NCP targets BJP, Cong attacks Gadkari over minister’s remarks

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January 28, 2019

A day after Union minister Nitin Gadkari said leaders who fail to fulfil promises get “beaten up” by people, the NCP said his remarks reflected voices within the BJP against “failure” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while a Congress leader accused Gadkari of “lying”.

NCP’s national spokesperson Nawab Malik on Monday claimed that Gadkari, the Lok Sabha member from Nagpur, was also trying to establish himself as an alternative to Modi “as the BJP was going to lose” the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“The way Gadkariji has become outspoken after the Assembly polls in the three states (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh), it indicates there will be no Modi and BJP government after the polls,” Malik said.

NCP’s ally Congress had last month emerged victorious in the elections in these three Hindi heartland states, dislodging the BJP from power there.

“Somewhere, voice is being raised within the BJP over Modi’s failure. Since the BJP is going to lose, he (Gadkari) is trying to establish himself as the alternative to Modi,” Malik said.

Congress leader from Nagpur Ashish Deshmukh attacked Gadkari, saying he was “lying” and charged the minister with not keeping promises he had made to people about separate Vidarbha state, sea-plane at Ambazari lake in Nagpur and others.

Deshmukh said Gadkari’s remarks applied to the minister as well.

Hence, people of Nagpur are eager to give him a “jolt” in the upcoming polls for showing false dreams to farmers, to youth about employment, and those pertaining to industries, tourism, education and medical services, a statement quoted Deshmukh as saying.

Gadkari had on Sunday said political leaders who sell dreams to people, but fail to make them a reality get “beaten up” by the public.

The minister had asserted he is a doer and delivers on his promises.

Last month, Gadkari said at an event in Pune that leadership should have the tendency to own up defeat and failures.

The remarks had come days after the BJP’s dismal show in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls.

At the valedictory function of the annual Marathi literary meet at Yavatmal on January 13, Gadkari had said politicians should not interfere in other fields.

The meet was embroiled in a controversy after an invitation to writer Nayantara Sahgal was withdrawn apparently under pressure from a political party.

Man arrested with cannabis worth Rs 9 lakh in Thane

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January 28, 2019

A man was Monday arrested allegedly with cannabis worth Rs 9 lakh in Maharashtra’s Thane district, an Anti Narcotic Cell official said.

Acting on a tip-off, an ANC team of Thane police laid a trap at Shil Phata area here and apprehended the man when he arrived near a hotel on a scooter, said ANC senior inspector Kishore Khairnar.

He identified the accused as Amol Hirve, a resident of Turbhe in Navi Mumbai, and said 28.5 kilogrammes of the drug was seized from him.

A case has been registered under the the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at Shil Daighar police station, Khairnar said.

NGT refuses to entertain plea to release adequate water from dam to Narmada downstream

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January 28, 2019

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has refused to entertain a plea seeking the release of adequate water from the Sardar Sarovar dam to the downstream areas of the Narmada River, noting that there was already a tribunal to adjudicate the matter.

A bench headed by Justice Raghuvendra S Rathore said two bodies — the Water Dispute Tribunal and the Narmada Control Authority — were already constituted to look into the issues related to the river.

“Therefore, it would be appropriate that the present matter be also placed before the Narmada Tribunal so as to consider all aspects of the grievance raised by the applicant. The applicant would be free to represent his case before the tribunal,” the bench, also comprising expert member Satyawan Singh Garbyal, said.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by the Narmada Pradushan Nivaran Samiti and the Bharuch Citizen Council, seeking directions to make an urgent provision for the release of 1,500 cusecs of water from the Sardar Sarovar dam to the downstream areas of the river on a daily basis.

The plea claimed that the drying up of the river bed was causing immense damage to the environment, agriculture and the local industries.

The petitioners claimed that the river was reduced to a small stream as only 600 cusecs of water were being released from the dam.

The petition referred to a letter written by the Narmada and Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpsar department, which had said the water released for the downstream areas of the river was not sufficient and immediate intervention was needed.

Yet to receive any proposal from BJP on seat sharing: Sanjay Raut

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January 28, 2019

Shiv Sena has not yet received any proposal from the BJP on seat sharing in Maharashtra for the coming Lok Sabha polls, said Rajya Sabha member and Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday.

When asked to comment on the BJP’s reportedly seat-sharing formula of 50:50, Raut said: “We have not yet received any proposal in this regard. And we are not here to accept a proposal like this.”

“We were the big brother in Maharashtra. We are the big brother and will stay as the big brother,” Raut said while talking to media persons after the Shiv Sena’s parliamentary party meeting held at the residence of Uddhav Thackeray. In Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election as an ally, and won 41 seats out of a total of 48 at stake in the state. BJP had won 22 seats, while the Shiv Sena 19. However, they contested the subsequent Assembly polls separately.

