SC refuses to stay amendments to SC/ST Act

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January 24, 2019

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay the proposed amendments to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act which restored the no anticipatory bail provision for the accused.

A bench headed by Justice AK Sikri said that the pending review petition filed by the Centre against the apex court’s March 20, 2018 verdict and the pleas challenging the new amendments made in the SC/ST verdict will be taken up together.

The bench referred the matter to the Chief Justice for reconstitution of a bench which Justice U U Lalit was a part of.

Justice Lalit was part of a bench which had passed the March 20, 2018 verdict, taking note of the rampant misuse of the stringent SC/ST Act against government servants and held that there shall be no immediate arrest on any complaint filed under the law.

Pawar preferred Cong to BJP as ideology more important: NCP

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January 24, 2019

The NCP on Thursday said that its president Sharad Pawar had joined hands with the Congress 20 years ago, immediately after quitting it, as ideology was more important for him than personal issues. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik made the remarks a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Pawar had tied up with the Congress despite the old party humiliating him.

Malik also sought to know why the BJP was upset now. Pawar had quit the Congress in 1999 over the issue of foreign origin of then Congress President Sonia Gandhi and formed the NCP in the same year. “After the Maharashtra Assembly and Lok Sabha polls (held simultaneously) in 1999, the BJP had offered Deputy Prime Minister’s post to Pawar sahab and also called for forming government in the state. But Pawar sahab formed government in Maharashtra with the Congress. For him, individual ego was not a big issue, but ideology. When it comes to ideology, personal issues are not important. This was 20 years ago, but why is the BJP being upset now?” Malik said.

Modi, while addressing BJP workers from some Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra, including Pawar’s home turf Baramati on Wednesday, had accused the Congress of insulting the Maratha strongman despite being a senior leader of the old party then. Modi said that what he had heard about was that Pawar had staked claim to be the Congress president and therefore, was shown the door by that party. This can happen only in the parties led by families. And the funny thing is that same Pawar who was humiliated by the Congress, had formed an alliance with it. However, Modi had also said that at personal level he respected Pawar for the works he carried out for the people.

Silver sleeps 0.19% on negative global cues

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January 24, 2019

Tracking weak cues from overseas markets, silver prices moved down 0.19 per cent to Rs 39,024 per kg in futures trading on Thursday as speculators trimmed their positions.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, silver for delivery in March month fell by Rs 75, or 0.19 per cent, to Rs 39,024 per kg in business turnover of 998 lots.

The white metal for delivery in February was trading lower by Rs 72, or 0.18 per cent, to Rs 39,048 per kg in 442 lots.

Traders said that the offloading of positions by participants on the back of weak global trend, mainly weighed on silver prices at futures trade. Silver fell 0.33 per cent to USD 15.39 an ounce in New York.

Sushil Modi: BJP to gain with Priyanka’s entry into politics

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January 24, 2019

Priyanka Gandhi formally entered politics on Wednesday with her brother and Congress president Rahul Gandhi appointing her as general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East. However, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Thursday said that the BJP would “gain” in Uttar Pradesh from the entry of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into active politics, claiming that the move was aimed at “threatening the SP-BSP alliance” with the spectre of a split in votes.

Sushil Modi also sarcastically said that her (Priyanka) appointment would bring the alleged corruption scandals against her husband Robert Vadra onto centre-stage, which would be to the NDA’s benefit. The BJP is not at all worried. Why should it be when her entry is only going to help us. The Congress has brought in Priyanka with a view to threaten the SP-BSP alliance, with the possibility of a split in their votes. It is a desperate attempt to make Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati do a rethink on their strategy.

As per the seat-sharing formula, the SP and the BSP would contest 37 seats each in UP, which has a total number of 80 constituencies. Out of the six that remain, only the Congress citadels of Amethi and Raebareli have been left for the party, while four have been assigned to Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal.

If there is a split in anti-BJP votes, which else is going to gain except the BJP. Moreover, Priyanka would be seen as a representative of her husband Robert Vadra, whose name has cropped up in a number of massive scams. With her entry, the corruption cases against Robert Vadra will once again occupy the centre-stage, the deputy CM remarked.

