AIADMK members stage walkout from RS over Cauvery issue

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January 3, 2019

AIADMK members on Thursday staged a walkout from Rajya Sabha after they were disallowed from raising the issue of planned construction of Mekedatu dam on Cauvery river in Karnataka.

Soon after Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu expressed anguish at proceedings of the House being repeatedly adjourned because of disruptions, A Navaneethakrishnan (AIADMK) raised the issue of the party’s 24 members in Lok Sabha being barred from attending the lower house for five days.

The AIADMK members, he said, are unable to participate in Lok Sabha proceedings.

“This is undemocratic,” he said as Naidu ruled that conduct in Lok Sabha cannot be discussed in the Upper House.

Demanding that the central government withdraw permission given for a detailed feasibility report (DFR) for Mekadatu dam project, he said people of Tamil Nadu are being adversely affected.

Referring to party MPs being suspended from Lok Sabha, he said, “Our people are suffering”.

To this, Naidu said, “People of the country are suffering” because of disruptions his party has caused in Rajya Sabha resulting in washout of proceedings on most days of current winter session of Parliament.

He said that Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari came to the House on Wednesday to give a statement on the issue but could not do so due to disruptions by the party members.

The Chairman did not allow Navaneethakrishnan to raise the issue any further, following which the AIADMK members walked out of the House.

Why is PM not holding Press Conference?

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Web Team

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January 2, 2019

Just a few months left in his tenure, Narendra Modi has concreted himself as the only Indian Prime Minister to completely keep the Press at a distance. Except for a few media channels who praise him 24/7, he always ran away from the neutral media. PM Modi has made no secret of his scorn for the media and has given carefully designed interviews only to two responsive channels.

The existence of a free, independent and powerful media, which is known as the fourth pillar of the democracy, is under crisis in our country, especially in the highly mixed society like in India. Often it is said that the situation of the journalists in a country showcases how democracy is being practiced in a nation-state. Nonetheless, at present, the fourth estate in the democracy is facing a tough situation in the Narendra Modi era. From Gauri Lankesh to Shujaat Bukhari — the situation is indeed alarming where the country has miserably failed to safeguard the fourth estate. In other words, it can be said that the media houses are earning profits but Press Freedom is shrinking considerably.

PM Modi several times had accused former prime minister Manmohan Singh of remaining silent, but Manmohan Singh spoke on the floor of the Parliament and even to the Press. The opposition in the government (and amongst political thinkers in general) has insinuated a variety of sharply critical reasons; they believe that Modi avoids press conferences as he does not have answers to the questions. Others consider that it is an extension of his authoritarian attitude and his wish to practice it to control what he can.

In a conversation with AV, Author and Speaker Awdhesh Singh expressed, “Media in India is a twin edge sword as it cuts both ways. If PM interacts with the press regularly, they would take a part of his statement out of context and make it a national issue out of it. They are in the habit of starting long debates on a trivial matter when an unknown Maulvi says something in some part of the country. So, you can imagine their energy level!”

While Purnima Mistry, a housewife and a BJP voter stated, “Press might twist what PM intends to speak. There is always a possibility for that to happen, but does that mean he should stop responding to the press entirely? If that is the case, he shouldn’t even have that one interview with Arnab Goswami. The same thing could have happened then as well. If he intended for people to ask honest questions, he would have conducted open conferences so that no individual can throw accusations of having scripted interviews. This at the same time will project to the nation that even a PM is a ‘sevak’ (as he would like to call himself) and indeed equally accountable for his actions.”

On asking why the PM is abstaining from holding a free press conference for all, Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap told AV, “That is the question Congress is asking him right from the first day. If he is the Prime Minister of the largest democracy, how can he simply run away from the Press? The Press is supposed to be the fourth pillar of the democracy and that shows his inability to convey messages. In a democracy, you should have a dialogue with the media and you should tell the country about your plans for the citizens and the nation. For the last four-and-a-half years, he has not done anything for the people and the country. He may not be able to handle media, which may be one of the reasons.”

