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https://twitter.com/mail_today https://facebook.com/mailtoday NEW DELHI, Sunday, June 16, 2019 SUNDAY www.mailtoday.in / www.mailonline.in Vol. 12 No. 212 | Pages 32 | ` 6.00
7 SUFFOCATED TO DEATH IN VADODARA HOTELSEWER SEE
PAGE 5
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NEW DELHI, Sunday, June 16, 2019 SUNDAY www.mailtoday.in / www.mailonline.in Vol. 12 No. 212 | Pages 32 | ` 6.00
UNPLUGGED
Didi concedes
demands, but
docs adamant SEE PAGES 9 Amitav Ghosh on his
3 CMS SKIP CRUCIAL novel, climate refugees
NITI AAYOG MEETING and the world of words
SEE PAGE 8 EXCLUSIVE MT INTERVIEW ON PAGES 16-17
Ill-equipped fire dept battles 120 incidents a day as excessive
AC use sparks short-circuits and buildings flout safety norms
THETINDERBOX!
FIRE MISHAPS
SPIRAL IN CITY
By Ram Kinkar Singh in New Delhi
THE BIG CLASH
FEVER PITCH
ON JUNE 10, an air-conditioner
malfunction triggered a blaze � India look to
inside a room on the ground extend their World
floor of Shastri Bhawan. Fire Cup dominance over
engines with loud sirens rushed Pakistan.
and doused the flames inside � Men in Blue have
the large, sprawling building never lost to arch-
that houses several Central rivals in a World Cup
government ministries. match.
On June 7, about 100 people were res-
cued as an electric short-circuit sparked � 6-0 is the head-to-
fire on the fourth floor of Jeevan Deep head record.
Building on Parliament Street. On June
1, 50 vehicles were gutted in Delhi’s
Sagarpur area.
WEATHER
This summer, Delhi is on fire! Power and FORECAST
water shortages have spiked along with tem-
peratures. But that’s not all. The city is also � Light showers
grappling with rising blaze cases. In February, expected in Man-
March, April and May, the numbers were 65,
72, 102 and 106, respectively. In the first 13 days chester on Sunday
of June, the daily average is as high as 121. and we might see an
on-time start. But in
THE SPARKS England, you never
Most cases are triggered by AC malfunction-
ing, electric short-circuits and safety norm vio- really know!
lations, often in factories on Delhi’s outskirts.
Turn to Page 2 Captain Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant ahead of India's match against Pakistan. SEE PAGES 26-27
2 NEWS Mail Today, New
MailDelhi / Chandigarh,
Today, New Delhi, Sunday, June 16, 2019
HOW TO DOUSE FIRE?
3,195 1,495
posts sanctioned
posts are
vacant.
59
for fire officials.
out of a total of 90
stations run without
station officers.
‘
continued from page 1
A Karol Bagh hotel where a blaze killed
17 people in February was found to have
possessed a no objection certificate
(NoC) from the fire department despite NoCs are renewed
brazenly flouting building by-laws. only once in three
On May 27, the Delhi government
changed building rules to enhance fire years, leaving
safety in hotels. But experts say such
action shouldn’t be taken only after a enough time for
disaster. many property
In January 2018, 10 women and seven
men were charred to death at a fire- owners to make
cracker unit in northwest Delhi's
Bawana as several safety rules had been illegal structural
violated. changes.
Such cases are a chilling reminder of
the 1997 fire that killed 59 people and — Neeraj Sehgal,
left more than 100 wounded at Uphaar
Cinema. And Delhi is still full of such Chairman, Fire and
firetraps. Security Association
LATEST ALARM
On May 24, 22 students died inside a Audits do not
coaching centre as fire broke at a com-
mercial complex in Surat. But ‘tuition
happen in many
shops' have also boomed in Delhi by important
flouting fire safety norms and building
bylaws as officials pass the buck. buildings. This
This prompted the Delhi government
to order an immediate inspection of all
should be on time
buildings housing coaching centres and and mandatory.
take action as per fire safety standards
and guidelines to prevent such acci- — Santosh Kumar
dents. But civic authorities have very
few guidelines to conduct such audits. RECENT TEMPERATURE & FIRE Bagla,
Fire safety expert
WHAT EXPERTS SAY CASES
Neeraj Sehgal, chairman, Fire and
Security Association of India, said, “NoCs
JUNE 10: An AC malfunc-
FEBRUARY 65 Daily fire
cases every Resources do not
are renewed only once in three years,
leaving enough time for many property tion triggered fire inside
month in
national
come on time but
owners to make illegal structural
changes. The changes usually go unno-
ticed, until things go horribly wrong.”
a room on the ground
floor of Shastri Bhawan.
MARCH 72 capital. spiralling fire
calls in peak
Fire safety expert Santosh Kumar JUNE 7: About 100 people summer months
Bagla said audits do not happen in
many important buildings. “This should
be on time and mandatory. Residents
were rescued as an elec-
tric short-circuit sparked
APRIL 102 leave us in
should also rope in private auditors,” he a blaze on the fourth distress.
said.
AN ILL-EQUIPPED DEPT
floor of Jeevan Deep
Building. MAY 106 — A former Delhi fire
services director
Firemen start pulling up their socks
JUNE 1: 50 vehicles were (who retired in
from February onwards for the main
challenge that confronts them in the
April-June period.
gutted in Delhi’s Sagarpur
area.
JUNE 121 February)
But manpower and equipment short- Fire safety is our
THE TRAGEDIES
ages cripple their operations and
worsen occupational hazards. The Karol
prime concern.
There are a total of 3,195 posts sanc-
tioned for fire officials but 1,495 are
Bagh hotel We urge people
vacant. Also, 59 out of a total of 90 sta- A Karol Bagh hotel blaze not to use ACs
tions run without station officers. Of the
44 posts sanctioned for senior officials,
killed 17 people in February. continuously.
10 are vacant. No wonder, those work-
ing claim they are overburdened.
JANUARY 2018: 10 women They must
“Resources do not come on time but and seven men were ensure proper
spiralling fire calls in peak summer charred to death at a fire-
months leave us in distress," said a for- cracker unit in northwest maintenance .
mer Delhi fire services director who Delhi's Bawana. — Atul Garg
retired in February.
Delhi fire services department chief
Atul Garg, however, said, fire safety is
the department’s prime concern. “We
1997: Fire killed 59 people
and left more than 100
wounded at Uphaar
‘
Delhi fire services
department chief
urge people not to use ACs continu-
ously. They must ensure proper main- Cinema.
tenance of such appliances,” he said.
Delhi /Sunday,
Mail Today, New Delhi, Chandigarh,
June Sunday,
16, 2019 June 16, 2019 NEWS 3
Chamki fever
toll in Bihar
mounts to 73,
heat to blame
Children showing
symptoms of Acute
Encephalitis Syndrome
(AES) being treated at
a hospital in
Muzaffarpur on
Saturday.
