals,” he said.

Explaining his idea on howto revamp the Duleep Trophy,Tendulkar said to get players tocompete as a team, it should beheld right after the Ranji Trophyfinals and among the four semi-finalists, who play the whole sea-son together.

“Top four Ranji teams andthere should be two more teamsbecause there would be a num-ber of teams with talented indi-viduals but which did not qual-ify. You pick these players fromvarious teams, also promotetalented age-group players fromUnder-19 and Under-23.

“If there’s someone excep-tionally talented U19 then youcan look at those players. Bringthem and have this tournamenttogether.”

“So you have got the best ofboth. You have got four leadingRanji teams who have beenplaying together,” he added.

AFP n CAPE TOWN

West Indies cricketing heroChris Gayle demanded more

respect on Monday after wavinggoodbye to South Africa’s MzansiSuper League with his team JoziStars yet to win a game in the cur-rent campaign.

Former West Indies captainGayle, 40, scored just 101 runs in sixinnings before his stormy departurefrom a disastrous season for defend-ing champions Stars in theTwenty20 championship.

“As soon as I don’t perform fortwo or three games, then ChrisGayle is the burden for the team,”said Gayle, who plans to take therest of the season off.

“I am not talking for this teamonly,” added Gayle, who has playedfor a multitude of sides over his 20-year career.

“This is something I haveanalysed over the years playingfranchise cricket. Chris Gayle isalways a burden if I don’t score runs.

“It seems like that one particu-lar individual is the burden for theteam. And then you will hearbickering.

I am not going to get respect.People don’t remember what youhave done for them. I don’t get

respect.”Stars have lost all six of their

matches so far in this year’s MSL,while Gayle had struck just 47runs in his first five matches.

However he hit 54 off 28 ballsin his final match for the Stars,which was also his 400th T20appearance, as his team lost from awinning position against Spartans.

They are unsurprisingly bottomof the MSL zero points, a whopping

19 behind league leaders NelsonMandela Bay Giants.

On Tuesday, chief executiveof the Jozi Stars franchise JonoLeaf-Wright rode to Gayle’sdefence, describing the WestIndian batsman as “sensitive”in an interview with The Starnewspaper.

“In Chris’s head, he feelsthat when he doesn’t perform,

because there are such expecta-tions, from the franchise, the

fans, that he’s the reason theteam is not performing.

“I know Chris well, he seemslike he’s the big character, lots ofbravado, the swag and all that stuffbut he’s actually a sensitive guy,and unfortunately, when he does-n’t perform he really takes it toheart. He’s certainly no burden onour side.”

PNS n NEW DELHI

An eight-member FIFA dele-gation on Tuesday arrived in

Kolkata for an official inspectionto evaluate the progress andpreparations for the U-17Women’s World Cup in 2020.

Ahead of the inspection,Project Lead of U-17 Women’sWorld Cup, Oliver Vogt said, “Weare looking forward to seeinghow things are shaping up. Wesaw the potential of football in

India in 2017 with the men’s edi-tion, and understand how big asuccess it was here in Kolkata.”

The FIFA and LOC delega-tion will inspect the stadiumand training sites in Kolkata onWednesday, and follow it upwith an inspection in Guwahation Thursday.

“We are confident that everystakeholder will work hard toensure the FIFA U-17 Women’sWorld Cup India 2020 is a suc-cess and that the tournament alsomakes its mark in the history ofwomen’s football.

“In this visit, besides theinfrastructure of the stadiumand training sites, we are interest-ed to see the plans that the dif-ferent venues have for the furtherdevelopment of women’s footballin the country.”

The tournament will be heldfrom November 2 to 21 next year.

PNS n NEW DELHI

World ChampionshipsBronze-medallist Vinesh

Phogat and Olympic medal win-ner Sakshi Malik will be the starattractions among women in the2019 Senior National WrestlingChampionships, to be held inJalandhar from November 29 toDecember 1.

Over 500 wrestlers will bevying for top honours in themen’s freestyle, greco roman andwomen events during the cham-pionship.