It has been observed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely known for his long and eccentric speeches during the electoral campaigns. However, despite the crisis that the nation suffered due to the failure of schemes such as GST, Demonetisation, price hike, currency downfall, and many more during his four-and-a-half-year tenure as the PM, Modi has refrained from giving answers that the nation wants to know! While it is believed that a recent step of an interview with News Agency ANI seems to be a pretext with the nearing of the Lok Sabha elections. In a 95-minute interview, the Prime Minister covered a vast range of topics from the state election setbacks to demonetisation, the surgical strikes, and Urjit Patel’s exit as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Chief in December.

Defending the PM’s stand on the same, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari commented, “This is his style of working. When he was a Chief Minister in Gujarat, he always preferred to talk to people directly and likewise, he communicates with the people of the nation directly. During every ‘Mann Ki Baat’, he invites the people of the nation to pose the questions and he refers to those questions in the program like in a recent interview, he has answered 42 questions and he has not avoided any of them.”

Modi has also discontinued the practice of the Prime Minister having a press advisor who used to be a point person for the media. Before Modi, all Prime Ministers, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had a senior journalist or an official as the press advisor. Now the media has no clue as to whom to call in the PMO. The lack of even a single press conference and the belief that he is above any media scrutiny is a chilling effect that Modi has undoubtedly had on the Indian democracy.

Shiv Sena MP Anandrao Adsul asserted, “For some issues at least, the Prime Minister should hold press conferences. Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and there are so many issues that are prevalent in the country. If not always, but at times, press conferences should be held. Otherwise, it might seem that he is ignoring the media.”

By-Akshata Naik

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Dear Prime Minister, have guts to face random Media

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Vaidehi Taman

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January 2, 2019

The last real interview Modi gave on the national television was back in 2007; I saw the glimpses on YouTube and social media and during those days, I took my baby steps in journalism. The interview was with Karan Thapar and we know what happened. Modi fled from the interview when Karan, in his usual style and tone, started asking hard-hitting questions to him. Since that incident, he has given very few interviews, most of which were scripted. I saw frightened and fixed BJP leader and the then CM of Gujarat in that video. Somewhere I feel that he holds that distress very close to his heart. PM Modi knows that he has failed to deliver many of his election promises made to people. In past five years, he was just ridiculing the Opposition in the most abased manner as possible, spending more time on foreign soil than in India, forgetting his prime ministerial duties, and campaigning for his party during the state elections for months. He twisted history, he twisted facts, and he kept silent on crucial issues and became vocal about non-issues. He still finds former late PM Nehru a threat and Gandhi a competition. Any journalist worth his salt can ask him very tough questions that he might not have answers to, and he doesn’t want to look like a fool on the national television. He doesn’t want to tarnish the image of him that he has made by lying to the public through his teeth and fooling them over the years. The BJP is a one-man show; but for him, winning elections for the party would be a colossal task. He speaks his “Mann Ki Baat” on the radio, he interacts with people on the pre-rehearsed platform, but he avoids direct confrontation. If he really dared to address the Press, trust me, he will never become the PM of India again or he will rule for long, if he could handle the Press with grace by answering their questions.

BJP’s spokespersons are going on every news channel debates and trying to justify the actions that PM has taken in his tenure, they know how crucial media is to shape public opinions. He himself tries to avoid this as he doesn’t want to project to the nation that his steps aren’t working and leaves the BJP IT cell and their PR management to handle his image instead. Not interacting directly, he can’t be held accountable to those spokespersons’ words and at the same time, he manages his image through an invisible hand. It is this media that has made Modi an everyday talking topic among individuals. Thus, you can’t be both pro and against at the same time while communicating with the Press.

