HUBBALLI  MONDAY  JANUARY 28, 2019  `6.00  PAGES 30  CITY EDITION SEVENTH HEAVEN: DJOKOVIC SAILS INTO HISTORY BOOKS Serbian World No 1 beats Rafael Nadal in straight sets, wins the Australian Open for an unprecedented seventh time MAJOR TITLE NUMBER 15 ■ 21 HAT-TRICK OF SLAMS FOR THIRD TIME It also marked the 31-year-old’s 15 Slam titles, putting him in sole third place in the all-time list for men. Coming into the match, the Spaniard had only been broken once but his adversary broke him five times as he wiped the floor 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic, who had reached just one Slam final for two years from June 2016, has won the last three Majors ■ The Serb has now won a hat-trick of Majors for the third time in his career. On the win at Melbourne, he said: “It’s one of the best, if not the best, matches I have played in a Slam final.” At the French Open, Djokovic now has the opportunity to hold all P13 Major Championships for a second time in his career DJOKOVIC HAS WON THE LAST 21 GRAND SLAM MATCHES CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI POOR POLL SHOW Siddu hints at internal sabotage PM takes on TN parties and Left Says 10% quota won’t affect existing reservation and a few in Tamil Nadu are creating an atmosphere of mistrust; in Kerala, Modi attacks state govt on Sabarimala issue EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Madurai, Thrissur MONTHS after assembly elections results, former chief minister Siddaramaiah said “jealousy” caused his defeat. Speaking at the inauguration of a Kanaka Bhavan in Bengaluru on Sunday Siddaramaiah hint, ed at inter nal sabotage for his poor performance in Badami as well as his loss in Chamundeshwari seat. While he passed subtle jibes at foes within the party, his close aides like BDA chairman S T Somashekhar criticised the coalition government led by H D Kumaraswamy, and minister Puttaranga Shetty claimed that Siddaramaiah was still “their CM”. The event stopped short of being a coalition-bashing platform. “They defeated me out of jealousy and through false propaganda. I have always conducted myself with selfrespect and not by bowing down to someone else,” SidP5 daramaiah said. VIRTUALLY sounding the Lok Sabha poll bugle in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked the Dravidian parties for opposing the 10 per cent quota for the economically weaker sections. Addressing an election rally in Madurai, Modi said a few in the state were creating an “atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust” for ‘selfish’ interests, and asked the people of the State to remain vigilant against such ‘negative forces’. The Centre’s 10 per cent quota for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the general category in education and government jobs will not impact the existing reservation benefits for Dalits, Tribals and OBCs, Modi said. Taking a swipe at the proposed grand alliance of opposition parties, he said they had set aside their ‘differences’ to “remove this watchman” in the forthcoming Parliamentary elections. Attacking the opposition further, Modi said the Centre’s efforts against corruption have created a stir “from Chennai to @ Bengaluru #GOBACKMODI VS #TNWELCOMESMODI Tamil Nadu BJP party functionaries presenting a momento to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a party function in Madurai on Sunday | EXPRESS Delhi”. “All those used to ‘making bills’ in government contracts are now facing the music. That is why they are coming together,” he said. Modi, who started his address by extending salutations in Tamil, paid tributes to the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa. The PM, who earlier laid the foundation stone for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at nearby Thoppur, said the hospital would be “ready soon.” Addressing a packed audience in Thrissur, the PM lashed out at the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala and said the Sabarimala issue had shown to the people of the country how the communist government was trying to disrespect the culture of the state. Modi also criticised the UDF saying they were just like communists. “UDF say one thing in Delhi and another in Kerala,” he added indicating the stand taken by UDF president Rahul Gandhi and the Kerala Congress unit over the Sabarimala issue P6 in the initial stage. Cases against 8 for opposing kids’ R-Day parade in Haveri G A N G A D H A R H U G A R @ Haveri HEGDE DOES IT AGAIN Known for his controversial remarks, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ananth Kumar Hegde said anyone touching a Hindu girl should lose his hand, claiming that attempts are on to wipe out Hindu identity THE