3 March 2023

Has the recent assembly election been free and fair and peaceful?

Jacob, Tovihoto share experiences

Staff Reporter

DIMAPUR, MAR 2

(NPN): Winning the assembly elections for third consecutive terms, two sitting BJP legislators—N

Jacob Zhimomi, from 4 Ghaspani-I assembly constituency, and H. Tovihoto Ayemi, from 1 Dimapur-I assembly constituency, shared their experiences on Thursday.

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Q: Is fractured mandate going to be the norm for Nagaland elections?

WEATHER FORECAST

NPCB informs on banned plastic items

DIMAPUR: Nagaland Pollution Control Board

(NPCB) has notified industries, commercial establishments, distributors, stockists, sellers, users etc., that banned Single Use Plastic (SUP) products claiming to be biodegradable (without Cen tral Pollution Control Board certificate)/oxo-biodegradable are not to be manufactured, imported, stocked, distributed, sold or used. In a press release, NPCB member secretary, K. Hukato Chishi said the notice as per the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, government of India, the Plastic Waste Management (Second Amendment) Rules 2022. NPCB further notified that sale of banned SUP biodegradable (without CPCB certificate) and oxobiodegradable plastics was in violation of Plastic Waste Management Rules. It informed that carry nags made with thickness of less than 120 microns are not manufactured, imported, stocked, distributed, sold or used with effect from December 31, 2022.

NPCB said as per rule 18 of the Plastic Waste Management (Second Amendment) Rules 2022, the environmental compensation shall be levied based upon polluter pays principle, on persons who are not complying with the provisions of these rules, as per guidelines notified by the Central Pollution Control Board.

Assam Rifles conduct various activities

senior-most in the party as well as in the district and said that he deserves it. However, he said it would be left to the national leadership to decide.

Giving his view on women winning candidates, Ayemi said it would definitely make a difference and expressed belief that they would contribute towards the society immensely.

Jacob Zhimomi thanked the electorates for putting faith in him. He disclosed that 4 Ghaspani-I A/C being the largest constituency of Nagaland, it had been challenging task, adding he technically contested from three districts - Niuland, Chümoukedima and Dimapur.

Zhimomi said his victory was a win for BJP as a whole and BJP Nagaland in particular.

He attributed his success to the welfare programmes of government of India headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had provided welfare programmes reaching to

the grassroots level.

On the changes that he wished to bring following this win, Zhimomi said “Change is a continuous process, it cannot be defined in a specific manner, there are a lot of evolvements culturally, socially, politically and economically”.

With the cooperation of the people and the government, Zhimomi assured that the State will prosper.

Congratulating two new women candidates who scripted history in Nagaland politics, Zhimomi said that it was a beginning which will inspire other women to come forward

and participate.

H Tovihoto Ayemi, who defeated INC veteran K Therie with a margin of 6798 votes, said that the next five years will be little different, saying that he will have to put more efforts with more responsibilities and expectations from the people.

Ayemi informed that they had an understanding to conduct free and fair election and let people give the mandate. He said there was no such untoward incident in Dimapur-I A/C.

To a query about the expectation from the government, Ayemi replied that he was also one of the

Entrepreneurship-cum-SDP at MGM College

Asked if he was satisfied with the BJP result this time, Ayemi said that there was no improvement but it does not matter as BJPNDPP alliance will work with same commitment and spirit with absolute majority and provide stable government.

Ayemi also stated that when they have absolute majority, they did not need smaller parties.

However, if those smaller parties want to join or give external support to the government, the alliance partner could definitely accept. However, he said that would depend on the leadership of the state.

DIMAPUR: Assam Rifles under the aegis of Headquarters Inspector General of Assam Rifles (IGARNorth) conducted various activities across Nagaland.

Kohima Bn: Kohima battalion of Assam Rifles under Civic Action Project donated a RCC Water Tank to Water Point Dzudza at Jotsoma village, Kohima District, Nagaland on March 1. The tank was formally inaugurated by

Commandant 1st AR. The battalion also organised a solemn wreath laying ceremony at Kohima to remember and honour its Bravehearts, Late Nb Sub Lal Bahadur Viswakarma, Late Rfn Jit Bahadur Thapa, Late Rfn Sarbadhan Sunar and Late Rfn T K C Varkey.

Dimapur Bn: Dimapur Battalion of Assam Rifles inaugurated solar lights on March 1 at Baman -

Therie fetes NDPP-BJP alliance on victory

DIMAPUR, MAR 2 (NPN): Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) president K Therie has congratulated NDPPBJP alliance on receiving absolute mandate of the people, but expressed “mixed feelings” about whether the verdict was of EVMs or that of the people.

sembly, had been upholding the interests of the people, which the party thought was important for Nagaland. However, he said the Congress party found itself to be alone.

DIMAPUR: Entrepreneurship cum Skill Development Programme (SDP) was organised by the Kudatech Skill Centre, Dimapur at MGM College, Dimapur for which an orientation was held on March 2 at the College Auditorium Hall.

A press release by MGM College Dimapur stated that resource person,

Thomas spoke on skill development and how it was very important in this fast pace world. He also emphasised how these days, many people are seeking and progressing because of skill development rather than academic qualification. Thomas also focused on how skill development was important even in the

production of goods. Likewise, he mentioned that presently there are about 4 lakhs 82 thousand 534 people that joined for skill development. He concluded by telling the students that skill development was a free opportunity and everyone could avail it. The skill training was held for the MGM students for two to six weeks.

REMEMBRANCE (5th Death Anniversary)

Five years have passed, Still our hearts ache. Losing you was a bitter wrench. In your death we gained wisdom, Each passing day we forgive anew. Life here on earth is temporary, Yet we live trusting to see you again. For now, we celebrate your imperfect life, And the memories you left us. You remain as a gem in our hearts.

DB-259/23

Loving Family Megosier Kruse

19.10.1990 – 03.03.2018

1st DEATH ANNIVERSARY

In a press release, NPCC president K Therie said it was “another sad day” for all Congressmen, women and well-wishers and apologised for the “weaknesses and shortcomings.”

State Congress chief said the party in the past five years, despite of its nil presence in the state As-

2nd

Therie said that the verdict was also against the civil society groups that were protesting for solution. He said the verdict also weakened Christian society before the world.

“We gave an election manifesto wherein we have promised to change Nagaland however, this remains rejected by the majority,” Therie said.

pukhri Village, Dimapur under Assam Rifle Civic Action Program. PRO Defence said the Assam Rifle took up the work after initial site assessment, and installed 13 solar lights. Assam Rifles has always been at forefront of helping people of north east and numerous development projects have been undertaken to mitigate the hardships of people.

JDU Nagaland thank electorate

DIMAPUR: The Janata Dal United (JDU) Nagaland has conveyed its gratitude to all the people of Nagaland who has voted in favour of the JDU in the just concluded election to the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly.

In a press release, JDU Nagaland president, Senchumo Nsn Lotha and general secretary, Imsumongba Pongen congratulated its lone winner from 12th Tseminyu A/C, Jwenga Seb. The JDU also appealed to one and all to accept the peoples mandate and choice and refrain from indulging in any post-election violence but urged to work hard for the next five years so that a better result and response from the electorates will be availed.

In loving memory of Lt. MRS. OSEMTILA JAMIR 03.03.22 to 03.03.23

A year ago, you left us for your Heavenly abode. The loss is immeasurable but so as the love and prayers left behind. We hold you close within our hearts And there you will remain To walk and guide us throughout our lives. Until we meet again.

Loving children, in-laws and grandchildren

Lt. Zhasalie Soliezuo 03-03-2021

Two years have passed since you left us for your heavenly abode, we still miss you everyday. Your memories will live in our hearts forever.

K-390/23

Loving wife, children & relatives.

“The lord gave and the lord has taken away.” JOB 1:21

As we grieve the sad demise of our father LT. LHOUBEIZOLIE, word is inadequate to express our deepest heartfelt gratitude and appreciation and our indebtedness to all individuals, and for your unreserved contribution physically, materially, financially and unconditional moral support through words of comfort and encouragement during the time of his illness and demise. We would like to convey our special gratitude to: -

1. CRC BAYAVü HILL, KOHIMA.

2. CRC BAYAVü MIAPUONUOKO KROTHO.

3. CRC BAYAVü MIAZUONUOKO KROTHO.

4. CRC BAYAVü Jr. CYE DEPARTMENT.

5. CRC BAYAVü Sr. CYE DEPARTMENT.

6. NAGALAND UNIVERSITY KOHIMA CAMPUS, MERIEMA.

7. NAGALAND UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTRE STAFF, KOHIMA.

8. NAGALAND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY STAFF, KOHIMA.

9. HURUTSU YOUTH MERIEMA.

10. BA 6TH SEMESTER ALDER COLLEGE KOHIMA.

11. BETHEL HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL KOHIMA.

12. MEWI HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL KOHIMA.

13. KOHIMA TOWN CHRISTIAN REVIVAL CHURCH CHILDREN MINISTRY.

14. ZIENUOBADZE COLONY WOMEN ORGANISATION.

15. RISING SOCIETY, KOHIMA

16.

LT LHOUBEIZOLIE [ 01.02.1967 – 21.02.2023]

"From Sunrise to Sunset, every moment would have been more wonderful if you were with us today. Your memories will never be forgotten."

Loving Husband, Children and Family Members

1st DEATH ANNIVERSARY of our Beloved Mother Lt. Nzani Khuvung D

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Late Enoli Rano Richa

Born in : 1968 – Died on : 22/02/2023

To all those who stood by us during the difficult time of our mother’s prolonged illness and demise. Through this column we would like to express our profound gratitude to each and every individual, relatives, friends and well wishers.

We regret our inability to thank each and every individual for your kindness and generosity, but it is our sincere prayers that Almighty God bless you all abundantly.

We convey our special thanks to :

1. Town Baptist Church Chumoukedima

2. Mengujuma Christian Revival Church

3. Thenuko Krotho Mengujuma Baptist Church

4. Chumoukedima Town Students’ Union

5. Chumoukedima Village Students’ Union

6. Youth Body Ward - II

7. Hindu Society Chumoukedima Town

8. Jakhama Students’ Union Dimapur Executives

9. Jakhama Krotho Chumoukedima

10. Jakhama Kuda Union Dimapur

11. Tenyimia Students’ Fellowship NU Lumami

12. VDB Ward-II Thenupfüko

13. Chumoukedima Gorkha Youth

14. Modern School CMD

15. Godwill Hr. Sec School CMD

16. Gonyü Memorial School CMD

17. NSS Patkai Christian College

D

From, Loving Husband

DEATH ANNIVERSARY

Kohima battalion of Assam Rifles officials and Jotsoma village members after the inauguration of RCC Water Tank on March 1.

Kudatech Skill Centre and students of MGM College after the programme.

Jacob Zhimomi H. Tovihoto Ayemi

Voters of Nagaland, M’laya, Tripura vote for status quo

NDPP-BJPin Nagaland; NPP+ inMeghalayaand BJP+inTripura

Correspondents/Agencies

KOHIMA/SHILLONG/ GUWAHATI, MAR 2 (NPN): NDPP and its BJP alliance partner retained power in Nagaland winning 37 seats in the 60-member Nagaland assembly. While NDPP won 25 (up from 18 in 2018), BJP won 12 seats, the same number it had won in 2018.

In Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma is set to become chief minister for the second consecutive term when his party NPP 26 seats is likely to forge a post poll alliance with previous partners–UDP (11), BJP (2), HSPDP (2), PDF (2) while TMC (5) and Cong (5), VPP (4), Ind

(2) were not in alliance in the previous house.

In Tripura the BJP stormed to power on its own winning 32 seats despite strong anti-incumbency. CPI(M) won 11, its alliance partner Congress 3, BJP ally IPFT 1 and Tipra Motha Party won 13. (More on p-4)

NDPP-BJP RETAIN

POWER: The NDPP-BJP had fought the elections on 40:20 seat sharing arrangement. Of 25 newly elected NDPP members 13 are new

Hekani, Salhoutuonuo- first women elected to Assembly

will be sworn-in to become chief minister for the fifth consecutive term. After being sworn in, Rio will also better his record of fourth consecutive term as chief minister, a feat he shared with his former leader and then Congress chief minister Dr. S.C. Jamir.

comers while BJP has six newcomers out of 12 who won recently. Since the NDPP-BJP alliance already has the number: 37 way beyond the half-way mark of 31; it may not need to form post-poll alliance with other parties.

LJP(RV) had been insisting that since it has an alliance with BJP at the national level,the same will be maintained in Nagaland. Even NPP will go into alliance with BJP in Meghalaya and

NCP to decide on Leader of Oppn; 2 RPI (A) to support NDPP-BJP alliance

MUMBAI, MAR 2 (AGENCIES): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday said it has “established a strong foothold” in Nagaland by winning seven out of the 12 Assembly seats it contested. “History was scripted in Nagaland on Thursday.....Party is dedicating this victory to the people of Nagaland,” it said in a statement here, according to PTI. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP has become the biggest Opposition party in Nagaland and is set to get the leader of Opposition

PM Modi thanks people of Nagaland

DIMAPUR, MAR 2

(NPN): Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked the people of Nagaland for blessing the NDPP-BJP alliance with “yet another mandate to serve the state.”

Taking to twitter, PM Modi said that the “double engine government will keep working for the state’s progress.” He also lauded party workers for their hard work.

Union home minister

Amit Shah also thanked the people of Nagaland for choosing peace and progress by re-electing the PM Modiled NDA back in power.

He said the duo of PM Modi and CM Neiphiu Rio would continue to advance peace & development in the state and fulfil people’s aspirations.

(Cont’d on p-10)

post in the House, reports The Indian Express. “This is the result of our hard work in northeast India over the past 10 years. I had travelled across Nagaland for the past four months and especially concentrated on the state’s eastern parts. The people of Nagaland have entrusted us with their votes and we will be holding a meeting of our legislative party within two days to decide on the leader of the Opposition,” said Narendra Verma, the NCP general secretary for the Northeast.

Verma said that at a

President to

NEW

DELHI, MAR 2

(PTI): In a far-reaching verdict, the Supreme Court Thursday ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the CJI, to maintain the “purity of election”.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph, in a unanimous verdict, also said the “unrelenting abuse” of the electoral process over a period of time is the “surest way to the grave of democracy”.

time when the Congress could not win even one seat in Nagaland, his party’s winning the highest number of seats in the Opposition camp was a big achievement. “We contested 12 seats. While we won seven, we lost five seats by a very thin margin,” he said.

Union minister Ramdas Athawale said two of his Republican Party of India (RPI) candidates also won in Nagaland. His party had contested eight seats. The two MLAs will support the BJP-led NDPP alliance, he said.

(Cont’d on p-8)

the same equation in Nagaland could be maintained. The NCP is not an alliance partner with BJP but in Nagaland there is no discrimination. All would depend on Rio’s sense of priority and political necessity which BJP would also have to be taken into account.

RIO BREAKS RE -

CORD IN NE: Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio who was the longest serving chief minister is set to create another record when he

In 2018, Rio won uncontested and this time he contested against his lone challenger, Seyievelie Sachu of Congress and won with a margin of 15824 votes for 11 Northern Angami-ll assembly constituency. Rio took to Twitter and congratulated all the winning candidates of the Nagaland Assembly Elections 2023. “As we have assured the electorates, let us pursue with sincerity to fulfill our goals and vision. May God Almighty help us,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference Thursday late evening, Chief Electoral

Office Nagaland, V. Shashank informed that 86.72 was the final polling percentage with male polling 85.6 % and female 87.85 %.

TALLY: NDPP won 25 seats out of the 40 seats it contested; BJP won 12 of the 20 it contested; INC 0, NCP 7, NPP 5, NPF 2, RPP 10, JDU 1, LJP (RV) 2, RPI (A) 2, RJD 0 and Independent four of the 19 seats contested.

