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Treason petition in Pakistan court against Sharif

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A petition was submitted in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday to register a treason case against ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif following his controversial remarks on 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The petition, filed by political party Pakistan Awaami Tehreek’s (PAT) Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, stated that Sharif’s statement was against national security and state institutions. “Nawaz Sharif’s statement is tantamount to treason. Instructions should be given to register a treason case against him,” it said.

Federal Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was also mentioned as a respondent in the petition apart from Sharif, the Express Tribune reported.

The former Prime Minister during an interview to Dawn on May 12 had admitted that “militant organisations were active in Pakistan” and “such terror strikes (26/11) could have been prevented”. At least 166 Indians and foreigners were killed in the bloodbath.

“Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me,” he had said, in a clear reference to the Mumbai killings blamed on 10 Pakistani terrorists. One of them was caught and hanged.

“We have isolated ourselves. Despite sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan’s narrative is being accepted, but ours is not. We must look into it,” he added.

Later, Sharif faced a volley of criticism for his remarks. Opposition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), launched a broadside against him, calling him a “security threat”.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz stalwart Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the former Interior Minister, did not endorse Sharif’s statement. He held India responsible for the delay in the trial of the Mumbai attack suspects.

Following this, a National Security Committee was also held to discuss Sharif’s “misleading” statement.

The top brass of military leadership, including Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat and Director General Inter-Services Intelligence Lt. Gen. Naveed Mukhtar attended the meeting, held at the Prime Minister House.

All eyes on counting of votes tomorrow

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The counting of votes for the Karnataka state Assembly elections dubbed to be a game changer for the ensuing general elections next year is slated to begin from 8 am in the morning tomorrow while the results of all 222 constituencies is expected before noon.

Karnataka considered to be a gateway to South India for the saffron party has roused enormous curiosity not only in the state but elsewhere across the country. Counting of votes stored in the Electronic Voting Machines(EVM) will commence in all the 38 counting centres according to the sources in election commission.

Every district has a minimum of one counting centre while they are in multiples in the following districts: Chitradurga-2, South Canara-2,Mysuru-2,Tumakuru-2 and Bengaluru-5.

All measures for tight security arrangements have been taken while 11,160 people are being deployed for the task of counting of votes.Each counting centre will have 20-23 counting tables and as usual postal ballot will be first taken into account for calculation.The returning officers will start the process of counting of votes in front of the polling agents of various parties and Independents.

Since the moment for counting of votes is fast approaching the heartbeat of the contestants is also said to be on a new high pondering over the results sealed in the ballot boxes for now.

The state has registered a record 72.36 percent polling which is said to be unprecedented while 222 BJP,221 Congress,201 JDS,18 BSP,19 CPI(M),14 NCP and 1,155 Independent candidates are trying their electoral luck this time.In all there are 2,655 candidates among whom 2,436 are men and 219 are women.

The state chief minister Siddaramaiah,former chief ministers BS Yeddyurappa of the BJP and HD Kumaraswamy of the JDS are the prominent leaders among many others while BJP MP B Sriramulu contesting from two constituencies has also given rise to many speculations on the possible outcome.

Chamundeshwari,Badami,Shikaripura,Ramanagara,Channapatna,Molkalamuru,Babaleshwara and Ballari city are among the high voltage constituencies wherein the going is said to be too tough for the rival contenders.

The poll campaign for these elections reached a new pitch with leaders of all prominent parties touring across the state multiple times. Rahul Gandhi after being crowned as the Congress president is facing his first battle after taking the mantle of the party .He toured all the districts of the state for a month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi though entered the campaigning at a later stage made the impact felt and the BJP is pinning high hopes on the same.

It was either no better situation for the remaining party leaders.Despite his advanced age HD Devegowda,former prime minister travelled across the state to ensure that HD Kumaraswamy becomes the chief minister of the state once again.

But no one could match the political stamina of BJP strongman BS Yeddyurappa. He has been touring the state incessantly since two years and has virtually visited each and every constituency of the state.In that way he’s no challenge from any other party.

