Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during the Shaheed Samman rally in Rewari on Wednesday. Tribune Photo

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, November 16

Union Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh today announced to open an Army recruitment sub-centre in Rewari besides setting up a Rapid Action Force (RAF) Battalion in Mewat on permanent basis to maintain communal harmony.The announcement was made at the Shaheed Samman Rally organised at the HUDA ground here to pay tribute to 5,000 martyrs who laid down their lives on November 16, 1857, at Nasibpur in Mahendragarh.“There is no army recruitment centre in Rewari which has the highest number of serving and ex-servicemen in Haryana. There is an urgent need to set up such a centre here and it should be fulfilled on priority basis. The RAF should also be deputed in Mewat to ensure communal harmony.”Singh said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had given his consent for setting up an Army Recruitment sub-centre in Rewari, adding, adequate land was available in Mewat to station RAF Battalion.Earlier, Rao Inderjit accused the Congress of deliberately putting the issue on the back burner. He urged the CM to ensure setting up AIIMS-like institute at Manethi village of the district and construction of Rewari bypass.Referring to Rao’s demands, Khattar said the state government the work to construct the Rewari bypass could be expedited if the NCR Planning Board was ready to give a loan. The bypass would be built at an estimated cost of Rs 800 crore.Meanwhile, the Home Minister also defended the move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, adding, it would minimise economic disparity.

In October, the two armies conducted a joint exercise along the Line of Actual Control in the Ladakh region of J&K. ani file

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 11

India and China are readying for a joint military exercise and have decided on a trajectory to increase military interactions and ensure stability along the disputed boundary between the two nations.A two-week joint military exercise begins on November 16 to “understand and practice” methods to tackle the transnational terror. The exercise is being conducted under the Pune-based Southern Army Command.This will be the sixth edition of the “hand-in-hand” exercise, first since December when Beijing passed a law authorising its military to venture overseas on counter-terror operations and even sent off 5,000 troops to tackle the Islamic State in Syria.Both countries separately face transnational terror in their respective regions — India in Kashmir and China in Xinjiang (lying north of J&K in India). Both nations also have collective threat of their own youth joining the IS. The scope of the exercise will include evolution of joint drills for conduct of counter-terror operations and include a live drill to neutralise a terrorist.Besides, a high-level India-China Defence and Security Consultation has been conducted in New Delhi earlier this week. Indian Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar led the India delegations in talks with Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China’s Central Military Commission and the Indian.The Chinese side expressed its commitment to join hands with the Indian Army to maintain the exchanges on border defence, improve the mechanism of communication and strengthen border management and control so as to safeguard peace and stability in their border areas, he added. The two are working to introduce better measures to boost communication and coordination between border guarding forces.

INS Vikramaditya ready to go back to sea

Kochi: INS Vikramaditya, the largest warship operated by India and the third aircraft carrier inducted into the Navy, is getting ready to go back to sea as she completed her “refit works” at Cochin Shipyard Limited here. The ship, 285 metres long and 60 metres wide with 23 decks, was drydocked on September 23. PTI

16 Corps GOC Lt Gen AK Sharma with Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan in Jammu on Monday. Tribune Photo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 7

Lt Gen AK Sharma, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 16 Corps, called on Governor NN Vohra at Raj Bhawan here today and briefed him about the current security situation in his area of responsibility.The Governor discussed with the General Officer Commandin of the 16 Corpsissues relating to effective internal security management in the hinterland and further strengthening the counter-infiltration grid.

Shushila Davi

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, November 5

It takes a visit to quaint village of Mohammad Ahir in Tawdu in Mewat district to blow apart claims of parties about their commitment towards martyred soldiers and their families.In a modest home, lives Sushila Devi, widow Shaurya Chakra awardee Dev Kumar who had died serving in Afghanistan in suicide bombing in 2008. For a few years, she lived with pride — the honour of being the widow of a soldier who died serving the country. But pride gave way to disillusionment; she has been struggling to get Shaurya Chakra pension.“My husband was in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and sent to Afghanistan in 2008. Before leaving, he had told me he may never return and asked me to be proud if he died,” Sushila Devi says. Kumar died in 2008 and was awarded Shaurya Chakra 2009. “That was the proudest moment of my life,” Devi says. “He was the sole bread earner. I got his pension, but that was not enough. I was then told about Shaurya Chakra pension given by the state. I applied for it and thus started my struggle,” said Sushila.She made regular trips to Chandigarh to check the progress of her application for pension. “Initially, men from my family would do visit Chandigarh. Soon, they realised it was a futile task. So, I took it upon myself. I went to Chandigarh almost every week and, every time, officials ignored me. Somebody suggested I meet local leaders, but that was no help either,” Devi says.In December 2014 and July this year, Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh had written to officials on her behalf, but to avail. “He was kind enough to take up my case. But probably all that a soldier gets in this country is an award. Indifference and insult follows. I hope that the hue and cry over the OROP scheme may force leaders to spare a thought about me,” Sushila adds.Nuh MLA Zakir Hussain said, “This is ironic. Both the Congress and the BJP have let many like her down. She is not asking for any help, but her right which her husband earned laying his life in the line of duty. The INLD will take her case with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.”

Soldiers along the Line of control are in the thick of a nerve­wracking battle after the surgical strikes in september altered the rules of the game. Hindustan Times spent time with army troops on the border to understand the challenges the men are up aga

THE SOLDIER WILL HAVE TO STAND AT HIS POST AS THE SNOWS PILE UP TO 20 AND 30 FEET AND TEMPERATURES FALL TO MINUS 20. EACH POST IS CUT OFF FROM THE OTHER FROM OCTOBER TO FEBRUARY…

Imagine standing at attention for a full 120 minutes. Imagine scanning the ridges and valleys, looking for trees that may have been cut overnight. Imagine straining your ears each time the leaves rustle. Imagine being glued to an automatic weapon, finger constantly on the trigger. Imagine an icy wind sweeping your face and the snow collecting at your feet. Imagine a life constantly on the edge.

Soldiers along the 740-km Line of Control (LoC), that demarcates India and Pakistan, are in the thick of a nerve-wracking battle. The surgical strikes following the suicide attack on an army camp in Uri on September 18 that killed 20 soldiers have drastically altered the rules of the game. The ceasefire agreement of 2003 is in tatters and the daily dose of mortar and artillery fire, have the jawans on their toes.