The CEO also informed that the highest margin in the election was polled by N. Jacob Zhimomi from 4 Ghaspani I with 20, 096 votes followed by chief minister Rio with a margin of 15,824 from 11 Northern Angami II. The lowest margin was polled by NDPP candidate from 8 Western Angami Salhoutuonuo Kruse who won by only 7 votes against sitting legislator and Independent candidate Keneizhakho Nakhro.

Staff Reporter/Correspondent

DIMAPUR/KOHIMA, MAR 2 (NPN): H istory was made in Nagaland with election of two women candidates to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly for the first time ever. They included Salhoutuonuo Kruse who won the 8Western Angami assembly constituency (AC) and Hekani Jakhalu who won the 3-Dimapur-III AC. Both the women candidates were set up by the NDPP while another was set up by the Congress and

BJP each. The two other candidates -Er Kahuli Sema of BJP and Rosy Thompson of Congress lost to their respective candidates. Speaking to media persons shortly after her victory, Hekani Jakhalu, elected on NDPP ticket, expressed great happiness but added the winning margin was not up to her expectations. She however acknowledged that her main opponent had given a good fight. She took to tweeter, saying: “The victory is not mine alone, it belongs

Assembly polls 2023: Prominent losers and first-timers

Staff Reporter

DIMAPUR, MAR 2 (NPN): Elections to the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA), result of which was declared Thursday, revealed that several prominent legislators lost their seats to newcomers (See table) or former opponents. Health & Family Welfare minister S Pangnyu Phom and BJP nominee from 50 Longleng A/C was defeated by first-timer A Pongshi Phom of NCP by a margin of 5,270 votes. Former speaker and sitting legislator of 18 Chozuba comnstituency, Dr Chotisuh

Sazo, who held the seat as NPF but contested at LJP (RV) candidate, lost to a firsttimer Kudecho Khamo of NDPP by a margin of 2238.

Soil & Water Conservation and Geology & Mining minister V Kashiho Sangtam of BJP lost to veteran politician C Kipili Sangtam of

CONSTITUENCY PARTY

Hekani Jakhalu Dimapur III NDPP

Salhoutuonuo Kruse Western Angami NDPP

Dr Tsielhoutuo Rhutso Kohima Town NPP

Dr Kekhrielhoulie Yhome Northern Angami I NDPP

Jwenga Seb Tseminyu JD (U)

Dr Sukhato A Sema Pughoboto LJP (RV)

Kevipodi Sophie Southern Angami I IND

Dr Neisatuo Mero Pfütsero IND

Kudecho Khamo Chozuba NDPP

Z Nyusietho Nyuthe Meluri NDPP

Pangjung Jamir Tuli BJP

TN Manen Impur NDPP

Imkongmar Mongoya NDPP Temjenmenba Jangpetkong NDPP

S Toiho Yeptho Suruhoto NCP

NPP by 930 votes from 59 Seyochung Sitimi seat. Senior NDPP legislator from 16 Pfutsero and planning &co-ordination minis-

ter and three-time MLA Neiba Kronu lost to independent candidate and first-timer Dr Neisatuo Mero by only 104 votes.

Y Mhonbemo Humtsoe Wokha NCP Achumbemo Kikon Bhandari NPF

W Chingang Konyak Wakching NDPP

Y Mankhao Konyak Mon Town NCP

C Manpon Konyak Aboi IND

B Bangtick Phom Tamlu IND

A Pongshi Phom Longleng NCP

Lima Onen Chang Noksen RPI (A)

Sethrongkyu Sangtam Longkhim Chare BJP

Bashangmongba Chang Tuensang Sardar I BJP

Imtichoba Chang Tuensang sardar II RPI (A)

Benei M Lhamthiu Thonoknyu NPP

K Yimchunger Pungro-Kiphire NDPP

appoint CEC, ECs on advice of panel Adanirow:SCordersprobebycommittee

In a democracy, the “purity of election” must be maintained or else it would lead to “disastrous consequences”, the bench said.

The direction on the EC appointments will continue to hold good till a law on the issue is made by Parliament, it added.

As of now, CEC and ECs are appointed in terms of Article 324 of the Constitution by the President on the recommendation of the Centre. The apex court said if the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha is not there, then the leader of the single largest opposition party will be in the committee to select the CEC and

ECs. The bench delivered its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking a collegium-like system for the appointment of election commissioners and the CEC.

Justice Rastogi, who concurred with the lead judgement, authored by Justice Joseph, delivered a separate verdict with his reasoning.

“The unrelenting abuse of the electoral process over a period of time is the surest way to the grave of democracy,” the bench said, adding that the means to gain power in a democracy must remain pure and abide by the Constitution and the laws.

Democracy is intrinsi-

cally linked to the will of people, the bench said.

The top court said undoubtedly, the Election Commission is duty-bound to act fairly and legally and must abide by the provisions of the Constitution.

The apex court said there cannot be any doubt that the poll panel needs to perform the enviable task of remaining aloof from all forms of subjugation by interference from the executive. It said that an Election Commission, which does not ensure a free and fair role in the process, guarantees the breakdown of rule of law, which is the bedrock of democracy.

State BJP media cell coordinator apologises to KPC

DIMAPUR, MAR 2 (NPN): State BJP media cell convener Sapralu Nyekha has tendered an unconditional apology to Kohima Press Club for what she termed as “heated exchange” in Press4 BJP Nagaland WhatsApp group.

In a letter to KPC president Alice Yoshu, Nyekha said she took back her words and begged due apology from all those that were affected by the unfortunate incident, which she clarified was never her intention in the first place. Going forward, she assured KPC president as a karyakarta of BJP to take

care to see and check every press statement coming from the party so that no misinformation was inadvertently handed out to the press. Henceforth, she hoped that “with the spirit of forgive and forget, we can continue to closely work together in the coming days.”

DPC expresses solidarity with KPC

Dimapur Press Club (DPC) has expressed solidary with Kohima Press Club (KPC) in condemning the threat issued to a journalist allegedly by State BJP media cell convener Sapralu Nyekha’s husband.

In a statement, Dimapur Press Club also supported KPC’s stand that should any unfortunate incident befall on the journalist, the media cell convener as well as Nagaland BJP leadership would be held responsible.

DPC said it received the news of alleged threat issued to one of KPC members by the spouse of Nyekha.

“We, as journalists, have always understood and accepted differences, misunderstandings and even disputes with governments, political parties and organisations and individuals as occupational hazards

that are more often than not learning experiences for all concerned. But our acceptance of this hazard does not extend to any forms of intimidation — let alone veiled threats by the spouse of the media cell convenor of a national political party to find the residence of the journalist with the help of ‘his youth’”, the club stated.

Hence, as a group of media professionals, DPC asserted that its unflinching belief was that all disputes ought to be resolved in a manner that was dignified to all concerned. There was neither dignity nor decency in threats, it added.

NEW DELHI, MAR 2 (PTI):

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered setting up of a six- member committee headed by former apex court judge A M Sapre to look into various regulatory aspects for stock markets, including the recent Adani Group shares crash triggered by the Hindenburg Research’s fraud allegations.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala said the panel will make an overall assessment of situation, suggest measures to make investors aware and strengthening of existing regulatory mea-

By-poll results:

Cong wins 3,

BJP and ally 2

NEW DELHI, MAR 2 (PTI): The assembly byelection results on Thursday brought some solace for the Congress as it wrested one seat each from the BJP and the TMC in Maharashtra and West Bengal respectively and retained a seat in Tamil Nadu with the support of allies, while the BJP and its ally AJSU bagged one seat each in the western state and Jharkhand. The ruling TMC in West Bengal suffered a shock defeat in Sagardighi which was won by Congress’ Bayron Biswas by 22,986 votes.

sures for stock markets. The bench also directed the Centre, financial statutory bodies and the SEBI chairperson to render all cooperation to the panel which will have to submit its report within two months.

Former judges OP Bhat and JP Devdatt are also part of the probe committee. The court also named Nandan Nilekani, KV Kamath and Somasekharan Sundaresan as three other members of the committee.

While reserving its order, the top court on February 17 had refused to accept in a sealed cover the Centre’s suggestion on a proposed panel of experts.

Till now four PILs have been filed in the top court on the issue by lawyers M L Sharma, Vishal Tiwari, Congress leader Jaya Thakur and Mukesh Kumar, who claims to be a social activist.

Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after the Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against the business conglomerate.

The Adani Group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.

NE parties go with Central govt trend, says Kharge on polls

CHENNAI, MAR 2 (PTI): Making light of Congress party’s electoral performance in the North East, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said here on Thursday they were ‘small states’ that go with “Central government trend.”

To a poll related question while counting of votes polled for Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland elections was on, Kharge told reporters here that his party had contested in less number of seats and it was thought by the party that an alliance may lead to securing a majority of seats.

“It is a small states election. Usually, northeast parties, they go with the central government trend,” he said answering a question. However, many leaders there are committed to national politics and they support Congress and secular parties, he added.

Fielding candidates in 13 constituencies in Tripura, the Congress won three in the 60-member Assembly, bagging a vote share of 8.56 per cent.

In the other two states too the grand old party could not make much of an impact.

Lyon devours Indian batting line-up, Aus sniff rare win

Hekani Jakhalu Salhoutuonuo Kruse

Win in NE shows minorities are with BJP: Modi

NEW DELHI, MAR 2:

Buoyed by BJP’s election performance in Christian dominated Nagaland and Meghalaya, Prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said today’s results had comprehensively busted the myth that the BJP does not command acceptance among the minorities, reports . The PM predicted that like the northeastern states and Goa which, despite being minority dominated, were electing BJP governments, Kerala too would soon give BJP and allies a chance.

Coming down heavily on the Left and the Congress for striking “an unholy alliance in Tripura while rivalling each other in Kerala”, the PM, in his victory address at BJP headquarters, said, “Some opposition leaders and their ecosystems have tried hard for decades to perpetuate myths and stick labels at us—that we are a baniya party, a Hindi belt party; an urban middle

class party without a rural base. The BJP has dismantled all these myths, including the myth that tribals do not support us. Gujarat was a shining example of generous ST support. For years, fear mongering has also been done among minorities about the BJP. But Goa has exposed this myth. In the northeast, too, the BJP is constantly gaining ground in Christian dominated belts. As more and more

myths get busted, the BJP will expand further. I am sure Kerala too, like Goa and NE, will elect a BJP alliance government.”

Hailing voters of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya for choosing peace and stability, the PM questioned the Congress which, while making light of its debacle today, said “these are small states.”

“This hate for small states and small people

Meghalaya Cong chief Vincent Pala loses; NPP candidate wins

SHILLONG, MARCH 2

(IANS): In a major setback to the Congress, its Meghalaya unit president and Lok Sabha MP Vincent Pala lost the assembly election. He was defeated by the NPP candidate Santa Mary Shylla. Pala was contesting from the Sutnga Saipung assembly seat. He got 14,866 votes while Shylla bagged 16,719 votes. The United Democratic Party candidate Shitlang Pale came third with 10,224 votes.

BJP candidate Krison Langstang was a distant fourth with only 420 votes.

After Mukul Sangma’s departure, Vincent Pala was the face of the Congress party in the assembly poll.

Overall, the Congress party has put up a poor show in Meghalaya, managing to win only five seats this time.

In 2018, the Congress won 21 seats and was the single largest party in the state. However, the grand old party could not form the government then and Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party along with the BJP and some smaller regional parties ruled the hill state for the last five years.

Meanwhile, former

Chief Minister, Dr Mukul Sangma lost one of the two seats he contested. Mukul retained Songsak seat, while the NPP candidate Jimmy Sangma defeated the TMC leader in Tikrikilla assembly seat. The former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma’s wife, Dikkanchi Shira and brother Zenith Sangma also lost the polls.

will spell further doom for the Congress in upcoming polls,” the PM said, accusing past governments of ducking challenging issues to settle for a life of easy publicity.

“We took these challenges head on to ease the lives of people. Thousands of villages in the northeast didn’t have electricity 70 years after independence because past governments looked the other way thinking it is difficult to arrange electricity. We did not do that. For us India and Indians are first,” the PM said to thunderous applause.

The PM also took swipe at “some parties which are digging his grave”. “Some people are saying Modi mar jaa, but the country is saying Modi mat jaa.”

Citing “triveni” (a triumvirate of good governance of BJP governments; their work culture and the service of BJP workers) as the secret of BJP’s poll successes, the PM said, “Some well wishers have stomach

aches thinking what is the secret of BJP victories. The secret is our triveni.”

Lauding the wins today that come amid the ongoing G20 presidency of India, Modi said, “These victories reaffirm the deep faith India’s people have in democracy and democratic principles as a panacea for all problems. There was a time when no party other than one (read the Left) could install its flag in the state. But today we are proud of giving the northeast peace, law and order.”

Earlier the PM asked top leaders—BJP chief JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and others gathered to put on their mobile flashlights as a gesture of gratitude to the people of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya for “choosing BJP and allies”.

Nadda, in his address, attacked the Congress saying, “No matter how low you stoop in your discourse, India has decided to move ahead under PM Modi.”

BJP wins Tripura, NPP singlelargest party in Meghalaya

AGARTALA/SHILLONG, MAR 2 (PTI) The ruling BJP managed to notch-up a morale-boosting win on its ‘Mission Northeast’ on Thursday by retaining Tripura emphatically, despite anti-incumbency and newcomer Tipra Motha playing spoilers to its party, while in Meghalaya, the NPP has fallen short of majority while winning the lion’s share of 26 seats in the 60-member assembly. The BJP-IPFT alliance on Thursday returned to power in Tripura winning 33 seats in the 60-member assembly on Thursday.

The Tipra Motha, formed by former scion of the state’s princely family Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, bagged 13 seats.

The Trinamool Congress performed poorly winning none of the 28 seats it contested. Its vote share (0.88 per cent) came to less than that of those who stamped None-Of-TheAbove (NOTA). Though the

coalition of the BJP and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) returned to power for a second time, both parties secured fewer seats when compared to their performance in 2018, mainly as Tipra Motha performed well in the tribal hinterland. The alliance had won 43 seats in the 2018 election.

The saffron party contested in 55 seats and won 32, three less than what it bagged in 2018. The IPFT, which was affected by a factional fight, managed to emerge victorious in only one seat, while it had got eight seats five years back. Its vote share this time was a meagre 1.26 per cent.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) contested in 47 seats and won 11, with a vote share of 24.62 per cent. Other Left parties – Forward Bloc, CPI and RSP - failed to open their account. Fielding candidates in 13 constituencies, the Congress won three, bagging a vote share of 8.56 per cent.

In Meghalaya, the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) emerged as the singlelargest party in the state clinching 26 seats. NPP fell short of gaining a majority in the 60-member assembly. The BJP managed to win only two seats.

The United Democratic Party, which was NPP’s ally in the Sangma government, emerged the secondlargest party, winning 11 constituencies. It had won only six seats in the 2018 polls. The Congress and the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC won five seats each.

The newly formed Voice of the People Party (VPP) won four seats, while the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP), the People’s Democratic Front won two seats each. Two Independent candidates also emerged victorious. Sangma won from the South Tura seat by a margin of 5,016 votes, while his deputy Prestone Tynsong won the Pynursla seat by 8,140 votes.

Conrad sought Shah’s support to form new govt in M’laya: Himanta

GUWAHATI/TURA, MAR 2 (PTI/IANS):

Meghalaya Chief Minister and Nation People’s Party (NPP) supremo Conrad Sangma has sought Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s blessings to form the next government in the hill state, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday. Sarma took to Twitter to also say that BJP president J P Nadda has advised the Meghalaya unit of the saffron camp to support the NPP as it forms the next government in the neighbouring state.

“Sri @SangmaConrad , Chief Minister of Meghalaya, called @AmitShah ji, Hon’ble Home Minister, and sought his support and blessings in forming the new Government,” Sarma wrote.