Although all the pre poll and exit poll surveys have projected mutually diverse results that has not changed the political leaders from continuing their confabulations to form the next government.But what the voter has in mind is yet to be known.

Hindusthan Samachar/Manohar Yadavatti

Modi government splurges over Rs 4,300cr in publicity: RTI

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The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far splurged a whooping Rs 4,343.26 crore only for advertisements and publicity through different media, it has been revealed under RTI, an activist said here on Monday.

Mumbai-based RTI activist Anil Galgali had sought details from the centre’s Bureau of Outreach and Communication (BOC) on all spend on advertisement and publicity in all media since the present government assumed office.

The replies provided by Financial Advisor, BOC, Tapan Sutradhar on the expenses incurred since June 2014, were a revelation on the massive spends, but owing to all-round criticism of the government, there was a small reduction — almost Rs 308 crore — in 2017, said Galgali.

As per the replies, from June 2014 to March 2015, the government spent Rs 424.85 crore in print publicity, Rs 448.97 crore on electronic media and Rs 79.72 crore on outdoor publicity, totalling to Rs 953.54 crore.

In the next fiscal 2015-16, the spending increased substantially for all media. These included, Rs 510.69 crore on print media, Rs 541.99 crore on electronic media and Rs 118.43 crore on outdoor publicity, or a total of Rs 1,171.11 crore.

In 2016-17, the expenditure incurred on print medium dropped (yet higher than the first year June 2014-March 2015), to Rs 463.38 crore, but for the electronic medium it increased over the previous year to Rs 613.78 crore, and catapulted to Rs 185.99 crore on outdoor publicity, totalling to Rs 1,263.15 crore.

The next year, April 2017-March 2018, there was a sharp drop in spending on electronic media over the previous year to Rs 475.13 crore and a significant drop in outdoor publicity expenses to Rs 147.10 crore.

The RTI replies also said that between April-December 2017 (nine-month period), the government spent Rs 333.23 crore on the print medium alone, with the total figure of last fiscal (April 2017-March 2018) coming to Rs 955.46 crore.

“A detailed analysis proves that after stringent criticism it attracted, especially from the opposition and on social media, over squandering of scarce public resources, the government finally cut down on its publicity expenditure this year by Rs 307.69 crore,” Galgali told IANS.

However, he pointed out that the total spending of last financial year is still significantly higher than the present government’s first year in office when it spent Rs 953.54 crore in just nine months in office.

He added that although it is okay for the government to spend on publicity wherever genuinely required, in case of excess expenses, reins must be tightened and the authorities must publicise all such expenditure on its websites.

HDD not convinced about hung assembly, says wait for May 15

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A common sight after any elections is the exit polls run by verious analysts and media houses to keep their viewers engaged and pass the time till the actual announcements of the results. This time, exit polls across various television channels, have predicted a possible hung Assembly. With each party making their own predictions and claiming victory before the ink has dried, JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda too, added his party in the winners’ list.

Stating that the reality would be known only on May 15, the former Prime Minister said that he would neither accept nor reject anything till the results are announced.

Confident that his party did well, he said that the JD(S) would form the next government in Karnataka. Some political analysts have predicted that the JD(S) will come out on top. Although prominent members have rubbished rumours of the JD(S) and BJP parties joining hands, some still consider that a tie up between the two is still a possibility.

Both the Congress and the BJP have, during the campaign, accused the other of having secretly planned a tie up with the JD(S). What is known for sure however, is that the JD(S) and the BSP have joined hands.

IPL a good arena to test a player’s temperament

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The strength of a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) depends on the quality of Indian players as only four overseas players are there in the eleven. That gives the Indian youngsters plenty of opportunities to impress the national selectors.

Gone are the days when the IPL was seen as some kind of a circus or tamasha for entertaining spectators on summer nights after a hard day’s work. Talent scouts in the eight franchises watch the fresh faces going round the country during the domestic season.

