Ready to face CBI: Akhilesh Yadav on illegal mining

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January 6, 2019

Amid reports that the CBI is likely to quiz Akhilesh Yadav in the illegal mining case, the Samajwadi Party chief Sunday said he is ready to face the probe agency, but people are also ready to answer the BJP.

Talking to reporters in Lucknow, he said the BJP is leaving a “culture”, which may be used against it in the future.

“Samajwadi Party is making efforts to win maximum LokSabha seats. Those who want to stop us, have the CBI with them. Once the Congress did CBI probe, and I was questioned. If the BJP is doing all this, the CBI will question me, I will answer (them). But, the people are ready to give an answer to the BJP,” Yadav said.

“Why is the CBI conducting raids. Whatever they want to ask, they can ask me. However, the BJP should remember that the culture it is leaving behind, it may have to face it in the future,” he said.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister may face a probe by the CBI, according to the agency FIR made public on Saturday, the day arch rivals SP and BSP indicated their intent to join hands to counter the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Taking a swipe, Yadav said, “Now we have to tell the CBI as to how many seats we have distributed in the gathbandhan. I am happy that at least the BJP has shown its colours. Earlier, the Congress gave us the chance to meet the CBI, and this time it is the BJP, which has given us this opportunity.”

The SP chief also accused the BJP of ending ‘political etiquette’. “The BJP wants that other political parties should behave in the same manner as it behaves. But, we will not change our political etiquette,” he said.

The CBI carried out searches at 14 locations on Saturday in connection with its FIR against 11 persons including IAS officer B Chandrakala, Samajwadi Party MLC Ramesh Kumar Mishra and Sanjay Dixit (who unsuccessfully contested the 2017 assembly election on a BSP ticket) to probe alleged illegal mining of minor minerals in Hamirpur district during 2012-16.

Yadav, who was the chief minister of the state between 2012 and 2017, held the mining portfolio during 2012-13 apparently bringing his role under scanner, according to the FIR.

He was succeeded by Gayatri Prajapati, who took charge as mining minister in 2013 and was arrested in 2017 following a complaint of rape by a woman residing in Chitrakoot.

This is a third FIR pertaining to illegal mining cases which were registered by the agency on January 2, 2019, nearly two-and-a-half year after it was directed by the Allahabad High Court to probe the issue.

Farhan Akhtar shares sun-kissed snap of rumoured girlfriend Shibani Dandekar

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January 6, 2019

A little bit of social media PDA, and a lot of weekend vibes. It the first Sunday of 2019 and guess who Farhan Akhtar chose to spend it with? That’s right, his rumoured girlfriend, Shibani Dandekar.

While Akhtar and Dandekar have never confirmed their relationship on record, the couple has not kept the relationship under wraps either. In fact, the two have been frequently spotted getting cosy at date nights and other parties. On Sunday, Farhan on his Instagram page share a sun kissed picture of Dandekar. In the stunning snap, the model can be seen on a balcony with a pet dog beside her. “Looking out for each other” the actor wrote in the caption.

Lately, Farhan has been posting many pictures with Shibani. The actor also kick started his new year with Dandekar.

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A post shared by Farhan Akhtar (@faroutakhtar) on Jan 5, 2019 at 8:24pm PST

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A post shared by Farhan Akhtar (@faroutakhtar) on Dec 19, 2018 at 10:29pm PST

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oh Hi @faroutakhtar ??‍♀️ #bumped

A post shared by Shibani Dandekar (@shibanidandekar) on Nov 27, 2018 at 11:34pm PST

2018 was just the beginning: Emma Watson on Time’s Up anniversary

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January 6, 2019

Emma Watson has said that she feels optimistic about a “fairer future” for women courtesy the Time’s Up campaign.

On the first anniversary of the campaign, the actor took to Instagram on Saturday to express gratitude towards people who have been a part of the revolution.

“From my sisters in the film industry to the activists and campaigners around the world who have supported us, I’ve been so inspired by the way people have reached out to each other, shared experiences and advice, and organised together as part of this movement for change.