By Rohit Kumar Singh
in Muzaffarpur
THE death toll in the
mysterious fever that
has gripped Muzaf-
farpur and adjoining
district in Bihar has
risen to 73. Most of the
casualties are between
the age group of 1-10 UNION Health
Minister Harsh
year. Vardhan will
Doctors claim that the visit Bihar's Muzaf-
deaths caused by Acute farpur on Sunday to
Encephalitis Syndrome take stock of the situ-
(AES) are due to the ation. “Union Health
excessive heat and Minister Harsh Vard-
humidity in excess of han and a team of
50%. Locally, this myste- doctors will be visit-
rious fever known as ing the hospital on
‘chamki’. Sunday morning to
Bihar Health Minister take stock of the situ-
Mangal Pandey spoke
Exclusively to Mail Today ation. The entire
state is in the state of
shock over the death
1-10
of innocent children.
We are with the fam-
ily members of the
affected and ready to
Most casualties fall provide any kind of
in this age group assistance", said
Nityanand Rai, MoS
Home.
and maintained that his
government was doing Krishna Medical College
everything possible to con- Hospital in Muzaffarpur and
tain the crisis. He also dis- took stock of the situation.
missed allegations that He also met the family
state government was members of the children
caught napping as the who are undergoing treat-
tragedy hit. ment and assured of all cen-
“We have been carrying tral and state assistance.
awareness campaign in CM Nitish Kumar had ear-
Muzaffarpur and adjoining lier advised parents not to
areas but despite this let their children sleep or
deaths are happening. We have litchi on empty stom-
are monitoring the situation ach, as a preventive meas-
24/7 and we are ensuring ure. He directed the officials
that adequate health serv- concerned to ensure that
ices are provided to govern- preventive measures were
ment hospital in Muzaf- taken in affected districts,
farpur where children are though deaths have so far
being treated”, said Mangal been reported from Muzaf-
Pandey, Health Minister of farpur only.
Bihar. Experts say that unless
Union Minister of State for and until rainfall takes
Home, Nityanand Rai on place, the situation will only
Saturday visited the Sri aggravate in days to come.
4 NEWS Mail Today, New
MailDelhi / Chandigarh,
Today, New Delhi, Sunday, June 16, 2019
LAWLESS CITY?
� East Delhi: CA � South Avenue: � Mayur Vihar:
student’s ex-driver Woman, young lover Imposter held for
held for kidnapping pay `7,000 to murder raping woman,
& murdering him 54-yr-old husband cheating others
D
ELHI Police have
arrested a cab driver in
connection with the
sensational kidnapping
cum murder case of a
19-year-old student of
Chartered Accountancy. Police
have said that accused Ankit was
arrested based on the colour of
his shirt.
“The accused was wearing the same
blue shirt which he had worn at the time
of the kidnapping,” said a senior police
officer. The officer said that Ankit was
former driver of deceased Chandan Jha,
and he used to drive the vehicle during
two shifts — day and night.
On May 10, Ankit told Chandan that he
Anju (above) hired the
wanted to quit his job. On May 15, Ankit juvenile (left) to kill her
organised a farewell party and invited husband Suresh Kumar.
one of his friends and Chandan. Next
day, when Chandan was about to leave
Ankit’s house, the accused and his friend
stopped Chandan and took him in
hostage. He had threatened Chandan of
dire consequences if he tried to escape,
added the police officer.
The officer said that the accused made
Chandan call his family and friends,
requesting them to deposit money in his
account. “Chandan’s family and friends
deposited around `1,62,000 in his
account which was withdrawn by Ankit.
WHO ALL
On May 18, Ankit and his friend stran-
gled Chandan. They dumped his body in
Noida’s Sufiyana village. The accused
AND WHY
19
also dumped the cab near Muradnagar,"
said the officer. DCP Jasmeet Singh told
mediapersons that the accused used
Chandan’s ATM card to with-
draw money from his account.
CCTV footage
Meanwhile, Chandan’s family
filed a case in this regard.
During interrogation, Ankit year-old Chandan Jha
tried to mislead the police and
told them that he had quit the
job on May 10 and did not
led to killer was strangled by
driver for money.
meet Chandan after that. The CA student Chandan
54
CCTV camera footage of the Jha’s family said they
ATM used by the accused to received phone calls from
withdraw the money, helped him, asking for money.
the police in identifying and `1.60 lakh was deposited
arresting him because of the
colour of Ankit’s shirt.
in his account which the
“Ankit had his face covered accused withdrew from
while withdrawing money from Chandan’s account. year-old Suresh Saini
the ATM but we matched the The CCTV footage of the was killed over sour
colour and style of his shirt. ATM used by accused relationship with wife.
Finally, he accepted that he Ankit to withdraw the
had murdered Chandan and money helped the police
26
took us to the place where he in identifying and arrest-
had dumped the body,” Singh
added. Ankit’s body language
ing him. “Ankit had his
also matched the one in the face covered while with-
CCTV footage. When police drawing money from the
searched the accused’s room ATM but we matched the
they recovered the same colour and style of his
colour shirt. shirt. Finally, he accepted year-old Piyush Priya
“During questioning, Ankit Cab driver Ankit (above in blue that he had murdered cheated several
broke down and confessed to shirt) killed CA student Chandan,” said a senior women for favours.
his crime — kidnapping and Chandan Jha (inset) after party. police officer.
murdering Chandan. He took
us to the place where he had
dumped the body, Sufiyana vil- was hatched by the deceased’s nile’s accomplice, identified as said, “We have recovered a num-
lage, and we recovered it from wife, Anju Saini, with the help of Aman, is absconding. ber of fake IDs and stamps, and
there,” added the officer. Ankit her paramour Shivam Thakur, —By Ajay Kumar a four wheeler — which had
was booked under Section 302 21. The crime was executed Bharat Sarkar (Government of
(murder) of the Indian Penal through two henchmen includ- India) imprinted on the number
Code and was later arrested. ing a juvenile on June 7. HAD FAKE ACCOUNT ON plate — from his possession.”
Police have registered a case in Madhur Verma, DCP New MATRIMONIAL SITE Singh added that Piyush also
this regard and said that Delhi, said that it was a “blind Delhi Police arrested an created a fake account on mat-
Ankit’s associate is on the run. murder case” with no clue of the imposter, who used to pose as rimonial site where he men-
“Efforts are on to nab Ankit’s suspects. A witness had seen Assistant Commissioner of tioned ACP, NCB as his profes-
friend, who is still absconding,” two youths around the Police (ACP) of the Narcotics sion, and cheated the women.
police said. An investigation is deceased’s house but their faces Control Bureau (NCB) on Sat- Police have arrested the 26-
underway, they added. were not visible because it was urday. Police in the national year-old in connection with an
—By Anuj Mishra and dark. “The deceased, identified capital have arrested 26-year- instance of rape which occurred
Himanshu Mishra as 54-year-old Suresh Saini was old Piyush Priya in connection in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar area
fast asleep when his throat was with a rape case. earlier this year. A woman
A COLD-BLOODED slit. He was rushed to RML hos- Piyush Priya posed as Assistant Accused Piyush, who has been accused Piyush of raping her,
pital where he was declared Commissioner of Police of the on run for a long time, was also adding that he was planning to
MURDER OF A PUNTER brought dead,” said Verma. Narcotics Control Bureau. booked under various sections meet other girls on June 21, to
Delhi Police have arrested three The duo was held for allegedly of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) cheat them through imperson-
persons, including a juvenile on hiring killers for `7,000 to mur- Kumar had a sour relationship for cheating women. He used to ation. Police also recovered
Saturday, for “cold-blooded der Suresh at the couple’s with his wife, who was 16 years lie about his profession to take multiple illegal Aadhar cards
murder” of a punter in upscale accommodation, police said on younger to him, and indulged in favours from young women. Jas- and ID documents from him.