“Adaraniya Sri @JPNadda ji , the national president of the @BJP4India

has advised the state unit of BJP, Meghalaya to support the National People’s Party in forming the next government in Meghalaya,” the Assam CM added.

According to the Elec-

tion Commission website around 6.30 pm, the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) in Meghalaya has so far won 20 seats in the 60-member Assembly, and was leading in five other

‘Mr Clean’ Manik Saha wins seat, possibly a second term as CM of Tripura

AGARTALA, MAR 2

(PTI): Manik Saha, tipped to be Tripura’s chief minister for a second term, on Thursday led his party the BJP to victory for a second term in the brder state of Tripura.

The former Congress leader who joined the saffron party half-a-dozen years back defeated his former party’s veteran leader Ashish Kumar Saha, by a margin of 1,257 votes from Town Bardowali despite detractors predicting a “tough time” for him in the prestigious constituency.

From Saha joining the saffron party in 2016 to being made chief minister last year in a brand renewal exercise last year, it has been a short but upward journey for the 69-year-old dental surgeon-turned politician.

After BJP’s ideological mentor RSS found out that the previous chief minister Biplab Deb had cost the

party a loss in popularity by his brash actions and poor law and order record, alienating many of the saffron party’s supporters, the party big-wigs decided on Saha, a quite and unassuming politician over several other potential rivals including union minister Pratima Bhowmik.

The man who BJP has built up as `Mr Clean’ took over as chief of Tripura’s BJP unit in 2020 and then did a short stint as a member of the Rajya Sabha from April 3 to July 4 last year.

The ride for the greenhorn politician who had earlier been a Congress loyalist has been a dream one in the last six years or so.

Saha, who is an oral and maxillofacial surgery specialist, had won the Town Bardowali seat, located outside the state capital city Agartala, in a bypoll in 2022. Before joining politics, Saha used to teach

at Tripura Medical College located in Hapania.

He had only 10 months as the chief minister of the northeastern state after replacing Deb but managed to lift the state government’s image before the February 16 assembly polls.

The “gentleman politician” did his schooling in Tripura in the early 1970’s and then went on to do his higher education in Bihar

Man held with 10 gold biscuits worth Rs 93 lakh in Manipur

Correspondent

IMPHAL, MAR 2: Troops of Assam

Rifles on Thursday nabbed a 34-yearold man after foreign origin 10 gold biscuits suspected to be smuggled were recovered from the vehicle he was travelling along along NH-102 (Imphal-Moreh road).

The gold biscuits weighing 1.6kg would be worth over Rs 93 lakh in the international market, the Assam Rifles source said.

Troops of 20 Assam Rifles manning the permanent vehicle check post along the NH-102 at Khuthengthabi in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district intercepted the gold biscuits suspected to be smuggled from Myanmar during a check to the vehicle today,

around 8.30 am. The accused, identified as Launjahao Vaihpei (34), a resident of Moreh ward no. 9, was proceeding toward Imphal from the border town Moreh in an Eco Van (MN01AS-3626) alone. The accused along with the recovered items was handed over to Customs Preventive Forces, Moreh for further necessary legal action, the source added. This was the second incident of seizure of smuggled gold biscuits reported in the border town in recent memory. On February 25, troops of Assam Rifles arrested an individual after 40 smuggled gold biscuits worth Rs 3.75 crore in the international market were recovered during a raid at his house in the town bordering Myanmar.

and Uttar Pradesh.

In January, Saha shared on Twitter how he conducted surgery on a 10-year-old boy after a long time at Tripura Medical College. Netizens praised him for still performing his duties as a doctor and said it was “truly inspiring”. The selection of Dr Saha as Chief Minister by the BJP, had sparked a controversy within the Tripura

unit of the BJP with several ministers, MLAs and senior leaders expressing discontent, which never really died down in party circles.

In an interview to PTI in February, Saha said he has been able to gain the people’s faith in just a few months.

“Wherever I go, I see people are happy as they have received several benefits from PMAY to piped water to toilets under several flagship programmes. (However) I do believe there is a need to do more in the employment generation segment.

“The overall law and order has improved in the state over the past five years with all types of crimemurder, rape and abduction - coming down drastically.

The NCRB reports endorses our view on the law-andorder situation”, he had claimed, rubbishing the opposition’s allegations of

widespread violence in rural areas as “baseless”.

Asked if he would continue as chief minister after the elections, Saha had made it clear, “It is the party and Modiji who will make the choice. If they think I am the man for the work, I will be picked.... I always prefer to play on a straight bat”.

On unfinished commitments, Saha said he will take up the issue of the High Power Modality Committee constituted to look into the socio-economic-linguistic development of the state’s indigenous people as part of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) contracted by the BJP and IPFT before the 2018 Assembly election with Delhi. The Union Home Ministry has constituted a high-power modality committee but the recommendations of the panel have not been made public yet.

constituencies. The BJP won two seats, and was leading in one.

The United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 11 constituencies thus far, while the Congress won five. Newly floated Voice of the People Party (VPP) and the Trinamool Congress won four seats each, with the Mamata Banerjee-led camp ahead in one more constituency. The Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) and the People’s Democratic have won two seats each. Two Independent candidates have also emerged victorious in the state.

ConradSangma winsSouthTuraseat

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has defeated his rival Bernard Marak of the BJP and won the South Tura constituency with 10,090 votes, the Election Commission an -

nounced on Thursday. The Commission announced the result after counting of ballots cast in the February 27 Assembly elections concluded. Marak managed to receive 7,260 votes. Sangma expressed satisfaction and thanked people for voting for his National People’s Party (NPP). The NPP is leading in as many as 26 seats out of 60 Assembly constituencies and is set to retain power in the hill state for a second consecutive term.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s elder brother James Pangsang K. Sangma, and a three-time NPP MLA, was defeated by Rupa M. Marak of the Trinamool Congress in the Dadenggre constituency by a narrow margin of just 18 votes. James Sangma got 15,684 votes, while Marak received 15,702.

Cong should declare itself as B team of CPI(M): Rajeev

NEW DELHI, MAR 2

(PTI): Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday took a dig at the Congress on its performance in assembly polls in three north eastern states and dubbed the party as the “B team of the CPI(M)” following the dismal showing of the opposition alliance in Tripura. In a series of tweets, Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, took potshots at the Congress over its politically contrasting position as the opposition party allies with the Left in north-eastern states and West Bengal and contests against the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala.

“Congress should formalise them as B-team of CPI(M) status in Kerala too after their showing in Tripura

since Cong is already in alliance wth CPI(M) in rest of country like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal,” he tweeted. Tagging a tweet of Congress leader Shashi Tharoor in which the latter cited a news article titled ‘BJP’s ideology is the Constitution of India: Chandrasekhar’, the BJP leader said, ”I was waiting for result day to see Cong whitewashed from Nagaland, Tripura , Meghalayabcoz of campaign of shameless lies n fear mongering by their ‘leaders’ like this one by their intellectual leader.”

Cops foil protesters’ bid to storm Manipur Assembly

Correspondent

IMPHAL, MAR 2: Police foiled yet another attempt of the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM) to march towards Manipur Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

In a bid to draw the attention of the state Assembly where the budget session was going on to its long pending demand, the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur has been attempting to march toward the Assembly complex in the last few days.

The Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur has been pressing the state government to furnish the specific recommendations along with required ethnography and latest socio-economic survey reports of the Meitei/Meetei to the Centre

for consideration of inclusion of the community in the ST list of the Indian Constitution.

Demanding a discussion on the ST status demand, Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur has been attempting to march to the state Assembly complex in the last three days. Earlier on Tuesday, the police had foiled a rally that kicked off from Khurai area of Imphal East district. Another attempt was also foiled at Kakwa area of Imphal West on Wednesday.

Today’s third attempt by a group of people, mostly women from Lamphel Sana Keithel area, was also foiled by the police. The police dispersed them when they started carrying out rally chanting slogans from the place.

Talking to reporters, the protesters demanded enlistment of Meetei/ Meitei in the ST list of the Constitu-

tion and insisted that the demand must be discussed in the house of the state Assembly.

They also chanted slogans demanding that the house of the state Assembly take a concrete stand to send the report sought by the Centre to verify whether Meetei/Meitei can be given ST status during the ongoing session.

Talking to reporters after the rally failed, Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur working president Laishram Lokendro strongly condemned the indifferent attitude of the state government while alleging that the legitimate demand has been sidelined.

He said that the demand raised by the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee of Manipur should be discussed in the ongoing budget session of the state Assembly.

“If not taken up for discussion, the committee is ready to launch intensified forms of agitations,” he warned. Today’s rally was planned only to take the voice of the people of the community to the state Assembly. The committee has no intention to create a law and order problem, and so far the committee is raising the demand in a very democratic way, he added.

The Assembly session has one more sitting and the demand of the people should be discussed positively by the house, he said.

Claiming that 34 out of 60 MLAs had expressed their support to the demand, the working president said that sending the recommendation would not be a problem on the part of the state government.

The state government, if willing to address the demand, can send the recommendation any time, he added.

Narendra Modi flashes victory sign at BJP workers as J P Nadda and Amit Shah look on, Thursday (PTI)

Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Mary Shylla and Vincent Pala.

Conrad Sangma waves at supporters gathered for celebrating his victory, Thursday. (PTI)

Manik Saha flashes the victory sign as he arrives to receive the ‘Certificate of Election’, Thursday. (PTI)

SNIPPETS

Bizman duped of Rs

14L

by cyber thugs

LUCKNOW,

MARCH

2 (IANS): A Lucknow businessman was duped of Rs 14 lakhs by cyber scammers who sent him links of a prominent financial investment firm and tempted him into making investments. The businessman, in his FIR to the police, said that he spotted a website of a prominent financial firm and entered his details for investment purpose. The businessman invested Rs 14 lakhs and was asked to wait for profits. Later, when even after a span of three months he got no response, he reached the office of the firm and got to know it was all fake.

Man held for sexually abusing dog in Delhi

NEW DELHI, MAR 2

(PTI): A 40-year-old man was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a dog in a park in west Delhi, police said on Thursday.

A video of the purported incident is being circulated on social media.

According to police, the incident took place four or five days ago. A case under section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act was registered and the accused, identified as Shankar, has been arrested, a senior police officer said.

Delhi man rapes dog, arrested

NEW DELHI, MARCH 2 (IANS): A man has been arrested for allegedly raping a dog in Delhi’s Hari Nagar area, an official said on Thursday. The accused, who is married and has children, is a resident of Hari Nagar. The heinous crime was captured on camera by an animal feeder, and the video has gone viral on social media, with people condemning the accused for his act of animal cruelty.

India, Italy open new chapter of defence ties

NEW DELHI, MAR 2 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India and Italy have decided to elevate their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership, opening a new chapter on defence cooperation.

Addressing the media after wide-ranging talks with visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Modi said new opportunities were opening up in India in the sector of co-production and co-development, which can be beneficial for both the countries.

“This year India and Italy are celebrating the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations. On this occasion, we have decided to elevate the India-Italy partnership to the status of a strategic partnership,” Modi said with the Italian prime minister by his side.

Modi said the two countries have also decided to hold joint exercises and training courses between the armed forces of the two countries on a regular basis.

He said India and Italy have been working shoul-

der-to-shoulder on issues such as terrorism and separatism.

“We held extensive discussions on further strengthening this cooperation,” Modi said.

Modi and Meloni also announced setting up of a ‘Start-up Bridge’ between India and Italy.

“We laid special emphasis on increasing cooperation in areas like renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, semiconductor, telecom, space,” Modi said.

He also welcomed Italy’s active participation in the Indo-Pacific.

“It is a matter of great

pleasure that Italy has decided to join the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative. This will enable us to identify concrete themes for enhancing our cooperation in the IndoPacific,” Modi said.

Earlier, Meloni was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan as she arrived here on a state visit.

Modi welcomed Meloni at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, where she was accorded a tri-services guard of honour.

Meloni later offered tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

The Italian prime min-

ister was received at the airport by Minister of State for Health Bharti Pawar.

The Italian prime minister is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio

Only JPC probe into Adani row can bring out truth: Congress

Tajani and a high-powered business delegation. Meloni will also be the chief guest and keynote speaker at the 8th Raisina Dialogue, which will get underway this evening.

Fullypreparedtocontributeto Ukrainepeaceprocess:PMModi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India was fully prepared to contribute to the peace process to find a solution to the Ukraine conflict.

“From the very beginning of the Ukraine conflict, India has made it clear that this dispute can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

India is fully prepared to contribute to any peace process,” Modi said after bilateral talks with visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Addressing the media alongside Modi, Meloni said Italy hoped that India, during its G-20 presidency, plays a central role in facilitating and negotiating

the process for cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.

Modi said he and the Italian Prime Minister voiced concerns over the adverse impact the Ukraine conflict has had on developing countries. He said all countries have been impacted by the food, fertiliser and fuel crisis triggered by the Ukraine conflict.

“Especially, developing countries have been affected adversely. We voiced our concerns on this issue and stressed on joint efforts to address these issues,” Modi said. Modi’s remarks on the Ukraine crisis come at a time when foreign ministers of G-20 countries are meeting here.

NEW DELHI, MAR 2

(PTI): The Congress on Thursday said no panel other than a joint parliamentary committee can bring out the truth in the Adani row and the industrialist’s relationship with the prime minister and asserted that it will raise the demand in Parliament when it meets again on March 13. Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said he had stated on February 16 that any panel by the Supreme Court would only look into violations of SEBI rules and regulations and will not be able to bring out the truth in the Adani issue.

“If the prime minister and the government are to be held accountable, any committee other than the JPC will be nothing but an exercise in legitimisation and exoneration,” he told reporters here, asserting that he had stated this earlier too.

“In the Adani case, the Supreme Court committee is limited only to the investigation of violations of SEBI law and regulation.

The truth of what has been the relationship between Prime Minister Modi and (Gautam) Adani will never come to the fore if JPC is not formed,” he said.

The Congress party wants that a JPC be instituted and will raise the demand in the Parliament session beginning March 13, he noted.

The Congress leader also asserted that it has been posing a set of three questions to the prime minister everyday but has not received any answers, and they will remain unanswered by the SC-appointed panel formed to look into the issue. Ramesh said on February 16 he had stated that any committee formed by the Supreme Curt into the Adani-Hindenburg issue would be nothing but an exercise in legitimisation and exoneration.

Asked whether the Congress was not in favour of the Supreme Court setting up a panel, he said “we are not confident that the truth in Adani issue will come out” through it.

BJP creates ruckus inside Bihar assembly

PATNA, MAR 2 (PTI) :

NANDAGAD (KTK), MAR 2 (PTI): Accusing the Congress of raising questions over the valour of armed forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said, its ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ was aimed at “launching” their leader Rahul Gandhi, and he thought that the latter may go to Karachi or Lahore as part of the march.

Kick-starting the second part of BJP’s ‘Vijay Sankapla Yatre’ here, he appealed to the people to support the party in the Assembly elections, due by May, to form a government with two-third majority.

go there,” Singh said. Addressing a public meeting here, he asked as to who did Gandhi try to jodo (unite), when the whole of India is united and together.

with raising questions on the courage and valour of our defence forces, he asked, “what happened to them?....

As the Defence Minister I want to say, we are proud of our Military forces, the kind of brave deeds they have done, if I say it openly, you will be even more proud.”

Earlier in the day, Singh visited Sangolli Rayanna’s memorial here and paid respects, following which he launched the Yatre.

