India not underdog, it will be tough match: Italy captain Barazzutti

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January 28, 2019

Italy’s non-playing captain Corrado Barazzutti on Monday predicted a tough match against India, insisting that the hosts were not underdogs despite having lower-ranked players compared to his team.

World No 18 Marco Cecchinato will lead Italy’s challenge, while they have two others inside top-60. India’s top-ranked Prajnesh Gunneswaran on the other hand is world number 102.

“In Davis Cup, the ranking is only important for the draws on who plays first and who plays second. But everything changes once you step on the courts. No one are underdogs I think. It will be a tough match,” Barazzutti told reporters after their first practice session on grass courts of the Calcutta South Club.

On head-to-head count, Italy lead India 4-1. India won the last time they played in Kolkata, in 1985.

India opted to host formidable Italy on grass on February 1 and 2 on grass courts, considering that the visitors have tough hard and clay court players.

The winner of the tie will qualify for the inaugural World Group Finals in Madrid in November this year.

“They are playing at home and on grass. We have to be focused and play with utmost respect. It’s always very difficult to play when you play for your country. It’s important for us for sure.

“They are a good side. They are good players. We have to show bigger respect to this team, these players because they are very good,” Barazzutti who was part of the Davis Cup winning Italian team in 1976, said.

The five-member team got used to the lush green South Club courts sweating it out for close to two hours.

Controversy can help Pandya scale new heights in career: Kohli

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January 28, 2019

India captain Virat Kohli on Monday hoped all-rounder Hardik Pandya will come out a “better cricketer” and scale new heights after making a promising return from the suspension that followed his sexist remarks on a TV show.

Pandya, who is still facing an inquiry for his loose talk on women, did not get to bat in the third ODI against New Zealand here Monday but the 25-year-old bowled and fielded with purpose, taking two crucial wickets and a brilliant catch to send back home skipper Kane Williamson.

Kohli, after having condemned the comments made by Pandya and K L Rahul on the chat show, on Monday reserved words of encouragement for the all-rounder.

“In life, there are only two ways to deal with a situation like that. Either you hit rock bottom or you can learn from the situation and see it as a motivation to make things right,” said Kohli after leading India to a series-sealing seven-wicket win over the Black Caps.

“For a cricketer, there is nothing more dear than game. You put all your energy in the game, if you respect the game, the game will respect you back. There is no rocket science.”

The Indian skipper said Pandya showed the required intensity in his comeback game and is already on the road to redemption.

“You don’t need do anything extra (in a situation like Pandya’s). Whoever comes out of it positive, his career can scale new heights, like we have seen with many cricketers in the past.

“I hope he goes on that right path and emerges as a better cricketer and I think he can do that,”said Kohli.

Pandya was sent back home from Australia earlier this month after BCCI suspended him and Rahul pending an inquiry.

It seemed that he would also miss the entire tour of New Zealand but the Committee of Administrators (CoA) revoked their interim suspension last week and now their fate will be decided by an Ombudsman who is yet to be appointed by the Supreme Court.

Kohli said any team in the world would love to have Pandya.

“It is very very good to have him. He provides balance to the team. The way he bowled today showed that he went back and was practising his skills. You can tell with his intensity, he picked up two crucial wickets as well.

“He is someone who will give you those important contributions in all three departments. The team also looks much more balanced with him around. He is in a good head space and I hope he can continue with that,” added Kohli.

Solo films are easy to make because there are no flying egos, says Emraan

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January 28, 2019

Emraan Hashmi has preferred to star in solo lead films since the beginning of his career and the actor says the decision came from the “greed” of being able to showcase the complete arc of his characters.

The 39-year-old actor, who made his debut in 2003 with multi-starrer “Footpath” and went on to deliver solo hits like “Murder”, “Jannat”, “Awarapan”, “Raaz 2” among others, said it is easier to make a solo film as there are no “flying egos” on the sets.

“I’m greedy and selfish. I get more time in a solo film to play an entire arc. Not that I haven’t done ensemble films but only a few. But what happens (in ensembles) is that the screen time gets divided. You don’t have much time to play that whole character arc. So it comes out of selfishness,” Emraan told an agency.

“These times are the toughest to make an ensemble films… It’s more to do with ego management of actors on board. Four stars or five stars and everyone has to be given their due. So it becomes tough for the producer. Solo films are easy to make because there are no flying egos,” he added.

Following his initial success, Emraan went on to star in similar projects and the actor said he picked up whatever was being offered without taking the scripts in consideration.

“Early on I was doing films which were just coming to me. Scripts were choosing me, rather than me choosing the scripts. There was a certain kind of cinema that was doing well and I was kind of just recreating that. It was slightly repetitive for me but afterwards, I really got passionate about acting.”

The actor believes films such as “Awarapan”, “Jannat”, “Dirty Picture” and “Once Upon a Time in Mumbai” gave a great push to his career.

“They were all different kinds of films that did well. Then I came into my own and said to myself ‘Now I am going to really pay attention to myself and try my hand at different variety of roles’,” he added.

The actor’s last release was “Why Cheat India”. The concept of the film and Emraan’s performance has been well-received by the audience.

He is currently working on Netflix’s “Bard of Blood”.

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.