South Avenue. The conspiracy Saturday. According to police, gambling. Meanwhile, the juve- meet Singh, DCP East Delhi, —By Puneet Sharma
Delhi /Sunday,
Mail Today, New Delhi, Chandigarh,
June Sunday,
16, 2019 June 16, 2019 NEWS 5
Caught on camera!
By Manjeet Sehgal in Chandigarh
PUNJAB Police arrested seven
people in connection with a viral
video in which a woman is seen as
being mercilessly dragged, kicked
and beaten up in full public view.
Woman thrashed
The arrested include brothers of
local Congress councillor Suresh
Chaudhary, Roop Lal, Sunny Chaud-
hary, besides Guddi, Sekhu and Jebo.
The police has booked ten people
including the municipal councillor.
The accused were produced in the court
which remanded them to a two-day
police custody.
for not paying loan
The incident took place on Friday at 11
am in Budha Gujjar area when one of the
accused, Sunny along with his brothers,
drageed a woman from her house on the
road, kicked her and then beat her up
with a belt. The victim’s brother was also
beaten up by the accused.
Sources said that the video was shot by
the victim’s 10-year-old son who is heard
crying for help.
In the video, the 35-year-old
was seen being assaulted in the
middle of a road as her son kept
watching helplessly, crying and
saying, “My mother is being
ANOTHER
beaten up”.
One of the accused even sat on
her when she was lying on the
CASE FROM
road. An elderly woman, appar-
ently her mother, is seen trying
to stop the men from thrashing
PUNJAB
her. But she is also slapped and � A case was registered
pushed by one of them. against six people for
According to the police, the
woman was brutally assaulted allegedly beating up and
after an argument over money stripping a 60-year-old
between her and the wife of one woman in a village in Pun-
of the accused. The victim jab's Bathinda district on
owed Rs 23,000 to Suresh July 19 last year.
Chaudhary, the councillor's
brother, police said. � The victim was
thrashed by the accused
on the suspicion that she
was having an illicit rela-
tionship with a 30-year-
old man kept for house-
hold work. The accused
had also filmed the inci-
dent and posted it on
social media.
� In her complaint, the
The woman was woman claimed that the
‘
dragged out from accused were her grand-
I condemn the her home and
mercilessly beaten
sons, and they wanted to
incident.No one is up by at least 2 men.
get the house vacated in
which they were living.
above the law and
‘
� The victim stated that
such acts of violence Will ensure strict
’
she had been living with
will not be tolerated. action against the her husband in a rented
house. Being an elderly
— AMARINDER SINGH, accused so that couple, they offered
PUNJAB CM nobody dares to accommodation to the
30-year-old man to help
repeat such an
’
them in household work.
However, the victim’s brother, inhuman act. � One of the accused, liv-
Suraj, told the police that the fam- ing near their house, was
ily had borrowed Rs 40,000 from — MANISHA GULATI, suspecting that they had
the accused, Sunny Chaudhary,
which the family had returned. PUNJAB WOMEN offered accommodation
However, Chaudhary had been COMMISSION CHIEF to the man for “wrong"
asking for Rs 23,000 more. reasons”.
“Out of the 10 accused in the
case, seven persons, including Rakesh, who was not part of incident and said that the Commission has sought a � The six accused
Congress Councillor of Muktsar the group of men who thrashed accused in the video from Mukt- detailed report from the Mukt- entered the victim’s
municipal council Rakesh the woman, was charged with sar have been arrested by Pun- sar Police. house by scaling the wall
Chaudhary and his brother have criminal conspiracy along with jab Police and booked for The attack on Friday sparked
been arrested. We have arrested other relevant Sections of IPC. attempt to murder under Sec-
and started beating her
outrage after a video of the
the seventh accused Rakesh The remaining three accused tion 307 of the Indian Penal Code assault surfaced on social media, up, the police had said.
Chaudhary (Congress Council- — Hassan, Renu and Jyoti — are (IPC). “No one is above the law with the Opposition criticising
lor) this evening,” Senior Super- yet to be arrested, said Dhesi. and such acts of violence will not the deteriorating law and order � The accused haven’t
intendent of Police (SSP) Manjit Punjab Chief Minister Captain be tolerated,” the CM added. in the state. been nabbed yet.
Singh Dhesi said Saturday. Amrinder Singh condemned the Meanwhile, the State Women —With inputs from PTI
Rape survivor’s kin Seven die while cleaning
asked to host ‘feast’ hotel sewer in Vadodara
SEVEN persons, including four after learning about the inci-
By Ravish Pal Singh the village’.
sanitation workers, died on dent and teams of the fire
in Bhopal However, after the victim’s
father failed to host the commu- Saturday after inhaling toxic brigade from Vadodara Munic-
nity feast due to his poor eco- fumes while cleaning sewer of ipal Corporation and Dabhoi
A VILLAGE panchayat in Raj- a hotel in Vadodara district of civic body launched rescue
garh district of Madhya Pradesh nomical conditions, the rape
asked a rape victim’s father to survivor made a complaint to Gujarat, officials said. work. They took out the bodies
host a ‘non-vegetarian commu- the local administration ‘that The incident happened of the deceased after three
nity feast’, also called a ‘bhan- the family has been boycotted shortly after midnight at hours of efforts,” he added.
dara’ to ‘purify’ his daughter by the village’. Darshan Hotel in Far- After the post-
after rape. “Until the feast is organised, tikui village of Dabhoi The mortem, the bodies
Father of a 17-year-old rape we won’t be included in the cast tehsil, around 30 Gujarat gov- were handed over to
survivor alleged that the village and village,” the girl’s father kms from Vadodara ernment has the kin of the
panchayat boycott his family told news agency ANI. announced finan-
city, police said. deceased. The
after he failed to serve the ‘com-
The family of the rape victim Three employees cial assistance of Rs owner of the hotel,
munity feast’ to ‘purify’ his rape
survivor daughter. Victim’s
Panchayat said need to was boycotted after failing of the hotel were four lakh each to Hassan Abbas Ismail
‘purify’ girl after rape to host the community feast. also among those the kin of the Boraniya, is
father also alleged that his
daughter was raped four killed. deceased absconding.
months ago by a youth from the cer Chandrasena Bhinde visited “The sanitation workers BJP MLA Shailesh
same village. “The father of the girl com- the village and the victim’s fam- workers had been Mehta said the four san-
Father of the teen says that plained in January that the pan- ily. “The victim’s family is being roped in to clean the sewer. itation workers were from
while announcing the decree, chayat had declared them out- treated unfairly by the society When one worker failed to the nearby Thuvavi village.
