1. C M Y K
C M Y K
FRIDAY
20 MARCH
2015
Pages 16 |Rs 5.00|LC*
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COURTING ON AFRIDI TO
TURN THINGS AROUND
THAIEX-PMTO
FACETRIAL
P9
HOPING FOR A HUMDINGER
Modi on top: PrimeMinisterNaren-
dra Modi has pipped Chinese Presi-
dent Xi Jinping to secure the top
rankinhandlingdomesticandinter-
nationalaffairsinaglobalsurveycon-
ducted by a Chinese thinktank.
Setalvad case: The SC has referred
toalargerbenchtheanticipatorybail
plea of Teesta Setalvad and her hus-
band in the alleged embezzlement of
fundsandextendeditsinterimorder
protecting them against arrest. P5
Nagaland lynching: The Nagaland
governmenthasrecommendedaCBI
inquiryintotheMarch5Dimapurlynch-
ing case, Chief Minister T R Zeliang
said. The decision was taken by the
cabinetatameetingWednesdaynight.
Gangrape: The state CID is said to
bedesperatelytryingtoarrestthecul-
prits in connection with the 74-year-
old nun's rape at Ranaghat in Nadia
before the CBI takes up the case. No
arrestshavehoweverbeenmade. P5
Pakexecutions:Pakistanhashanged
fourmoredeath-rowprisoners,includ-
ing two brothers, as it postponed by
threedaystheexecutionof amanwhose
family alleged he was a minor at the
time of crime. P9
Blow for SpiceJet: DelhiHighCourt
has directed the Directorate Gener-
alof CivilAviation(DGCA)todereg-
istersixaircraftgivenonleasetolow-
cost airline SpiceJet by two Irish
firms. P3
Mithun summoned: The CBI has
againsummoned actor and TMC MP
Mithun Chakraborty for allegedly
failingtosubmitdocumentstotheagency
inconnectionwiththemulti-croreSarad-
ha chit fund scam. P13
OUTDOORS
Forecast: Mainly clear sky.
Rainfall Nil
TEMPERATURE
Max: 33.3 (-2); Min: 22.3 (-1)
HUMIDITY
Max: 81% Min: 30%
SUNRISE SUNSET
05:42 hrs 17:48 hrs
THUMBNAILS
Members of the National Institute for Gender Justice
light candles at a prayer meeting over the gangrape
of a nun in Bengal. In New Delhi on Thursday. sns
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
New Delhi, 19 March
Parliament today com-
pletedthefirstphaseof the
budgetary exercise for
2015-16withtheRajyaSa-
bhareturningtherelevant
AppropriationBills2015-
16 after a two-day discus-
sion and a spirited reply
byFinanceMinisterArun
Jaitley who rejected the
Oppositionchargeof the
budget being ‘pro-corpo-
rate’and‘anti-poor.’ The
Lok Sabha passed the
Bills on Tuesday.
Mr Jaitley said eco-
nomic progress cannot
be a partisan issue. As in
the Lok Sabha, he again
pleaded for the coopera-
tion of the Opposition to
ensurethatIndiaachieves
double-digit growth.
Thecountryneedshigh
growth for creation of
jobs,MrJaitleysaidashe
dwelt at length on social
issuesanddevelopmentof
infrastructure. “India's
growth rate is not
NDA/UPAissue,”hesaid,
adding the country has a
historic opportunity for
growth.
He pleaded with the
Opposition not to
“obstruct or delay” the
reform process in “one
way or the other”. “We
needlargerconsensuson
growthroadmap...Obstru-
ctionismcanhaveasadis-
tic thrill, but that can
only be temporary,” he
said.
SUBHRA PRASANTA DAS
subhra@thestatesman.net
Kolkata, 19 March
Students of many city
schools frequent red-
light areas without
being aware of HIV and
other sexually transmit-
ted diseases and the ne-
ed for protection, reve-
als a survey by a city-ba-
sed NGO, Kolkata Sukri-
ti Foundation (KSF).
Students from well-
known English medium
schools disclosed during
the survey that they do
visit brothels and have
paid sex. Some of these
secondary level school
students, in video inter-
views to the NGO, said
that they do not know
what a condom is. Had
they known about it,
they would have used it,
said one of the students
interviewed.