Lives are now on the line, by day and by night. The LoC is not an easy place to get to but HT got permission to go to the forward posts. The first briefing by Colonel MB Singh, commanding officer, 20 Rashtriya Rifles, left little room for doubt. “The place where you’re standing is within enemy range and can be pounded. In case that happens, you need to take shelter,’’ he said, pointing to his right, where sandbags cover an underground bunker. His men know the drill. Bunkers have come up next to every post and that’s the only safe place, provided you have the time to respond and run. Six to eight soldiers can crouch for safety in freshly-made bunkers that have been constructed after the surgical strikes on September 29.

Safety, however, is one thing that is not guaranteed. The soldiers, who are on full alert for 120 minutes, after which they rest their taut nerves for the next two hours, are now not just looking for infiltrating terrorists. They are also guarding against sniper attacks from Pakistani rangers and the battle action teams (BATs) comprising jihadis from the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad. In the unequal proxy war that has become sharp and intense, leaves have been curtailed and commanding officers are up all night and in constant touch with their company commanders. Leading from the front in the time of escadetect, lation and ‘near-war’ – as one officer put it – is of utmost importance.

A NEW NORMAL

India cannot afford a breach along the LoC or along the 221-km stretch of the international border between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan. The bloody attack in Uri in September and the audacious three-day stand-off at the air force base in Pathankot in January are painful reminders of what a breach can result in. “We now constantly practise anti-fidayeen and counter BAT drills,’’ says Bhaskar Kataria, commanding officer, 19 Maratha. His unit is responsible for roughly 38 km of the LoC but even though his posts are ‘’dominating Pakistan’’ because they are at a higher height, that’s not solace enough. His troops get a daily reminder of what DIE stands for: identify, eliminate. The identification is of utmost importance. In the dead of night – when the troops have to be on maximum alert – the danger of shooting one of your own has to be factored in and the orders are strict: do not fire till you have established the identity of a militant with a weapon.

In the precipitous heights that range from 9,000 to 14,000 feet, danger is manifold. Up until the attack in Uri, the army could monitor infiltration routes selectively and focus on areas identified through surveillance radars and intelligence inputs but the surgical strikes on ‘launch pads’ (areas where the Pakistani army keeps trained terrorists just before they’re pushed across the LoC into India) have also changed the vocabulary of the officers tasked with guarding the line once referred to as ‘the most dangerous place on earth’ by former US President Bill Clinton.

“We are dealing with a ‘new normal’,’’ one officer tells us. What’s the ‘new normal?’ we ask. The answer is as simple as it is stark. It is visible on a daily basis: killing of civilians (eight in a single day on November 1), heavy mortar shells whistling through the treacherous mountains, scaring civilians into migrating, artillery pounding of each other’s positions, stealth attacks that leave soldiers’ bodies mutilated.

After the ceasefire in 2003, the Indian army was able to fence large parts of the Line of Control. Attempts at putting up the anti-infiltration obstacle system (AIOS) were made earlier too but were met with constant firing from Pakistan. The rolls of concertina wire that make up this fence had helped bring infiltration levels down but the figures are spiking once again. Determined and highly-motivated terrorists are attempting to cross the line again and 2016 has already seen 70 attempts (up to September) as compared to 30 in 2015. “The fence is constantly under the gaze. It cannot be protected at every step but the troops return to the same spot, under their guard, every 30 minutes, to see if anyone has attempted to cut it,” an officer explains.

But scores of Indian posts lie ahead of the fence and these are extremely vulnerable. Sepoy Mandeep Singh, the young 28-year-old jawan whose body was mutilated, was at one such location when he came under attack from the battle action teams on October 28. Officials privy to the attack say – but only off the record – that he was beheaded just like Hemraj was three years ago, in the Poonch sector. The BATs retreated as quickly and stealthily as they had entered, secure that their masters in the Pakistani army would help them by providing cover fire. In a similar action, five days earlier, Surat Singh, from 22 Grenadiers, was amongst those who noticed some movement in the bushes. Was it a Pakistani infiltrator or a panther? That’s a question they have to contend with often. Soon, Singh saw infiltrators coming towards them with grenade launchers. He was hit by shrapnel and fell to the ground.

The border is at its most volatile. India has shrugged off its self-imposed restriction of opening up its artillery weapons and the verbal messaging from the political masters is unambiguous: fire ten mortars in return for one; don’t ask for flag meetings to lower tensions.

MULTIPLE ENEMIES

The surgical strikes, owned politically by the Narendra Modi government, have buoyed the troops on the ground but unlike the past, the officers know that this winter is going to be a turbulent one. Heavy snowfall makes for a formidable trek across the LoC but admits Lt Gen Satish Dua, Corps Commander, 15 Corps, “We expect a more difficult winter because of the heightened state of alert after the surgical strikes and are prepared for any misadventure from Pakistan.”

A heightened state of alert through the winter is a mind-boggling exercise, unimaginable till you visit the forward posts. The ridges were covered with snow in the last week of October and the temperatures had dipped to minus six degrees Celsius. And that’s just the beginning. The soldier will have to stand at his post as the snows slowly pile up to 20 and 30 feet and temperatures fall to minus 20. Each post is cut off from the other from October to February and each has to be stocked with enough ration and fuel so that the jawans can sustain themselves. For those who need to move, ropes are tied to winter route markers to help them slither to and fro. “We are fighting more than one enemy,’’ says Kataria. Twenty RR’s Singh adds, “Each soldier needs 2.3 kg of ration and while earlier we could stock by day, this time we are doing it after light fades so we are not visible to the enemy.’’

Soon, the platoon hawaldar will also be checking the feet of each solider to ensure he’s not showing early signs of chilblains. But as the days shrink, the nights become longer and the infiltrators prepare to infiltrate in snow suits, the most challenging of all is casualty evacuation. It is difficult for helicopters to land in thick fog and snow blizzards but the injured must be rushed. Surat Singh, injured by splinters, was carried on the shoulders of his colleagues because the ‘hepter’ couldn’t make it despite the pilot’s best attempts.

Lives are on the line and there is little room for leisure. Brigadier Zubin A Minwalla in Kupwara’s Pharkian Gali area had organised a cake-cutting for one of his officers, Vaibhav Fauzdar’s wedding anniversary. Before they could gather at 5pm, came news of Surat’s injury and the news that the infiltrators had managed to flee.