Briefing media about the other issues which came up for discussion during the meeting, Raut said: “We had a discussion on Rafale jet deal, drought, and also income tax waiver for those reserved category 10 per cent people whose annual income is under Rs 8 lakh.”

“The demand of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and the party is that those covered under the 10 per cent EWS quota for the general category with an annual income of Rs 8 lakh must be exempted from paying the income tax. You have certified that they are poor. I know these people will be happy with the income tax exemption,” said Raut.

‘The first hosh, then josh’: Congress targets Manohar Parrikar’s Uri remark

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January 28, 2019

The opposition Congress on Monday said that while the BJP-led Goa administration has “collapsed” and the state’s debt is mounting, the chief minister is asking about the ‘spirit’ among people in the state.

During the inauguration of third bridge on the Mandovi river in Panaji on Sunday, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had begun his speech with a catchy line from the recently released film “Uri: The Surgical Strike”, asking the gathering “how’s the josh?” Parrikar was the defence minister at the time of the surgical strike conducted by the Army in September 2016.

Retorting to Parrikar’s remark, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar on Monday said while the administration had collapsed pushing the state into a “crisis”, some leaders were asking “how’s the josh”.

“Pehle hosh me aao, baad me josh ki baat karo (first come to your senses and then talk about josh). Everyone is sleeping in the state. The ministers are sleeping and hence, the administration has collapsed,” Chodankar told reporters.

“How will you see the josh among people? Just inauguration of the bridge is not enough to bring josh. The government should first come to its senses,” he added.

Chodankar said the state government first needed to see the ground reality.

The current government is running by taking advantage of “loopholes in the Constitution”, he alleged, claiming that no proper Assembly sessions were being held and the state’s debt was sky-rocketing, touching the Rs 13,000-crore mark.

However, Goa BJP spokesman Damodar Naik said Parrikar’s public appearance and his speech during the river bridge inauguration was a “slap” on the opposition’s face.

“Despite all what the opposition is saying, Parrikar proved them wrong. At least now stop raising a question mark on his capability to run the state,” he said.

Naik said Parrikar was “sharp enough and active” to run the state, which was proved beyond doubt after his speech at the bridge inauguration event.

After tussle with Trinamool, BJP shifts Modi’s Bengal rally venue

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January 28, 2019

The BJP has decided to shift the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in North 24 Parganas’ Thakurnagar, as the site where it was scheduled to be held has been booked by the Trinamool Congress.

The ground, where Modi was supposed to address the mega-gathering on February 2, has been booked by Mamata Banerjee’s party for a week-long religious programme.

According to BJP leaders, the venue was also not big enough and did not meet the security requirements.

“We will organise the rally on February 2 at Thakurnagar but the land or the venue where we were supposed to organise it has been changed and it has been shifted to another a nearby ground,” BJP state president Dilip Ghosh told agencies.

“It has been done mainly due to two reasons — the new ground is much bigger than the previous one and secondly TMC had already booked the previous venue for the religious programme. So we didn’t want to take any risk,” he said.

The Special Protection Group, which guards the prime minister, was also not happy with the previous venue as it did not meet the security requirements, Ghosh said.

The BJP-aligned faction of All India Matua Mahasangha is organising the rally. Modi’s proposed rally is of immense political significance as the area is known as the hub of Matua community and is near the house of its matriarch Binapani Debi.

Ghosh alleged, “Whenever we try to organise any rally, the TMC tries to create hurdles. This time too there has been no difference. So we decided not to take any chance.”

The Trinamool Congress denied the charge and called the allegation “baseless”.

Rafale audio tapes authentic, Parrikar possesses explosive secrets: Rahul Gandhi

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January 28, 2019

Rahul Gandhi on Monday alleged that the ‘Goa audio tapes’, cited by the Congress to attack the Centre on the Rafale issue, were authentic and the state’s Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is in possession of ‘explosive secrets’ that give him power over Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Gandhi’s sharp attack came days after the Congress cited an audio tape in which Goa minister Vishwajit Rane was purportedly heard telling an unidentified person that Parrikar has Rafale files, due to which, he has managed to continue in the chair.

Tagging a media report in which Rane was quoted as saying after the row erupted in the first week of January that the tapes were ‘doctored’, the Congress chief tweeted, “30 days since the Goa Audio Tapes on RAFALE were released. No FIR or inquiry ordered. No action against the Minister either!”

“It’s obvious that the tapes are authentic & that Goa CM, Parrikar, is in possession of explosive Rafale secrets that give him power over the PM,” Gandhi said.

A war of words had erupted between the Congress and the BJP over Parrikar’s purported claim that he had a file on the Rafale jet deal ‘lying in his bedroom’. In the clip released by the Congress, Rane was purportedly heard saying that during a Goa cabinet meeting, Parrikar stated he had an entire file and all documents relating to the Rafale deal lying in his bedroom.