the panchayat claimed that the cast until they organise a feast and we have to stop it. I have The police said the incident
spoken to the district SP and he
come out of the manhole, oth-
rape victim had to be ‘purified’ with non-veg food. Police have
since the accused was from a assured that he will investigate ers went inside to check, but all took place around 12.30 am.
questioned the villagers, noth-
lower caste. The panchayat ing of the sort has come to fore,” the allegations. Proceedings will of them died of asphyxiation,” Due to inhalation of toxic
then ordered the victim’s family police officer Nawal Singh Siso- be fast-tracked so that such in-charge district collector fumes inside the manhole, the
to ‘host a community feast in dia said. incidents are not repeated in Kiran Zaveri told PTI. workers fell unconscious and
order to restore his daughter in The Women Development offi- the future,” Bhinde said. “We rushed to the site soon died, police said. —PTI
Delhi /Sunday,
Mail Today, New Delhi, Chandigarh,
June Sunday,
16, 2019 June 16, 2019 NEWS 7
J&K’s separatist Scaling peaks
of Kargil to
remember
leaders nailed in
fallen heroes
By Abhishek Bhalla in New Delhi
IT will be another climb for troops of bat-
talions that played a stellar role during
terror fund case
the Kargil conflict in 1999, but this time it
will not be to fight the enemy.
The climb will be to celebrate 20 years
of the victory and remember those who
made the supreme sacrifice. As a mark of
respect, the units will be scaling the criti-
cal mountain peaks. Some of these will
have some soldiers who were also a part
of operations 20 years ago.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pres-
ident Ram Nath Kovind may also visit the
Kargil area, sources said, but things are
INDIA TODAY TV yet to be finalised.
Troops from units of Vikram Batra, Manoj
Pandey, awardees of Param Vir Chakra
� EXCLUSIVE � posthumously among other heroes, who
became household names, will be once
again making their way up to the peaks
By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu where fierce battles were fought.
in New Delhi Vikram Batra’s brother Vishal is also
expected to join the troops in the tough
WITH top separatists in the net expedition.
in Jammu and Kashmir terror Tololing, Tiger Hill, and Point 4875, which
funding case of 2017, the National were extremely crucial to recapture, are
Investigation Agency (NIA) among the peaks that will be scaled as an
claims to have clinching proof expedition by the soldiers, the Army said.
against four of the big leaders. “The events being organised include
This is after the anti-terror probe expeditions by the units, which partici-
agency arrested Yasin Malik, leader pated in the Kargil War, to their respec-
of JKLF, Asiya Andrabi, Duktaran-e- tive battlefields at super high altitude
Milat, separatist leader Shabir Shah locations such as Tololing, Tiger Hill, Pt
of JKDFP and Masrat Alam of Mus- 4875 to name a few,” the Indian Army said
lim League. All four accused were in a statement.
taken into police custody for interro-
gation a few weeks ago.
The matter pertains to 2017 where a case
was filed against terrorists belonging to
Jammat ud Dawah, Duktaran-e-Millat, (Left to right) Yasin Malik, Asiya Andrabi and Shabir Shah were arrested by
Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and the NIA in the 2017 J&K terror funding case.
other separatist leaders in J&K for raising,
NIA claims to have clinching proof
against four of the big leaders
HOW THE MONEY WAS ROUTED
AN investigation revealed that The NIA had carried out nationwide
Watali is one of the main hawala searches at various locations across
receiving and collecting money for funding conduit, who generated and the country, including states like 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of
separatist and terrorist activities in the received funds from Pakistan, ISI, Jammu and Kashmir, the national victory in ‘Operation Vijay’.
state and entering into a larger conspiracy UAE, and floated various shell com- capital and Haryana.
for causing disruption in Kashmir valley panies to disguise foreign remit- In the summer of 1999, the Indian Army
and for waging war against India.
Crucial electronic and documen-
tances for further transfer to sepa- tary evidences were recovered launched a massive operation to drive out
But it is only two years after the FIR, the a mix of infiltrators and Pakistan Army
crackdown against separatists happened ratist leaders and stone pelters in which point towards the pattern of
in what is being seen as a “hard approach” the Valley. raising, collection, transfer and use regulars who had captured peaks on the
of the PM Modi government. These funds were used to fuel of funds for terrorist and separatist Indian side in Kashmir. The conflict is
As per NIA sources, Malik admitted that unrest in the Kashmir valley and activities. known as the ‘Kargil War’.
he was instrumental in bringing together organise violent agitations and anti- The NIA concluded that master- The Army faced extreme challenges as it
the disparate factions of Hurriyat confer- India activities, which resulted in mind and kingpin Watali had climbed these peaks, facing a volley of bul-
ence and formed the Joint Resistance large scale violence, leading to approached the trial court for grant lets, each time an attempt to reach the
Leadership (JRL), which spear- headed the numerous injuries and deaths of of bail which was rejected by the top to drive out the enemy was made.
violent agitations in 2016 in Kashmir valley, civilians and security forces. NIA Special Court. The events and programmes, spread
by issuing “protest calendars”, which lead over the month of July, will also include a
to an economic shut down of over four special national integration camp for the
months. ing of educational expenses of her son in Pehalgam, properties in Jammu, Srinagar NCC cadets hailing from various states and
It also caused death and injuries to civil- Malaysia from 2011 onwards through for- and Anantnag. Evidence regarding many
ians and security forces during the violent eign remittances made by Zahoor Watali. of his benami properties is being collected.
the Union Territories of the country.
protests in the Valley. Watali is one of the main accused in terror He was confronted with some of his per- “The objective of these celebrations is to
Malik also admitted that the JRL and funding case and an influential business- sonal staff and associates who provided evoke feeling of nationalism and patriot-
Hurriyat Conference Gilani Group col- man in the Valley. India Today learnt that vital information regarding the sources of ism through nationwide campaigns, espe-
lected funds from the business community the NIA has approached the authorities for the funds and investment details. Investi- cially amongst youth and to pay homage
as well as certain other sources and providing evidence relating to certain bank gation into these aspects is underway. to the valiant soldiers,” the Army said.
ensured that economic shut down and vio- accounts used by Mohammad bin Qasim The latest arrest of Masarat Alam is being There are events planned to highlight
lent protests continue to disrupt the daily (son of Andrabi) while he was studying in a termed as big as NIA investigators believe the stories of valour by brave soldiers and
life of the citizens in the Valley. university abroad. that he is the so-called poster boy of stone rekindle the pride among the youth of the
Meanwhile, separartist leader During interrogation, Shabir pelters and violent agitations in the Valley. country.
Asiya Andrabi revealed to NIA The Shah was confronted with evi- He revealed that Pakistan-based agents
that she had been collecting dence relating to transfer of route the funds through hawala operators A n umber of events have been planned
funds and donations from for-
NIA has money by Pakistan-based which are then transferred to separatist by the Army in Delhi and Dras in Jammu
eign sources and Duktaran-e- charge sheeted agents and representatives of leaders, including Syed Shah Gilani, Chair- and Kashmir next month to mark the 20th
Milat had been organising 13 accused, seven APHC factions to parties affil- man of APHC (G). He also revealed that anniversary of the ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’, offi-
protests by muslim women in separatist leaders iated to Hurriyat in J&K. there were rifts in the Hurriyat conference cials had said on Friday.
the Valley. and two hawala He was also confronted regarding collection and use of funds. The anniversary celebrations for this
Andrabi was confronted conduits about his investments in vari- Investigation revealed that Watali is one year will be spread over three days from
with evidence regarding fund- ous hotels and businesses in of the main hawala conduit. July 25-27.