On the Line of Control, birthdays and anniversaries can provide a few minutes of relief and motivation, if at all. Too much is at stake. The beauty of the white mountains is treacherous. The snowcapped heights belie the daily battle of life and death

Ambala, November 4

The 501 Signal Unit and 30 Squadron will receive the President’s Standard from President Pranab Mukherjee for their exceptional and dedicated services at the Air Force Station here on November 10.Western Air Command AOC-in-C Air Marshal SB Deo informed this at the Air Forces Station here today.The 30 Squadron, based in Pune, was raised on November 1, 1969, while 501 Signal Unit, based in Barnala, was raised in 1964. The Air Marshal expressed pride over the selection of the units and said: “The President’s Standards are given to units of the armed forces which render exceptional and dedicated service over a period of time. The President himself selects the unit after a lot of deliberation and it is the most valuable achievement for a unit.” —TNS

The PMO is believed to have agreed to revise not only parliamentarians’ salary but also their allowances. File photo

New Delhi, November 2The central government has decided to give a 100 percent raise to members of parliament from their current Rs 50,000 a month.The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is learnt to have agreed to consider a proposal by the Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament, which is headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Yogi Adityanath.

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The PMO is believed to have agreed to revise not only parliamentarians’ salary but also their allowances.The government is also considering an increase in President’s salary from current Rs. 1.5 lakh a month to Rs. 5 lakh and the governor’s salary from current Rs. 1.10 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh. — ANI

PLOT Army jawan, along with a dismissed colleague and a policeman, looted old notes from a hosiery owner on Saturday

From page 01 LUDHIANA: The police arrested an army jawan, along with a dismissed soldier, on Monday for looting `7 lakh in scrapped currency from a hosiery owner.

The police recovered `6.30 lakh from the possession of the accused, besides an air gun and scooter used in the crime committed on Saturday.

The accused told the police that they planned to exchange the scrapped currency with new notes after depositing it in their saving accounts.

The accused were identified as jawan Ramesh Kumar and Vikas Kumar, a dismissed jawan, both residents of Hisar district in Haryana. Vikas was dismissed from the army for being absent from duty without information. Their third accomplice, said to be a cop, was yet to be arrested.

The accused were produced in a local court and were remanded in police custody for two days.

SHO Beant Juneja of Division-5 police station said the accused stopped hosiery owner Manpreet Singh of New Shivaji Nagar, who was going to Model Gram to deposit `7 lakh in a bank on Saturday afternoon near Government Senior Secondary School, Jagraon bridge, and robbed him at gun point.

The victim also alleged that a cop in a Swift car also reached the spot and threatened him. As the accused left the place, he immediately informed the police.

The SHO said the police would inform the income tax department for relevant investigations.

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP-west) Surinder Lamba said the police arrested the accused when they were planning to commit another crime. He said the police were questioning the accused about the cop involved in the crime.

For good days: The poor have revealed surprising support for Mr Modi’s move.

THERE are two aspects to the currency swap for high denomination notes, one economic pertaining to ferret out black money and get more people to use digital transfers and the other political, particularly in its timing.On the economic side, it is a bold move of PM Narendra Modi, a task first tried by the short-lived Janata Party government of which the BJP’s parent Jana Sangh was part. It was unable to follow through, given its own convulsions. With a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the present administration can take the risks. But even given the need for secrecy in  such an undertaking, the move could have been better prepared, given the people’s daily needs.Politically, it has given the Opposition parties the opportunity to unite on an issue that cuts across party lines. But coming as the new measures do on the eve of crucial Assembly elections in UP and Punjab, it can have devastating effect on all parties. It is no secret that each party collected piles of cash for persuading voters to press the right button. Now they have to start the process all over again, with inevitable shortfalls.For waning parties such as the Congress, the money swapping issue leading to long queues at ATMs, many of them not calibrated to new currency, and the inevitable tribulations of small undertakings, the measure was a godsend. Mr Rahul Gandhi in particular was vocal.How far the political aspects influenced the move has yet to be discovered, but the administration’s suggestion for state funding of elections is a moot point. And in a sense, after the turmoil is over, it will be a topic for debate.The Modi government has also announced that other measures to reduce, if not stop, corruption are being readied or are in offing. While the country will wish the government well, it is a universal experience that such a task to tackle an endemic problem is a lifetime undertaking. As if to mock the new measures, the big fat Reddy wedding was a reminder of the ability of the rich to raise mountains of cash, with the demonetisation of high currency notes presenting few problems.Despite the inevitable sob stories and personal hardships caused by demonetisation TV channels have been feasting on, my questioning of poor and humble folk has revealed surprising support for Mr Modi’s move. Many of them seem to be convinced by the argument that this will help bring down the use of black money.The Modi move has obvious wider political considerations. The PM is not short of ambitions for himself and the country in that order. If he has shown boldness in pursuing the country’s interest despite missteps, he has an equally radical agenda for domestic policy where it counts the most.The BJP’s short-term objective is to capture UP in the forthcoming Assembly elections. With an open war being enacted in the Yadav family empire, the political barometer was pointing in the direction of Ms Mayawati’s BSP, but the new problems in distributing largesse will affect it as it will the state’s ruling Samajwadi Party. The Congress is a small player in UP as it is being marginalised in the rest of the country.The BJP’s strategy in UP prior to the currency move was to emphasise its “surgical strike” on Pakistani targets after the Uri attack to wear the colour of nationalism even as it heightened its move for Hindutva to divide voters along communal lines by raising the Ram janmabhoomi issue. It was betting on the possibility that with the disillusionment of Muslim voters with the Samajwadi Party, their tendency would be to go to the BSP even while the Congress was seeking Brahmin votes.If the BJP’s new calculations are right, the UP elections will be on a less extravagant scale this time round. But the fine tuning of the party’s strategy has yet to evolve in the light of the new political dynamics released by the currency issue. While the Opposition parties will harp on the sufferings of the common man and the lack of adequate preparation for such a bold measure, the common man may be more in sympathy with the official line that it is more for the benefit of the poor.Among the opposition parties, Ms Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress and her counterpart in Delhi, Mr Arvind Kejriwal, chose to take over the leadership of opposing the measure for different reasons. The TMC is on the lookout for a wider national role after having vanquished the Marxist Communist Party. And Mr Kejriwal will espouse any issue to beat the Modi government with, apart from his search for a wider setting to fulfil his personal ambitions.The success of the new monetary measure will depend upon how quickly it will relieve the genuine sufferings of the small trader, labour working in the field and the farmers’ planting regime. A wider dispensation of Rs 500 notes would help. The fact that such a major move will cause disruption is a foregone conclusion.Mr Modi is good at fixing targets for himself and the nation. He has asked for 50 days to fix the currency problem in emotional appeals he made two days running. As usual, he mixed his appeals with his known political themes and even made time for a UP election rally.Much rests on the overall success of the currency measure in determining the immediate fate of the Modi government. It will depend principally on how fast the administration can act to bring the situation back to normal. Government machinery is revving up, but whether it will prove equal to the task remains to be seen.In a sense, Mr Modi has given the warning that his aspiration is to become a memorable Prime Minister although he shuns the maker of modern democratic India, Jawaharlal Nehru. He could however aspire to equal Indira Gandhi, who won her spurs by defeating Pakistan in the Bangladesh war.