The younger sister of the Congress chief had until now confined herself to electioneering in the constituencies of her brother and mother Sonia Gandhi. With her appointment as general secretary for the politically-crucial eastern Uttar Pradesh, speculations are rife that the Congress has adopted an aggressive strategy to confront the BJP.

Eastern UP includes Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, besides other BJP pocket boroughs like Gorakhpur – a seat won by the party seven times on the trotk, until it was lost last year in a by-poll.

We will contest LS polls with full strength and win: Rahul Gandhi

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January 24, 2019

Wrapping up his two-day Amethi tour, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that his party will contest the Lok Sabha polls with full strength. He also exuded confidence that it will win the next UP Assembly polls.

We will contest the Lok Sabha polls with full strength and will win the next UP Assembly polls, he said.

The Congress chief was addressing a public meeting here before returning to Delhi at the end of his two-day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency. Slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that Modi has waived only industrialists’ loans. “The chowkidar proved to be a thief,” he further added and remarked, “Gali gali mein shor hai, chowkidar chor hai.”

Rahul charged Modi swears by God and then speaks lies. “Where are the ‘achchey din’ promised?” he posed. At the same time, Rahul said, “We have delivered the promise of loan waiver.”

The Congress leader also questioned the “hurry” in removing the CBI chief. He described note ban as the biggest scam.

Ready to experiment, dynamics of showbiz is changing: Amrita Rao

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January 24, 2019

Amrita Rao is returning to films with ‘Thackeray’ and the actor believes that she is ready to experiment as the dynamics of showbiz is changing. The actor who became the epitome of ‘the girl-next-door’ in early 2000s with films such as ‘Ishq Vishq’, ‘Main Hoon Na’ and ‘Vivah’, however, her last cinematic outing was 2013’s “Satyagraha” and she did musical drama ‘Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai’ for the small screen three years later. Rao said that she turned down many big Bollywood projects as they did not meet her selection criteria.

It has been a journey of sacrificing big films because I was not comfortable with the on-screen requirements. Trends change, on-screen demand of actresses change. Cinema is a slice of reality. You have school and college kids being intimate and marriage is not even in question and that is what they show in cinema. That kind of requirement of the character did not suit me. So I had to let go of those big offers with a heavy heart. The directors respected me and understood that I had certain restrictions which were sacred to me, she told reporters in an interview.

The actor plays Meena Thackeray, wife to late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray (portrayed by Nawazuddin Siddiqui) in the film. She said that the makers approached her to play the role as they believed that both the women have a “pure” image. I have earned that image in the industry, playing a mature role was challenging for me. I have played the girl-next-door and then to portray this part, where my character spans from a 28-year-old to a 60-year-old, was not easy.

In 2016, the actor tied the knot with radio jockey Anmol and focused on her personal life. Rao also said that she had hinted at the hiatus before implementing it. I was not making presence anywhere. There are some actors who surrender themselves to the industry. I have always been a family person. However, in a comment on India’s #MeToo tsunami that has crossed the boundaries of the film industry since last September, the actor said that the influential people would try to get their way but “accepting it or not” will always be a choice. It is unfortunate when I hear about the #MeToo cases. There are girls and guys here who are ready to grab opportunities at any cost. People should respect themselves and their values. She further added that she was “blessed” to never experience harassment. However, she believes that it was because she became a star early on in her career despite being an outsider.

I had a wonderful entry into films without being a star kid. And you can’t plan such things. My journey has been different. I arrived and I became a star so everybody was on their best behaviour with me. I have stuck to my personality; I have not done anything that is out of my personal zone. And now Rao wants to be part of something edgy as discussions are on. I want to do something that I have not done before like a thriller, murder mystery or suspense film. I would love to play a negative role due to digitalisation, work opportunities and avenues have changed so much. Directors typecasting actors is passé.

Militant-turned-soldier Lance Naik Nazir Wani to get Ashok Chakra for Kashmir operations

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January 24, 2019

Kashmiri militant-turned-soldier Lance Naik Nazir Wani, who got martyred while killing 6 terrorists in an operation in the valley, has been chosen for this year’s Ashok Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award. The soldier was once a terrorist, but he gave up those activities and joined the Territorial Army. He was in the 34 Rashtriya Rifles during the operations in which he was martyred and was in the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry regiment.