Anyway, the media of India is divided into three parts — one is secular media with leftist ideology, one is right-wing media, and the third one is neutral and somewhat honest media that follows no ideology or political party or leaders but the profession of Journalism, they are harsh and making government accountable for all that they failed to deliver. They do not even hesitate when it comes to standing by the truth or praising any party or leader if they behave or conduct democratically for the welfare of the nation. The other two have selective targets to attack and ignore the good side of their targets. Well, this is the media of today. But being a Prime Minister of such largest democracy, its PM should have the guts and openness to address press conferences. There would be awkward moments and also many challenges because all will not be Modi follower media who has taken an oath to please the government and Modi. The questions can be uncomfortable, there can be the most unreasonable journo throwing all sorts of questions, but PM of this country needs the guts to take these questions on an open platform called Press Conference. Moreover, there are thousands of media houses and banners in India those are active in their own province and social media space, the PM can’t afford to ignore them as these collective small voices make a large impact. I, as the Editor of a small newspaper, always had questions in mind for PM — there are many citizens like me, who perhaps want to pose their questions through the media but the interaction is always one way. PM talks his mind, his views, his opinion, his fake pre-planned interactive sessions with people trained to speak; we have witnessed many such examples in the recent past where some journalists had to lose their job for exposing the false claims of the PM. As I told, there are other sides of journalists who deliberately make it obvious to attack PM proving him wrong on each and every issue! They blame him for over pouring rains to hot summer or sometimes if a dog of a particular community stoned by another community; they expect PM to comment on an incidence because they feel that it’s communal violence but never try to address these issues as personal rivalry or some other apprehensions.

Well, I am neither a supporter of BJP nor the AAP and Congress. I prefer NOTA when I don’t find any capable candidate. But as a voter, I do have the right to ask questions to our Prime Minister and for that, he should be available to answer. There is a significant difference between attending a press conference and delivering a public speech. In a press conference, you just answer the questions asked by the reporters. You need to be very precise while doing so. Even a slight deviation from the topic can create many problems for you that give the reporters an opportunity to cross-question you. But delivering a public speech is a whole different game. Everything is scripted and pre-planned. No one will cross-question you here. Being a good orator and speaker and also having guts and courage to stand against all odds, he should have some more bravery to face the Indian media. He knows that he won’t be able to answer the questions of the reporters if they ask about the effects of Demonetisation, India’s Black money in Swiss Bank, rising petrol prices even though crude oil price in the International market is low, rising unemployment, etc. Every aspect lies with the time management which is scarce at the moment. During the last leg of Modi’s tenure as the PM, he is finding it very, very difficult to cope with the topical political trends, corruption, brutal rapes, unsolved mysteries, farmers’ agitation, the most fundamental right of freedom of speech, demonetisation, and GST.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Women form human chain in Mumbai to support Kerala ‘Women’s Wall’

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Web Team

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January 2, 2019

Over 1,000 women formed a human chain in Mumbai to express solidarity with the ‘Women’s Wall’ formed in Kerala as part of an initiative to uphold gender equality amid the row over entry of females of certain ages in the Sabarimala temple.

On Tuesday, over 35 lakh women stood shoulder-to-shoulder across the national highways in Kerala, creating a 620 km-long human ‘wall’ from the northern end of Kasaragod to the state’s southern tip.

The ‘Women’s wall’ was conceived in the backdrop of frenzied protests witnessed in the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala after the Kerala government decided to implement the Supreme Court verdict, allowing women of all ages to offer prayers at the shrine.

Extending support to the campaign, women from several organisations and social activists came together to form a nearly one km-long human chain from Dadar Chowpatty to Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Tuesday evening.

Sonya Gill, a member of the committee which organised the Mumbai women’s chain, said around 1,000 to 1,200 women from the megapolis and the neighbouring Thane district and Navi Mumbai town gathered at the venue to form the chain.

“We gathered to express solidarity for gender equality and what our sisters were doing in Kerala. We are not following our old values and traditions where women used to be given due respect in all fields,” she said.

A number of Muslim women also took part in the campaign and they carried banners with messages like “neither we are impure nor second rate citizens. Let’s unite against all sorts of discrimination.