All those who derided the popular Twenty20 league as a corrupt influence on young cricketers are now seeing virtues in it. Even the national selectors are taking it seriously and an impression is gaining ground that the IPL is the place to see the temperament of a young player in a matter of seven weeks, that, too, in a tough competition wherein he is competing with some of the top careerist limited-overs specialists.

The selectors had a wide range of young fast bowlers to pick from when they sat to pick teams for Test, One-Day and Twenty20 internationals and India A. There are seven of them, Barinder Balbir Sran, Mohammad Siraj, both of whom have already played for India, Shivam Mavi, Deepak Chahar, Avesh Khan, Mohammad Asif and Prasidh Krishna, who came in as replacement for Kamlesh Nagarkoti, one of the star performers of India’s junior World Cup winning team, in the Kolkata Knight Riders squad.

Strangely, Rajneesh Gurbani, who is chiefly responsible for Vidarbha winning the Ranji Trophy taking 39 wickets in six matches, including a hat-trick in the final, had no IPL takers, though the selectors did not forget him and included him in the India A team to England.

Among the young batsmen, Rishab Pant has been a big hit with his Delhi Daredevils teammate Prithvi Shah. Also Nitish Rana, Shubhman Gill and Ishan Kishan can keep reminding the selectors of their presence.

Youngsters playing in the IPL or hoping to make it must see Pant’s repertoire of strokes and his improvisation. His hundred against Sunrisers Hyderabad was something one doesn’t see all too frequently. Such hitting is associated with batsmen like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum of yore, David Warner and Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Yuvraj Singh on their day.

Yet, Pant had no place in India ODI or Twenty20 teams either as a batsman or as reserve wicketkeeper. Dinesh Karthik is preferred, also on current form and experience. Twitterati predictably went after the selectors and they would have done the same if Karthik had been dropped giving the same argument.

Pant went on the rampage soon after the squads were announced, cracking the IPL’s highest score, 128 off 63 balls hitting seven sixes, against table-toppers Sunrisers, after hitting 51 off 34 balls with four sixes against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the previous match. In his last two innings he smacked 69 (29 balls, 5 sixes) against Rajasthan Royals and 79 (45 balls, 4 sixes) against Chennai Super Kings to make the selectors squirm.

Like Pant, Rohit Sharma also must be feeling let down as he could have been given one last chance in the Test against Afghanistan, but then the selectors chose to reward Karun Nair for his heavy domestic scores.

Is it the end of the road for Rohit, as he may not have many opportunities to fight his way back into the Test squad for the series against England or even Australia unless he shows such remarkable touch in the limited overs cricket. Rohit though cannot complain about not getting enough chances.

If the limited-overs sides are picked on the basis of the IPL performances, then one would have liked to see the young Punjab leg-spinner Mayank Markande, who bamboozled even the big guns with his brilliant wrist work. It’s nice to see Nitish Rana, Krunal Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Krishnappa Gowtham and Ankit Rajpoot in the A squads.

The selectors thus spread the net wide to catch quite a few youngsters at the right time and even remembered Siddharth Kaul after his splendid death-overs bowling in the IPL. Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu will also thank the IPL for their return to big-time cricket.

Pant is there in the India A ODI side for the tri-series in England with West Indies as the third team, but not for the four-day “Test” match for which Andhra’s wicketkeeper-batsman Kona Srikar Bharat was preferred on his showing in domestic cricket. Chief selector Mannava Sri Kanth Prasad should know about wicketkeepers, being a former international ‘keeper himself.

Look at the number of players, playing for India today, first noticed in the IPL. That adds up to a healthy number.

Kolkata face Rajasthan in needle clash

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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will look to outshine one another in their bid to secure a playoff spot when the two sides clash in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

Both Kolkata and Rajasthan are on 12 points from the same number of outings and have two more matches to play before the knockouts stages commence. While KKR are placed fourth owing to slightly better net run rate (-0.189), Rajasthan are fifth (NRR -0.347).

A victory for either side on the morrow may not rubber-stamp their passage to the playoffs but would surely help in the cause going to the final round of fixtures.