“Gender equality can only become a reality if we harness the transformative power of solidarity across professions and across borders,” Watson wrote.

The “Harry Potter” alumni said that there is still a long way to go but “the achievements so far make me optimistic for a fairer future”.

“2018 was just the beginning,” she said.

A vocal feminist, Watson, in an another post urged the masses to be a part of Time’s Up UK chapter that launched the Justice and Equality Fund (JEF), which is the UK’s version of the Legal Defence Fund.

The JEF aims to support women who have experienced harassment and abuse, improve accountability, and prevent future abuses from occurring.

“I hope that more people will be inspired by the #TIMESUP anniversary to give at home here in the UK, so the Justice and Equality Fund can reach even more under-resourced organisations and campaign groups in 2019,” the actor wrote.

I might fall, but won’t stop trying: Vicky Kaushal

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January 6, 2019

With back-to-back hits in 2018 Vicky Kaushal may have become one of the most sought after actors from the younger lot, but he is aware that success and failure go hand-in-hand.

The 30-year-old actor, who was part of films like “Raazi”, “Sanju”, “Manmarziyaan” and Netflix’s “Lust Stories” and “Love Per Square Foot”, said that his aim as a performer is not to repeat himself.

“My only attempt is to keep surprising the audience. I want to be honest to a character that I play. I have started, I might fall, might get up, then again fall and rise and this will continue to happen. But I will never stop trying,” Vicky told agencies.

The actor made a mark for himself as a versatile performer in the year gone by and he feels blessed to have received the love from the audience.

“On most occasions before 2018, I was referred as the ‘Masaan’ guy and the biggest change is I got my identity as Vicky Kaushal, the actor. I feel blessed and fortunate to have been working with some great directors.”

“I have learnt a lot as an actor and that will reflect in my work henceforth. It is a beautiful thing to be loved. It makes me feel I am the best version of myself. I feel gratified, surreal. It feels great to be respected as an actor,” he added.

Vicky, son of noted action director Sham Kaushal, said that he feels proud to see his parents happy with his career graph.

“My parents have seen me in time of struggle… They supported me. They have seen that my life was not moving forward for couple of years and I was struggling.

“Finally they saw that my work is liked by the audience and I am working with big people, so they are very happy. I just want to keep working harder and harder for everyone,” he said.

Vicky will next be seen in “Uri: The Surgical Strike”. The film, which releases on January 11, marks his first mainstream solo outing.

He also has Karan Johar’s next directorial venture “Takht” in his kitty.

Michelle Williams to play Diana Ross in BET series ‘American Soul’

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January 6, 2019

Michelle Williams is set to play the role of music icon Diana Ross in the upcoming BET series “American Soul”.

Williams will star as a young Ross in the 70s as she debates whether or not to appear on legendary television host and producer Don Cornelius’ dance show “Soul Train”, reported the People magazine.

The series, which follows Cornelius’ rise and fall, will also feature Bobby Brown as Rufus Thomas, who was as best known for the classic soul song “Do the Funky Chicken”, Gabrielle Dennis as Tina Turner and Kelly Rowland as Gladys Knight.

“American Soul” premieres on February 5 on BET with back-to-back episodes.

Drake faces flak for kissing, touching minor in resurfaced video

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January 6, 2019

Drake is under fire after an old video resurfaced on social media in which he could be seen touching and kissing a 17-year-old girl.

The clip, which was shared on Twitter on January 3, shows the rapper flirting and dancing with the fan on stage.

According to Spin magazine, the video is from 2010, when Drake was 24.

In the 94 second-long video, the rapper is visible standing behind the girl and asks her, “I told you I like your hair, right? What is it, like herbal essences? Smells fresh.”

He then goes on to kiss her neck and wrap his arms around her chest as the amused audience roared with laughter.

After taking a moment, Drake addressed the crowd on the mic, “Y’all know I get carried away again, I get in trouble for s**t.”