The opposition BJP in Bihar on Thursday created ruckus inside the state assembly and staged a walkout as its demands for an apology from a CPI(ML) Liberation MLA met with angry rebuttal.

policy: BJP

CBI should also probe Punjab’s excise

CHANDIGARH, MARCH 1 (IANS): BJP national General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Wednesday demanded that the CBI probe into the Delhi liquor policy case should be extended to Punjab as well. Chugh said the beneficiaries of Punjab’s excise policy have alleged connections in Delhi and Punjab has been losing a big chunk of revenue ever since the AAP government came to power in the state last year. Chugh claimed that the Punjab excise policy for 2022-23 is similar to Delhi’s 2021-22 liquor policy, adding that both were drafted by Manish Sisodia and his team. This, he said, was confirmed by Arvind Kejriwal, who had tweeted that the excise policy which had to be scrapped in Delhi is working wonders in Punjab.

3 found dead in alleged ‘suicide’ bid

BENGALURU, MAR 2 (PTI): A woman and her two daughters have been found dead at their residence here, while her husband is undergoing treatment at a hospital following an alleged suicide bid, police said on Thursday. The woman and her daughters were allegedly poisoned by the man who subsequently tried to end his life by slitting wrist at their home coming under Konanakunte police station limits, they said. The couple reportedly quarreled often and this seems to have led to the incident, police said, adding that the man will be questioned and his statement recorded once he recovers.

The yatre from four different directions across the poll-bound State, in specially designed vehicles or “Rathas”, are being launched by the party’s central leaders in parts. The first part was launched by BJP National President J P Nadda in Chamarajanagara district on Wednesday.

“Do you know about the young Congress leader, he is being launched now, and for that they had the Bharat Jodo Yatra. India got divided during partition in 1947, so I thought Rahul Gandhi who was on Bharat Jodo Yatra may go to Karachi or Lahore, but he did not

“One cannot do politics for long by fooling people, only those who do politics with confidence and maintaining eye contact with the people can be successful, and only those in the BJP can do it,” he said, as he hit out at the Congress accusing them of using slogans, ‘Modi theri kabr khudegi’ (Modi your grave will be dug).

“They are not digging Modi’s grave, but are digging their own with such slogans. The amount of mud slinging that our Congress friends engage in against BJP and PM Modi, our Lotus will boom that much,” Singh said.

Charging the Congress

Sangolli Rayanna (1798-1831) was the army chief of the erstwhile Kittur Kingdom ruled by Rani Chennamma and fought against the British who hanged him to death from a Banyan tree near Nandagad in Belagavi district in 1831.

Singh said, this day and this public meeting is good for the BJP as election results for three north eastern states are being declared today, and among them in Tripura and Nagaland the party is forming the government once again, while in Meghalaya it has increased the number of seats.

The Defence Minister called on the people to take a resolve to form a BJP government in the state once again, and this time with two-third majority, to build a “New Karnataka”.

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND DIRECTORATE OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE NAGALAND: KOHIMA

NO. DHFW-3/VACANCIES/DRV/DTE/19-20

Dated Kohima, the th March 2023 ORDER

As per the advertisement order No. DHFW-3/VACANCIES/DRV/DTE/19-20 dated Kohima the 22nd Dec. 2022 and Government approval Order No. HFW(A)-12/81/2019/77 dated Kma 9th Feb. 2023 based on No. ELE/COT-165/2023 Dated 7th Feb. 2023, the Names and Roll. No’s of the selected candidates are hereby given on merit basis.

CPI(ML)-L MLAs insisted that it was BJP MLA Sanjay Saraogi who should be made to apologise on the floor of the House for having used abusive and intimidatory language on Wednesday against Mahboob Alam, the Left party’s legislature party leader. Before the commencement of the proceedings of the House, CPI(ML)-L legislators, who support the Nitish Kumar government from outside, had staged a demonstration outside the

Vidhan Sabha premises in protest against Saraogi’s utterances.

“Saraogi had a problem with the language used by Alam, who never spoke about an individual and made certain remarks against the BJP, its parent body RSS and their

ideology. But Saraogi targeted Alam and used a language against our leader that befitted a street goon”, CPI(ML)-L MLA Sandeep Sourav told reporters.

Inside the House, at the outset the ultra Left party’s Satyadeo Ram rose in his seat demanding an

apology from Saraogi. Leader of the Opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha, who had risen to press demand for a discussion on adjournment motion on the issue of irregularities in competitive exams, got drawn into the spat and insisted that it was Alam who had started it all and must be held to account. State minister Shravan Kumar rose to object and said the Leader of the Opposition was wasting the time of the House which had a lot of business to transact. Speaker Awadh Bihari Vajpayee, thereafter, proceeded to conduct the Question Hour. However, the din continued with many of the agitated BJP MLAs entering the well.

PM Modi and Italy PM Giorgia Meloni during their joint press statement in New Delhi, Thursday. (PTI)

‘Thought he may go to Karachi or Lahore...’: Rajnath’s dig at Rahul’s BJY

Rajnath Singh

BJP legislators protest against the government during the Budget Session Assembly, in Patna. (PTI)

Test before 2024

Outcome of polls held in three states of the north east- Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura are indicators when the all states in the region go to the Lok Sabha election in 2024. Currently, for the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) which is an alliance of non-Congress political parties, the elections including those to follow in Manipur and Mizoram at the semi final are among the clutch of key state polls this year that will set the stage for the mood of 2024 general elections.

In Meghalaya, the Congress emerged the single largest party in 2018 with 21 seats. But the NPP, which won 19 seats, formed government with the support of the BJP (2 seats) and legislators from regional parties such as United Democratic Party, Hill State Peoples’ Democratic Party and one independent. The political landscape in the state shifted dramatically after 12 Congress lawmakers, led by former chief minister Mukul Sangma, switched over to the Trinamool Congress in 2021. In Tripura, the BJP has attracted all the ready vote bank of the Congress made of Bengali voters. The Tipra Motha has a clear agenda – for the indigenous Tipri people while the Left still has some cadres left nut not enough to win election so the Left and Congress have combined. In Nagaland, the Naga People’s Front (NPF) once an indomitable force remains as the oldest regional political party in India but is on the wane. In 2018, NDPP-BJP contested the polls with a 40:20 formula (40 seats for the NDPP and 20 for the BJP) and both went to the 2023 polls with the same formula. Congress fielded 18 candidates in 2018 but drew a blank and this time, it put up 23 candidates. The political wind of the NPF has gone to the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and which has led to the latter’s political fortune being on the rise. NPF has been literally crippled by the frictions between its triumvirate , founder-member Neiphiu Rio, current president of NPF Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu and Rio’s successor as NPF chief minister T.R.Zeliang, now who has joined Rio’s party. The three men were perhaps destined to play prominent role in the state after the forced retirement of Nagaland’s veteran leader and most well known legend and living member of Naga People’s Convention (NPC) Dr.S.C.Jamir.

The NPF is going out of steam as it has probably played its last and desperate fight in 2023. Unlike Congress which continued to receive some funds from the AICC the NPF simply could not sustain itself out of power. The defection of its battleground workers affected its functioning and worse was to follow in 2021 when 21 MLAs led by its legislature party leader T.R.Zeliang defected to NDPP. The Congress also failed to cobble an alliance in 2008 despite having won 23 seats as against 26 of the NPF as seven independents and two NCP as potential available as post-poll allies. However Rio in 2008 proved smarter and won the support of MLAs while Congress MLAs were fighting for leadership. Rio’s political acumen has been a blend of opportunism and clever marketing under his shrewd leadership. In Meghalaya Conrad is another rising star and both he and Rio will have to do a lot of balancing act while dealing with the BJP.They will face stiff hurdles in the coming days and may have to pool in their political resources to remain relevant.

DailyDevotion

Have You Felt the Pain Inflicted by the Lord?

He said to him the third time, “…do you love Me?” —John 21:17

Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God. “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ ” Yet he was awakened to the fact that at the center of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus. And then he began to see what Jesus’ patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest bit of doubt left in Peter’s mind; he could never be deceived again. And there was no need for an impassioned response; no need for immediate action or an emotional display. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he simply said, “Lord, You know all things….” Peter began to see how very much he did love Jesus, and there was no need to say, “Look at this or that as proof of my love.” Peter was beginning to discover within himself just how much he really did love the Lord. He discovered that his eyes were so fixed on Jesus Christ that he saw no one else in heaven above or on the earth below. But he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord were asked. The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.

Oh, the wonder of the patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the perfect time. Rarely, but probably once in each of our lives, He will back us into a corner where He will hurt us with His piercing questions. Then we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than our words can ever say.

Quotes

Pitting history against nationalism

To the narrative being built against the present regime by some civil society groups practising ‘politics by proxy’, a distorted projection of ‘nationalism’ in the Indian context is a more recent addition. There is deliberate propaganda that nationalism here is the same as ‘Hindu nationalism’, that invoking nationalism is at the cost of the Muslim minority and that the history of India did not support the construct that India should claim to be a ‘nation’.

This lobby supported by anti-India forces abroad, makes the word nationalism look like a disparaging concept, runs down the basic precept of ‘one man one vote’ on which Indian democracy is founded by raising the bogey of ‘majoritarianism’ and implicitly justifies the dangerous idea - despite the experience of the Partition - that multiple religious and regional communities of India should not be deemed to be part of common nationhood.

The adult franchise is the fundamental political right, and the availability of the same opportunities and protection of law guarantees the socio-economic equality of all citizens so long as the elected political executive does not carry a denominational or ideological stamp on governance - unlike what happened in an Islamic Republic or a Marxist dictatorship next door. A denial of India being a nation is only a part of the game being deliberately played to weaken this country.

The first requirement of internal cohesion or national security is that all citizens should take pride in being part of the same nation and whatever be the historical legacies of the past, should have a certain convergence on who the friends and adversaries of India were in the present and how should the country progress in the times ahead.

Some historians preferring to be a slave of their ‘expertise’ on what India was in its checkered past, highlight some defeats

and internal discords of a gone-by period, to negate the hope that India was in the present destined to become a glorious nation of newly defined geographical boundaries.

In the process, they continue to ‘cut the nose to spite the face’ by constantly harping on the state of the multiplicity of kingdoms existing in India before Islam came here to bring in a large territory under the Mughal Emperor.

They like to argue that Hindus and Muslims had unitedly fought for freedom from the British and had a shared sense of nationhood - conveniently forgetting the reality that the Independence of India ultimately came with the heavy price of a vertical division of the country on grounds of religion forced by the Muslim leadership and that an unprecedented massacre of people took place in the communal riots caused by that event.

The learning that was there for independent India was to make the country a secular republic by looking upon the people of India as being part of one nation that would be governed based on ‘one man one vote’ without allowing any religious identity to be projected in politics.

The first governments of the country however, interpreted secularism as a license to continue with ‘minority politics’ in the name of ‘cultural diversity’ and did not build the concept of ‘nationhood’ based on civilisational pride, shared perception of who the ‘friends and adversaries’ of India were and steady progress towards the Constitutional mandate of establishing a common criminal and civil law for all Indian citizens.

The divisions among Indians developed not on political ideology but on community identity with even the Socialist movement in the country highlighting caste by making ‘anti-Brahmanism’ its core political idea. Soon realpolitik came into play and the secular parties steadily fell

for wooing the Muslim vote bank for its numbers in the election.

The Republic of India gradually lost its punch in dealing with the Islamic Republic next door from a position of superiority in terms of representing a newly united country with shared values of nationhood. In fact, India ended up in a situation where Pakistan began openly flaunting its right to speak for India’s Muslim ‘minority’ - ironically today there are more Muslims in India than what was their number in Pakistan.

The emphasis of the Narendra Modi government on nationalism is being projected by the forces of opposition as ‘majoritarianism’ and as an activity against ‘secularism’ - this is not cutting much ice simply because the criticism labelled against the BJP regime was driven by the motive of attracting minority votes that would count a great deal against a politically divided majority community. In the process, many in the opposition were even reluctant to uphold the very idea of India being regarded as one nation.

In India the political management of Muslims as a community is still in the hands of Ulema and communally-minded Muslim elite - they kept up minority separatism even after Independence for their vested interests and have in recent times, gone to the extent of refusing to name Pakistan for using faith-based militancy as an instrument of cross border terrorism against India.

However, it is also to be mentioned that the average member of the minority community wanted - like citizens of other communities - to live peacefully, devoting to matters of livelihood and family welfare.

The leadership of the community has traditionally comprised of the Asharafwho considered themselves to be of a separate class as the descendants of those who came from outsidewhile the bulk of Muslims

in terms of history were the Ajlaf or local converts a majority of whom were drawn from among the poor and the weak in the Hindu population.

Conversion to Islam in many cases happened under the influence of Sufis whose singing at the graves of Peers called Sama culturally appealed to these Hindus.

The familiar Tabligh movement in India had been concentrating - though in a non-political way - on freeing the Muslim masses of such ‘un-Islamic’ practices and thus pushing the community towards fundamentalism. This potentially enlarged the base for extremism and radicalisation.

Reaching out to the Ajlaf for strengthening the cause of nationalism in India stands to reason. Moreover, Madrasahs can be encouraged to voluntarily get listed for possible government aid that would be given after a scrutiny of the curriculum. This will be in line with the nondiscriminatory approach of a democratic state to primary education. The Indian scene offers possibilities of a significant section of Muslims being brought around to accepting national values and culture while retaining their faith and right to worship. The Hindu outreach to them can help the process of enhancing the internal cohesion of the nation.

A nation is internally strong when all its communities live in harmony, respect each other’s faith and do not flaunt claims of superiority over others on grounds of religion, race or class.

It is true that the Quran talks of Islam as the ‘perfect’ religion given to Muslims finally through Prophet Mohammad - described as the last of the Prophets or the ‘Khatimul Anbia’. It claims to be the only perfect religion for the future but was clearly not the oldest.

In the Indian context, to bypass the historical fact of Islam had arrived in this country first with the Arab traders in Kerala only

in the seventh and eighth centuries, and to counter the reality of Hindus having practised a much older religion, leaders of Darul Uloom Deoband heading the Jamiat ul Ulema-e-Hind have advanced the plea that Islam existed since the time of Adam as the latter was the first Prophet. This smacks of the desire to be competitive about maintaining the ‘supremacist’ and ‘exclusivist’ status of Islam which was against the requirement of today’s world that demanded equal respect for all religions and acknowledgement of the Hindu thought that there was ‘one God’ called by people with different names and worshipped in different ways.

It is said that Darul Uloom Deoband which was established in 1868 after the anti-British Jehad launched by the Wahhabi Ulema had failed, originally took the stand that India was a land of peace - Darul Aman - where all communities could live in harmony under a common political umbrella.

The present polemics of Jamiat leaders can sow the seeds of conflict between Islam and other religions and indirectly provide a fillip to the trend of faith-based militancy that was threatening the entire democratic world today. Religion should not get mixed up with politics and should not come in the way of the evolution of national values that sustained a democratic country.

At a time when India is exposed to concerted efforts of adversaries, hostile lobbies and sections of political opposition to project the country as a divided nation falling for ‘majoritarianism’ and the present regime as a violator of human rights that had put minorities in jeopardy, threats to national unity and internal cohesion- rather than the fear of an external attack- have become serious and real.

There is an attempt by anti-India forces to run down this country during its G20 Presidency - this

is not likely to succeed as the credentials of the Modi government as the world’s pioneering producer and supplier of Covid vaccine, promoter of economic growth and an advocate of global peace, were firmly in place.

India needs a uniform level of policing and law & order control throughout the country, an Intelligence set up that could detect antinational activity operating under the cover of civil society groups or otherwise, on dubious funding and a programme of keeping communities in the national mainstream by weaning them away from the handful of extremists and radical elements trying to politically control them.

Internal cohesion, inter-faith harmony and convergence of citizens on nationalism, are the prerequisites of a strong democratic India that aspired to lead initiatives for both improving the global economy and making the world a safer place in course of its G20 Presidency. International relations have been handled well by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with emphasis on bilateral friendships that were mutually beneficial and what is remarkable, is they were anchored on the personal rapport that India’s present Prime Minister had struck with world leaders including US President Joe Biden, Vladimir Putin of Russia, the Prime Minister of UK and the President of France. This has enabled India to take an unbiased view on Ukraine-Russia military conflict on one hand and emerge as an acknowledged global counsel on issues of both international economic cooperation and world peace, on the other. There is every reason to believe that India’s standing as a world power will be further enhanced because of its constructive handling of the G20 Presidency.

