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Kumaraswamy threatens to quit; Upset over Cong MLAs remarks

January 28, 2019

The acrimony between the Congress and the JDS in Karnataka reached a new high with Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday threatening to step down, saying he never “craved” for power.

His comments a day after a ruling Congress MLA demanded that Siddaramaiah be made the chief minister again.

At an event in the city on Sunday, ST Somashekhar had claimed that development works had come to a grinding halt here and other parts of the state.

Strongly reacting to the comments, Kumaraswamy said, “If my way of functioning is not acceptable, I am ready to resign. I don’t crave for position.

“Our government has taken up projects worth Rs one lakh crore including suburban train, elevated corridor and peripheral ring road,” the chief minister told reporters after dedicating six-coach metro rail on ‘Green Line’ at the Mantri Square Metro Station.

A red-faced Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao, who too was present there, said such statements by the Congress MLAs were not acceptable and a showcause notice would be issued to them.

“Today Rs 8,000 crore worth work is happening. I condemn such public statements and will issue a showcause notice to them,” Rao told reporters.

“Morning I saw S T Somashekhar’s statement. It breaches the disciplinary line. The coalition government has done lots of development work in Bengaluru.”

The works sanctioned by the previous Siddaramaiah government were also being taken up, he said.

Noting that Somashekhar was chairperson of the Bengaluru Development Authority, he said, “His public statement is inappropriate. I condemn it and I will issue a show-cause notice to him.”

“If there are any shortcomings in our government, they should discuss straightaway with chief minister or Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara, who is in charge minister of Bengaluru… We cannot tolerate indiscipline,” he said.

AICC general secretary and Karnataka in charge K V Venugopal said in a tweet, “Instructed Karnataka PCC to send a showcause notice to Somashekhar MLA seeking clarification on his controversial remarks.

“If the explanation is not satisfactory, party will take strong disciplinary action.@INCIndia will not tolerate any such indiscipline statements and actions,” he said.

Somashekhar had Sunday said, “The coalition government is in power for the past seven months but not a single work has taken place. It is Siddaramaiah who set up the Kempegowda Development Authority after the founder of Bengaluru city.”

Rubbishing the MLA’s demand, Siddaramaiah said the coalition government is for five years and there was no question of him becoming Chief Minister.

“There is no question of my becoming chief minister again. This government is for five years,” Siddaramaiah said.

Taking a potshot at the chief minister, BJP spokesperson Tejaswini Gowda said, “Kumaraswamy must practice what he says.He must step down.

Maratha quota: HC tells govt to give whole report to petitioners

Web Team

January 28, 2019

The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to give copies of the entire report of the Backward Class Commission on Maratha reservation to petitioners challenging the quota decision. A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre quelled fears of the state government that certain portions of the report would create communal tension and law and order problems, saying “there is nothing worrisome”.

In November 2018, the commission had submitted an exhaustive report on the issue of Maratha reservation. On the basis of the report, the state legislature had on November 30 passed a Bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education for Marathas, declared as a socially and educationally backward class by the government. However, several petitions were then filed in the HC challenging the reservation and the petitioners had sought a copy of the backward class commission’s report.

On previous hearings, Maharashtra’s Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni had told the court that the state was ready to submit the entire report to the court but would give a truncated version to petitioners. Around 20 pages of the report will have to be masked before giving to the petitioners. These pages are about the history of the Maratha community and the state feels that it may create communal tension and law and order problems.

Last week, the government submitted the entire report to the bench which said it would peruse and decide.

“We have gone through the entire report. We feel everything should be given to the petitioners without any masking or deletion. There is nothing worrisome according to us,” Justice More said on Monday.

The bench then directed the government to give copies of the entire report to the petitioners on Tuesday. The court said that it would commence final hearing in the petitions on February 6. While few of the petitions challenged the government’s decision to provide 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to the Maratha community, several others were filed in support of it. However, the government had earlier this month filed its affidavit in the petitions and justified its decision to grant reservation to Marathas, saying that it was meant to alleviate the community from its social and economic backwardness.

Marathas, a politically-influential community constituting around 30 per cent of the state’s population, have been demanding reservation in jobs and education.

Gold futures up Rs 165 on firm global leads

Web Team

January 28, 2019

Gold prices rose by Rs 165 to Rs 32,508 per 10 gram in futures trade on Friday as speculators raised their bets, taking positive cues from the global markets. However, in the domestic market, the prices were up on increase in demand from local jewellers because of the ongoing wedding season.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in February was trading higher by Rs 165, or 0.51 per cent, at Rs 32,508 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 13,435 lots.