Mr Abhijit Dasgupta,
a documentary film-
maker and secretary of
KSF, said: "These stu-
dents were neither hesi-
tant nor shy and admit-
ted that they had visited
brothels two to three
times. They said that
they were not aware of
condoms and did not use
them." These students
also exhibited lack of
understanding of HIV
and sexually transmit-
ted diseases.
Mr Dasgupta said:
"We wanted to visit 100
schools in Kolkata and
communicate (with
them) in detail. Many
schools did not let us
enter because we would
be talking about con-
doms and it is a sort of
banned word even tho-
ugh they have sex edu-
cation in their curricu-
lum. The subject is not
being taught as such."
Teachers shy away from
teaching the subject and
students are shy about
talking about it ~ at lea-
st with their teachers.
Manisha (name cha-
nged), a sex worker in
the city, said that young
school students do come
to them and they mostly
turn them away. "They
insist, saying that we
are giving you money;
why would you not
entertain us? Some stu-
dents even turn up still
carrying their school
bags." said Manisha.
Another sex worker
from Sonagachi said,
"Yes, school students do
visit us. Some of them
do not know about the
usage of condoms, or
about HIV and other
STDs. We tell them abo-
ut the dangers of unpro-
tected sex and insist
they use protection."
Age and curiosity
play an important role
along with Page 3 visu-
als and pornography
said Mr Dasgupta.
Mobile pornography
is another issue as these
days everybody has a
mobile. A survey by
Indian Market Research
Bureau reveals that one
in five mobile users in
India wants adult con-
tent on his 3G enabled
phone. The survey also
reports that 47 per cent
students discuss porn
everyday. "Parents need
to open up and teachers
need to teach the subject
without being shy in or-
der to deal with this iss-
ue." said Mr. Dasgupta.
This is the first sur-
vey of its kind in the
city.
Not-so-innocents abroad
SCHOOLBOYS SEEK BROTHELS, WITHOUT PROTECTION
INDICATOR
Sensex
28,469
Nifty
8,634
Gold
24,980
Silver
35,950 +600
+235
-51
-152
CHINA’S
RIVERINE
WAR
P6 P12
Indiathroughtosemifinals
JAITLEYREJECTSPRO-CORPORATECHARGE
Rohit Sharma plays a shot off the Bangladeshi bowling during the 2015 Cricket World Cup quarter-final match between India and Bangladesh at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday. Sharma blasted a strokeful century as the defending champions stormed into the ICC World Cup
semi-finals by thrashing Bangladesh by 109 runs in a lop-sided contest here. Riding on Rohit's spectacular 137 off 126 balls and his rollicking 122-
run fourth wicket stand in only 15.5 overs with the belligerent Suresh Raina (65), India were able to post 302 for six after opting to bat at the MCG.
In reply, Bangladesh were never in contention as India hardly broke a sweat as they dismissed their neighbours for 193 in 45 overs. India will now
meet the winner of the third quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan at Sydney on 26 March. The victory took the tally of India's successive
World Cup victories to 11, including four in the last edition. AFP ((PPaaggee 1122))
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
New Delhi, 19 March
The Opposition today
forced deferment of con-
sideration of the conten-
tiousMinesandMinerals
BillintheRajyaSabhatill
tomorrow, arguing that
mineral-bearing states
had not been consulted.
The House saw four
adjournments of brief
spells in quick succes-
sion after members from
CongressandLeft,oppos-
ing taking up of discus-
sion on Mines and Min-
eralsBill,createduproar.
The House was also
slatedtotakeupCoalbill
which also has been
deferred till tomorrow.
Congress members
even stormed the Well of
theHouseamiddemands
that the Mines and Min-
eralsBillbeagainsentto
the Select Committee
which already scrutised
the proposed legislation
and presented its report
to the House only yester-
day. After the adjourn-
mentstotalling50minutes,
anagreementwasreached
betweenthetreasuryand
opposition benches that
the Bill will be taken up
tomorrow.Parliamentary
AffairsMinisterMVenka-
iah Naidu said if the
Housefailstotakeupthe
billstomorrow,thelastday
of thefirstpartof theBud-
getsession,thesessionwill
have to be extended.
He asked members to
understandthedifficulties
of the government and
told them that if some
amendments are made
in the bill, it will have to
go back to Lok Sabha.