KKR take on already-qualified Sunrisers Hyderabad away on May 19 while Rajasthan host Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore on the same day.

Rajasthan were slow to get off the blocks and almost put themselves out of reckoning before some individual brilliance from England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler catapulted them back into reckoning.

Against Mumbai Indians on Sunday night, Buttler racked up his fifth consecutive IPL fifty — a feat previously managed only by Virender Sehwag — while his team picked up their third back-to-back win on the spin.

Even a week ago, Rajasthan, who won the inaugural IPL in 2008, were on the verge of elimination. But Buttler’s unbeaten 94 ensured the Ajinkya Rahane-led side not only win but also improve their net run rate by reaching the target of 169 with two overs to spare.

Matching Buttler’s exploits with the bat, West Indian bowling all-rounder Jofra Archer has been in fine form for the Jaipur-based side. In the last game, the 23-year-old removed Suryakumar for 38 and Rohit Sharma for a golden duck in successive deliveries, much like what Andre Russell did for Kolkata against Kings XI Punjab.

Rajasthan would, thus, bank heavily on Buttler and Archer to deliver the goods. Australian opener D’Arcy Short has disappointed Rajasthan, mustering just 116 runs in his seven innings this season, at an average of 16.42.

Skipper Rahane made a good-looking 37 against Mumbai and joined hands with Buttler in an important 95-run stand for the second wicket, but his form too has been a concern, managing single digit scores in his last three innings before this.

Coming to the hosts, Dinesh Karthik and Co. bounced back in style after succumbing to a 102-run defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians.

They defeated Kings XI Punjab by 31 runs by piling up the season’s highest total of 245/6, fourth highest in IPL history. Punjab fought hard riding K.L. Rahul’s 66 but in the end it was too tall a mountain to climb.

There were many positives for KKR from that game. Karthik continued to lead from the front with a belligerent 23-ball 50 while Sunil Narine smashed a 36-ball 75.

There were important contributions from Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell as well, and end-overs cameos from Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill.

Russell was excellent with the ball too and so was M. Prasidh Krishna who grabbed two wickets.

In the head-to-head tally, each team has seen the other off seven times in 16 meetings with two tied games.

KKR: Dinesh Karthik (captain), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, R. Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi, Tom Curran.

RR: Heinrich Klassen, Benjamin Stokes, Jaydev Unadkat, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jos Buttler, Ajinkya Rahane (captain), D’Arcy Short, Rahul Tripathi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Ben Laughlin, Stuart Binny, Dushmantha Chameera, Anureet Singh, Aryaman Vikram Birla, Midhun S, Shreyas Gopal, Prashant Chopra, Jatin Saxena, Ankit Sharma, Mahipal Lomror

Over 8,000 affected by Sri Lanka flash floods

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Over 8,000 people were affected as heavy rains caused flash floods in Sri Lanka’s Galle and Kalutara districts, the Disaster Management Centre said on Monday.

Several people were evacuated from their homes due to the heavy downpour on Sunday but as the rains ceased by Monday morning, the situation was normalising, Disaster Management Centre’s spokesperson Pradeep Kodippilli was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

He said no casualties or damages were reported but those living in low areas were urged to be vigilant. More rains were expected on Monday night.

Sri Lanka’s Meteorological Department said showers or thundershowers would occur over most provinces of the island country by Monday evening.

Heavy falls was also expected at some places, particularly in Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva and Western provinces and in Polonnaruwa and Vauniya districts.

The monsoons, which hit Sri Lanka in May 2017, caused heavy flooding and landslides in several districts resulting in over 200 deaths while thousands were displaced.

Tight security in place for counting, DC warns of strict action against trouble-mongers

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Security has been beefed up ahead of the counting for the eight assembly seats in Dakshina Kannada on Tuesday May 15 at Mahatma Gandhi Centenary High School and PU College, Bondel, informed deputy commissioner Sasikanth Senthil.