Similarly, gold for delivery in April was trading up by Rs 169, or 0.52 per cent, at Rs 32,600 per 10 gram. Globally, gold was trading 1.77 per cent higher at USD 1,301 an ounce in Singapore.

ICC suspended Ambati Rayudu from bowling in international cricket

Web Team

January 28, 2019

Ambati Rayudu was suspended on Monday from bowling in international cricket by the ICC after the Indian player opted against getting his suspect action tested within the stipulated 14-day period.

“Rayudu was reported for a suspect action during the first ODI against Australia on January 13. The player elected not to submit to a test of his bowling action within the stipulated period of 14 days of being reported for a suspect action, and therefore he has been suspended with immediate effect. The suspension will remain in place until he is tested, and can demonstrate he is able to bowl with a legal action,” the ICC said in a statement.

The suspension was done in accordance with clause 4.2 of the ICC regulations which deals with the legality of bowling actions. However, according to Article 11.5 of the ICC regulations and with the consent of the BCCI, the 33-year-old is free to bowl in domestic cricket played under the auspices of the Indian Board.

The Andhra Pradesh cricketer is primarily a middle-order batsman and has a mere three wickets from the 121 ODI deliveries he has bowled in his 49-match ODI career so far. However, he has been handed the ball on only nine occasions in the 50-over format and has never bowled in T20 Internationals.

Nicholas Hoult opens up working with ex Jennifer Lawrence

Web Team

January 28, 2019

Actor Nicholas Hoult says that he considers ex-girlfriend Jennifer Lawrence a part of his “X-Men” “family”. Hoult, 29, and Lawrence, 28, started dating after meeting on the sets of “X-Men: First Class”. The couple split after four years in 2014. However, during a recent interview with Evening Standard, Hoult carefully addressed the on-set situation with him and Lawrence as he insisted that there is no awkwardness between them.

“It’s pretty similar to ‘Skins’, we’re a big family, and we’ve been doing those movies since we were 20 years old. As much as the ‘Skins’ crowd grew up together, the ‘X-Men’ crowd really grew up together. It’s been a good eight, nine years making those movies. We’ve all got to get along, we’ve all got to have fun. The really beautiful thing about this last film is that (writer and director) Kim Berger has given me somewhere nice and new to experiment and go with the character. Which is cool,” he said.

Hoult is currently dating model Bryana Holly. The couple has a son, who was born in April, 2018. However, Lawrence is rumoured to be dating gallery director Cooke Maroney. Furthermore the two stars will once again feature together in the latest installment of the franchise called “Dark Phoenix” which is set to release on June 9 this year.

Low Growth in few sectors needs urgent attention

Web Team

January 28, 2019

Retail inflation at 18-month low

Retail inflation dropped to 18 months low at 2.19 per cent. Due to deflation in December 2018, pulses and its products -7.1 per cent, vegetables -16.1 per cent, sugar, and confectionery -9.2 per cent, egg -4.3 per cent etc. were in negative territories. In economics, the decline in the level of the general value of commodities and services is called deflation. Deflation occurs only when the rate of annual inflation falls below zero per cent, which in turn leads to an increase in the real value of the currency so that the buyer can buy more items in the same amount. In this case, inflation reduces the real value of the currency, while deflation increases the real value of the currency.

In December 2018, fuel inflation remained confined to 4.5 per cent due to a lessening of the price of crude oil in the international market. Due to a surge of 9.0 per cent in health and 8.4 per cent in education, core retail inflation increased to 5.73 per cent in December 2018. Core inflation means the change in the price of commodities involved in the basket. It does not include high fluctuations in prices such as food and fuel.

The most amazing aspect of inflation data is the increase in rural health and education inflation, as there is a decline in rural demand in the present time. This may be due to the change in the procedure of collection of data and the upgradation of health services due to the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme. One reason may be an increase in the prices of medicines. Another surprising aspect of the case is that the cost of education in rural areas has also increased. In such a situation, the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) should disclose the real reasons by examining the increase in the cost of service in the rural area from October 2018.