D.C. Pathak

(The writer is a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau. Views expressed are personal)

Right from basic tasks to carrying out complex functions, our devices have become the backbone of our everyday lives and a support system that would be impossible to live without. However, with the use of multiple devices comes a higher risk of potential threats from those who are looking to compromise systems and carry out fraudulent activities.

Those looking to undertake fraudulent activities can often do so easily on devices that aren’t protected. As a result, implementing measures to ensure a higher level of data security is critical now more than ever. Here are a few ways suggested by Truecaller on how one can stay digitally safer while using multiple devices:

Updating device software Staying safe online is an ongoing effort, and one of the simplest yet most effective ways to do so is to stay vigilant and keep your devices updated with the latest software. These software updates frequently come with software patches that fix security gaps and prevent a potential hacking effort across multiple logged-in devices. These patches keep one’s device secure and protect it from software holes that

give hackers easy access to multiple devices and the data stored within them.

Firewall Up

A firewall is one of the first things InfoSec professionals often ask their colleagues to install to stay safe while using multiple devices. A firewall acts as a barrier between a device and the internet, protecting one’s devices from unauthorized access. This simple step can help prevent hackers who are trying to use common servers to access multiple devices.

Stay Educated, Stay Protected

Being vigilant is one of the most important steps to be taken to be more digitally secure. The best way to do this is to stay up to date with the latest developments and be aware of the tactics being implemented by those looking to compromise multiple systems. This can also help one spot potential risks and mitigate them before the need arises. Turning to cybersecurity websites and blogs, government agency updates, cybersecurity podcasts as well as social media and tech forums can help one stay aware and well-protected.

Separate and Secure Often, professional accounts and devices are connected to a common organizational server,

which can be accessed by a number of professionals. However, from a security standpoint, having your personal information out on a public forum is not always the best course of action, and can prove to be harmful in case of a data breach within the organization. The best option is to always separate your professional and personal accounts and devices so as to prevent any kind of unwarranted attacks.

Lock it Down

Using secure passwords and PINs to secure one’s devices is one of the most basic steps to be taken while using multiple devices. It goes without saying that one must always use different passwords for different devices. Use strong passwords that can’t easily be decoded using brute force or scripting and tools like Norton Password Manager or LastPass to keep everything secure.

Stay Ahead with Block list Updates

Making sure that you are avoiding any potential hackers is always important. Popular caller ID apps such as Truecaller have a nifty way through which one can detect common scammers and block them preemptively to prevent them from reaching you in the first place. In addi-

tion, it is important to keep blocking any scammers who may try to reach you, either via SMS, call, e-mail, or social media.

Public Hotspots: Keep Out

While logging into a public Wi-Fi to save on your own internet plan might seem enticing, it is not advised to do unless absolutely necessary. Public Wi-Fi is often unsecured which tends to be an avenue for easy phishing scams, especially when one is logged into the server through multiple devices. If the need does arise to connect to a public WiFi, be sure to use a VPN or turn on the option of connecting through an encrypted connection within the Wi-Fi settings of your device. While there is no foolproof method to ensure a higher level of data security when using multiple devices, implementing certain key measures can go a long way to ensure that it is as difficult as possible for hackers to compromise your systems. When trying to follow these measures, it is also important to implement them on every device you use, and spread the word to your family and friends to help them stay digitally safer as well.

N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe, IANS

AHigher Power, better perceived as God, beyond human comprehension in His infinite Wisdom created time, space and matter resulting in all things in existence both living and non-living; since, in existence now and in times bygone (Gen : 1). I debate not on the being hood of a master architect and a preeminent intellect because it’s crystal clear to all sensible humans that such perfection in designing a faultless macrocosm amongst all outlandish complexities where even science falls short to prove and convince.

Higher Power or God in His unconditional love for us bequeathed humans to make good use of all that He has created and watch over them (Gen 1:26,28). An act of genuine trust, love and generosity. What faith? How unflinching is His love for us? Unfortunately, the world that we live in today, the systems, the seemingly plausible ideas and information influencing our intellect and swapping with those of which we never ever really re-evaluated; blindly led a blind (Matt 15:14). The basic instructions and commandments of God is neglected and human reasoning resulting out of carnal selfish objective is distinctly apparent. The 7 deadly or cardinal sins in the Roman Catholic Theology (1) vainglory, or pride, (2) greed, or covetousness, (3) lust, or

inordinate or illicit sexual desire, (4) envy, (5) gluttony, which is usually understood to include drunkenness, (6) wrath, or anger, and (7) sloth is rampant and brazenly exploited for momentary pleasure. Remember, 1 Timothy 6:10 ‘For the love of money is the root of all of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ Many catastrophies and the awfull incidences happening these days are man-made; be it personal, social, financial, environment and the ecological systems. It is heartbreaking indeed, whenever the states of affairs is thought about. The present is getting worse and the humane God given trait is diminishing day by day. The most unfortunate thing is that many don’t even realise or admit their follies. Future is at our mercy, all morally fallacious things has to be set right.

Each of these can be overcome with the seven corresponding virtues of (1) humility, (2) charity, (3) chastity, (4) gratitude, (5) temperance, (6) patience, and (7) diligence.

‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.’

Galatians 5:22-23

Ashing Muivah Unity Village

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”

~ Audrey Hepburn

The contrast of God’s will and man’s conduct

7 ways to ensure a higher level of data security while using multiple devices

SNIPPETS

Former CJI AM Ahmadi passes away

NEW DELHI, MARCH

2 (IANS):

Former Chief Justice of India A.M. Ahmadi passed away on Thursday at his home here. Ahmadi was the chief justice from 1994 to 1997. His expertise was wide ranging from constitutional law to human rights, freedom of speech, criminal, taxation, centrestate and interstate relations. He was also the Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.

Man held for rape, murder of minor girl

PALGHAR, MAR 02 (PTI): A 45-year-old man from Maharashtra’s Palghar district has been arrested on the charge of kidnapping, rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl, an official said on Thursday. The girl from Talasari taluka went to school around 9 am on Wednesday but did not return home, prompting her family to approach the police, said Sachin Navadkar, the public relations officer of the Palghar rural police.

Sergey Lavrov hails India’s ‘highly responsible’ stance on global agenda

Blames West for no joint communique at G20 meeting

NE W DELHI, MAR 2 (PTI): Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday blamed Western countries for the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting not being able to come out with a joint communique, saying their “rhetorical statements” around Ukraine did not yield any good and were “damaging”. Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the meeting, Lavrov hailed India’s “highly responsible” and “worthy of a great power” stance on key matters of global agenda. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the G20 meet, the Russian minister said the PM had presented “a balanced and responsible position” of the country as president of the G20.

“He (Prime Minister Modi) was not just speaking about some isolated individual situation, because the West is trying to divide the geopolitical picture into individual episodes. In the address, Modi gave assessment of the situation across the globe in general terms,” he said.

The remarks by Lavrov come amid the RussiaUkraine conflict and India’s diplomatic tightrope walk on the issue. Lavrov said the declaration could not be

Punjab CM meets HM Amit Shah; stateCentre to work together on security

adopted at the meeting due to “rhetorical statements” around Ukraine and their “so-called” presenting of the situation as “Russian aggression” which did not yield any good.

The speeches by western countries and the G7 nations were getting emotional and were “damaging” the process of discussing the G20 agenda, the Russian foreign minister said. “The final document was not adopted by the ministers because the Western countries

IYC, Mahila Congress activists protest against visit of Chinese foreign minister

insisted on the text that was agreed at the G20 summit last year in Bali. They were ignoring completely our argument that since then a lot has changed, a lot has happened,” Lavrov said. He said the Russian side’s arguments such as the demand for an “unbiased investigation in terror attack” on the Nord Stream pipeline were not considered by the West. The declaration was blocked and the outcome of the discussion will be described in the summary that the Indian presidency would speak about, Lavrov told reporters through an interpreter.

He also said the African Union will be a fullfledged member of the G20 like the European Union. Lavrov asserted that it is high time to reform the UN Security Council. “We have reaffirmed our position to do this by expanding the representation of the developing countries.” he said.

NEW D ELHI, MAR 2 (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and discussed with him prevailing law and order situation in the state and decided that the central and state security agencies will work together to deal with all security related issues, sources said.

Mann briefed Shah about the circumstances leading to the Ajnala incident. On February 23, self-styled Sikh preacher and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into a police station in Ajnala on the outskirts of the Amritsar city, extracting an assurance from the police that his aide and kidnapping case accused Lovepreet Singh would be released, sources said. Mann said in a tweet in Punjabi that the “CenterPunjab will work together on the iss ue of law and

order”. The chief minister said he had discussed with the home minister the issue of drones and drugs along the border.

He said the issue of shifting the barbed wire along the border was also discussed. Mann said he has asked Shah to release Punjab’s stalled rural development fund soon.

The central government officials said the Union Home Ministry is “closely monitoring the situation in Punjab in the wake of renewed activities of the some Khalistani supporters.

Amritpal Singh, who heads an organisation called

‘Waris Punjab De’, and his supporters had brought a vehicle carrying a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib for holding “amrit sanchar” (a Sikh ceremony) at the police station.

Earlier, Mann had said: “Those who take the Guru Granth Sahib to police stations as a shield cannot be called ‘waris’ of Punjab and Punjabiyat in any way”. The Punjab Police said on February 24 that the demonstrators had used the holy Guru Granth Sahib as a shield and attacked police personnel in a cowardly manner, leaving six of them injured.

Opposition parties welcome SC ruling on EC

SAY LANDMARK JUDGMENT TO PAVE WAY FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS

NEW DELHI, MAR 2

female doctor

Male nurse held for raping

KOZHIKODE (KER), MAR 2 (PTI): Police on Thursday arrested a 24-year old male nurse for allegedly raping a female doctor and sharing her nude photos on social media. The incident occurred in December last year when both were working at a hospital in Karnataka, police said.

According to the police, Nisham Babu hailing from Thrissur district allegedly raped the 28-year old doctor by giving her a false promise that a new job would be arranged for her at a hospital in Coimbatore. The doctor was allegedly raped at a hotel here and her nude photos were taken after being lured into the trap.

Three killed in UP Truck mishap

KANPUR (UP), FEB 2

(PTI): Three people were killed and four injured after their pickup truck hit a tree in the Ghatampur area of Kanpur Nagar, police said on Thursday. The pickup driver fell asleep while driving at high speed, crossed the road and hit the tree, they said.

3 held for gang-rape of minor girl in UP

BALLIA (UP), MAR 2 (PTI): Three men were arrested on Thursday for raping a 14-year-old girl in the Nagra area of Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh, police said. The girl was gang-raped when she was returning home alone from her maternal grandmother’s house on Wednesday night, according to the police. The accused -- identified as Akhilesh, Deepu and Mukendra -- forcibly took her to a room near the Nagra Government Hospital and allegedly raped her.

Teenager stabbed to death in Delhi

NEW DELHI, MARCH

2 (IANS): A 19-year-old teenager was stabbed to death in Delhi’s Bawana area, an official said on Thursday, adding that three suspects have been identified and a manhunt is underway to arrest them. The deceased was identified as Karan, a resident of JJ Colony in Bawana. He used to work at a cosmetics factory. According to the police, at around 8.30 p.m. on Tuesday information was received from Maharishi Valmiki Hospital Bawana regarding a man with multiple stab injuries who was brought dead.

NEW DELHI, MAR 2 (PTI): The youth and women wings of the Congress staged protests on Thursday against the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who was

NEW DELHI, MAR 2

(PTI): Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde’s faction on Thursday told the Supreme Court that pleas related to the June 2022 Maharashtra political crisis fell within the realm of politics and judiciary cannot be asked to adjudicate the issue.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde and MLAs of his faction, told a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that court should not embark on “assumptions”.

“It would be extremely perilous for this court to embark on this journey.

Mr Thackeray (Uddhav) resigns. Governor calls for a floor test for a sitting CM. Floor test doesn’t happen. How do you know who would have supported whom? What if one of his coalition partners said sorry we don’t want to support you? We don’t know.

“And it’s not for us to decide as lawyers. This is in the realm of politics. How can your lordships be invited to hazard that guess,” Salve told the bench, also compris-

CHENNAI, MAR 2 (PTI):

The BJP should not come back to power at the Centre and the Saffron party’s Narendra Modi must not become Prime Minister again and that is his party’s stand, DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said here on Thursday.

When asked on Jammu Kashmir National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah nudging him to get on to the national political scene, he told reporters here that

in Delhi to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

Several IYC and Mahila Congress leaders and workers gathered in central Delhi holding banners and

raised slogans against the Chinese leader.

Security was beefed up at Rajendra Prasad Road and Vijay Chowk, with a large number of police personnel and barricades deployed in the area. Several protesting leaders and workers were detained.

Lashing out at the central government, Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Srinivas BV alleged that the Centre was “surrendering to China” on the border.

“The Centre is surrendering to China...keeping the peace agreement in abeyance will not be tolerated and we demand that the Chinese army will have to return the land which has been illegally occupied by them,” he said.

beyond a point.

(PTI): Opposition parties on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling on the appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners, saying the landmark judgment would pave the way for free and fair elections in the country.

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners will be done by the President on the advise of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

“Welcoming the historic Supreme Court verdict on Election Commis-

sion. Insulating EC from Government influence & dependence will secure the integrity of the electoral process. A truly Independent EC alone can fulfill the Constitutional mandate of conducting free and fair elections,” Congress leader Anand Sharma said on Twitter.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the verdict is a victory of democracy.

“Supreme Court’s landmark order is a democratic victory! We welcome the decision of the Constitution Bench on the appointment of Election Commissioners and Chief Election Commissioner. Will of the people prevails over the ill-fated attempts of the oppressive forces!” she said on Twitter.

Party MP Derek

O’Brien said the ruling will transform the “Extremely Compromised EC” to an “Extremely Competent EC”.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh also said that the judgment will strengthen democracy.

“Now PM, LoP and CJI will decide who will sit in Election Commission. EC used to fix election dates by looking at PM’s rallies, announcements of schemes which called into question the impartiality of the Election Commission. This decision will strengthen democracy,” he said.

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi hailed the Supreme Court and called the judgment a “landmark” order.

“Truly landmark order from Supreme Court on top appointments of EC. A panel comprising PM, Leader of Opp/opposition leader of largest political party in Lok Sabha & the CJI for the top appointments in Election Commission. Earlier it was the PM recommending names to the President,” she said in a tweet.

Same formula should be applied to ED: Cong on SC verdict on election commissioners’ appointments

The Congress on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners and demanded that the same formula be applied to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as well.

ing Justices Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha. Contending that everything in the petitions before the top court was “academic”, Salve submitted that Thackeray never faced the floor test.

“Look at what happened when Shinde came for the floor test in the assembly. Thirteen of Thackeray’s hardcore supporters abstained from voting. These things happen in politics. These fast moving political waters take different turns at different points. We’re not to speculate,” Salve said.

Admitting that the 10th schedule is not foolproof and there are many “leaks” which need to be fixed, Salve said in the present case, everything is academic and the courts cannot go

“There is problem of criminalisation of politics, election funding, spending in elections etc. There are problems but we cannot cross beyond a point,” he said. Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, also appearing for the Shinde faction, argued that there is an artificial distinction sought to be created between the legislative party and the original political party.

“If the government has lost majority and one faction comes and says that we have majority then what error has the governor committed by calling the Shinde faction to be sworn in as the CM?” he said. The hearing remained inconclusive and will resume on March 14 after Holi vacation.