Infallible leaders? Blame it on the bhakts

Salil Desai
There is a very thin line between the use and abuse of power. It is not adulation, but criticism that keep people in power from crossing the line. In fact, bhakti makes political leaders believe in their own infallibility, inflates their self-opinion as men or women of destiny, born to create history and, inevitably, leads them to take missteps

WHEN  one reads about the rise of many 20th-century authoritarian regimes in history, there are two questions that confound you. How did entire nations and populations allow themselves to be so hypnotised by a person or a political party? Moreover, how did they permit leaders or regimes to take absolute control over the State and then chip away at their liberties one by one, so that they could hold sway with an iron grip for decades thereafter?The process is even more inexplicable and intriguing in countries that were once democracies. We are not talking of military coups or civil wars here. We are talking of democratic takeovers of power, which eventually degenerated into authoritarian reigns, even if for a short period of time. In the wake of the twin surgical strikes  — across the LOC and now demonetisation — when one sees the prevailing atmosphere, one wonders if this is how the process begins unfolding. Where people start ceding individual liberties for some chimerical greater good; where the regime does not even have to oppress, just unleash a vicious, emotional rhetoric and outsource the suppression to a large number of citizens who have suspended independent thinking and thus can be depended upon to cow down the questioners. The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, for instance, has been aggressively touted as a master stroke against everything from black money to terrorist funding to counterfeit money to corruption, while also being hailed as a major reform towards a cashless economy. Any criticism of it, is almost considered blasphemous, even anti-national. If this sentiment was being stoked only by the government or party in power, it  would be understandable, although undesirable propaganda. What makes it really scary is that ordinary middle-class citizens, especially those of the social media variety, have started behaving like accomplices of the regime by shouting down, mocking and denouncing any contrary views, branding these as unpatriotic. Moreover, even the shoddy and shockingly inept planning and execution of the demonetisation exercise is being defended as inevitable. We are being exhorted to treat it as our patriotic duty to suffer long queues, inconveniences, disruptions to our lives, genuine problems caused by this man-made crisis, without complaining or criticism. So is our brainwash complete? Have we become so mesmerised by the larger-than-life aura of a leader that we refuse to believe that he and his government can do any wrong? Have we forgotten what Dr Ambedkar warned about political bhakti? Don’t we realise that there is a very thin line between the use and abuse of power.In fact, bhakti makes political leaders believe in their own infallibility, inflates their self-opinion as men or women of destiny. Time and again, history has shown that there are no strong, authoritarian regimes which did not end up doing more harm than good to their countries. Many of them did so because of their popularity. Because people and nations put more faith in them than they should have.Popularity has almost never ever chastened any politician, except very rare exceptions — a Nehru, a Mandela. But most of those who have relied on personal appeal over everything else, have eventually led their nations to grief, when their self-belief descends into megalomania. Almost always that megalomania is fed by popularity and fawning bhakts. The bhakts create an echo chamber, which resounds only with what the leader wants to hear and believe, totally shutting out different viewpoints and realities. Modi and his party won a majority single-party mandate for the first time in 30 years in 2014. Even if grudgingly, one has to admit that his personal popularity has remained high, despite many questions that still remain unanswered. That there is an authoritarian and majoritarian streak cannot be denied. In the case of the surgical strikes along the LoC, his party and he exploited nationalistic and strong-man sentiments to the hilt. In the case of demonetisation too, we have seen him play the brave, lone-crusader card, the selfless, sacrificing leader rhetoric and the emotional, “suffer-for-me-and-our country” appeal. All of this points to his tendency to personalise all his government’s decisions to make his regime seem almost presidential in nature and help to build his image as a towering, decisive leader.The kind of leader he is for time to tell. Many people have bought his spiel hook, line and sinker, while others are sceptical. Whether his regime turns into a democratically elected one with autocratic tendencies, especially if he gets a second term, depends on his bhakts. People are free to support and adore the Prime Minister but they must realise that love for one’s country is completely different from love for a particular leader, party or a government. They have no right to attack, browbeat and brand as unpatriotic those questioning the policies of their beloved leader. If India turns less-than-democratic once again, blame it squarely on the bhakts. Any leader derives his delusions from the reflections seen in the distorted mirrors put up by his fanatic supporters.The writer is a Pune-based author and film-maker.

On day for senior citizens, rush kills four more people

NEW DELHI: At least four more people died across the country on Saturday, allegedly due to exhaustion after standing several hours to exchange banned banknotes as millions continued to grapple with a cash crunch 11 days after the shock decision.

The government says the move to demonetise the old `500 and `1000 notes was aimed at sucking out illicit cash. Officials said the Income Tax department has already started issuing hundreds of notices seeking source of funds from individuals and firms who have deposited huge amounts of cash in banks using the scrapped currency notes.

Though there is no official confirmation, opposition parties are linking the death of about 50 people to the demonetisation that has led to snaking queues in banks and cash-dispensing machines with people lining up late into the night to withdraw cash or exchange the old notes.

Two of the deaths were reported from Uttar Pradesh – in Aligarh and Harodi. Another man died in Rajasthan’s Junjhunu district while a woman was brought dead to a hospital in Haryana’s Karnal. A doctor said she may have suffocated in the crowded queue outside a bank. Since the government’s announcement on November 8, banks have worked without a break, allowing customers of even other banks to exchange the old notes. The long queues in ATMs, however, remained in many parts of the country including Mumbai.