Service inflation is increasing faster than commodity inflation

When analysing economic activities, it is common to differentiate between services and commodity. Globally, the inflation of services increases faster than inflation of commodities. Now even in India, such a situation is being seen. Inflation is rising with respect to housing since March 2018 and the commodity remains above the inflation. In December 2018, the difference was 60 BPS. The difference in inflation between goods and services is continuously rising and it has reached 212 BPS.

Differences in retail and wholesale inflation

Wholesale and retail inflation was running simultaneously until October 2017. After that, the difference between the two series was 205 BPS in January 2018. The difference between the two decreased to 9 BPS in May 2018. Later, the difference between these two started to increase again and by December 2018 this increased to 161 BPS. A big reason for this is that the immature market, which is present in all over the country. Prices are declining in the wholesale market, but this trend is not visible in the retail market. The decline in prices in the wholesale market is much faster than the retail market. Demand for goods and services are not increasing

In the second half of the financial year (FY) 2019, the story of demand cannot be called satisfactory. The growth rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter was 6.7 per cent, which is not encouraging at all. Automobile sales declined 23 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY 2018. From the fourth quarter of FY 2018 to third quarter of FY 2019, growth was at the rate of 6.7 per cent on the year-on-year basis. In the December quarter of the current financial year, demand for heavy commercial vehicles was also not encouraging. There is also a slow increase in the consumption of oil products. It saw an increase of 9 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY 2018; while in the third quarter of FY 2019, increase in the volume of petroleum products has decreased to 1.8 per cent The GDP figures show a slow increase in personal consumption expenditure. In the second quarter of FY 2019, the private financing expenditure (PFCE) decreased to 5.2 per cent, which was 7.8 per cent in the first half of FY 2019. In this context government spending, expenditure is also not expected too much increase. It is notable that it is natural to see the negative impact of the decline in PFCE on the GDP.

Investment data is also not positive. According to the quarter on quarter (QOQ) figures, there is Degrowth of 13 per cent in investment. Degrowth means to reduce consumption, but not to cut welfare activities. In this context, a significant decline in the investment in electricity and water sector has also been recorded. Pradhan Mantri Asha Scheme has been launched to give fair value to the farmers produce, but under this, the procurement is not being increased. At present, the performance of this scheme is very weak. To help the farmers in this light, there is a need to consider other options.

In order to solve problems of lessee farmers, the NITI Aayog, brought the Model Agricultural Land Act, 2016, which aims to legalize the process of leasing agricultural land, so that banks and financial institutions can provide agricultural loans to lessee farmers. Now in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, this Act has been given legal form. However, the benefits of this law are still to be seen.

Economic activities are at low level in the third quarter of FY19

According to the Composite Leading Indicator (CLI), the economic activity in the third quarter of FY 2019 has slowed down and the GDP growth in the second half of the fiscal year 2019 is estimated to be below 7 per cent. Significantly, CLI works on 32 leading indicators. The slowdown is seen in the sale of the public vehicle, which is an indicator of urban demand, and sales of commercial vehicles are also low in November 2018. Domestic air passenger traffic has also seen a decline in November 2018.

The cement production is an indicator in the manufacturing activity has increased by 8 per cent in the month of November 2018, which was 18 per cent in the previous month. This is 12 months low on the basis of year-on-year. Further, during the month of November 2018, the Degrowth of 0.4 per cent was seen in IIP manufacturing activity, which is a sign that demand for both consumption and investment in the economy has slowed down.

By-Satish Singh

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Lakhs of devotees Celebrated 100th Incarnation Day of 2nd Master of Dera Sacha Sauda across India

Web Team

January 28, 2019

The 100th Incarnation day of 2nd Master of Dera Sacha Sauda, Shah Satnam Ji, was organised at Shah Satnam Ji Dham, Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa on Friday, 25th January. Followers from both, near and far-flung areas from Haryana visited the Ashram to celebrate the birthday of the 2nd Master. This day, is in fact the most awaited event of the year for the followers. A Naamcharcha was organised in the campus to mark this occasion where recordings of Satsangs by Dera chief were played. A new welfare work was added to the list of 133 welfare activities, taking the count to 134. As part of this welfare activity, followers pledged ‘will not resort to activities that add to pollution and will take every effort to curb pollution.’