Ayodhya seers say right time to build temple
PHOTO FOR REPRESENTATION
By Nelanshu Shukla struction. Earlier, the matter was tion of the temple should begin
getting delayed in the SC but within a year.”
in Lucknow now, it’s being heard again. If the Meanwhile, the president of
matter is not resolved by SC or Ayodhya Sant Samiti, Mahant
AS the chorus for constructing through talks, then we will bring Kanhaiya Das said, “Kapil Sibal
a Ram temple in Ayodhya a law to construct the temple.” conspired to get the matter
gained momentum, Uttar Mahant Suresh Das of the delayed in the SC. The thinking
Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Digambar Akhada said, “This the of Congress leaders has still not
Keshav Prasad Maurya has right time to begin the templ’s changed. We welcome the man-
assured the seers that the Cen- date given to the BJP and urge
tre would enact a law in Parlia- PM Modi to ensure speedy con-
ment if both the Supreme struction of the temple here.”
Court and the dialogue process UP Dy CM says law will be UP Chief Minister Yogi
fails to resolve the issue. made to construct mandir Adityanath last week unveiled a
Addressing a gathering of 7ft-tall rosewood Lord Ram idol
saints in Ayodhya on the occa- at the Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan.
sion of Ram Janambhoomi Nyas The CM, in his speech in Ayod-
president Mahant Nritya Gopal construction. Prime Minister hya, said, “I am thankful to the
Das’ birthday, Maurya said, Narendra Modi is in power st the seers in Ayodhya for blessing
“Every discussion in Ayodhya Centre while Yogi Adityanath is Modi. It’s the birth place of Lord
begins and ends with the heading the state government. Ram and everyone wants his
demand of Ram temple’s con- We demand that the construc- temple to be constructed here.”
8 NEWS Mail Today, New
MailDelhi / Chandigarh,
Today, New Delhi, Sunday, June 16, 2019
By Aishwarya Paliwal
in New Delhi
ADDRESSING the fifth
meeting of the NITI
Aayog’s Governing Coun-
cil, Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi laid out the plan
for the next five years, set-
ting a goal of making India
a $5-trillion economy by
2024.
PM Modi said that the tar-
get was ‘challenging but
achievable’ with the con-
certed efforts of states. The
Prime Minister laid the
emphasis on growth of the
states and said that they
should recognise their core
competence and work
towards raising the GDP tar-
gets right from the district
level.
One of the key topics in the
discussion was the drought situ-
ation in several states. With sev-
eral parts of the country reeling
under a drought-like situation,
the Prime Minister called for
effective steps to tackle it by
adopting “per-drop, more-crop”
strategy.
The newly created Jal Shakti
Ministry has now been tasked to
provide an integrated approach
to the water crisis. The meeting
with the chief ministers from all
the states was the first one,
since the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-
tions, which saw the BJP back
in power with a thumping vic- Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs the fifth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog in New Delhi on Saturday.
Centre’s panel to focus
on agri sector reforms
‘‘
tory. Issues such as poverty,
unemployment, Naxal-threat
were also discussed in the meet-
ing. During the meeting,
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh DIDI, KCR, AMARINDER SKIP MEET
said that special forces will be
deployed in Naxal-infested areas Goal to make India a THREE chief minis-
and inter-state co-operation will
be improved to fight the Naxal $5-trillion economy ters - Mamata Baner-
menace in future. by 2024 is jee, K Chandrashekar
According to an official release, Rao and Captain
PM Modi recalled the recent challenging,but Amarinder Singh -
general elections as the world’s
achievable,with the gave it a miss to the
1st NITI Aayog meeting concerted efforts of fifth meeting of the
states.We shall governing council of
of the Modi govt 2.0 Niti Aayog chaired by
collectively fight PM Narendra Modi on by its Finance Minis- Sources said the
largest democratic exercise and
said that it is now time for every-
one to work for the development
of India.
‘‘
against all the
issues.
Saturday. Amarinder
did not attend the
meeting due to health
ter Manpreet Badal.
The meeting is being
attended by all other
Telangana CM was
busy with prepara-
tions for the launch
He spoke of a collective fight
against poverty, unemployment,
reasons, sources said, chief ministers, UT of his ambitious
drought, flood, pollution, cor- adding that the state administrators and Kaleshwaram lift
ruption and violence. The Prime — Narendra Modi, is being represented the Governor of J&K. irrigation project.
Minister said that everyone has Prime Minister
a common goal of achieving a
‘New India by 2022’. He
described Swachh Bharat the goals that have been set for PM Modi reiterated the Union Nidhi — and other farmer-cen- reforms in the agriculture sector
Abhiyan and PM Awaas Yojana the 150th anniversary of government’s commitment to tric schemes should reach the in next two to three months. PM
as illustrations of what the Cen- Mahatma Gandhi, should be double incomes of farmers by intended beneficiaries well Modi had launched NITI Aayog
tre and the states can accom- accomplished by October 2, and 2022. To achieve this, he said within time. during his first tenure in 2014,
plish together. work should begin in the earnest that there should be a focus on While addressing a press con- which was a replacement for the
PM Modi also said that towards the goals for 2022, the fisheries, animal husbandry, hor- ference, NITI Aayog vice-chair- ageing Planning Commission
empowerment, and an ease of 75th anniversary of Indepen- ticulture, fruits and vegetables. man Rajiv Kumar said that a formed during former Prime
living, have to be provided to dence. He also said that the benefits of high-level task force will be Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s
each and every Indian. He said The release further said that PM-KISAN — KisanSamman- formed to bring structural tenure. —Agency Inputs
Why Manmohan briefed Cong CMs prior to meet
By Anand Patel in New Delhi attended the meeting at the Con- tural distress also needs to be
gress headquarters here. addressed urgently and all these
FORMER Prime Minister Dr Kamal Nath told reporters that issues would be taken up during
Manmohan Singh held a meeting all the CM’s were briefed by Singh. the governing council meeting.
with the chief ministers of Con- “The GDP figures are out and the Today’s Niti Aayog governing
gress and allied parties-ruled government should suggest meas- council meeting assumes signifi-
states on Saturday ahead of the cance as it is the first one during
crucial Niti Aayog meeting. Modi 2.0 regime. The fifth meeting
They discussed the proposed MP CM raised the issue will focus on issues like the
agenda and issues of Congress
and its allies governed states to be
of agricultural distress drought situation, farm distress,
rain water harvesting and pre-
taken up with Prime Minister paredness for kharif crops.
Narendra Modi in the governing Despite confusion over the con-
council meeting. ures in view of the grave economic tinuance of its party president
Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal situation. Severe drought condi- Rahul Gandhi, the Congress is
Nath, Rajasthan CM Ashok tions prevail in large parts of the going ahead with routine affairs.