In Andhra Pradesh’s Paderu town, an angry policeman allegedly damaged two ATMs which had run out of cash. Bank officials said the cop was caught on CCTV kicking the machines repeatedly. The government has struggled to fill the country’s more than two lakh ATMs as a bumpy execution of the scheme has left the poor, small traders, farmers and women left with little cash in hand to even meet daily expenses.

There were also reports of distribution of new banknotes with faulty prints. A south Delhi resident, Imtiaz Alam, was given Rs 10 coins weighing about 15 kgs when he withdrew Rs 20,000 from the Jamia Cooperative bank.

Amid the chaos, a bank manager in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa went to a hospital to hand over Rs 25,000 to a retired railway official who suffered a broken hip after a fall on Friday.

Modi quotes Dylan to hail change, jokes about `100

CASH CRISIS Sonia hits out at leaders who are in ‘quest for shortcuts to greatness’

MUMBAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday quoted Nobel laureate Bob Dylan to hit out at critics of the government’s decision to recall highvalue banknotes, saying “the times they are a-changin” and asked them not to criticise “what you can’t understand”.

SAUMYA KHANDELWAL/HT PHOTOAn elderly woman is helped into a bank at Delhi’s Aruna Asaf Ali Road on Saturday.

Modi’s swipe came 11 days after he announced a ban on `500 and `1,000 banknotes, a surprise decision that has left millions of Indians struggling to exchange the banned currency and withdraw cash from banks and ATMs.

Earlier in the day, Congress president Sonia Gandhi took a dig at leaders who are in a “quest for shortcuts to greatness”, in what is seen as a veiled criticism of Modi’s demonetisation move that her party says has been executed badly.

Party vice-president Rahul Gandhi also targeted Modi. “The cold play while the poor suffer!” he tweeted, referring to the British band Coldplay which performed in Mumbai after Modi’s address through video-conference.

The Congress’s fresh salvo came on a day when at least four more people died, allegedly due to exhaustion from queuing up for several hours to exchange banknotes.

The government says the demonetisation was aimed at curbing black money and counterfeiting of currency. Officials said the income tax department has started seeking explanations from hundreds of individuals and firms that have deposited huge amounts of scrapped currency notes their accounts.

Modi said it was part of his cleanliness drive. “Border ke us paar ki safai ho, ya kale dhan se bhari tijori ki safai ho, sab kuchh jor shor se chal raha hai (Whether it is cleansing across the border or cleaning of lockers and treasuries filled with black money, everything is on),” he said, drawing a parallel between the war on terrorism and black money.

The Prime Minister described Dylan — a shock choice for this year’s Nobel prize for literature — as one of his idols and quoted an entire paragraph from his iconic song, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’, which had become an anthem for pent-up frustration among American youth in the 60s.

Modi also saw the funny side of the demonetisation move, saying if he had to sing at a Coldplay event the youngsters “would want your money back in 100-rupee notes”. The Prime Minister doffed his hat at the youngsters, pointing out that addressing the crowd of over 80,000 was a “welcome break” from “old files and cold Delhi”.

He also said it was smart to just address the audience instead of being there in person otherwise many of the youngsters would be lining up to ask for their money back and that too in Rs 100 notes.

Besides the opposition, Modi has come under criticism from the BJP’s ally Shiv Sena, which defended a controversial statement by Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in Parliament.

“The difference is in the attackers. Pakistan attacked us in Uri, where in the case of demonetisation (deaths) it was our own rulers,” the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana.

Though there is no official confirmation, opposition parties are linking the death of more than 50 people to the demonetisation.

Two of the deaths on Saturday were reported from Uttar Pradesh. Another man died in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district while a woman was brought dead to a hospital in Haryana’s Karnal.

Though the queues in banks were relatively shorter on Saturday, officials said it could be because of certain restrictions including allowing only senior citizens to exchange old notes and catering to own customers.

The government has struggled to fill the country’s more than two lakh ATMs as a bumpy execution of the scheme has left the poor, small traders, farmers and women with little cash in hand to even meet daily expenses.

A south Delhi resident, Imtiaz Alam, was given Rs 10 coins weighing about 15 kgs when he withdrew Rs 20,000 from the Jamia Cooperative bank.

Queues get shorter with Saturday dedicated to elderly, but many return empty-handed

MOST OF THE BANKS COULD NOT CATER TO ALL THE ELDERLY PEOPLE AS THEY RAN OUT OF CASH AFTER NOON

AMRITSAR: As the government dedicated Saturday to senior citizens for cash exchange, elderly people thronged the banks in the city with great hope and enthusiasm, but many of them still returned empty-handed, due to currency crunch which continues to hit various banks.

SAMEER SEHGAL/HT(Top) A senior citizen waiting for his turn for exchane of currency notes outside a bank; (above) a woman stands in a queue with her son’s wedding card in Amritsar on Saturday.There was a huge footfall of senior citizens, particularly in the morning hours, at the banks and they were seen accompanied by their children, grandchildren or adult family members.

It turned out to be a heavy day for banks also because they will be closed on Sunday.

As the government had announced that only senior citizens will be entertained in the banks on November 19, they came in hordes to exchange notes, withdraw or deposit money and even withdraw pension from their respective accounts.

But most of the banks couldn’t cater to all the elderly people who turned up as they ran out of cash after noon.

“The banks which had their own chests had surplus cash on Saturday. But there are some banks (like ours) where there is no cash replenishment once we run out of it. Even if we want to help these senior citizens, we really can’t. New currency and surplus cash might flow in after Monday and things would get better,” says a manager of a public sector bank.

PROBLEMS GALORE

The senior citizens were unable to stand and wait for long. They also needed support to walk and climb stairs, if any. Several of them were exhausted due to movement they are not used to in their everyday life.

Joginder Kaur, a 78-year-old paralysis patient who was on her wheelchair, said, “The initiative (demonetisation) taken by the government might be good-intentioned, but the common man, specially the elderly people, are facing a lot of inconvenience and hassles.”

She added, “The move might bring a change in coming times, but for now all I know is that banks have become very crowded and in our age we do not have energy to be part of this rush.” Jaswant Singh, an 84-year-old retired policeman, seemed elated after getting lower denomination notes and also a new currency note of `2000.

“At this age, it’s a big hassle to pull yourself out of the comfort of cosy home. My body is fragile and I cannot move so much. Though the bank officials offered me a chair as the queue was long, but still the overall process was quite tiresome.”