The top court on Wednesday had said Shinde could not have been sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra if the assembly speaker was not restrained from deciding the disqualification petitions pending against 39 MLAs.

The Shinde faction had told the top court that even if the 39 MLAs would have

been disqualified from the assembly, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government would have fallen because it had lost majority and the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had resigned before the floor test.

Kaul had earlier submitted that the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction tried to confuse powers of three constitutional authoritiesGovernor, Speaker and the Election Commission - and now wants that everything should be set aside, including the floor test on July 4, 2022.

On Tuesday, the top court had asked the Shindeled faction if its move to go against the Shiv Sena party’s wish to continue with the coalition in the MVA amounted to indiscipline leading to disqualification.

Defending its stand, the Shinde faction said the legislative party is an integral part of the original political party and informed that there were two whips appointed by the party in June last year and it went with the one that said it did not want to continue in the coalition.

Bhiwani murder: Raj govt announces financial aid for families of slain youths

of Rs 5 lakh each would be given to the wives of the deceased Nasir and Junaid and their children. Along with this, the government will also ensure that proper education is available to these children. He said that all necessary steps would be taken by the state govern-

ment to provide support to the victims’ families. He said that the Haryana government should show more seriousness in the investigation of this matter. Efforts are being made to arrest the rest of the accused and to provide justice to the victims’ families at the earliest.

BHARATPUR/JAIPUR,

MARCH 2 (IANS): Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot reached Ghatmika in Bharatpur on Thursday and met the families of Junaid and Nasir, who were charred to death in Haryana.

Gehlot also met the children of deceased Junaid. He said that this incident of kidnapping and brutal murder is unfortunate. One accused has been arrested by the police. The Rajasthan police is continuously working to ensure justice for the victims’ families. The relatives thanked the CM for the police action and demanded early justice in the matter.

The CM said that from a humanitarian point of view, financial assistance

he was already involved in national politics.

To a question he said: “I have been repeatedly telling, I spoke about this in yes-

terday’s meeting (his birthday rally) too. Our policy for now is, rather than who should become the Prime Minister, who must not become the PM and which party must not be in power (should be the focus).” Stalin, in essence, reiterated his party’s stand that the target is about preventing BJP getting another stint in power at the Centre and stopping Modi from becoming Prime Minister again. He expressed confidence that the people

would give them a very huge victory in the Lok Sabha polls, much bigger than the win in Erode-East bypoll.

Stalin, who turned 70 on Wednesday said, “The BJP must be defeated politically. This must be the single goal for all opposition parties”. “Political parties should rise above differences and stand together as a unified force to defeat BJP in LS polls,” he said during a rally held as part of his birthday celebrations.

‘Defeating’ BJP should be oppn’s ‘only goal’: Stalin

M K Stalin

Amit Shah with Bhagwant Mann

Sergey Lavrov and S. Jaishankar

Police detain Congress workers who were staging a protest against Chinese Foreign Minister in New Delhi. (PTI)

Ashok Gehlot

‘Maha issue about politics, judiciary can’t be referee’

Eknath Shinde

Foxconn, Telangana govt sign pact to set up manufacturing hub

HYDERABAD, MAR 2

(IANS): Electronics major Foxconn will set up a manufacturing facility in Telangana with employment generation potential for over one lakh people.

This was announced after Foxconn Chairman Young Liu met Telangana

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao here on Thursday.

Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) and the Government of Telangana signed an agreement at the Pragati Bhavan, the official residence of the Chief Minister.

The historic deal has the potential to generate employment for more than one lakh people over a period of 10 years, said the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

It was not revealed how much the Taiwanese company will invest in this facility.

“Foxconn’s unit will

help generate large-scale employment for the youth and will help attract more such industries to the state,” said KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known. He said that Telangana considers Taiwan as a natural partner, addind that the state is glad to be a part of Foxconn’s growth story.

KCR and Liu discussed the importance of diversifying electronics manufactur-

GDP growth to top 7% this fiscal

never before in Telangana is commendable. Steps will be taken to ensure that one lakh jobs are available for the local youth as much as possible, he added.

Voters of Nagaland, M’laya, Tripura vote...

retained their seats.

NEW DELHI, MAR 2 (PTI): Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran today expressed hope that the GDP growth for the current financial year will exceed the projected 7 per cent in view of the expected revision of high frequency data.

(From p-1) The second lowest margin was polled by sitting NPF legislator Kuzholuzo Azo Nienu with 48 votes from 19 Phek AC against NDPP candidate, KupotaKhesoh.

He claimed the situation was quickly brought under control, though some anti-social elements were trying to take advantage of the situation.

ing for a resilient supply chain and the pivotal role to be played by the state governments. The Chief Minister said that the government has been successful in implementing a new industrial policy which is attracting huge investments in Telangana.

KCR said that Foxconn’s huge investment and the opportunity to create more than one lakh jobs like

The Chief Minister also assured the Foxconn Chairman that the state government will provide all kind of support to the electronics major for its operations in the state. Young Liu on his part said that his organisation has studied extensively about Telangana, as he praised the friendly industrial development ecosystem created in the state.

The Foxconn Chairman also expressed happiness over the progress achieved by Telangana in the industrial sector, especially in IT and related electronics sectors, in just eight years, adding that he is optimistic about the investments of his company in the southern state.

On Tuesday, the second advance estimate released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) maintained the growth projection of 7 per cent as was projected in the first advance estimate which was released in January.

“Given the high frequency indicators and the pace at which they are recovering, I do believe that the current year’s (GDP numbers)... are more likely to (be) revised upward than downward,” he said here.

Real GDP or GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in the year 2022-23 is estimated at ₹159.71 lakh crore as against the first revised estimate of GDP for the year 2021-22 of ₹ 149.26 lakh crore.

Adani sells stake in 4 companies for Rs 15,446 crore

NEW DELHI, MAR 2

(PTI): The embattled Adani Group has sold minority stakes in four of its listed companies to US-based GQG Partners for Rs 15,446 crore as the apple-to-airport conglomerate, recovering from a sell-off triggered by a short-seller report, looks to shore up liquidity ahead of the USD 2 billion debt repayment due in the coming months.

It sold shares in flagship incubating firm Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), port company Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), electricity transmitting firm Adani Transmission Ltd (AEL) and renewable energy firm Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL).

“GQG is investing in Adani portfolio companies which own and operate the largest airport and port platform in India, largest private sector transmission

and distribution platform in India and that will generate about 9 per cent of India’s renewable energy capacity by 2030,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

The deal happened through secondary market block deals.

“The investment has made GQG a key investor in the development and growth of critical Indian infrastructure,” it added.

The share sale is part of the Gautam Adani-led group’s comeback strategy after a damning report from an American short seller wiped out more than USD 140 billion off the conglomerate’s market value.

The group has a gross debt of Rs 2.21 lakh crore, about 8 per cent of which is due for repayment by the end of next fiscal year.

In AEL, where the promoters held 72.6 per cent stake prior to the sale, 3.8

crore shares or 3.39 per cent stake was sold for Rs 5,460 crore.

In APSEZ, where promoters held 66 per cent stake, 8.8 crore shares or 4.1 per cent shareholding was sold for Rs 5,282 crore. As much as 2.8 crore shares or 2.5 per cent stake in of ATL, where promoters held 73.9 per cent shareholding, was sold for Rs 1,898 crore.

In AGEL, where promoters held 60.5 per cent shareholding, 5.5 crore shares or 3.5 per cent stake

was sold for Rs 2,806 crore.

“GQG Partners, a leading US-based global equity investment boutique, announced today the completion of a Rs 15,446 crore (USD 1.87 billion) in a series of secondary block trade transactions in the Adani portfolio companies - APSEZ, AGEL, ATL and AEL,” the statement said.

Jefferies India Private Limited acted as the sole broker for the transaction.

Rajiv Jain, Chairman and CIO of GQG Partners, said, “I am excited to have

initiated positions in the Adani companies.”

“Adani companies own and operate some of the largest and most important infrastructure assets throughout India and around the world. Gautam Adani is widely regarded as among the best entrepreneurs of his generation.

“We believe that the long-term growth prospects for these companies are substantial, and we are pleased to be investing in companies that will help advance India’s economy and energy infrastructure, including their energy transition over the long-run,” he said.

Adani Group CFO Jugeshinder (Robbie) Singh said the transaction with GQG marks the continued confidence of global investors in the governance, management practices and the growth of Adani portfolio of companies.

Azo, who is also the UDA co-chairman, was initially trailing behind Kupota but later managed to win with the help of postal ballots by a margin of 48 votes.

Counting day peaceful barring Peren incident

State police nodal officer for election and IGP (Range) Limasunep Jamir informed the media that the law and order situation on the counting day remained peaceful barring a minor incident where police were compelled to resort to tear gas shelling and lathi charge.

Giving details of the incident, he said supporters of one political party in Peren were not happy with the EVM counting, though there were absolutely no irregularities, and attempted to enter the counting room. The police had to immediately intervene to control the situation, during which they had to lathi charge, fire teargas shells and resort to blank firing. He however claimed that no one was injured.

He however assured that security was fully in place and officers in-charge of police stations were monitoring the situation. Jamir appealed to all citizens of the State not to take law into their own hands and accept and respect the popular mandate. He urged them to maintain peace and tranquillity.

On the Noklak issue, he disclosed that a postmortem was conducted on the body of the deceased and its report was awaited. He said the mortal remains were handed over to family members and were laid to rest. He mentioned that the post mortem report would take a few more days.

On the Kiphire issue he said five criminal cases were registered in connection with the violence that had occurred on February 28.

Meanwhile, Eastern Nagaland with 20 seats, elected 17 new members including some former legislators to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly, while only three sitting MLAs

Sitting MLAs P Paiwang Konyak from 41 Tizit, Noke from 43 Tapi and CL John from 45 Tehok retained their seats, while former MLAs who contested- K Konngam Konyak from 44 Phomching, A Nyamnyei Konyak from 48 Moka, Naiba Konyak from 55 Tobu, P Longon from 56 Noklak and C Kipili Sangtam from 59 Seyochung Sitimi were also elected this time.

The new faces includedW Chingang Konyak from 42 Wakching, Y Mankhao Konyak from 46 Mon Town, C Mapon Konyak from 47 Aboi, B Bangtick Phom from 49 Tamlu, A Pongshi Phom from 50 Longleng, Y lima Onen Chang from 51 Noksen, Sethrongkyu from 52 Longkhim Chare, P Bashangmongba Chang from 53 Tuensang Sadar 1, Imtichoba from 54 Tuensang Sadar 2, Benei M Lamthiu from 57 Thonoknyu, S Keoshu Yimchunger from 58 Shamator Chessore and S Kiusumew Yimchunger from 60 Pungro Kiphire. Out of the 20 seats, NDPP won five, BJP four, NCP three, Independents two, RPI (A) two, NPP three and LJP (RV) one.

Assembly polls 2023: Prominent losers...

(From p-1)

In 9-Kohima town seat, Urban Development & Municipal Affairs adviser and three term consecutive MLA Dr Neikiesalie Nicky Kire of NDPP lost to first-timer Dr Tseilhoutuo (Ato) Rhutso of NPP by 1,342 votes.

BJP’s national spokesperson and IT, Sc & Tech, NRE adviser and two term MLA

Mmhonlumo Kikon lost to NPF candidate

Achumbemo Kikon by 3,589 votes.

Industries & Commerce, Labour & Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship adviser Imnatiba of NDPP lost to veteran politician and former minister Nuklutoshi of NPP by 1,203 votes.

BJP legislator from 33-Suruhoto AC and Advisor Tourism, Art & Culture H.

Khehovi Yeptho lost to newcomer and NCP candidate S. ToihoYeptho by a margin of 69 votes.

Sitting NDPP legislator from 12-Tseminyu AC and advisor for Vety &AH, Women Resources Development R. Khing lost to a newcomer and JD(U) candidate Jwenga Seb by a margin of 3315 votes.

Veteran politician and sitting legislator of Yitachu of 20 Meluri who contested as LJP(RV) candidate lost to another new-

comer Z. Nyusietho Nyuthe (NDPP) by a margin of 3580.

Other prominent sitting legislators like two term MLA of Tuli, Amenba Yaden (NCP) lost to newcome Panjung Jamir of BJP by a margin of 3029 votes; two term MLA of Pughoboto constituency Y. Vikheho Swu (NDPP) lost to LJP(RV) candidate Dr.Sukhato A.Sema by a margin of 850 votes ; two term MLA of 10 Northern Anagami-I Khriehu Liezietsu (NPF) lost to newcomer Kekhrie Yhome of NDPP by a margin of 1690 voters, three term MLA of Tuensang Sadar –I Toyang Chang (NCP) lost to Bashamongba of BJP by 5644 votes ; NDPP candidate Medo Yokha lost his 14 S.Angami-I to Independent Kevipodi Sophie by 177 votes; Longrineken(LJP-RV) lost the 29 Jangpetkong set to first time Temjenmenba NDPP by 5461 votes.

Other sitting MLAs who lost included—Kezhienyi Khalo (NPF); Zhale Niekha (NCP); Longrineken (LJP); E Eshak Konyak (NDPP); Pohwang Konyak (NCP), N Bongkhao Konyak (NDPP); BS Nganlang Phom (NDPP), H Chuba Chang (NDPP); Muthingnyuba Sangtam (NCP); L. Khumo Khiamniungan (LJP) and T Tangseo Sangtam (RPI-A).

NCP to decide on Leader of Oppn...

(From p-1)

Athawale extended congratulations and best wishes to Y Lima Onen Chang and Imtichoba for winning the Noksen seat and Tuensang Sadar- II seat respectively. “This victory is the result of the hard work of lakhs of RPI (Athawale) workers across

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Athawale’s party does not have any MLA in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

This is the first victory for RPI (Ramdas Athawale) outside Maharashtra.

The RPI (A) is one of the breakaway groups of the RPI, originally founded by

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Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao with Foxconn Chairman Young Liu. (IANS)

SNIPPETS

Vo Van Thuong elected as Vietnam’s new Prez

HANOI, MAR 2

(IANS):

Vo Van

Thuong, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), was elected as the new President on Thursday. The country’s top legislature convened a special meeting and elected Thuong as the new president with an approval rate of 98.38 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported. In a statement, Thuong vowed to be absolutely loyal to the nation, the people and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and to work hard to fulfil the duty assigned by the Communist Party of Vietnam, the state and the people. He will serve until the present term ends in 2026.

Teen shot dead by neighbour in Germany

BERLIN, MAR 2 (AP):

German authorities said Thursday that a 16-yearold boy has died after being shot in the head by an 81-year-old neighbour.

Prosecutors said the teen died of his injuries in the hospital late Wednesday, a day after the shooting took place in the northern town of Bramsche. The gunman, an Italian citizen, also shot at the teen’s mother, but missed, before turning the gun on himself. He suffered serious injuries. Prosecutors said the man, who remains hospitalized, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted manslaughter.

Indonesian fishing boat sinks in Indian Ocean

JAKARTA, MAR 2

(IANS): One person was killed and nine others went missing after an Indonesian fishing ship capsized in the Indian Ocean, and a search and rescue operation is underway, an official said on Thursday.

Head of the Search and Rescue Office of Bali Province Gede Darmada said that the ship, KM Linggar Petak 89, was hit by huge waves when it was in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday.

“The ship capsized, and it was seen by another ship passing through the territory, the incident was reported to the local rescuers,” Darmada told Xinhua news agency.

Pak rupee sinks before monetary policy review

KARACHI, MAR 2

(IANS): The Pakistani rupee plunged by over Rs 18.89 against the US dollar in intraday interbank trade, hours ahead of the central bank’s monetary policy review and amid concerns over a still stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal, media reports said. The rupee was trading at 285 against the dollar at around 11:36 a.m. (local time) after closing at Rs 266.11 a day earlier, Geo News reported. Meanwhile, in the open market, the local unit was trading at Rs 292 to a dollar.