Addressing the media here on Monday May 14, Sasikanth Senthil said, “I thank everyone, from the ground level staff to the police, as the election was held peacefully in the district and there was no major complaint. Overall the district saw good turnout in all the constituncies. The counting process will be held on May 15, for which we have made certain standard operative procedures. During the counting process there will be returning officer, assistant returning officer and observer, even a counting agent for a candidate has been appointed as they have responsibility to note down and tally the counting.

“Counting rooms will be under CCTV surveillance. The counting process will start from 8 am. We have 380 service voters and have received 11,401 postal ballots. Postal ballot counting will start at 8 am. If the postal ballot counting does not finish by 8:30 am then the normal counting will start. Counting will be held round wise, and every round’s result will be declared. This time postal ballot has bar code system.

“Section 144 has been imposed from May 14 midnight to May 16 midnight, during which holding rallies and victory parades is restricted. If any counting agents see misbehaviour in the counting centres, strict action will be taken so that the counting process is not disturbed,” he said.

Police commissioner Vipul Kumar said, “Election was held peacefully. I salute the spirit of Mangalureans. Even the post poll scenario is peaceful. We have made three-layer security arrangement ahead of counting which will be held on May 15. Outer zone will be traffic-free area, and parking vehicles within the 100 mtrs from counting centres is restricted. The three-tier security cordon consists of CAPF, KSRP, CAR and civil police. Three companies of CAPF-SSB are deployed to ensure peaceful counting process. All the persons entering the counting centres are thoroughly frisked before being allowed. No person is allowed to enter without the valid pass issued by DEO. Only the official and authorized vehicles are allowed. Emergency medical services and fire services have been arranged at counting centres. No vehicular movement in front of the counting centres is allowed. Parking for public vehicles has been provided at KHB ground and NMS ground. Traffic towards the airport and the city has been diverted.

“Only those who possess valid pass can enter the premises. Electronic devices like mobile phone, iPad, laptop are restricted. The counting centres will have three teams of SSB squad, 2 RAF squad, 6 KSRP, 6 CRF and 100 mobile patrolling vehicles so that there will be no untoward incident by any anti-social elements or any inconvenience to general public. I urge everyone to cooperate and ensure there is no breach of security,” he said.

Asian Hockey Champions Trophy: Indian Eves to take on China on May 16

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The Indian eves will face China in the 5th Women’s Asian Hockey Champions Trophy on Wednesday (May 16).

Besides India, Japan, China and hosts South Korea, Malaysia is the other team taking part in the tournament.

India began their title defence of the Asian Champions Trophy with a 4-1 win over Japan at Donghae in South Korea on Sunday (May 13).

Navneet Kaur scored a hat-trick for the defending champions, with Anupa Barla being the other goal scorer in the rain-hit match. Aki Yamada scored Japan’s only goal.

Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw

Double shock to the people of the state

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The people of the state who were literally in their own world busy discussing the possible poll outcome tomorrow were caught unawares on Monday.They had an experience of double shock as the prices of petrol and diesel were hiked after a gap of 19 days and the tariff for electricity consumption was raised with effect from 01 April.

The petrol prices per litre has been enhanced by 17 paisa while that of diesel has gone up by 21 paisa. On the other hand Karnataka electricity regulatory commission has revised the tariff from 01 April.According to MK Shankarlingegowda,Chairman of the commission, the tariff for domestic electricity consumers has been revised to increase it from 0.82 paisa to Rs. 1.62 per unit.The minimum hike announced is 0.20 paise and the maximum raise is 0.60 paise depending upon the region.

In BESCOM region comprising Bengaluru division there has been an increase of 13 percent with the tariff slab going to 0.82 paisa per unit while the tariff for other regions is as follows: Mescom-Rs. 1.23,Sesk-Rs. 1.13,Hescom-Rs. 1.23 and Jescom-Rs. 1.62.

On the whole the average hike has been assessed to be around 5.93 percent according to the sources of KERC.

Hindusthan Samachar/Manohar Yadavatti

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