For Krishan Kumar, a retiree, it was a disheartening experience as he had come to withdraw his pension, but had to return empty-handed due to cash crunch.

RAJYA SABHA MP MAKES ROUND OF BANKS

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha MP Shwet Malik visited various banks in the city to make an on-the-spot assessment of the service being provided to senior citizens. He lauded bankers who were putting in extra efforts to provide comfort to the elderly. He also asked them to set up separate counters for senior citizens and women in the coming days.

SPL CASH EXCHANGE COUNTERS AT AIRPORT

With a view to facilitating passengers in the prevailing cash crunch scenario, the Airport Authority of India (AAI), in association with the State Bank of India, has installed two cash counters at the Sri Guru Ram Dass Ji International Airport here.

One counter has been set up at the arrival terminal of the airport and the other at the departure terminal.

Airport director VV Rao said, “This facility is for passengers. Anybody flying in and out of Amritsar can get their old notes exchanged with new ones, as per the norms. We have already made parking at the airport free.”

Bricks, stones replace people at bank queues

RAMGARH: Villagers in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand have found an innovative way to manage paddy sowing without losing out in the serpentine queues outside banks.

HTFarmers place bricks with their names written on them in front of a bank in Ramgarh. They take their place in the queue when the bank opens.

The farmers, who are gearing up for rabi season, write their names on bricks and boulders in chalk and place them outside the banks before going to their fields. Once the banks open, they take their position in the queue.

The practice avoids the hassle of standing in the queue for hours. In several areas, it’s an unspoken rule that the bricks can be moved only by the person who placed them. Interestingly, nobody trespasses or breaks the queue.

“For the past one week, I could not exchange money as there was a long queue outside the banks and work was pending in the field. When I came to know about this unique idea, I too put a stone in line and went to work. I reached the bank counter minutes before my turn came,” said Ganesh Mahto, a local farmer.

Similarly, a few customers are hiring local youth for `100-`200 to wait in queues on their behalf. “We used this method to get water from a government water tanker during summers. Now, we are using it at bank counters too,” said Kuliya Karmali from Rajrappa.

Dinbandhu Poddar, a local representative of MP Jayant Sinha, said: “We are distributing tea and biscuits to people in queues. We assure all help to senior citizens.”

 

Ruled out a roll back. PTI file photo

Now, exchange old notes at airport

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 17

Now, you can exchange your junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes at the international airport in Mohali from tomorrow onwards.Disclosing this here today, airport CEO Suneel Dutt said following a decision taken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to allow any scheduled commercial bank to open and operate (on a temporary basis) currency exchange counter (small) without levying charges for space and electricity at its airports across the country up to December 31, subject to the availability of space, the State Bank of India (SBI) today established a counter at the arrivals area to exchange the now-defunct currency notes from 11 am onwards tomorrow.

SBI GM (Network 1) Sanjay Kumar said the initiative was taken to help inbound tourists and foreign travellers, besides other passengers for getting valid Indian currency on arrival. The airport CEO assured every possible support to the SBI for smooth functioning of the services for the benefit of the passengers.?

Cashless, farming sector stares at rough rabi season

Experts say govt relief for farmers a ‘in the ocean’

A farmer counts her money before depositing it in a bank. File

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 17

Ten days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move in the peak of the rabi sowing season, the government today announced relaxations for the critical farming sector. However, agriculture experts term these as a “drop in the ocean” given the plethora of problems the deep-distressed agriculture sector is already facing.Fearing a negative effect on coverage, productivity and quality of rabi crops, they apprehend offsetting of gains made by the farming sector due to a good monsoon season this year after two years of consecutive drought.The government has allowed farmers, who have taken crop loan or have kisan credit card, to withdraw Rs 25,000 per week. Experts, however, say the question is not about the withdrawal of money but the cash lying with farmers from sale of kharif produce, which they would have otherwise used for buying seeds and fertilizers and paying the farm labourers in the ongoing rabi season.As per the relaxations, those who have got payments through RTGS or cheque deposit in KYC-compliant bank account can withdraw additional Rs 25,000 a week. This takes the total cash withdrawal limit for farmers from KYC-compliant bank accounts to Rs 50,000 per week.Agriculture expert Ajay Jhakkhar terms these as “good steps” but says the money also needs to be physically available with banks for farmers to withdraw. “It is not the question of limits or a certain amount, it can be Rs 10,000 or Rs 25,000, but the physical availability of that amount at a bank counter when farmers reach there. Maximum brunt will be borne by farmers in Punjab and Haryana who largely operate through primary agriculture societies and cooperative banks,” he says.Lucknow-based expert Sudhir Panwar says there are many dimensions to the issue and the move may affect the sector in more than one ways. For one, it may affect the rabi sowing and production of winter crops such as wheat, gram and mustard.“The proceeds from the just-concluded kharif season (paddy and pulses) were mostly in cash (Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency) which suddenly became unusable at the peak of the rabi sowing season. Rural branches do not have adequate cash. As a result, both farmers and farm labourers are now standing in queues at a time they would have been busy in fields”.Also farmers sow a percentage of new seeds every season. Those who do not have adequate money for seed replacement will be forced to use grain from the last year’s crop. “This will affect the SRR — the seed replacement ratio — which should ideally be 20 per cent to increase yield and vigour of the new crop,” says Panwar.Experts fear keeping in mind the dismal banking infrastructure and their huge dependence on cash, farmers may have to bear the impact much longer.