Hungary further delays

vote on joining NATO

BUDAPEST, MAR 2

(AP): Hungary has further delayed a vote on ratifying Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession bids, according to an updated schedule published Thursday on the National Assembly’s website, the latest in a series of postponements that have frustrated Western allies. The delay, which pushes the vote back by two weeks to the parliamentary session beginning March 20, comes as Hungary remains the only NATO member country besides Turkey that hasn’t yet approved the two Nordic countries’ bids to join the Western military alliance.

Ukraine clings to positions Bakhmut

RUSSIA SAYS IT BATTLES SABOTEURS IN CROSS-BORDER RAID

CHASIV YAR (UKRAINE), MAR 2 (AGENCIES):

Ukrainian forces hung on to positions in the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut on Thursday, while Moscow said its security forces were battling Ukrainian saboteurs who had taken hostages in a cross-border raid, reports Reuters.

Moscow said a group of armed Ukrainians had crossed into Russia’s Bryansk province, fired on a car killing a civilian, and were holding hostages in a shop near the border.

An aide to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the reports a provocation by Moscow, but also implied some form of attack had indeed been carried out, blaming Russian partisans.

Near the front lines west of Bakhmut, in the Ukrainian-held town of Chasiv Yar, Reuters heard the thump of outgoing artillery fire on Thursday morning.

Greece: Grim train search moves ‘centimeter by centimeter’

THESSALONIKI

footage.

Moscow, which lost territory throughout the second half of 2022, says taking Bakhmut would be a step towards seizing the rest of the surrounding Donbas region a major aim. Kyiv says the city has limited strategic value, but it is determined to hold it to exhaust Russia’s invasion force in what has become the bloodiest battle of the war.

In nearby towns and villages, fresh trenches had been dug on the roadside 20-40 metres (65-130 feet) apart, an apparent sign that Ukrainian forces were strengthening their defensive positions west of the city.

Bakhmut itself has been reduced to a blasted wasteland, with a few thousand of its 70,000 pre-war civilian population still living inside as armies battle street-by-street.

Russian troops, bolstered by hundreds of thou-

sands of reservists called up last year, have been advancing north and south of the city, trying to cut off the remaining routes in and out to the west used by the Ukrainian garrison. The boss of Russia’s Wagner private army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, released video of his men lifting a Wagner banner atop a semi-ruined multi-storey building, which he said had been filmed near the centre of Bakhmut. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the location of the

Scientists reveal hidden corridor in Great Pyramid of Giza

“Sooner or later, we will probably have to leave Bakhmut. There is no sense in holding it at any cost,” Ukrainian member of parliament Serhiy Rakhmanin said late on Wednesday.

“But for the moment, Bakhmut will be defended with several aims – firstly, to inflict as many Russian losses as possible.”

Cross-border raid: Russia said an armed group of Ukrainians had crossed the border into the Bryansk region to carry out what the Kremlin described as a terrorist attack.

CAIRO, MAR 2 (AGEN-

CIES): A hidden corridor

nine metres (30 feet) long has been discovered close to the main entrance of the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza, and this could lead to further findings, Egyptian antiquities officials said on Thursday, reports Reuters. The discovery within the pyramid, the last of the Seven Wonders

of the Ancient World still standing, was made under the Scan Pyramids project that since 2015 has been using non-invasive technology including infrared thermography, 3D simulations and cosmic-ray imaging to peer inside the structure.

An article published in the journal Nature on Thursday said the discovery could contribute to knowl-

edge about the construction of the pyramid and the purpose of a gabled limestone structure that sits in front of the corridor. The Great Pyramid was constructed as a monumental tomb around 2560 BC during the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu, or Cheops. Built to a height of 146 metres (479 feet), it now stands at 139 metres and was the tallest structure made by humans until the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1889. The unfinished corridor was likely created to redistribute the pyramid’s weight around either the main entrance now used by tourists, almost seven metres away, or around another as yet undiscovered chamber or space, said Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities.

ABUJA, MAR 2 (AP): Election officials declared Bola Tinubu the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election Wednesday, keeping the ruling party in power in Africa’s most populous nation and raising the specter of protests by opposition supporters who already have called for the vote to be voided.

Tinubu, 70, the former governor of Lagos state, appealed for reconciliation with his rivals in a pre-dawn victory speech in the capital, Abuja. The running mate of one opposition candidate, though, signaled a court challenge was imminent.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and one of the continent’s top oil producers, has seen deadly violence erupt after previous presidential elections. Tinubu urged Nigerians to unite behind his administration after

Food shortage: N Korea wants more control over farming

SEOUL, MAR 2 (AP):

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to strengthen state control over agriculture and take a spate of other steps to increase grain production, state media reported Thursday. But experts say it won’t effectively address a worsening food shortage.

Kim’s measures unveiled during a recent fourday meeting were largely a repeat of his past policies.

Prospects for quickly resolving its food insecurity are dim, as North Korea restricts the operation of markets and devotes much of its scarce resources to its nuclear program.

While experts believe the food situation is the worst it has been under Kim’s 11-year rule, they still say they see no signs of imminent famine or mass deaths.

During the ruling

Erdogan confirms Turkey to hold elections on May 14

ANKARA, MAR 2 (IANS): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his government plans to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, as the country is still recovering from two devastating earthquakes that struck the country and neighbouring Syria on February 6.

Recep Erdogan

“The time is coming.

told his party members in Parliament. The resident had earlier said that the elections were to be held on May 14 in order to avoid the seasonal migrations of voters and the university exams in early summer. In the wake of the massive earthquakes that killed more than 53,000 people and caused huge property losses in the two nations, Turkey began to discuss whether or not elections scheduled for May or June should be postponed.

Workers’ Party meeting that ended Wednesday, Kim said his government sees agricultural development as a matter of “strategic” importance and that farming goals should be settled without fail, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. “In order to attain the gigantic long-term objective of rural development, it is necessary to decisively strengthen the party guidance over the agricultural sector and improve the rural party work,” Kim was quoted as saying.

Kim also ordered officials to overcome unspecified “lopsidedness in the guidance on farming” and concentrate on increasing farm yields. He said provincial, city and county authorities must boost their guidance on agriculture.

KCNA didn’t elaborate how Kim would reinforce his government’s guidance on farming. But

(GREECE),

MAR

2 (AP): Emergency crews cut through the mangled remains of a passenger train on Thursday, progressing “centimeter by centimeter” in their search for the dead from a head-on collision in northern Greece that killed at least 46 people. Rail workers went on strike to protest years of underfunding they say has left the country’s train system in a dangerous state.

The passenger train and a freight train slammed into each other late Tuesday, crumpling carriages into twisted steel knots and forcing people to smash windows to escape. It was the country’s deadliest crash ever, and more than 50 people remained hospitalized, most in the central Greek city of Larissa. Six of them were in intensive care.

Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said the grim recovery effort was proceeding “centimeter by centimeter.”

“We can see that there are more (bodies) people there. Unfortunately they are in a very bad condition because of the collision,” Artopios told state television.

The cause of the crash is still not clear. A station manager arrested after the collision was charged Wednesday with multiple counts of manslaughter and causing serious physical harm through negligence, as a judicial inquiry tries to establish why the two trains

were traveling in opposite directions on the same track. Railway workers’ associations, meanwhile, called strikes, halting national rail services and the subway in Athens. They are protesting working conditions and what they described as a dangerous failure to modernize the Greek rail system due to a lack of public investment during the deep financial crisis that spanned most of the previous decade and brought Greece to the brink of bankruptcy

Nigeria’s Tinubu declared winner of presidential vote

Datti Baba-Ahmed, told reporters they would challenge the results in court on the basis that provisions of Nigeria’s election law were not followed.

“There is an incoming government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that is illegal and unconstitutional,” Baba-Ahmed said. “The only language we know is peace. If Nigerians are going to achieve peace through peaceful protests, (it is) welcome.”

he takes office on May 29.

“I will ... dedicate this day and record it as the moment that we vowed to come together to make Nigeria stand, shining forth as the beloved and brave republic that God created for all of us,” he said in a speech after the election commission gave him a certificate confirming he was presidentelect.

Tinubu received only

37% of the vote in last weekend’s election and would be Nigeria’s first president to take office with less than 50%, analysts say. The main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, received won 29% of the vote, while thirdplace finisher Obi got 25%, according to official results.

Hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission announced the tallies, Obi’s running mate,

experts say Kim’s instructions were a reaffirmation of his push to restore elements of a socialist-style planned economy — under which a central authority controls the market rather than participants — on grain supply. They say that’s one of the factors behind North Korea’s worsened food situation.

“In our views, they’re going backward and returning to the past,” said Kwon Tae-jin, a senior economist at the private GS&J Institute in South Korea. “To resolve the food problem, they should let markets play a greater role. But they’re rather returning to a planned economy.”

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said later Thursday that North Korea is expected to use local organizations in rural towns to maintain their control of the people, mobilize them as labor forces and implement previous policies.

The election recorded the lowest turnout since 1999, with only 27% of eligible voters casting ballots. The low participation doesn’t necessarily reflect apathy as much as fuel and currency shortages, voter suppression and violence, said Mucahid Durmaz, senior West Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a risk intelligence company.

Undock Iranian warships: Israel to Brazil

JERUSALEM, MAR 2

(AGENCIES): Israel on Thursday criticised Brazil’s decision to grant berth to two Iranian warships in the face of U.S. pressure, and urged President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government to send them away, reports Reuters.

The vessels docked in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. Reuters reported that Brazil had declined to admit them in January, in a gesture from Lula as he flew to Washington to meet U.S. President Joe Biden.

Israel and Iran have been locked in a Cold Warstyle conflict for decades, which has included mutual accusations of maritime sabotage, even as Tehran faces intensified global pressure over its nuclear programme and regional conduct.

Lior Haiat, spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, called the Brazilian berth for the warships “a dangerous and reg retful

CONGRATULATORY NOTE

The High Court Bar would like to congratulate Mrs. Hekani Jakhalu for being elected as the first lady Legislator in Nagaland. She is a registered member of the High Court Bar. She has been elected from NDPP ticket to the 14th NLA. It is not only a moment of pride for the women folks of Nagaland, but a moment of pride for the High Court Bar as well. We wish her a bright future.

development”, accusing the Iranian navy of cooperating with sanctioned entities in Tehran.

“It is still not too late to order the ships to leave the port,” Haiat said on Twitter.

A Feb. 23 notice in a Brazilian gazette said the warships had been given permission to dock between Feb. 26 and March 4. In a Feb. 15 press conference, the U.S. ambassador to Brazil

had urged it not to allow the ships to dock.

Diplomacy with Iran was one of the highlights of Lula’s attempts to bolster Brazil’s international standing during his previous presidential terms. He travelled to Tehran to meet then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2010 as he sought to broker a nuclear deal between Iran and the United States.

GRATITUDE

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you who have supported me throughout my journey. I wouldn't have made it this far without your unwavering support and encouragement.

As many of you know, running against the ruling party is not an easy feat and it certainly wasn't something I could have done alone. It took the support of countless individuals who believed in my vision and shared my passion for the overall development of 26 Aonglenden. I am humbled by the outpouring of generosity and kindness that I have received from my supporters and I can't thank you all enough.

From the volunteers who gave their time to help me campaign, to the donors who contributed to my fundraising efforts, to the friends and family members who stood by me every step of the way, I am thankful to each and every one of you. I am grateful for every phone call made, every door knocked and every conversation had on my behalf. You gave me the strength to keep going, even when the road was tough.

I want you to know that we fought an uphill battle with very limited resources and even though many of my supporters and party workers were offered handsome rewards to change sides, they stood firm and resisted all temptations, to those people, I salute you for your integrity and honesty.

In closing, I just want to say once again, thank you. Thank you for believing in me, for supporting me and for giving me the opportunity to serve. Your kindness and generosity will always be remembered, and I hope to have the privilege of continuing to work with you all in the future.

Ukrainian service members ride a self-propelled howitzer near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine Feb 27, 2023.

Cranes remove debris after a trains’ collision in Tempe near Larissa city, Greece on Thursday. (AP)

A farmer spreads fertilizer on a rice field in Sariwon, North Korea on June 13, 2018. (File)

Iranian military ship Iris Dena is pictured berthed in Rio de Janeiro’s port, Brazil, February 28, 2023. (File)

Tourists ride camels in front of the Great Pyramids plateau in Giza, Egypt December 11, 2022. (File)

President-Elect Bola Tinubu (C) displays his certificateat a ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria Wednesday.

Victorious candidates of the 2023 Assembly election

Hekani, Salhoutuonuo- first ...

(From p-1) to my people who trusted me with their hopes and aspirations. I dedicate this victory to God and pledge to serve my constituents with honesty and integrity.”

Hekani attributed her win to her family and to NDPP for giving her the ticket by trusting her.

On her future plans, she disclosed that her first priority would be to take care of her constituency and focus on school education, healthcare and households so that no one was left behind.

Asked whether she would find it challenging to be among male legislators in the Assembly, she replied that it won’t be a challenge because Nagas had accepted women politicians. “We are all equal. We as women bring our expertise, experience and have our own assessment,” she declared. She hoped that

her victory would serve as an inspiration to many young women and things would get better not only for women, but also for the entire State.

Salhoutuonuo: Meanwhile, newly elected NDPP legislator Salhoutuonuo in a brief interaction with media persons after her victory, expressed heartfelt gratitude to all her supporters and party workers. Salhoutuonuo had won by only seven votes but she attributed her victory to God. Salhoutuonuo is the wife of former NDPP candidate and retired chief engineer late Kevisekho Kruse, who had also contested from the same seat in 2018 but lost to Kenizakho Nakhro of NPF. She said her next step would be to give her best irrespective of whatever role was given to her and work tirelessly to serve her people and also help in decision-making processes of the government.

PM Modi thanks people of Nagaland

(From p-1)

Shah congratulated Deputy CM Y Patton, BJP state president Along Imna and karyakartas of BJP Nagaland and NDPP on “this remarkable victory”, adding that a new dawn of prosperity begins in Nagaland. BJP national president JP Nadda said that the “historic victory” in Tripura and Nagaland was a result of the consistent hard work of our karyakartas across the nation led by PM Modi.

Arkakong

A Nyamnyei Konyak

Imtichoba Chang RPI

Western Angami

Arsenal move five clear in Premier League

SHEFFIELD UTD AND GRIMSBY CAUSE FA CUP SHOCKS

LONDON, MARCH 2

(IANS): Arsenal moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday night after a comfortable 4-0 win at home to relegation-threatened Everton.

Two goals in the last five minutes before halftime swung the game Arsenal’s way, with Bukayo Saka putting them ahead and Gabriel Martinelli adding a second in injury time.

Martin Odegaard made the result safe in the 71st minute, and Martinelli’s second of the night made it 4-0 with 10 minutes left to play.

Goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah in the 73rd and 77th minutes saw Liverpool take a 2-0 win at home to Wolves and moved Jurgen Klopp’s side to sixth in the table, a Xinhua report said.

Liverpool are six points behind fourth-place Tottenham and, with a

game in hand, suddenly have a chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Tottenham had a bad night in the FA Cup as they were one of two Premier League sides to crash out of the last-16 of the tournament at the hands of

lower-league opposition.

Iliman Ndiaye’s brilliant 79th-minute goal after beating two rivals and shooting at the near post was enough to give the Championship promotion hopefuls a huge win.

The biggest shock of the day was caused by

Alvaro Rodriguez becomes youngest derby goalscorer in the 21st century

Grimsby Town of League

Two (fourth division), who won 2-1 away to Southampton. Two penalties scored by Gavan Holohan in the 45th and 50th minutes put Grimsby 2-0 up, and although Duje Caleta-Car gave the Premier League strugglers hope in

Abde goal gives Osasuna narrow Copa del Rey lead against Athletic Club

the 63rd minute, Grimsby held on for a famous win, despite their rivals having 22 shots in the game.