WR launches blood bank at Jagjivan Ram hospital in Mumbai

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Web Team

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January 2, 2019

Western Railway (WR) has set up an in-house blood bank for its employees at Jagjivan Ram Hospital located in Mumbai Central.

This is the first such in-house facility in any Railway hospital under WR in Maharashtra, Gujarat and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, a senior WR official said.

The zonal hospital in Mumbai Central houses super-speciality departments like cardiovascular surgery, he said while underlining the need to have a dedicated blood bank.

The blood bank is built at the cost of Rs 2.5 crore with most advanced equipment.

It can store 2000 units of blood, said WR Chief spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar.

Team management keeps off-spinner in 13 after Kohli says “bowler yet to recover”

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Web Team

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January 2, 2019

The status of Ravichandran Ashwin’s injury caused some confusion on Wednesday with the team management naming the off-spinner in the final 13 for the fourth Test against Australia minutes after skipper Virat Kohli said that the senior player “has not recovered in time”.

Over the past year, the Indian team’s communication has time and again come under the scanner with the latest being the Ashwin injury before the all-important decider at the SCG.

During this series only, Ravindra Jadeja was first named in the initial squad for the second Test at Perth and wasn’t played despite Ashwin’s injury.

Later coach Ravi Shastri, prior to the game in Melbourne, said that Jadeja was suffering from shoulder stiffness and wasn’t 100 per cent fit at the start of the Perth Test.

The BCCI went on a damage control mode and gave a detailed update on Jadeja’s injury with his latest fitness status, late on January 23.

Ditto with injury updates of Wriddhiman Saha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar before India’s tour of England.

In this particular case, Ashwin has been suffering from a left-side abdominal strain, which also forced him to sit out of the final Test against England at the Oval.

In Australia, Ashwin bowled 86 overs in Adelaide before having another breakdown before the Perth Test.

On the eve of the Test match, skipper Kohli was asked about Ashwin’s fitness status and his reply left little doubt that the Tamil Nadu player was to miss this match also.

“Well, it’s unfortunate that he has had two niggles quite similar in the last couple of away tours,” Kohli said.

“He is very disappointed with the fact that he has not been able to recover in time, but the things have been laid out to him (as to) what needs to be done to get back to full fitness,” Kohli revealed.

However, after Kohli’s press conference, the BCCI issued an official statement which stated, “A quick update on R Ashwin: The team management has named him in the 13-man squad for the final Test. A final decision on R Ashwin’s availability will be taken in the morning. We will put out the squad in sometime.”

The Indian team management has started naming a pruned list on the eve of the Test match, which is normally a 12-member squad.

Before Melbourne, in a departure, India named their XI, 24 hours before the match.

But naming Ashwin in the 13 after the skipper’s press conference proves that the think tank must have changed their stance and wanted to give the premier spinner the maximum chance of recovery before the commencement of the match.

Mumbai siblings shine at Singapore chess meet

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Web Team

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January 2, 2019

City-based Rajveer and Anaishaa shone brightly winning the gold medal in the Under-9 and silver medal in the Under-7 age groups, respectively, in the 35th Singapore National Open Age Group Chess Championship.

The tournament, organised by the Singapore Chess Federation, saw around 500 players from 14 countries competing for the top honours.

Rajveer, a student of city-based Vibgyor High School, with clever tactical play, remained unbeaten to finish with a total of 7.5 points out of a possible 8, stated a media release issued by South Mumbai Chess Academy.

Rajveer, ranked third in his age group in the country, scored some creditable wins against higher rated opponents and also forced a draw against Singapore’s Goh Zi Han, the highest ranked player in the competition.

His sister Anaishaa, who is the defending Maharashtra state Under-7 champion, won the silver medal in her age category.

She scored seven out of eight points.

Rafael Nadal pulls out of Brisbane International with thigh problem

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Web Team

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January 2, 2019

Rafael Nadal has pulled out of this week’s Brisbane International due to a left thigh problem, with the Spaniard saying he did not want to risk an injury ahead of this month’s Australian Open.