The rapper then asked the girl her age and she replied she was 17.

In the video, an exasperated Drake can be seen flinging his hands as the crowd laughed and booed him off simultaneously.

Drake said, “I can’t go to jail yet, man! 17? Why you look like that? You thick.”

“I don’t know if I should feel guilty or not but I had fun. I like the way your breasts feel against my chest,” he added.

The “Signs” hitmaker then kissed the girl on her hand, both cheeks and forehead before giving her a peck on the lips.

The video was posted the same day “Surviving R Kelly”, a controversial six-part documentary about Drake’s alleged decades of sexual abuse with under-aged women, started airing.

A representative for the rapper did not respond to a request for comment.

drake kisses underage girl, learns she’s underage, then kisses her again but this time feels her breasts pic.twitter.com/oLkxZccHiS

— SPOOKALLAH (@spookallah) January 4, 2019

Arshad Warsi gifts pair of shoes to the entire crew of his upcoming film!

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January 6, 2019

“Munna Bhai” famed ‘Circuit’ aka Arshad Warsi, who will be seen on-screen after a quite long time in the upcoming comic caper ‘Fraud Saiyaan’, where the actor will be seen playing the role of a conman – Bhola Prasad Tripathi, who marries women in different cities and loots their wealth. Ahead of the release of the film, the actor gave a heart-touching surprise to the entire cast of the film.

According to the reports, the ‘Golmaal’ actor who was always seen cracking jokes and playing pranks on the set in a surprise to the all, he gifted all the crew of the movie a new pair of shoes. In total, he bought about 50 new shoes and handed it to them personally.

Prakash Jha Productions present a Drama King Entertainment production, “Fraud Saiyaan” is directed by Sourabh Shrivastava, starring Arshad Warsi, Saurabh Shukla and Sara Loren. The supporting cast also stars Deepali Pansare, and Nivedita Tiwari. Its songs, a recreation of the 1998 movie ‘China Gate’ song ‘Chamma Chamma’ that featured Urmila Matondkar and ‘Ishq Ishq Tera’ are doing rounds on the internet.

While the trailer is out, the film will hit the silver screen on January 18, 2019.

Aadhaar savings can fund 3 schemes of the size of Ayushman Bharat: Arun Jaitley

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January 6, 2019

Terming Aadhaar as a “game changer”, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on January 6 said that savings made through its implementation can fund three public welfare schemes of the magnitude of Ayushman Bharat — the ambitious healthcare programme to provide free hospitalisation to millions of poor people.

He also attributed the successful implementation of Aadhaar to the decisive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the Congress-led UPA remained “half-hearted” towards it because of its own contradictions and indecision.

In a Facebook post titled ‘Benefits of the Aadhaar – where it stands today’, Jaitley said that its use in the delivery of subsidies has helped saved Rs 90,000 crore in the last few years till March 2018 by eliminating several duplicate, non-existent and fake beneficiaries.

The Digital Dividend Report prepared by the World Bank estimates that India can save Rs 77,000 crore every year by the use of Aadhaar, he said.

“The savings through Aadhaar can fund three schemes of the size of Ayushman Bharat…Aadhaar is a game changer,” Jaitley said.

Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually, benefiting more than 10.74 crore poor families for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation through a network of empanelled healthcare providers.

“With the elimination of middlemen the benefits go directly to the bank accounts. This is a unique technology implemented only in India. The monies saved through Aadhaar is money fruitfully employed for the poor elsewhere,” Jaitley said.

Jaitley said that a senior minister in the UPA government blocked the idea of Unique Identity Number (UID) conceived by Nandan Nilekani and that it was a “divided house”. “The Prime Minister was indecisive. The enrolment continued, though at a very moderate pace,” he said.