Haveri police on Saturday night arrested eight people for opposing a rally by schoolchildren when it was passing in front of a mosque on Republic Day. The incident was reported at Hirur village of Hangal taluk. When the rally by students of the Government Primary School was passing in front of the mosque, a few men came out and started abusing the children, asking them to stop beating the drums as it was against “village law”. The teachers and others, who were with the students, had heated verbal arguments with the group of men. On Saturday evening, the School Development Management Committee lodged a complaint with the police de- Hardik Patel ties knot with childhood friend E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi P5 WITH THIS ISSUE THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST YOUR LIFE COACH 30 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID) manding action against the men who tried to stop the rally Based on the com. plaint, police arrested them and they were granted bail on Saturday night. The arrested were Abdulsab Darga, Makbul Hanchinmani, Mohammad Azam Hangal, Anees Ahamed Dadamiyanavar, Hazare Hanchinmane, Mohammad Sadik, Kazamuddin Akki and Riyaz Halkod, all residents of Hirur village. According to the police, the men came out of the mosque and demanded that the music band be stopped. “The group tried to snatch the band equipment and entered into a verbal duel with the school authorities despite the latter’s explanation that the rally is of a school and not by any religious group,” said a P4 senior police officer. Patidar leader Hardik Patel and his childhood friend Kinjal Parikh at their wedding ceremony in Digsar village of Gujarat on Sunday | PTI PATIDAR agitation leader Hardik Patel tied the knot with his childhood friend Kinjal Parikh in a traditional ceremony at Surendranagar in Gujarat on Sunday . The 25-year-old, who recently shared the dais with leaders of Opposition parties in Kolkata, kept the wedding a private affair, with only a handful of guests. Kinjal is a graduate pursuing a degree in law, and she and Hardik’s sister Monika were classmates. B’LURU CHEER ‘High josh’ for Def Min as she watches ‘Uri’ E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @Bengaluru THERE was a patriotic surge and ‘high josh’ at the Central Spirit Mall in Bellandur on Sunday afternoon when Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman went there to watch one of the popular Hindi films — Uri: The Surgical Strike, with a group of military veterans. The well-researched film — based on the 2016 Indian Army’s surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir as a retaliation for the Uri attack that claimed the lives of 17 army personnel— has become a super hit among viewers, pack- Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (second from left) watches the movie ‘Uri’ with war veterans in Bengaluru on Sunday | EXPRESS ing theatres to ‘houseful’ even on weekdays. Videos of Sitharaman entering the mall, greeted by the veterans and their family members amid cries of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram!”, besides, of course, the film’s most popular catch line “How’s the josh?- High Sir!”, went viral with thousands viewing it and positively commenting on it. “”Finally finding time to watch it (the movie),” the minister tweeted as she sat in the multiplex theatre in the midst of veterans and their family members to watch the film. “Sorry, meant to tag you,” she tweeted as the film began as she tagged Aditya Dhar, Yami Gautam, Vicky Kaushal and Ronnie Screwvala. “And it starts. P5 #highjosh.” Twitter war erupted between supporters and opponents of PM Modi during his visit to Tamil Nadu. On Sunday, when Modi landed in Madurai, the #GoBackModi was trending in a repeat of April 12, 2018 when Modi visited Chennai. To counter the online campaign, BJP supporters started various hashtags such as #TNWelcomesModi. While till around 1 pm #GoBackModi topped the trends, in the afternoon it was #TNWelcomesModi Congress and Communist parties talking about democracy is the biggest joke Narendra Modi, PM EXPRESS READ Hearing on Ayodhya Saina Nehwal wins case deferred further Indonesia Masters The much-awaited hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case, which was scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, has been deferred further following non-availability of Justice S A Bobde on that day. Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal on Sunday claimed her first BWF title in two years after threetime world champion Carolina Marin of Spain limped out of the Indonesia Masters final due to a leg injury. Saina was trailing 4-10 in the game. P13