Punjab, Haryana may bear the brunt

• Punjab and Haryana farmers are likely to bear the brunt of the demonetisation move as they largely operate through primary agriculture societies and cooperative banks. Money needs to be physically available with banks for them to withdraw
• The move is likely to affect the rabi sowing and production of winter crops such as wheat, gram and mustard. At a time when farmers and farm labourers should have been busy in fields, they are lining up in banks to withdraw/change cash
• Also, those with inadequate cash would be forced to use grain from last year’s crop, thus affecting the seed replacement ratio (SRR), which is ideally 20 pc to increase yield and vigour of the new crop, feel experts

Production likely to dip: Expert

• “The rabi sowing window is open for only 20 to 25 days. November is the peak time when farmers are running around to arrange cash for seeds, fertilisers and labour. The move has increased hardships of farmers, which is bound to affect the production next year” Sudhir Panwar, farm expert

Relief for farmers, traders, to-be-wed

The inconvenience to the public. PTI

• Withdraw up to Rs 2.5 lakh for weddings
• Farmers can take out up to Rs 50,000
• Exchange of defunct notes halved to Rs 2,000
• Toll exemption on NHs now till Nov 24
• Select petrol stations to give up to Rs 2,000

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 17

To help farmers, agricultural traders and those getting married, the government today reduced the limit of over-the-counter exchange of old notes to Rs 2,000 per person. It gave an option to Central Government employees up to Group C to draw an advance of Rs 10,000 from their November salaries.The government has allowed cash dispensation up to Rs 2,000 through debit/credit card swipe using point-of-sale (POS) machine at select petrol stations.For the explicit purpose of marriage, withdrawals up to Rs 2.5 lakh from bank accounts have been allowed.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das today announced that up to Rs 2.5 lakh could be drawn from one of the bank accounts, either that of the bride, the groom or immediate kin.Das said the weekly withdrawal limit for Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) traders had been relaxed to Rs 50,000. Also, farmers could draw up to Rs 25,000 per week in cash from their KYC-compliant accounts. They could draw Rs 25,000 per week against loans sanctioned or kisan credit cards. Reports suggest that from tomorrow, banks would cater to 60 outside customers and concentrate more on those having accounts with their branch.PTI adds: Quoting of PAN for cash deposits aggregating Rs 2.5 lakh or more in bank accounts is mandatory. Quoting PAN is mandatory for cash deposit of over Rs 50,000 in a single day in scheduled or a cooperative bank. The additional requirement  has been made mandatory to avoid ill-gotten wealth being converted into white.

No takers for coins he got in exchange from bank

Sanjay, along with his mother, shows the Rs 10 coins. Photo: Inderjieet Verma

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 17

Fear of counterfeit coins of Rs 10 denomination being in circulation has increased the suffering of the common man who is already grappling with the situation triggered by the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes by the government.Sanjay, a resident of Kakowal Road, who had received Rs 10 coins in exchange for Rs 1,000 in banned currency, has landed in yet another problem. He has been unable to buy ration since yesterday as no one is accepting Rs 10 coins for the fear of these being fake.“I went to a grocer but he refused to accept the coins, saying that these were fake. I told him that I have got the money from Canara Bank, Chaura Bazar, but he still refused to accept the money. From milkman to bread-seller, no one is accepting these coins. There are widespread rumours of the Reserve Bank having banned the Rs 10 coin,” said Sanjay.Sanjay today visited the BJP party office near Clock Tower to seek their help to exchange the coins. “I could not meet anyone there today but I will visit here again tomorrow,” said Sanjay, a vendor, who is the sole breadwinner of a family of five.“There has been a serious scarcity of money ever since the government banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. My old parents, my wife and child, all are dependent on me. After real hardship, I got the coins in exchange but these are not being accepted in the market,” said Sanjay while showing the coins.He said demonitisation had broken the back of daily wage earners.“I am not against the demonetisation move. But I am against its poor implementation. People are really struggling to get cash. It has been eight days since the announcement was made and there has been no respite,” said Sanjay.Sanjay said travelling by bus and other modes of public transport with coins in the pocket has become a a risky proposition.“Yesterday, a conductor of the city bus declined to accept Rs 10 coins and entered into an argument with my father. The conductor even scuffled with his father and tore his shirt. We can’t board auto-rickshaws and had to walk down to reach home or markets,” said Sanjay, while showing the coins along with his mother.No vegetable vendor was accepting the Rs 10 coins, said Kamlesh, Sanjay’s mother.City Bus service conductors will accept Rs 10 coins: GM“The scuffle with a passenger over Rs 10 coins was unfortunate. We will look into the issue and take action against the erring conductor if found guilty. It is our appeal to passengers that we are accepting Rs 10 coins. Yes, there are rumours that counterfeit Rs 10 coins are in circulation. We have written to banks and met senior officials over this issue. Today, the bank officials said they had not received any instruction from the authorities on banning the Rs 10 coin,” said Baljit, General Manager, City Bus Service.

After Kashmir unrest, note ban further hits Punjab hosiery sector

GONE COLD Some units stop production to tide over cash crunch to pay workers; no new orders

There are only a few brands that have bank accounts of workers; the rest are medium and small units. Traders came to us during weekends and paid in cash. We are not sure if we should accept the old currency. The ban has left us with no cash to pay the labour VINOD THAPAR, chairman of Knitwear Club, Ludhiana EARLIER THIS YEAR, DISTURBANCE IN PRIME MARKET KASHMIR HIT ORDERS; NOW INDUSTRY IS REELING UNDER DEMONETISATION OF `500 & `1,000 NOTES

CHANDIGARH: It was chill of a different kind that the hosiery and blanket industry of Punjab was hoping for this winter. Sales in last two years had not been brisk owing to warmer winters. The only consolation was the Kashmir valley, which has a longer winter spell and good tourist footfall.

HT PHOTO

But Punjab’s winter-dependent industry suffered a major blow this year after months of unrest in Kashmir, following the killing of militant Burhan Wani. Now, the industry is reeling under the aftershocks of demonetisation of `500 and `1,000 notes. Some units in Punjab’s industrial hub, Ludhiana—which has nearly 15,000 big, medium and small hosiery and knitwear units making shawls, sweaters, jackets, gloves, caps and warmers—have cut down production or stopped it altogether owing to cash crunch. So, are the 200-odd blanket manufacturers in Amritsar.

“Our industry has suffered the most this year. Jammu and Kashmir is our biggest market for hosiery products as it has long winters and huge inflow of tourists and pilgrims at Vaishno Devi. But all orders from the Valley this year got cancelled. Our business in other parts of the country is seasonal and we are able to earn only in the winter months. There are only a handful brands that have bank accounts of workers, rest are medium and small units. Most traders from J&K, Himachal, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi came to us during weekends and made payments in cash. We are not sure if we should accept the old currency. The note ban has left us with no cash to pay the labour,” said Vinod Thapar, chairman of Knitwear Club, Ludhiana.

Gurdit Singh, owner, Oster Woollen Mills, Ludhiana, said they stopped the production last week. “The hosiery industry was already hit by relatively warmer winters in the last two years. The return of unsold stock from wholesalers and retailers was also high. This year, we hardly got any orders from Kashmir due to the unrest. After the note ban, there is no fresh demand from retailers and wholesalers, who in turn say there are fewer customers. There is no point in producing when there is no demand,” he said.