Tharoor hits over BJP for PM’s one-man show after allies deserting ‘sinking ship’

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January 6, 2019

PM Narendra Modi is known for handling the party with his ‘one-man show’ which was clearly evident with his win in the 2014 elections. Now, asserting that there has been a growing frustration among NDA members with the one-man show at the Centre, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has left no stones unturned to slam at BJP again stating that it was a “telling sign” that some friends of the BJP were beginning to “desert the sinking ship”.

Tharoor further made a remark exclaiming that the realisation the ruling party must comprehand is that the BJP must realise that when even “your friends are unhappy with you, the rest of the country will be even more negative about your performance”.

“There is evidently a growing frustration among the members of the NDA, with the authoritarian one-man show that we have seen under the current government and the fact that some allies of the BJP are now beginning to desert the sinking ship is a telling sign that all is not well within the alliance,” he told PTI in an interview.

The UPA has always been an alliance of collective and deliberative leadership, where all voices are heard and all concerns accommodated, the MP from Thiruvananthpuram said while contrasting the coalition’s style of functioning with what he said was a “one man show” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

That United Progressive Alliance (UPA) successfully operated at the helm of Indian polity for a decade taking everyone along and it is certainly a characteristic that would make it an attractive alternative to the present ruling dispensation, he said.

Just months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has lost two key allies — Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party (TDP) walked out in March, while Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) shifted loyalties to Opposition’s alliance in Bihar in December.

The saffron party is also under pressure from its allies in Uttar Pradesh – Apna Dal (S) and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) – with murmurs of dissatisfaction coming from their camps.

Playing down the exit of the TDP and RLSP from the NDA last year, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had earlier said those leaving for their “own political reasons” cannot be stopped and asserted that his party was not facing any pressure from allies ahead of the 2019 polls.

Asked about the reports of dissatisfaction among BJP’s alliance partners in Uttar Pradesh, Tharoor said: “It’s interesting that the UP allies of the BJP – Apna Dal and Rajbhar’s party – are openly putting pressure on the ruling party, while the Shiv Sena regularly attacks it, even in Parliament on the Rafale deal!”

Responding to a question on the waiving of farmers’ loans by the Congress governments in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Tharoor said: “I do agree that loan waivers are not a long term solution to the larger issues of the agrarian economy. But, if someone is bleeding you must first stanch the wound and then address the root causes of his injury.”

The former Union minister said he believes that given the acute financial strain and indebtedness faced by these farmers which, in many cases manifested into record levels of farmer suicides, the loan waiver was certainly a “necessary first step”.

In that context, the loan waiver is not necessarily a populist measure, but a prudent stepping stone in a larger mission to rid the system of its ailments, Tharoor said.

“There is much more that needs to be done for our farmers – such as the expansion of the irrigation net, access to institutional credit, fixing our procurement systems – all of which I am confident that the Congress party, which is committed to securing the long term future of farmers, will work towards,” he said.

Will 2019 election-battle be fought with casteist weapons? — Part II

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January 6, 2019

In continuation with : Will 2019 election-battle be fought with casteist weapons? — Part I

The answer to the question is a big NO. If we look towards the end line of the last century, when in 1990, the then Prime Minister VP Singh’s minority government was facing the external pressures from its allies — left parties on one hand and BJP, with an agenda to erect its Hindu platform, on the other. Under pressure from both the political ends, Singh was also internally confronted by then Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal who was gathering a mass following by uniting the farmers/rural community and up to some extent, Devi Lal had succeeded in dividing the country’s vote bank in rural v/s urban segments, which was creating the image of Devi Lal as a farmer/rural community leader over and above the size of VP Singh. Under the circumstances to downsize the political height of Devi Lal and to scatter the Hindu base of BJP, VP Singh used the atom bomb of caste division in the shape of reservation to OBC. In his Independence Day speech on August 15, 1990, Prime Minister VP Singh announced, “In the memory of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, the government has recently taken a decision to give reservation to the backward classes in jobs in government and public sector.” However, the VP Singh government had to die an unnatural death due to its reservation decision, but the stigma of the class rift is still visible and will perhaps remain always alive as a weapon of politics in India.