Manchester United left it late to come back from a goal down and beat West Ham 3-1. Said Benrahma put the visitors ahead in the 54th minute, but Moroccan defender Nayef Aguerd nodded a corner into his own net with 13 minutes left to play.

Winger Alejandro Garnacho curled Manchester United in front in the 90th minute, and Fred rubbed salt into the wound for West Ham with United’s third deep into injury time.

Finally, Championship leaders Burnley beat League One’s Fleetwood Town 1-0, with a 90thminute goal from Connor Roberts after the visitors had played the second half with 10 men after Cian Hayes was sent off on the stroke of halftime.

PAMPLONA (SPAIN), MARCH 2 (IANS): A 47thminute goal from Moroccan international winger Abde Ezzalzouli gave Osasuna a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal against Athletic Club Bilbao, here.

The winger found space on the left and after beating Athletic defender Dani Vivian for pace, he scored with a left-foot shot that went in off the base of the post to give his side a slender advantage in a hard-fought game with few chances. The match kicked off in front of a capacity of 23,000 crowd in Osasuna’s El Sadar stadium on Wednesday night, with most of the fans hoping to see their side take a step towards booking their first cup final appearance since 2005, a Xinhua report said.

As expected in a semiderby, the game was tense and tight, with neither side wanting to give much away in defense. Osasuna started

the stronger of the two sides with Eze Abde seeing a shot deflected wide. Athletic got more into things as the game progressed, with Alex Berenguer forcing Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera to get down to gather at his feet. Herrera then saved a deflected effort from Iker Muniain and although Inaki Williams had the ball in the net, he was clearly offside. Abde was causing Athletic problems with his pace, but the Moroccan international winger was unable to put a final ball into the area.

That all changed at the start of the second half when he was given too much space by the visiting defense and was able to finish in style. Osasuna were content to cede the initiative to the visitors after the goal, but despite putting Osasuna under increasing pressure in the closing minutes, the only clear chance Athletic created was through substitute Gorka Guruzeta who shot straight at Herrera in injury time. The return leg is in Bilbao on April 4.

WPL: Delhi Capitals name Meg Lanning as captain, Jemimah as deputy

MUMBAI, MAR 2 (PTI): Australia’s World Cup-winnin g skipper Meg Lanning will lead Delhi Capitals (DC) in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) while India’s star batter Jemimah Rodrigues will be her deputy, the franchise announced on Thursday.

NEW DELHI, MARCH 2

(IANS): Alvaro Rodriguez was the name on the lips of all Real Madrid fans this weekend, despite playing less than 20 minutes in Madrid Derby draw against Atletico de Madrid.

After marking his debut last weekend with an assist in Los Blancos’ 2-0 win at CA Osasuna, Al -

varo scored his first LaLiga Santander goal this weekend against Real Madrid’s city rivals no less, just as a certain Raul Gonzalez did almost 30 years ago back in 1994, salvaging a hard-fought point for Carlo Ancelotti’s side and keeping the title race alive. Alvaro’s headed goal made him the youngest

goalscorer in the history of the Madrid Derby in the 21st century (18 years 226 days), beating out Gonzalo Higuain’s record (19 years 76 days) which had stood since February 2007 but still behind Raul, who’s debut goal for the club came in a derby clash at the age of just 17 years and 131 days.

Lanning, 30, recently captained Australia to their record sixth title win in the T20 Women’s World Cup, where they beat hosts South Africa in the title clash. Lanning is the third Australian cricketer to be named captain by WPL teams with Beth Mooney set to skipper Gujarat Giants and Alyssa Healy taking charge of the UP Warriorz.

“It is a very proud moment for me,” said Lanning after being named the Delhi Capitals captain during an event in Mumbai. “…

DubaiC’ships:DjokoviceasespastGriekspoor

DUBAI, MARCH 2

(IANS): World no 1 Novak Djokovic eased into the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a comfortable win over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, here.

Having been pushed to a final-set tie-break in his opening match, Djokovic appeared near his best in the second match when he dismantled Griekspoor 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday night to enter the last eight stage of ATP 500 tournament.

The 35-year-old crashed 29 winners in a scintillating display of baseline hitting. Griekspoor, who entered the match with a 12-3 record for the season, could do little to counter Djokovic’s charge, as the Serbian comfortably maintained his record of never having lost before the quarter-finals in 13 appearances in Dubai.

“(My level was) much closer to the best level tonight than it was yesterday,” Djokovic was quoted by ATP Tour. “I probably

didn’t expect to play that well tonight, considering last night’s match. But here we go, every day is a new day, a new opportunity, and I’m really glad that I played this well tonight.”

With the win, Djokovic improved his ATP headto-head series lead against Griekspoor to 2-0, after he also defeated the Dutchman in straight sets at the 2021 US Open.

“He’s (Griekspoor) got a lot of firepower in his game. His serve and forehand, those are two of his favourite shots. He tries to dictate the points from the back of the court with the forehand, and I knew that I had to take the time away from him,” Djokovic added.

The Serb will take on fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz of POland in the quarter-

final. In another match, Daniil Medvedev showcased a rock-solid performance to defeat Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-2 for his 11th straight tour-level victory.

The 27-year-old Medvedev is bidding for his third ATP Tour title in as many weeks after his triumphs in Rotterdam and Doha, and he did not face a breakpoint in his 65-minute victory against Bublik in Dubai.

Medvedev remains unbeaten in five tour-level meetings with Bublik. It is just one of a number of dominant ATP Head to Head records the 27-yearold holds against some of the top players on the Tour.

The 17-time tour-level titlist Medvedev does not have such a convincing record against his next opponent, Borna Coric, in Dubai. Coric, who beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5 to set a quarterfinal clash against the third seed, leads Medvedev 4-2 in their ATP head-to-head record.

New Zealand name squad for Sri Lanka Tests

AUCKLAND, MARCH 2 (IANS):

New Zealand on Thursday named the 13-member squad for Sri Lanka for their two-Test series against Sri Lanka that begins on March 9. All 13 players who took part in their recent 1-1 draw with England have been named, with the omissions from that squad being the uncapped seamer Jacob Duffy, leg spinner Ish Sodhi, and the injured Kyle Jamieson. Veteran fast bowler Tim Southee will lead the squad while the

batting will continue to be anchored by Kane Williamson, with Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell and Will Young for support. Meanwhile, Tom Blundell will continue behind the wicket, with Michael Bracewell the key in the spin department. Neil Wagner will lead the pacers along with Southee, the line-up including Matt Henry, Blair Tickner and Scott Kuggeleijn. Jamieson, who was withdrawn from the squad initially named for

that England series, is due to undergo back surgery for an injury that has kept him out of international cricket since June 2022.

The two Tests against Sri Lanka are part of the World Test Championship as defending champions New Zealand are out of contention for the final but Sri Lanka need to sweep the series 2-0 to have a chance at making the title bout. The first Test will be played in Christchurch, followed by the second in Wellington from March 17.

first to be involved in a franchise like Delhi Capitals and to be named the captain is a huge honour and it is something that l am very much looking forward to.

Lanning has played 132 T20Is for Australia, making

3405 runs.

“Bringing the team together and gelling and get to know everyone is really important. It is about enjoying yourself and getting the best out of yourself,” she added.

Lanning arrived in the

city on Thursday morning ahead of the tournament’s start on Saturday.

Delhi Capitals had their first training session on Monday with their coach and players reaching Mumbai – host city of the first WPL – just a few days ahead of the tournament.

They play their first match on Sunday when they take on the Smriti Madhana-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Brabourne Stadium.

Jemimah played an important part in India’s campaign which ended with semifinal defeat against Australia. Talking about her role

as the vice-captain of the Delhi side, the 22-year-old Indian batter said, “I am going to make the most of it. She (Meg) is one of the greatest leaders we have ever seen.” India opener Shafali Verma is also part of the Capitals’ squad. Delhi Capitals will be coached by two-time title winner in The Hundred, Jonathan Batty, while former England head coach Lisa Keightley and ex India player and selector Hemlata Kala are assistant coaches. Biju George, who in the past worked with the India Women’s team, has been named the fielding coach.

Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side’s third goal against Everton at the Emirates stadium in London. (AP/PTI)

Abde Ezzalzouli’s goal came in the 47th minute.

Delhi Capitals captain Meg Lanning with Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues and head coach Jonathan Batty (PTI)

Alvaro Rodriguez scored at 18 years 226 days.

Djokovic advances to quarter final

Lyon devours Indian batting line-up, Aus sniff rare win

INDORE, MAR 2 (PTI):

India were staring at a rare defeat at home despite Cheteshwar Pujara’s plucky half-century as veteran Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon flattened the hosts with his eight-wicket haul on day two of the third Test here Thursday.

India did well to end Australia’s first innings at 197, conceding a 88-run first innings lead after Steve Smith’s side began at 156 for 4 but negotiating quality spin in favourable conditions remained a challenge for them.

The hosts were bowled out for 163 in their second innings, which means that Australia need just 76 runs to cherish a rare Test win in India, who have lost only two Tests at home in the last 10 years.

India have lost to only England (February 2021) and Australia (February 2017) in the past decade and both were crushing defeats.

Australia had won by

Australian cricketers appeal for the wicket of Indian batter Ravindra Jadeja, (PTI)

a massive 333-run margin in Pune while England had hammered India by 227 runs in Chennai.

Australia bring the best out of Pujara (59 off 142) and that was on full display at the Holkar Stadium but he did not get the support that was needed from the other batters as India came up with another underwhelming batting performance on a rank turner.

India were in the game as long as Pujara was there

but a sensational catch from Steve Smith at leg-slip towards close of play put the visitors on cusp of a memorable victory.

Lyon ended with remarkable figures of eight for 64 in 23.3 overs. Siraj getting bowled while attempting a wild slog brought stumps on day four with India’s innings lasting 60.3 overs.

Besides being impressive with the ball, the Australians were brilliant in the field, especially with the mo-

New Zealand to play T20I series against UAE in August

AUCKLAND, MAR 2 (IANS): New Zealand will play a three-match T20I series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in August 2023, the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced on Thursday.

The three games will be played on August 17, 19 and 20 under lights, as the squad stops over in the UAE on its way to England for limited-overs assignments. It will be only the second time New Zealand has played the UAE in a full international, following the 1996 World Cup ODI

between the two sides at Faisalabad, in Pakistan.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said he was delighted the BlackCaps would be playing the UAE.

“In terms of the global cricket family, it’s important we keep helping each other, and growing the game on an international scale.NZC has a close relationship with the Emirates Cricket Board and our players are very familiar with the environment,” said White in a media release.

“I know the BlackCaps

will be looking forward to testing themselves against a competitive UAE team,” he added.

Meanwhile, Emirates Cricket Board General Secretary Mubashshir Usmani described New Zealand as one of the world’s top T20 sides and feels that the series will be a massive opportunity for UAE players.

“This series will be a massive opportunity for our players, to not only compete against a top team but to also to learn from some of the best players in the world,” said Usmani.

mentum-changing catches of Pujara and Sheryas Iyer (26 off 27). The shot selection of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli left a lot to be desired as Lyon bossed over the home team.

After being reduced to 79 for four at tea, Pujara and Iyer’s counter attacking 35-run stand raised hopes of a fighting seconds innings lead but a flying Usman Khawaja took a stunning catch at mid-wicket to send back the latter.

Iyer went for horizontal shots against spinners, especially Kuhnemann, and executed them well until a moment of brilliance from Khawaja got the better of him. Gill (5), coming into the side in place of K L Rahul, suffered his second failure of the game after getting beaten in the flight by Lyon. He went for an ugly hoick but ended up getting castled.

Lyon also got rid of India skipper Rohit (12), who was trapped in front

after misjudging the length of the ball.

Kohli’s (13) was adjudged LBW after attempting a pull off left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann on a track offering spin and uneven bounce.

Pujara looked the most solid of the Indian batters. He used his feet brilliantly. Pujara hit the first boundary of the innings, a cover drive, by stepping out to Lyon.

He mostly played on the front foot but stayed back to put a short ball from Kuhnemann between the mid-on and mid-wicket fielder. Four balls later, he came down the track for a confident straight drive. He was dropped on 50, a tough chance at cover, before coming up with the shot of the innings. Ishan Kishan came out with a message towards close of play. The content of that message could not be confirmed but what followed was a massive six over midwicket as Pujara stepped out

Bumrah likely to fly to NZ for back surgery: Report

to a rampaging Lyon. In the morning session, the pace-spin combination of Umesh Yadav and R Ashwin ran through the Australian batting line-up.

After a rather quiet first hour, when only 30 runs were scored in 16 overs without any wicket, India lost their last six wickets for just 11 runs after starting the day at 156 for four.

Ashwin and Yadav took three wickets each to script India’s fightback after a forgettable opening day. Though India did not pick up any wicket in the first hour, they did not allow Peter Handscomb (19 off 98) and Cameron Green (21 off 57) easy runs with Mohammed Siraj and Jadeja keeping things tight.

As it has been the case throughout the series, the wickets came in a heap after India broke the resistance of Handscomb, whose ultra defensive innings came to end with an inside edge flying to Iyer at short-leg off Aswhin.

NEW DELHI, MARCH 2

(IANS): India fast bowler

Jasprit Bumrah is likely to fly to New Zealand to undergo surgery for his back injury.

According to a Cricbuzz report, the medical team of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the managers of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) have finalised a surgeon named Rowan Schouten, who had worked on England pacer Jofra Archer. The arrangements are being made on a war footing

Gunmen leave Argentine soccer star Messi a

BUENOS AIRES, MAR

2 (AP): Gunmen left a threatening message Thursday for Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi and opened fire at a supermarket owned by his in-laws in Argentina’s third-largest city, police said.

Nobody was injured in the early morning attack, and it was unclear why assailants would target Messi or the Unico supermarket in Rosario, owned by the family of his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo.

The city’s mayor, Pablo Javkin, lashed out at federal authorities over what he called their failure to curb a surge in drug-

related violence in Rosario, located about 190 miles (300 kilometers) northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires. Police said two men on a motorcycle fired at

least a dozen shots into an Unico branch in the early hours, and left a message on a piece of carboard that read, “Messi, we’re waiting for you. Javkin is also a drug trafficker, so he won’t

to have Bumrah, who has been out of action for the last five months, flown to Auckland at the earliest for the surgery.

Schouten, in the past, had worked with renowned orthopedic surgeon Grahame Inglis, who had operated upon a few New Zealand players, including Shane Bond -- the bowling coach of Mumbai Indians, who is likely to have suggested Schouten’s name. The report further said that Schouten had also assisted Inglis in the surgery of Australian pacer James Pattinson while he also handled Ben Dwarshuis and Jason Behrendorff’s surgery, who had also struggled with back issues. The recovery time for Bumrah is somewhere between 20 and 24 weeks, which means he could miss the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) in London, should India qualify.

menacing message

take care of you.”

Messi, captain of the national team that won last year’s World Cup for Argentina for the first time in 36 years, has not commented. Messi currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain and spends much of his time overseas, though he often visits Rosario where he has a home in the suburb of Funes.

Javkin, a center-left politician in opposition to the ruling Peronist coalition, appeared to throw suspicion of complicity for the attack on both criminal gangs and federal security officials. “I doubt everyone, even those who are sup -

posed to protect us,” Javkin said in an interview with a local radio station. He said the supermarket was in a section of Rosario that has seen frequent crimes, that he has raised the issue in recent meetings with federal and provincial official law enforcement officials, and that no action has been taken.

“Where are the ones who need to take care of us?” Javkin said. “It’s clear that those who have the weapons and have the possibility of investigating the criminals aren’t doing it, and it’s very easy for any gang to carry out something like this.”

Jasprit Bumrah

Police gather outside Unico supermarket owned by Messi’s in-laws.