The world number two endured an injury-plagued 2018 season that saw him contest only nine tournaments due to hip, knee, abdomen and ankle injuries.

The 32-year-old did not play after retiring against Juan Martin del Potro in their US Open semi-final last September and underwent ankle surgery two months later.

“I did an MRI and it shows a small staring on my left thigh,” Nadal, who was due to face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round on Thursday, said.

“I tried to play, I wanted to play, but recommendations from the doctors (were otherwise).

“It’s a small thing that can become a much bigger… when you compete the intensity on the muscle it can get worse… I feel better than I did four days ago… it’s a risk to damage my body for one month if I play here.”

Despite a curtailed season, Nadal managed to win five titles last year, including a record-extending 11th French Open title that took his Grand Slam tally to 17.

He lost a three-set exhibition match against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in Abu Dhabi last week and had indicated he was fighting fit ahead of the Brisbane tournament.

Lucky loser Taro Daniel will replace Nadal in the second round against Tsonga.

Withdraw serious cases in Kalamboli Maratha stir: Pawar to CM

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Web Team

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January 2, 2019

NCP chief Sharad Pawar has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking withdrawal of serious charges slapped on some people during a Maratha quota protest last year in Kalamboli-Kamothe area of neighbouring Navi Mumbai after conducting a proper enquiry.

Police had fired in air after protesters indulged in arson and pelted stones during the quota stir last July in the area along the Sion-Panvel highway in Raigad district.

The letter dated December 29 was written after Pawar visited the area in Panvel taluka. He tweeted about the letter on Wednesday (January 2).

Pawar stated that he was given a memorandum during his visit to Kalamboli-Kamothe stating that innocent and well-educated people were booked by police under section 307 (Attempt to murder) of the IPC and other serious charges.

“It is highly unlikely that doctors, lawyers and women would indulge in violence,” he stated.

Pawar also attached a list of people who he said were falsely implicated by police under serious charges.

The former Union minister demanded an enquiry into the charges to ensure that innocent people are not harassed.

“I expect that you will withdraw cases against innocent persons,” Pawar said addressing the Chief Minister.

Chhetri says India will be difficult to beat in Asian Cup

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Web Team

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January 2, 2019

India will be a difficult team to beat in the Asian Cup football tournament starting on Saturday, especially after their recent draws against more fancied China and Oman, said talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri.

The Asian Cup, the continent’s showpiece event, will be played in four cities of the United Arab Emirates from January 5 to February 1.

India have been clubbed in Group A alongside Thailand, Bahrain and hosts UAE. They will play their first match on Sunday against Thailand, followed by games against UAE (Abu Dhabi) and Bahrain (Sharjah) on January 10 and 14 respectively.

Ranked 15th in Asia, India played against three quality sides — China, Oman and Jordan — in their build-up to the Asian Cup. The Stephen Constantine-coached side drew goal-less against China and Oman and lost to Jordan 1-2.

China (76th) and Oman (82nd) are ranked higher than India (97th) while Jordan are below a few rungs down at 109th.

“I can assure you that it won’t be an easy job for other teams to face us. We are a team who hate to lose, and we have proven it in recent times. We are working as per the plan,” Chhetri was quoted as saying by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) website.

“All of us are super excited and thrilled right now. Apart from me and Gurpreet (Singh Sandhu), it’s a first-time experience for all else. Everyone is ready to grab this opportunity (of playing in the Asian Cup),” said the skipper, who is set to become the only Indian to feature in two Asian Cup tournaments.

The 34-year-old Chhetri was part of the Indian team that featured in the 2011 edition in Doha where the country lost all their group matches — against Australia, South Korea and Bahrain. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was in the 2011 squad but did not play any match.

Chhetri, the highest Indian scorer in international football with 65 goals, said that his team was focussing solely on the match against Thailand and not looking beyond that.