Gehlot, Karnataka CM HD country, rivers have dried up and Prior to the meeting, Kamal Nath
Kumaraswamy and Puducherry so contingency measures are had also organised a dinner for
CM V Narayansamy and Chhattis- needed,” Kamal Nath said. Congress CM’s attending Niti Former PM Manmohan Singh with the chief ministers of
garh CM Bhupesh Baghel The MP CM added that agricul- Aayog meeting in the capital. Congress and allied parties-ruled states on Saturday.Delhi /Sunday,
Mail Today, New Delhi, Chandigarh,
June Sunday,
16, 2019 June 16, 2019 NEWS 9
‘Didi must visit us’:
By Indrajit Kundu
in Kolkata
THERE is no end in sight
to the impasse of doctors’
strike in West Bengal. On
Saturday, the protesting
Doctors up the ante
doctors refused to take
part in a proposed meet-
ing called by Chief Minis-
ter Mamata Banerjee at
the secretariat. This
despite repeated pleas by
the state government to
sit for a dialogue to end
the deadlock.
“I waited for five hours yes-
terday. They informed us that
they won’t come on Friday
but may come on Saturday
and we kept waiting. But
their delegation did not
arrive,” Banerjee said while
addressing a press confer-
ence at state secretariat
Nabanna.
“I yet again appeal to junior
doctors, don’t get provoked or
influenced by external political
pressure. Our doors are always
open for talks. It is great honour
to come to the state secretariat,
the seat of the elected govern-
ment. When the government is
inviting you for talks, why
remain adamant?” she asked.
Protesters refuse to
meet CM at secretariat
On Saturday, state chief secre-
tary Malay De informed that the
state government had already
met all the demands raised by
the protesting doctors.
“Primarily they had two
demands - security and punish-
ment for those involved in the
assault. We have taken several
steps to augment security and Junior doctors stage a protest on the fifth day of the agitation at NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Saturday.
those involved in the attack
have been arrested. The injured
City docs resume
intern is recuperating and gov-
ernment will bear all cost of
treatment. We want to resolve
this matter amicably,” De said.
However, rejecting the offer,
work,but with a
the agitating junior doctors reit-
erated their position that the
chief minister must herself visit
the NRS Medical College & Hos-
pital first and then listen to their
48-hr ultimatum
grievances.
“The CM has tried to say that
we are against a solution and
conversation but we want her to
come to NRS and listen to us
and take necessary steps to Manish Rajput
serve the ailing people. We are
on our toes and eagerly waiting
to start our duty but there is no
such honest initiative from the
CM’s side,” claimed the protest-
ing doctors in a statement. A patient arrives for treatment during the strike at NRS
On Saturday, Health Secretary Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Saturday.
Rajiva Sinha met with medical
superintendents of all state-run atmosphere is generated to
medical colleges and it was enable the doctors to resume
decided that an ACP-level officer their duties”.
will be in charge of security of all
medical college hospitals in In his letter, Tripathi expressed
Kolkata. his “sadness” at the CM’s “non
responsiveness to his efforts to
‘
Meanwhile, Governor Kesari talk to her”.
Nath Tripathi has written to the
chief minister advising her to
to
“I had suggested in my letter
you to meet the doctors and
I appeal to AIIMS resident doctors hold a candle march on hospital
take “immediate steps to pro- premises in New Delhi on Saturday.
vide security to the doctors and assure to provide adequate
security to them and also to
doctors,don’t get
to take them into confidence
look into their grievances. provoked by By Tanushree Pandey that cops are given the train-
about the firm and credible ing to fight, die, and handle
I understand that no in New Delhi
assurance of arrange-
meeting with the agitat- external political violence. We're trained to
’
ments of their security RESIDENT doctors of cure. If the government can't
ing doctors has been
as well as quick
investigation of the Guv urges
held by the govern- pressure. AIIMS and Safdarjung Hos-
pital, who boycotted work on
protect us, add one more
subject to our MBBS which
incidents of ment till now,” the is defence. Then we'll handle
Friday in protest against the
assault on them CM to take steps Governor states in — MAMATA BANERJEE, attack on their counterparts our safety on our own,”
his letter. WEST BENGAL CM
so that suitable to resolve dispute in Kolkata, resumed work on Pandey said.
Saturday but continued their Terming Mamata Baner-
symbolic protest by wearing jee’s “When in Bengal, speak
MHA HEAT ON BENGAL VIOLENCE
helmet while attending to Bangla” statement as
patients. “absurd”, another doctor of
The doctors have now given RDA at AIIMS said: “I am
a 48-hour ultimatum to West from Odisha, have done my
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee MBBS from Kolkata and now
By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu in New Delhi to the West Bengal government added. to meet the demands of the working in Delhi. There have
The report has been sought after a detailed state's agitating doctors, fail- never been any problems
IN what looks like a continued friction between advisory of MHA to West Bengal just last week, ing which they said they
the Mamata Banerjee-government and BJP-led asking the state to take steps to contain violence would go on indefinite strike. Delhi docs threaten to
Centre, the Union Home Ministry has sought a as a result of political clashes. The advisory Members of AIIMS Resi-
report from the Bengal government on was rejected by TMC. dent Doctors Association go on indefinite strike
measures taken to contain political vio- Quoting reports received by it, MHA (RDA) told India Today TV:
lence and investigate such incidents of said the number of incidents of politi- “If the demands of the West
Bengal doctors are not met with patients in communicat-
violence to bring culprits to book. cal violence in West Bengal increased ing. Nobody can question the
Pointing out the growing number of within 48 hours, we would be
from 509 in 2016 to 1,035 in 2018. As forced to resort to an indefi- doctor-patient relationship.
incidents of election-related and many as 773 incidents have already Mamata Banerjee is blabber-
nite strike. And if patients
political violence and casualties over occurred in 2019 till date. Corre- suffer, Mamata Banerjee will ing anything now that she
four years from 2016 to 2019, the Min- spondingly, the death toll rose from be solely responsible for knows who's at fault.”
istry of Home Affairs (MHA) in an advi- 36 in 2016 to 96 in 2018, while 26 deaths that.” Safdarjung Hospital RDA
sory issued to the state government have already taken place in 2019 till Arun Pandey, general secre- president Parakash Thakur
said the “unabated violence over the date. tary, RDA at AIIMS, also said also echoed a similar stand
years is evidently a matter of deep con- that doctors are trained to on the matter. The doctors,
The advisory stated that “the continued however, will continue to
cern.” trend of political violence from 2016 through cure and not fight or handle
violence. “Mamata Banerjee wear helmets and bandages
“It is requested that a report may be sent to this 2019, as evident from the above figures, is indica- at work as a sign of protest.
Ministry on the steps taken by the State Govern- tive of the failure on the part of the law enforce- is giving statements one after
the other and it is bizarre, to To express solidarity with
ment and its law enforcement machinery to ment machinery of the state to maintain the rule the protesters, the Indian
investigate the incidents of violence to bring the of law and to inspire a sense of security among say the least, to hear such
things coming from a chief Medical Association has
culprits to book as also the measures taken to the people. The GoI is seriously concerned over minister. She should know called for a strike on Monday.
contain and curb violence,” the MHA’s advisory the prevalent situation in West Bengal”.10 COMMENT Mail Today, New Delhi
Mail / Chandigarh,
Today, New Delhi,Thursday, April16,
Sunday, June 4, 2019
DAY IN WORDS
We are moving from this
READY TO FLY PTI
[$2.8 trillion] to 3 trillion
dollar economy and
$5 trillion by the time the
next elections take place.