Owners of blanket units in Amritsar say traders from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bengal are cancelling orders. “We supply tweed for Kashmiri ‘phiran’. But this year, we were not able to get orders from the Valley as the tourist inflow was hit. Wholesalers and retailers order stocks and it takes 20 days to reach states such as Bihar, Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. After scrapping of old notes, they are calling us to say they do not want the stocks. This season is a total washout for us. We will suffer losses to the tune of crores,” says Sudershan Wadhwa, general secretary of Shastri Market Association in Amritsar, an umbrella body for textile units in the city.

The ripple effect is also being felt by spinning mills, wholesalers and retailers. But the worst affected, say the manufacturers, are labourers from UP and Bihar. “The textile industry is country’s second biggest employer after agriculture. Nearly 99% of our workers are migrants from UP and Bihar. Since some units have stopped production, labourers are feeling insecure and it may worsen the problem as we fear mass migration. Since units are not able to pay the labour in cash, the workers are queuing up outside banks to withdraw cash and not reporting at work,” says Thapar.

But Ashok Jain, who owns Mini King Fashion, welcomed the government’s move. “Our production is 80% of the normal. But once the currency crunch ends, even old stocks will get cleared,” he said. Ajit Lakra, president of Ludhiana knitwear and textile industry, feels demonetisation will lead to some course correction by the industry. “Textile units have started opening accounts of workers. The loss is short-term and sales may pick up eventually,” he said.

Currency claims more lives

DEMONETISATION WOES Bank manager in Haryana dies of heart attack after spending three nights at work, another man also suffers cardiac arrest ahead of daughter’s wedding

Due to the increased work-load, Kumar had been sleeping in his office from the last three days. His family said that he was on medication for heart disease. NEERAJ KUMAR, police station in-charge

From page 01 ROHTAK: A 56-year-old bank manager in Haryana died of a heart attack after spending three days serving hundreds of customers following the government’s shock withdrawal of high-value currency notes of `500 and `1,000.

Police said that Rajesh Kumar, manager of Rohtak’s Cooperative Bank, was found dead in his chamber on Wednesday morning after spending three nights in the office because of the increased work-load.

Banks across India have struggled since `500 and `1,000 notes were recalled last week as millions have poured in to exchange or deposit old currency.

Banks have been asked to open early or close late to accommodate the large crowds, adding to the woes of the bank staff.

“Due to the increased workload, Kumar had been sleeping in his office from the last three days. His family said that he was on medication for heart disease,” said Neeraj Kumar, Shivaji colony police station in-charge. Work at the bank has been suspended.

When a security guard reached the bank on Wednesday morning, he knocked at the manager’s office door but got no reply. He alerted other bank employees and called in the police, who broke the door to find Kumar dead.

The police said that Kumar belonged to Gurgaon and is survived by his wife and two children.

Earlier this week, a man in Punjab’s Tarn Taran had died of heart attack reportedly after not being able to arrange cash for his daughter’s wedding.

RSS on tenterhooks after govt’s demonetisation move

CAUTIOUS Sangh tight-lipped about impact on forthcoming polls, asks BJP to guard against crime rise, possibility of breach in law and order

NEW DELHI: It may have welcomed the Centre’s decision to wage a war against black money by demonetising currency of `500 and `1,000 denomination, but the distress caused to people, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, has not gone unnoticed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

PTI PHOTOSamajwadi Party workers block railway tracks by burning an effigy of PM Narendra Modi in Allahabad on Thursday.

The political mentor of the BJP is learnt to have conveyed to the party the problems in dispersal of new currency.

While the cadre has reported widespread distress among people queuing up to get their old currency exchanged, the Sangh brass is also gearing up to placate the small and medium traders who have been its support base.

According to sources in the Sangh, while a larger section is happy about the surgical strike against black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements perceived to paint the rich as black money hoarders have not been well received.

“There is a danger is generalising. Not all those who have made money are cheats or black money hoarders. It has upset some people,” said a source.

He said the comment was comparable to the PM’s earlier stand on a majority of the cow vigilantes being criminals.

The Sangh is tight-lipped about the impact of demonetisation on the forthcoming state assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and three other states, but admits the move can have an adverse effect. “The wedding season is on and there are people who are facing hardships,” the source said.

The Sangh, however, has thrown its weight behind the government that has ruled out a rollback.

Deputy Prachar Pramukh (media in-charge) J Nandakumar in a tweet said those seeking a rollback of the policy are the “Same Award Wapasi gang, same Afzal Guru supporters and Break India brigade”.

Following feedback from the ground, the BJP has also been sounded off in an informal interaction to guard against rise in crime and the possibility of a breach in law and order.

“In some areas, where people do not use banking facilities, the chances of law and order being disrupted are high. We hope the government will take into account these issues,” said a Sangh functionary.

Officials take `4L bribe in new notes, arrested

THE KANDLA PORT TRUST OFFICIALS WERE HELD FOR ALLEGEDLY ACCEPTING A BRIBE OF `4 LAKH, ALL IN `2,000 NOTES

AHMEDABAD: Within days of the introduction of `2,000 currency notes, Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials in Gujarat arrested two Kandla Port Trust officials in Kutch for allegedly accepting a bribe of `4 lakh — all in new `2,000 notes issued after the demonetisation of old `500 and `1,000 notes.

At the office of the complainant, the ACB laid a trap on Tuesday in which one Rudreshwar Sunamudi had come to collect the bribe amount allegedly on behalf of superintendent engineer (class-1) Shrinivasu and sub-divisional officer identified as Kumtekar. All three accused were arrested.

Where did a huge amount in new `2,000 currency notes come from is still being investigated. The government has fixed the withdrawal limit at `20,000 a week in the wake of the demonetisation decision.

The Narendra Modi government outlawed the higher denomination notes to slam brakes on corruption and unearth black money.

According to the police, Sunamudi played the middle man even as Shrinivasu was supposed to receive a sum of `2.5 lakh and `1.5 lakh was for Kumtekar.

A phone called made by the middleman through the complainant’s landline to one of the accused has also been recorded.

The complainant’s company is engaged in providing material supply to the KPT. And the bribe was demanded against a show cause notice by the KPT to the complainant’s firm for pending work.