Cabinet in process of tabling report on Maratha quota in House: Govt

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November 21, 2018

The Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that it was in the process of tabling the State Backward Class Commission’s recommendations on the Maratha quota issue before the state legislature.

State’s counsel, Additional Government Pleader Abhinandan Vagyani, informed the court that the state Cabinet had received the recommendations from the commission and was mulling further action.

“The state Cabinet is in the process of placing the report (the commission’s recommendations) before the House and taking other appropriate steps,” Vagyani said.

Following the state’s submission, a bench of Justices B P Dharamadhikari and Sarang Kotwal disposed of all pending litigations in the high court on the issue of reservation for the Maratha community.

The bench noted that the commission and the state had complied with the court’s previous orders on submission of such recommendations and therefore, there did not remain any need for a further hearing on the pending petitions.

The bench was hearing a bunch of petitions filed between 2014 and 2015 after the then Congress-NCP government granted 16 per cent quota in government jobs and education to the Maratha community.

While some of the petitions opposed the government’s decision, two petitions had sought immediate implementation of the quota.

In November 2014, in an interim order, a division bench of the Bombay High Court had stayed the then government’s decision to provide the 16 per cent quota, on the grounds that it was in breach of the Supreme Court’s order that prescribed an upper limit of 50 per cent for caste and community-based quota.

On August 7 this year, while hearing the same petitions, another division bench of the HC had directed the commission to complete its research on the issue and submit its recommendations to the state in a time-bound manner.

The bench, led by Justice Dharamadhikari, noted on Wednesday that since the above order had been complied with, the pleas could be disposed of.

“Once the commission’s recommendations are placed before the legislature and made public, the petitioners can approach this court if they still have any grievances,” the bench said.

The Maratha community, which constitutes over 30 per cent of the state’s population, had held protests across the state earlier this year demanding quota in jobs and educational institutions.

The state government had on Sunday announced that the Maratha community will be granted quota under a new category called ‘Socially and Educationally Backward Class’ (SEBC), as per the recommendation of the State Backward Class Commission.

The government is yet to decide the quantum of reservation, though the Marathas are seeking 16 per cent quota.

State Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil had said on Tuesday that a decision on tabling the State Backward Class Commission’s report on the Maratha quota in the Assembly will be taken after seeking a legal opinion on it.

The leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil had demanded that the commission’s report be immediately tabled in the House for clarity on it.

Six of family killed in car-truck collision

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Afternoon Voice

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November 21, 2018

Six persons of a family, including two women and as many children, were on Wednesday killed when their car collided with a truck on Manmad-Yeola road in Nashik district of Maharashtra, police said.

The car in which the family was travelling was reduced to a pulp due to the impact of the collision, a Yeola taluka police station official said.

The car was headed towards Yeola, around 85 km away from here when the truck rammed into it at Visapur phata (diversion) around 4:30 AM, he said, adding that the accident disrupted vehicular traffic for several hours.

The truck driver fled the spot after the accident, the official said.

The deceased are identified as Balasaheb Aanad (60), his wife Indubai (55), car driver Shrinath Aanad (25), Mohini Khandave, Hari khandave (5) and Bhimabai Rohakale(70).

Saina, Kashyap win; Pranaav-Sikki lose in Syed Modi tournament

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Afternoon Voice

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November 21, 2018

Defending champions Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy crashed out in the mixed doubles opening round but Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap notched up easy wins to make a positive start at the Syed Modi World Tour Super 300 on Wednesday.

Top seeds Pranaav and Sikki lost 14-21 11-21 to China’s Ren Xiangyu and Zhou Chaomin in just 31 minutes.

Second-seeded Saina, who had won the Lucknow tournament thrice in the past, thrashed Mauritius’ Kate Foo Kune 21-10 21-10 in the women’s singles, while former Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap disposed of Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-14 21-12 in a one-sided men’s singles match.

London Olympics bronze medallist Saina will face compatriot Amolika Singh Sisodiya next, while Kashyap will meet Indonesia’s Firman Abdul Kholik.

Former Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth also crossed the men’s singles opening hurdle, beating Russia’s Sergey Sirant 21-12 21-10. He will square off against Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia.