The field in the women’s com-petition includes Tokyo Olympicsmedal hopeful Vinesh (55 kg), RioOlympics Bronze-medallist SakshiMalik (62 kg), the promisingDivya Kakran (68 kg), SeemaBisla (50 kg), Sarita More (57 kg)and Navjot Kaur (65 kg).

The tournament will also wit-ness some sizzling rivalries. WhileKakran is expected to get a toughfight from Pinki in the 68kg cat-egory, Navjot Kaur will have to get

past Gargi Yadav in her weightclass to claim the podium.

Greco Roman ace Sajan(77kg), along with ace freestylewrestlers Gaurav Baliyan (74kg),Sumit Malik (125kg), SatywartKadian (97kg) and Rahul Mann(70 kg), will be among the stars towatch out for among men.

Meanwhile, for the first timethe wrestling nationals will bestreamed live in the Indian sub-continent.

“This is yet another initiativeto popularise the sport across allwalks of alive. Live streaming ofnational championship will bringthe best domestic wrestling actionto the fans and wrestling fraterni-ty and I appreciate this gesture andcommitment of our commercialpartners Sporty Solutionz for this,”Wrestling Federation of Indiapresident Brij Bhushan SharanSingh said in a statement.

“It will help the next genera-tion of Indian wrestlers under-stand how the sport is played at thetop.”

England opener Rory Burns holds teammate Jofra Archer on his back ECB/Twitter

Eng support Archerafter racist abuse

‘Dhoni will decide future after IPL’Kohli bridgesgap with SmithMayank breaks into top-10 for 1st timePTI n DUBAI

India captain Virat Kohli rode on his command-ing century in the Day/Night Test to close in on

top-ranked Steve Smith, while opener MayankAgarwal made his maiden entry into the top 10 inthe ICC Test rankings issued on Tuesday.

Kohli (928 rating points), who hit 136 againstBangladesh in the second Test in Kolkata, reducedthe gap from 25 to three points with AustralianSmith (931) to retain the second spot.

Agarwal, who struck a double century in thefirst Test against Bangladesh in Indore, jumped oneplace to 10th with 700 points. He is the fourth Indianbatsmen in the top 10 list. Cheteshwar Pujara (791)and Ajinkya Rahane (759) remained at fourth andfifth positions respectively.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes also reachedthe top 10 for the first time by jumping three places

after scores of 91 and 28 against NewZealand.

Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim gainedfour slots to reach 26th after scoring a fight-ing 74 in the second innings of the KolkataTest while Liton Das is up eight slots to 78thposition.

India fast bowlers Ishant Sharma andUmesh Yadav achieved career-high points

after victories over Bangladesh.Ishant has 716 points but is in

the 17th place, way behindhis career-best seventh placeachieved in July 2011.Umesh has 672 pointsand has jumped oneplace to 21st.

Senior India spin-ner RavichandranAshwin moved oneplace up to ninth with772 points, while

injury-sidelined JaspritBumrah lost one spot to

be at fifth with 794 ratingpoints.Ravindra Jadeja, who

jumped one spot to 15th amongbowlers with 725 points,retained his second spot, behindWest Indian Jason Holder, in theall-rounders’ rankings.

Ashwin, meanwhile, hasmoved down one place to fifthamong the all-rounders.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni shake hands with then Delhi Capitals mentor Sourav Ganguly after the end of IPL match CSK/Twitter

Sachin Tendulkar & Harbhajan Singh chat during day 1 of Eden Test PTI/File Photo

Sachin hopes Gangulyrevamps Duleep trophy

I don’t get respect: Gayleafter leaving Jozi Stars

Indian pacers make worldcricket exciting: Simmons

Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav bowl at nets PTI/File Picture

LUCKNOW: A part of the formidable West Indiesteams of the late 1980s and early 90s, PhilSimmons says the current Indian pace attack makesworld cricket exciting.

India’s fast bowlers demolished Bangladesh toclinch the Test series 2-0, and that they haveachieved it without Jasprit Bumrah, the country’s

Vinesh, Sakshi to feature in Sr Nationals

Vinesh Phogat poses with World C’ship medal PTI/File Picture

FIFA kicks off U-17 Women’sWC inspection in Kolkata