Followers also distributed stationery, ration, blankets, and warm clothes to the needy. Distribution of these essential items was also undertaken by Dera followers across the globe. Dera has been trying its best to move on the path of humanity and raise awareness regarding the same in the masses, since its inception in 1948, as per Senior Vice-Chairperson of the Dera, Shobha Insan, Dera followers across the globe are involved in the welfare of the Society, and are doing a remarkable job as per the teachings of Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan. Lakhs of volunteers celebrated 100th Incarnation Day of 2nd Master Shah Satnam Ji Maharaj at various locations Including Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and UP.

It is worth noting, that in addition to India, Dera followers in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, U.K. and various other parts, participated in the Naamcharcha program, through live telecast on Facebook Live. Although the day was celebrated around the globe, few locations including Salabatpura, Mansa, Patiala, Malout, Rajpura, Nabha, Khaga, Fazilka, Budharwali and Ferozpur in Punjab.Whereas, in places like Kota, Jaipur, Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Ghadsana, Anupgarh and Tara Nagar in Rajasthan and Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh had a large number of devotees at each location, showcasing devotion of the followers who visited the Ashrams, at such short notice. Blankets and Ration were also distributed to hundreds of needy across these locations.

Shah Satnam Ji was born on 25th January 1919 in Jalalana Sahib, in distt. Sirsa, Haryana to Mother Aas Kaur, and Father Sardar Variyam Singh. Shah Satnam Ji graced the throne of Dera Sacha Sauda from 1960 -1990 and imparted the method of meditation to lacs, emancipating them from the cycle of birth and death. An OPD was also organised by Shah Satnam Ji Specialty Hospital commemorating the occasion, in which thousands of patients were provided free consultation.

Dera Sacha Sauda is a Social Welfare and Spiritual Organization that preaches and practices humanitarianism and selfless services to others. The main centre of the ashram is located in Sirsa (northern India). More than 60 million people around the world are faithful followers of the organization. Spiritual seekers learn to meditate and follow the principles laid down by Revered Guruji.

Loving the ‘married life’ with Cyrus: Liam Hemsworth

Web Team

January 28, 2019

Actor Liam Hemsworth has revealed that he is ”loving” the married life with pop star-actor Miley Cyrus. The 29-year-old actor and Cyrus, 26, tied the knot at their home in Franklin, Tennessee, in December last year.

‘It’s wonderful! I’m loving it. It doesn’t feel like a lot’s changed, but on the other hand it has!” Hemsworth said while attending the G’Day USA Gala in California.

According to the Independent, the event honours prominent Australian individuals from the worlds of entertainment, sports and culture. Hemsworth was honoured with the Excellence in Film award.

The event also marked Hemsworth and Cyrus’ first joint public appearance since tying the knot. The couple invited only close relatives and friends to their nuptials and Hemsworth said that it was great to have their loved ones with them on their special day. It was just a really nice, beautiful day with our immediate family and a couple of close friends.

Hemsworth and Cyrus first met on the set of the 2010 Nicholas Sparks film “The Last Song”, in which they play each other’s love interests.

Congress to ‘throw out’ PM Modi & BJP: Tharoor

Web Team

January 28, 2019

Senior leader Shashi Tharoor said that the Congress will not hold back its big guns and will pull out all the stops before the general elections. The Congress party wants defenestration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. Tharoor, who recently wrote a book on Modi titled The Paradoxical Prime Minister, further added that the prime minister makes all the liberal statements in public such as “sab ka saath sab ka vikas” (together with all, development for all) or the “Constitution is my only holy book”, but relies on the most illiberal elements in the Indian society for his electoral support and political viability. While speaking on Priyanka Gandhi’s introduction as the Congress’s general secretary, the 62-year-old MP from Thiruvananthapuram said that she had the charisma to galvanise voters and will be an asset to the party.

“The Congress will pull out all the stops before the general elections. Priyanka Gandhi is seen as a figure with great appeal and great credibility. So far, she has been very restrained, doing behind the scenes work and confining herself to Amethi and Rae Bareli. However, the fact is that she is now going to take a new role is a sign that we are not holding back our big guns, Tharoor told reporter in an interview. The Congress party intends to aim for Modi’s defenestration. We want Modi and his government’s defenestration (action or process of dismissing someone from a position of power or authority)”, he said on the sidelines of the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Tharoor also said that Gandhi may have yet to prove her mettle publicly, but privately the party has seen her involved in a number of issues. Those who have seen her even on television know how quickly she makes a connection, how fluently and idiomatically she speaks and how easily she connects with the people. She doesn’t behave like a political novice. However, Tharoor questioned the prime minister’s complete silence on issues like cow vigilantism, ghar wapsi and love jihad, saying paradox remains central to Modi’s leadership. Modi is the best orator in Hindi that I have seen. Yet he has remained silent when his moral leadership was called on. He modulates his voice, chooses his words to the maximum impact, and uses theatrical gestures. That is part of his major political appeal. Why can’t he speak when the country is crying out for a voice to share the pain of the families of Mohammad Akhlaq, Juniad Khan, Pehlu Khan, Rohith Vemula or for the Dalit boys who were flogged in Rajasthan for skinning the carcass of a cow which was their job? Nothing on any of these cases from him, just complete and total silence.