Later,hetoldLokSabha
also that the House may
have to consider the bills
tomorrow.If thebillsare
not cleared tomorrow,
theywillbetakenuponon
Monday after extending
thesession.Earlier,theRa-
jya Sabha saw a battle of
wits over rules between
thetreasurybenchesand
the opposition with both
sidesfieldingnotedadvo-
cates.
STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
New Delhi, 19 March
It can only happen in
India. A sports federa-
tion has announced
two annual general
meetings,ontwodates
and at two different
venues leaving con-
stituents befuddled.
Basketball may not
be India's strongest
sporting suit, but the
ball is being bounced
aroundfuriouslyjudg-
ing from the shenani-
gans in the apex body
thatgovernsthesport.
Thepresidentof the
BasketballFederation
of India, Mr. R.S. Gill
has called an AGM on
27 March in Bengalu-
ru.Butthebody'sCEO,
Ms. Roopam Harish
Sharma, has notified
the AGM on 28 March
tobeheldinPune.This
bizarre stateof affairs
issaidtobetheoutcome
of afactionalfeudand
the ball has now land-
ed in the court of the
Ministryof Sportsand
the Indian Olympic
Association.
When contacted
BFI'sformerSecretary
General, Mr. Ajay Sud
said: "It is true that
two AGMs have been
called at two different
places.Thiscouldhave
beenavoidedbyadher-
ingtothenoticeissued
byHon'blePresidentas
heisthepersonautho-
rised to issue such a
noticeintheabsenceof
Secretary-Generaland
according to govern-
ment guidelines for
conduct of elections."
He also felt that the
onlywaytoavoidacri-
sis was to follow the
instructionof thePres-
ident and the sports
code issued by gov-
ernment.
An e-mail ques-
tionnaire sent to
MrGillremainedunan-
swered.
TheBFIPresidentis
locked in a tussle with
theCEO,whotookover
inMarch2012byreplac-
ing her late husband,
Harish Sharma, who
had earlier served
as Secretary General
and CEO of the Bas-
ketball Federation of
India.
Curiously,theCEO,
Ms Sharma simulta-
neously holds the post
of Deputy General
Manager(DGM)inAir
India, leading some
observers to question
the propriety of one
person holding two
executive positions
simultaneously,includ-
ing one in a severely-
distressedpublicsector
airline that has in the
recent past cancelled
flights citing lack of
staff.
WhencontactedMs
Sharma refused to
answer queries.
Sourcesclosetothe
developments saythat
therigidstandtakenby
the CEO against the
President has led to
the tussle getting
PARLIAMENT
PASSESBUDGET
1body,2AGMs,2venues
TURN TO PAGE 5
Opposition members protest inside the Karnataka Assembly Hall urging
the state government to hand over the inquiry into the controversial
death of IAS officer D K Ravi to the CBI. In Bangalore on Thursday. AFP
Buladi, the mascot of the Bengal
anti-AIDS campaign. File photo
MinesBill:Oppforcesdeferment
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
New Delhi/Bengaluru, 19
March
The Centre today said it
was ready to order a CBI
probe into the death of a
Karnataka IAS officer as
soon as the state govern-
ment recommends it, as
the Lok Sabha witnessed
heatedexchangesbetween
CongressandBJPMPson
theissue.TheKarnataka
government, however,
decidedtosticktoitsdeci-
sion not to refer the case
tothecentralagencyeven
as the issue continued to
paralyse the Assembly.
As public anger esca-
lated with the demand of
family of the officer D K
Ravi for a CBI probe res-
onating across the state
amidst continuing prot-
ests, Home Minister K J
George said after a cabi-
net meeting that there
was no change in the
standof thegovernment,
which has come under
attackfromtheOpposition
and others for “ston-
ewalling” central probe.
IntheLokSabha,Home
Minister Rajnath Singh
said if the state govern-
ment recommends a CBI
probe, the Centre will
immediately order an
inquiry by the central
agency. The issue was
raised by a delegation of
MPswhomethimandthe
KarnatakaCMhasinfor-
medhimthatafterreceiv-
ingmoredetails,hewould
send a detailed report to
the Centre, Singh said.
K’takaIASofficer’s
deathechoesinLS