Gandhi had also made an attempt in Lok Sabha’s Winter Session to play an audio tape. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said the tape was “false and fabricated”, and asked the Congress president if he could authenticate it.

Parrikar, on his part, had termed the audio clip as a desperate attempt to fabricate facts.

The Congress, which has alleged corruption and favouritism in the Rafale deal and accused the prime minister of it. The government has denied the charges levelled by the Congress and said the deal is clean, without any corruption or middlemen.

PolicyBazaar aims to collect Rs 3,500 crore premium in FY19

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January 28, 2019

Insurance portal Policybazaar which has recently raised around Rs 1,360 crore through a fresh round of investment, has said it aims to collect Rs 3,500 crore premium by the end of the current fiscal, a senior company official said.

It collected premium of about Rs 1,800 crore in FY18, Head of Communications and spokesperson of Policybazaar.com Group of Companies Aman Dhall told agencies.

“The company is on track to achieve over Rs 3,500 crore premium mark. Our focus would continue to create awareness around protection products that provide coverage against death, disease and disability,” he said.

“We believe that protection products will be the driver of future insurance growth. We are confident of reaching 10 million customers by CY20,” Dhall added.

According to him, calendar year 2018 ended with a collection of Rs 2,500 crore premium on its platform, emerging as the single largest insurance distributor in India (outside of banks).

Overall, Policybazaar.com accounts for 25 per cent of India’s life insurance sold online, he added.

On the health insurance side, Policybazaar.com provided a sum insured of Rs 2 lakh crore cover to the consumers in CY18 which accounts for nearly 10 per cent of India’s retail health business, he added.

Policybazaar.com became the first internet-based company in India to turn profitable on yearly basis from among the start-ups that have emerged in the last decade in FY17.

It has been profitable in FY17 and FY18 and has hit a new milestone of six million online insurance buyers by the end of CY18, Dhall said.

Policybazaar.com has backing from a host of high-profile investors including Softbank, InfoEdge (Naukri. com), Inventus Capital, Tiger Global Management, Steadview Capital, Premji Invest, Temasek and Ribbit Capital.

The 8,000+ headstrong company is valued at little over a USD one billion. From traffic of 180,000 visitors in 2008, PolicyBazaar.com as of now hosts nearly 100 million visitors yearly.

India beat New Zealand by 7-wickets in 3rd ODI to seal series

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January 28, 2019

India comfortably beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the third One-Day International to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, here Monday.

Ross Taylor top-scored for the hosts with a 106-ball 93, while Tom Latham hits a 64-ball 51.

For India, Rohit Sharma (62) and skipper Virat Kohli (60) hit half-centuries.

The fourth match will be played on Thursday in Hamilton.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand: 243 all out in 49 overs (Ross Taylor 93, T Latham 51; Mohammed Shami 3/41, Hardik Pandya 2/46).

India: 245 for 3 in 43 overs.

‘Thugs of Hindostan’ failure is my responsibility: Mr. Perfectionist

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January 28, 2019

Superstar Aamir Khan says that the audience has the full right to be harsh towards a film and feels they got a chance to take out their frustration when “Thugs of Hindostan” failed.

Released during Diwali last year, “Thugs” featured an ensemble cast which includes Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Sheikh. Touted as one of the biggest event films, the movie met with extreme criticism and crashed upon its release. However, Aamir said that he doesn’t need to forgive director Vijay Krishna Acharya as they all set out to make a good film. “Every director that I work with, they are good and their intentions are good. We all aim to make a good film but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Filmmaking is difficult. I’m a team player. If my director has gone wrong, I’ve gone wrong with him. I don’t mind failing with my director on his or her instincts. I don’t have a problem. I believe in the director and if he has gone wrong, I have too. We will learn from our mistakes,” Aamir said in a group interview.

The actor further said that he took the responsibility for the failure as the audience came in to watch the film for him. “Audience came to watch the film on my name. So it was my responsibility. To that audience I feel personally and fully responsible,” he added.

While the film was bashed from all quarters, there was a section which felt the criticism was unfair. Aamir said he’s aware there are people who liked the film but wouldn’t want to be judgemental towards those who didn’t. “I’ve met a lot of people who told me they liked the film. But I don’t judge these things. I think the audience has full right to say exactly what they want and they can be harsh in their criticism, that’s their right. If there was a certain amount of harshness, so be it. Also, I didn’t give a flop film since a long time. So people got an opportunity to take out their anger, which is good too. It’s been years since I have had a failure.”

The actor was in conversation with the media to promote his upcoming production, “Rubaru Roshni”. Directed by Svati Chakravarty Bhatkal, the film chronicles three real life stories of grief and forgiveness.