Tharoor further touched upon the controversial remark he made at the Bangalore Literature Festival, where he claimed that an unnamed RSS leader had compared Modi to “a scorpion sitting on a Shivling”. The Congress leader said that he cited the news article to prove there was evidence that the RSS was not fully comfortable with the conversion of Hindutva to Moditva. It was blown out of proportion. Anyone who watches the context of my speech will see that I was specifically addressing the issue of whether the RSS was fully comfortable with the conversion of Hindutva to Moditva which is Hindutva plus the outsized personality cult for an individual leader, and I said there is evidence that they are not totally comfortable with it. Ironically, I even found a video clip of Gordhan Zadafia saying exactly this and he may not be the only one to have said it. Zadafia was a Gujarat Minister who is now one of the UP in-charges for the BJP. So if someone who is very much RSS-BJP has said this openly and on record, then I don’t think I was wrong in quoting it.

Tharoor has courted a few controversies in the recent past. In August last year, he had spoken about Modi donning “outlandish” Naga and other headgear on his trips but refusing to sport a Muslim skull cap, drawing condemnation from the BJP which had dubbed it as insulting to the people of the North-East. However, the outspoken MP also kicked up a row with his remarks that no “good” Hindu would favour a Ram temple in Ayodhya by demolishing somebody else’s place of worship.

EVMs enjoy confidence

C K Subramaniam

January 28, 2019

EVMs are part and parcel of our election process and we need to depend on this system keeping in view of increasing population in India. It is an easy and foolproof system followed in an effort to provide a quick and most dependable verdict for both the ruling and opposition parties. The recent rubbishing of the claim made by a former employee is just for a publicity stunt in the wake of the election coming up in India and served no purpose. The Election Commission is not interested in a motivated slugfest and it firmly stands up by the empirical facts about the foolproof nature of EVMs deployed in earlier elections in India.

When BJP wins there is EVM fraud and hacking when Congress swiped all three states the same EVM worked. The conspirator to such charges should be declared as anti-national and anti-Indian challenging the election system. Winning three states this party thinks that they have won entire India’s voters heart. The negative impact will be much as voters are not fooled. EVM is the best system of conducting the election. This is a demon of the democratic system and should be taken to task. It is all fabricated and conducted by him sitting at the UK. The news of the death of Munde as planned killing is another serious allegation without basing on any fact.

Those who propagate false claim without any prima facie evidence are acting against basic democracy and hence should be arrested under NSA, unless they can demonstrate hacking of EVM publicly. If EVM were defective then we should cancel the election result of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and MP and let there be an election by paper ballot. There is no end to the endless allegations in the name of dirty politics.

It is necessary to take cognizance of the allegation by an Indian in International Media about EVM hacking and alleged crime committed during previous LS election. ECI should file an FIR to bring the complainant to India for investigation as he was aware of the alleged crime and he concealed it. If it is true then he is in some way associated with the hatching of the alleged crime against a big politician. He also claims that he turned the Delhi elections in favour of AAP. It is also a big crime. If he is wrong then he is working in tandem with certain political groups for their advantage during the ensuing elections. He should then be punished for his misdeeds.

No system is hundred per cent foolproof. We all know what used to happen during ballot box days. The election commission has already given enough opportunity to political parties to show their claim of hacking EVM, but they all failed. Nowadays any Tom, Dick, and Harry stand up and start claiming hacking EVM. Our media should not give them space before verifying such stupid claims and the print media should have rational thinking on this sensitive subject.

The Election Commission is the only body to have authority to use and handle the EVM and there is no chance of hacking if it is not even being given to another person and for hacking u need to put an external device and to do so u have break open the seal of EVM which is not possible within the time duration of clicking button of EVM.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

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