— HARDEEP SINGH PURI, Union
minister for housing, on the
Indian economy’s prospects
He is here for a reason. We
think he can be a match
winner . We
have got to do
everything we can
with him to keep
him on the park.
— JASON HOLDER,
West Indies’
skipper, on taking
a gamble on Andre
Russell’s fitness
We had a tough date for this
particular movie. It wasn’t... a Flight cadets belonging to various branches of the Indian Air Force Academy celebrate after the successful
completion of pre-commissioning training at Dundigal, Hyderabad on Saturday.
classic superhero movie, it
Hindi umbrella
was more of a dramatic,
intimate, smaller film.
— SIMON KINBERG, director of
X-Men: Dark Phoenix,
on the movie’s poor showing
DAY IN NUMBERS
305
cops booked in
Lucknow during a
day-long drive
against traffic
violations
5.83L
crore rupees,
expected earnings
from govt auction of
5G airwaves, as per
ministry sources
has many holes
T
entists, engineers, experts, teachers,
AROUND THE WORLD HE DRAFT New Edu-
cation Policy (NEP) is
artists, writers to adopt Hindi and use
translations to make non-Hindi texts
THE GUARDIAN simply a statement of
North Indian Hindi
by Rajeev available. But that stage never came,
instead sparking off challenges that
ON FIGHTING LONELINESS chauvinism which Dhavan exist to this day. To turn to English as
an administrative necessity was con-
A parole from
links up with the San- venient. Language policies have to be
gh Parivar’s Hindutva approach. based on pragmatism and choice. If the
regional language is to be the basis of
India is the most culturally and to progressively increase the use of education and official communication,
the prison of
diverse country in the world; Hindi. However, Hindi has suffered two to impose English (also a choice) and
this also extends to religion. drawbacks. It has been reinvented with Hindi would be an overburden.
As noticed and enforced by the the use of Raghuvansha’s dictionary
Supreme Court’s decision in TMA Pai with decultured imagination, so that
Language of comfort
the lonely self Foundation vs State Of Karnataka there is a gap between official Hindi and
(2000), Indian federalism has been fash- its use as an everyday language.
As a matter of choice, my father spoke
ioned on linguistic lines. Bollywood Hindi is closer to spoken and read nine languages including San-
Hindi and its evocation in poetry and skrit, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Persian and
FRIDAY was “Chatty Bus day” in the
UK, an experiment aimed at getting Macaulay’s curse prose. Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s trans-
lations in the ministry of external affairs
Derawali, in addition to English,
French, German and Russian — which
people to talk to each other on public were very different from his poetry. he learnt by staying in these countries.
Language perpetuated a brinkman- English was continued in addition to
transport. This is not an idea that ship between the North and South. It Across the world, people learn foreign
would appeal to those who commute Hindi by the Official Languages Act, languages. Switzerland, Belgium and
almost precipitated an issue for seces- 1963. But, while English has been suc-
in the rush hour. The question of Canada deal each have two or three lan-
sion. Language gives identity, cele- cessfully Indianised in various fora, guages, but certainly not 22, and 200
whether to talk to strangers is brates every aspect of culture, religion, Hindi has burdened itself with unimag-
dependent on many things, but one separate dialects. Choice lies at the
literature and everyday life. To impose inative Sanskritisation. English may heart of learning.
of them is simple physical proximity. Hindi on the rest of India is oppressive. continue as a language of exchange The Hindi-based provinces of the
It seems it is here to stay with the with its own burgeoning literature and North have long tried to dominate the
tweaking of the educational policy
The serendipity of ‘Chatty Bus’ under BJP rule.
uses. Hindi will continue and expand its
frontiers, but it has over a hundred
South politically, culturally, through
religion and language.
days can cure loneliness Before Partition, English provoked the dialects more colourful than their desig- In India’s Constitution each language
ire of the Independence movement nated progenitor. But, this is not all and script is to be protected as a Fun-
because it was a “foreign language” there is to India’s language dilemma. damental Right (Article 29-30). This has
It is true that the apparent loneline- imposed by Britain. As Macaulay put it: to be done positively by nurturing
ss of many people on public transp-
ort is an illusion. Many will be cau-
“a single shelf of a good European
library was worth the whole native liter- Script of division them. Today, Urdu suffers from religions
chauvinism. There cannot be blatant
ature of India and Arabia.” But, over discrimination by a senseless imposi-
ght up with conversations with dist- Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian tion of language by Delhi on other
ant friends on their phones; some the years, it acquired social, political
and administrative roots. Under the Constitution recognise 22 regional lan- states. India’s diversity is a showpiece
will be talking to the people in books. Constitution, English was the official guages listed in the 8th schedule. More to the world. A policy that does not sus-
But there are always people who wo- language for only 15 years, after which it
importantly, Article 345 allows the state tain this diversity is both provocative
uld be interested in an unexpected was to yield to Hindi in the Devanagari
legislature to adopt any of its respective and unworthy.
conversation with a stranger. language in use “or Hindi” as its official Anyhow, to put in succinctly, in June,
script (Article 343).
The conversations that spring up language, giving regional languages a the New Educational Policy encoun-
Though Europe uses the Roman fillip in their regions of prevalence. The
between strangers on long journeys tered massive opposition.
script for its diverse languages, Indian regional languages have evolved as the
can sometimes be curiously intimate Some politicians call it a “brutal
languages have their own scripts. Altho- ‘mother’ language of life, love and offi- assault” (Siddaramaiah) and some
and liberating. Such large and possi- ugh the Supreme Court in Murasoli cialdom. It is only natural that they state parties (Dravida Munnetra
bly life-changing conversations are Maran’s case (1977) thought that under become the medium of instruction. Kazhagam) passed a resolution against
not, though, what most people in lon- the Constitution the life of English But now, the government’s draft NEP it. Presently, the government has put a
eliness miss most. What they really could be extended only momentarily, it wants to make Hindi a compulsory lan- temporary moratorium and promises to
need is not deep thought but superfi- is here to stay as a link, official and spo- guage to a certain level in non-Hindi return to the drawing board. But are
ciality... a release from the prison of ken language with a window to the speaking states. If Indian democracy they to be trusted?
the self, where lonely people serve th- world. English now actually holds its had started as a dictatorial state like The writer is a
eir sentences, uncertain whether own as an Indian language despite the China, Russia or pre-War Japan, it Supreme Court lawyer.
they ever can be paroled. Official Language Commission’s charge might have created a generation of sci- The views expressed are personal.
DAILY “ When my mother had to get
dinner for eight she’d just SO FUNNY “ A man begins cutting his
wisdom teeth the first time
HUMOUR make enough for 16 and This whole working for a he bites off more than he
living thing goes on for
”
only serve half.