The highly-decorated soldier has already received the Sena Medal twice for his gallantry against terrorists. A resident of Cheki Ashmuji village in Kulgam, he is survived by his wife and two children. Ashok Chakra is the highest peacetime gallantry award in the country, followed by theÂ Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra, respectively. Four officers and soldiers have received the Kirti Chakra while 12 others have also been awarded the Shaurya Chakra this year.

Sindhu enters quarters of Indonesia Masters

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January 24, 2019

Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu advanced to the Indonesia Masters’ quarterfinal after clinching a straight-game triumph over local favourite Gregoria Mariska Tunjung on Thursday.

Sindhu, seeded second, defeated Tunjung 23-21, 21-7 in 37 minutes to make the last-eight stage of her season-opener.

The Indian faced some competition in the opening game but completely dominated the second to keep her unbeaten record against Tunjung intact.

Jaipur Literature Festival shines with art and science

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January 24, 2019

British poet Ruth Padel’s spellbinding poetry complemented Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan’s stimulating talk on science at the Diggi Palace here on Thursday as the curtains went up on the annual Jaipur Literature Festival. The 12th edition of the five-day festival, billed as the largest free literary event in the world, will host over 350 speakers including authors, scholars, actors, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders and sports persons from across India and the world.

Among a galaxy of literary stars set to speak at this year’s event are Booker Prize-winning Nigerian writer Ben Okri and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Andrew Sean Greer and Colson Whitehead. The 2019 edition has a special emphasis on science and related topics such as genetics, astronomy, post-human future, cli-fi (climate change fiction) and artificial intelligence.

Today science is more important than ever. We live in a world in which science and technology are ubiquitous. Decisions are constantly being made by governments, corporations, educators that affect us in profound ways. Knowledge was key to not just a country’s economic prosperity but also the well-being of its citizens. Today countries which are resource-poor but knowledge-rich do very well. Singapore and Switzerland are classic examples, whereas countries which are resource-rich and knowledge-poor are not doing well economically, Ramakrishnan said.

The 2009 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, who delivered the keynote address, said that science was simply a systematic accumulation of knowledge based on facts. All human beings are born as scientists as everyone as a child is curious about the world around them. But as we grow up we lose that curiosity and take mysteries of nature for granted. All of us must enjoy science as much as arts and culture. Arts, literature and science have always encapsulated the central truths about the world. The need for science with its evidence-based facts was imperative in an era of fake news, where the existence of objective truth is questioned, Ramakrishnan added.

Festival co-director and historian William Dalrymple was conspicuous by his absence this year as he chose to attend to “family affairs” following the demise of his father. However, festival producer Sanjoy Roy said that the purpose of organising a grand literary festival as JLF was to create a space for dissent. In an extremely divisive world where there is one or the other truth, there is very little space left for those who have a contrarian point of view.

Apart from the international speakers, there are many writers from within the country to watch out for this year. Some of the prominent names include politician-author Shashi Tharoor, diplomat Navtej Sarna, Kishwar Desai, Ira Mukhoty, Amitabha Bagchi, Amitava Kumar, Anita Nair, Devdutt Pattanaik, Makarand Paranjape, Naina Lal Kidwai and Rana Dasgupta.

The festival will conclude on January 28.

Doors open for alliance will choose partners based on certain guidelines: AIADMK

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January 24, 2019

The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu Thursday said its doors for the alliance were open but insisted it will choose its partners based on certain “guidelines” including the prospective ally’s record on pro-Tamil Nadu efforts.

Senior AIADMK leader and state Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said the party will consult its various stakeholders and arrive at a consensus before firming up a poll pact.

“We have not closed our doors regarding alliance… (others) can come. But there are certain guidelines like what public welfare measures they have done for the state (Tamil Nadu), whether they support the government in its efforts to uphold the state’s rights,” he told reporters.

Besides these guidelines, the party will also brainstorm with its rank and file, even as there are various decision-making committees that will deliberate upon the issue, he said.

After consulting all these stakeholders, the party will arrive at a consensus on its electoral alliance, the Minister said.