Aam Aadmi Party, claiming to be a party with a difference, an emergence of Anna Hazare movement got power reigns of Delhi in the name of providing corruption-free rule and giving a clean political atmosphere. But, the politics runs with poly-tricks and has the least place for idealism. Seeing the other parties sailing their boats with caste and religion fuels, the Aam Aadmi Party has also switched over to caste and creed-ridden politics. Now, the AAP Party is beating the drum of names deletion from the voter list in Delhi alleging the BJP for caste politics. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that BJP had got deleted half of the voters from the Bania (Kejariwal’s caste) community in Delhi as a part of the ongoing revision of electoral rolls. The AAP chief also alleged that 4 lakhs out of 8 lakhs Bania voters had been struck off the rolls. BJP representative and also a leader hailing from the Bania community, Union Minister Vijay Goel accuses Arvind Kejriwal of playing caste politics.

In a tweet, Kejriwal asked Vijay Goel, “Why the BJP got struck off the 4 lakh names out of 8 lakh Bania Voters? The business of traders has failed due to BJP’s wrong policies like GST; therefore, the Bania community is not going to vote in favour of BJP this time. But, would you get struck off their names to win?”

Countermanding the attack, BJP’s Vijay Goel pays in the same coin. “Banias of Delhi are annoyed that Arvind Kejriwal and his party think them fools. Will the Vaish (Bania) community believe in AAP’s allegation that BJP had got struck off their names? The Reality is that two Vaish leaders are the ministers in BJP’s central government.”

AAP is also girding up its loins to fight the assembly elections 2019 in Haryana and for this, AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has started schools and hospitals rallies to tell about the developmental works done by AAP in Delhi. Do developmental works work at the voting machine? No. Had only the developmental works worked, Bansi Lal, called as Haryana Nirmata, had never lost in Bhiwani, Bhajan Lal’s family in Hisar, and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s candidate on Rohtak assembly seat.

But Ramesh Thaken, a Retd. Air Force Officer said, “These all are normal moves of politics; it’s good that structural changes are taking place and it’s likely to disturb many particularly those who had been part of the systemic corrupt system or their followers. BJP is doing well, corruption is moving down south, no bomb blasts which were otherwise a normal happening. Rest everyone has views and rightly so.”

Senior political analyst and a former President of Indian Medical Association, Haryana Dr. Shyam Sakha Shyam says, “Kejriwal’s School and Hospital rally campaign will have no major effect in vote fetching in caste based voting pattern in Haryana. But, his speech, reminding the people about the caste dividing scenario created by other political leaders, will surely divert the Bania Community from BJP to AAP. However, it will not pave the way to the power seat. ”

During his rallies, Kejriwal never forgets to remind the people of Haryana that every leader and political party has been fetching the votes by dividing the people into caste segments. Political discussions state that however public he shows and announces that he is totally away from caste-based politics, but he has allowed aligning the caste-votes through his trusted lieutenants. Dr. Sushil Gupta, an AAP member of Rajya Sabha has been entrusted with the work of consolidating Bania voters in Haryana through Vyaparik Sammelans (Traders Conventions).

AAP state president, Naveen Jaihind, a Brahmin by caste, is uniting the Brahmin caste by organising caste based programs and getting himself honoured on these platforms to woo his own caste votes. After such program in Panipat, where Brahmins have gifted a car to Naveen Jaihind, the latest program was organised at Bhiwani on December 23, wherein he was honoured with ‘Parashuram Farsa’ by his caste representatives. Brahmins worship Sage Parashuram, believed to be the 6th incarnation of Shri Vishnu, as God, who had stated to vow that He would destroy the evil Kshatriya caste as revenge of Brahmahatya (killing of a Brahman), 21 times.

Thus, we see that every party is sharpening its caste weapons. In the end, we again face the starting line question “Already having nibbled by the caste venom spreaders during the Jat reservation stirs, will Haryana have to face a new bite of abhorrent caste-based weapon to fetch votes?”

By-Jag Mohan Thaken

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.