”
how long? can chew.
—Gracie Allen — Herb CaenDelhi /Sunday,
Mail Today, New Delhi, Chandigarh,
June Saturday,
16, 2019 February 9, 2019 SPOTLIGHT 11
KERALA DIARY
JEEMON JACOB
ANTONY
BULLIED
ONLINE
FOR CONG
LOSSES
THINGS have not been going
well for AK Antony, since the
Congress was routed in the
recently concluded Lok
Sabha polls.
A section of the Congress
leadership in Kerala started
a campaign against him,
blaming Antony for the
party’s humiliating defeat.
They started bullying him
on social media for sabotag-
ing electoral ties with Oppo-
sition parties in states like
Andhra Pradesh and New
Delhi. Indirectly, the anti-
Antony lobby in Congress
K
feels that his interventions in
the Congress Working Com-
ERALA chief Kerala CM P Vijayan (second from right) greets Union minister Nitin Gadkari. mittee led to the Congress’
CM’s bonding
minister rout in Rajasthan and Mad-
Pinarayi hya Pradesh.
Vijayan has AICC general secretary in
no soft corner charge of organisational
affairs and Karnataka,
for Bharatiya KC Venugopal, was also
Janata Party and targeted. This came to light
Rashtriya Swayamsevak after Antony’s younger son,
Sangh leaders. He has Ajith Paul Antony, published a
fought them throughout
with Gadkari
post on Facebook defending
his political career. Born in
aCommunist village, his
political DNA is shaped by
anti-Congress and anti-
BJP resistance.
However, Kerala witnessed
rare friendship between Pinarayi
and Union minister for road
transport and highways Nitin
Gadkari who was holidaying
with his family in Kovalam last waram. He offered assistance for fields for the project. The agricul- geted approach in governance
week. Pinarayi hosted a lunch the project as it would give a tural labourers formed an outfit and have a vision for the future.
for Gadkari and his family at his boost to Kerala tourism. — Vayalkilikal or farm birds — to
official residence. The CM and Their unusual political chem- People within the Congress
Pinarayi has maintained a warm stage protests against the land istry has put Kerala BJP on a
Kerala Assembly Speaker P friendship with Gadkari since he acquisition. Later, the BJP also weak wicket. BJP leaders found
have blamed AK Antony for
Sreeramakrishnan accorded a became CM in 2016. Gadkari has joined the protest to exploit the the party’s poor show in the
warm welcome to Gadkari when it odd as they were not informed
also praised the Communist CM situation. But Gadkari was not about Gadkari’s visit to Kerala. Lok Sabha polls.
he entered the VIP gallery to for his development initia- ready to change the road
watch the Assembly proceed- Since he was on a private visit,
tives around the state’s alignment approved by they cannot raise their voice. his father and warned his
ings in Kerala. Pinarayi also national highways. It the National Highways
sought support from of the The And Gadkari is not a person who detractors against the misin-
was Gadkari who Authority of India. follows their briefs. Pinarayi formation campaign.
Union minister to get priority helped the CM sort BJP in Pinarayi found a
listing for road widening of scored a victory over BJP with Soon, Kerala PCC chief
national highways, Vizhinjam
out Keezhatur Kerala is friend in need in Ga- his lunch diplomacy. The Kerala Mullappally Ramachandran
bypass in Kannur dkari. Another com- CM needs more friends at the
port and development of inland district where a seething over monality between Centre to meet his challenges
ordered a probe headed by
waterways. Gadkari asked CPI(M)-led village Gadkari and the two is their love Thiruvananthapuram MP
Pinarayi to develop Kovalam as under Modi government 2.0.
revolted against Pinarayi’s for development. The writer is associate editor, Shashi Tharoor, who leads
a hub of cruise ship project, link- acquiring paddy Both work with a tar- the PCC’s IT cell and the
ing Kannyakumari and Ramesh- bonhomie India Today.
social media division. In fact,
Antony’s elder son, Anil
A broken highway & lost public funds
Antony, a technocrat,
headed the social media
campaign for Congress can-
didates in Kerala. So, he may
REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE be tracking down those
IN 2016, the then government in Kerala Kerala Ltd (RBDCK), Hanish Mohammed spewing hate against his
constructed a 639m long flyover on national IAS, were listed as accused in the First father. Congress circles
highway 66 bypass at Palarivattom, near Information Report filed before the Vigi- mocked the futile exercise of
Kochi. Recently, it was closed by the public lance Court in Moovattupuzha. The state cyber investigation against
works department (PWD) to prevent traffic government transferred Hanish from the those who tarnished the
as the structure started crumbling. The post of MD, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, on June image of AK, when the party
government had spent public money to the 12 and posted him as secretary, industries.
tune of `47.7 crore on the flyover. It now He belongs to the 1996 IAS batch and is the
leadership is scratching its
stands out as a monument of corruption in son-in-law of the late Congress leader MI head to find a replacement
god’s own country. Shanavas, a two-time MP from Wayanad for Congress president Rahul
and a civil engineer by education. Gandhi. It’s a fact that Saints
Shoddy construction has made The corruption in the building of the are worshipped only when
Palarivattom flyover is a classic example of they deliver. Otherwise, they
the flyover unmotorable how bureaucrats and technocrats facilitate remain statues without wor-
high-level corruption. They all knew that shippers.
dilution in standard procedures could Now, when the Congress is
The scientific investigation conducted by Pinarayi Vijayan has ordered a probe adversely affect the lifespan of bridges or lost, may St. Antony of Padua,
a team headed by Dr P Alagusundara Moor- into the corruption behind the flawed flyovers. God will not absorb shock when a powerful Catholic Saint
thy, professor of department of structural you don’t mix enough cement and steel in
engineering laboratory at IIT Chennai, construction of Palarivattom flyover. the construction. who died in Italy in 1195,
revealed that the builders constructed the But officials built a flyover anyway; a regarded as a patron of ‘lost
flyover without using the required quantity Now, he blames officials for the lapses, memorial to corruption. Now, the govern- things’ help the party regain
of cement and steel. saying no minister can ensure quality when ment is using carbon fiber reinforced poly- lost political turf.
The officials who supervised the construc- bridges or roads are constructed. Techni- mer technology to strengthen the flyover. He is very popular among
tion facilitated the contractors in diluting cally, he is right. But he can’t evade moral The VACB probe found that right from Kerala’s Catholics, who have
the mandatory standards and evading qual- responsibility. The Pinarayi Vijayan govern- design to execution, construction norms built many churches for him
ity checks. The bridge was constructed ment ordered a Vigilance and Anti Corrup- were flouted and corrupt officials joined and named their children in
when the United Democratic Front govern- tion Bureau (VACB) probe after the flyover hands with contractors to loot government his memory.
ment headed by Oommen Chandy was in was found to be dangerous, and 17 officials, money. Now the Pinarayi government has AK Antony is also named
power and Indian Union Muslim League’s including then managing director of Roads sought the expertise of Metro Man
VK Ebrahim Kunju was minister for PWD. and Bridges Development Corporation of E Sreedharan to save the flyover. after the Saint, though he is
not a practicing Catholic.You can also read