Subhankar Dey, who had claimed his maiden title at SaarLorLux Open, beat Sweden’s Felix Burestedt 21-15 21-13 to set up a clash with Lu Guangzu of China.

Among others, Prashi Joshi, Saili Rane, Riya Mookerjee, Pardeshi Shreyanshi, Reshma Karthik and Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka also made it to the women’s singles second round.

Wasim Jaffer becomes first Indian to touch 11,000-run milestone in Ranji Trophy

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Afternoon Voice

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November 21, 2018

Veteran first-class cricketer Wasim Jaffer became the first Indian batsman to touch the 11,000-run figure in the Ranji Trophy. The Vidharbha batsman achieved the milestone during the third-round match against Baroda here at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium on Wednesday.

Continuing with his rich vein of form, the right-hand batsman played an impressive knock of 153 off 284 balls runs in the first innings of the ongoing match, taking his team to a 400-plus total.

The cricketer, who had made his first-class debut in 1996-97, emerged as one of the legends of the Indian domestic cricket. His brilliant run in the domestic tournament also got him a spot in the Indian national squad.

The former opener had made his international Test debut against South Africa in April 2008. He has played a total of 32 Tests in his international career scoring 1944 runs with an average of 34.11 which also includes five centurion knocks.

Apart from being the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy, Jaffer also has a total of 18,275 runs to his credit in the overall first-class career.

BJP runs govt ‘comparatively better’ than Congress: Rajnath

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Afternoon Voice

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November 21, 2018

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday claimed that the BJP has run the government “comparatively better” than the Congress and blamed the opposition party for a “credibility crisis” in politics after Independence.

Talking to reporters in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Singh asserted that the country was currently witnessing “acche din” (good days) and it was a matter of perception of how people saw it.

He also defended the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre over the Rafale jet deal row.

“Indian economy is the fastest growing economy in the world due to the charismatic work of our prime minister (Narendra Modi). India (people) has accepted that BJP is a political party which runs the government comparatively better than the Congress,” Singh told reporters in Bhopal.

“I said comparatively… no political party is perfect, neither we are, I never made such a claim. All political parties have shortcomings. But this (BJP) is a political party which works better, comparatively,” he asserted.

In a stinging attack on the Congress, he accused it of creating a “credibility crisis” in the country, saying there was a difference between the party’s words and actions.

Asked about the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Singh said, “(I think) You are familiar with the development on this issue. I can only say, wait.”

On the BJP’s promise of bringing “acche din”, he said, “Yahi hain acche din, prashna nazariye ka hai (these are the good days, it is a matter of perception).”

RSS is like Taliban, Khalistan terrorists, says CPI(M)

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Afternoon Voice

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November 21, 2018

Holding the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) responsible for the stand-off on the entry of menstruating women in the Sabarimala Temple, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) politburo member S. Ramachandran Pillai on Wednesday equated it with “Taliban and Khalistan terrorist”.

“They (RSS) are behaving like Taliban and Khalistan terrorists. Why are they trying to create trouble in Sabarimala? They should allow everything to be peaceful, they are not doing it,” Pillai told agencies.

Pillai made the statement defending remarks passed by the party’s Kerala State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan who had also likened the RSS with terror outfit. Balakrishnan had accused the RSS of trying to take over Lord Ayyappa temple just the way the Khalistan terrorists had laid siege on the Golden Temple.

“Terrorists do not have any belief. RSS is a terror outfit, they are terrorists. They are doing the same thing in Kerala as the Khalistan terrorists did in the Golden Temple. Had they followed rituals and customs then they would have spared the holy shrine,” Balakrishnan had said.

Reacting on Balakrishnan’s remark, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader K Krishna Sagar Rao termed the remark as “deplorable” saying that the bankruptcy of the CPI (M) is known to all.

“The bankruptcy of the CPI (M) is very evident with these statements. The fear they have over the largest voluntary network in the country, the RSS, reflects in these statements,” said Rao.

Rahul Gandhi “best PM material”: Veerappa Moily

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Afternoon Voice

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November 21, 2018

As efforts to forge an anti- BJP front gather momentum, senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said Wednesday his party’s president Rahul Gandhi is the “best material” to become the prime minister.

Moily said TDP supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu was “doing well” to unite opposition parties.

The former Karnataka chief minister, on the campaign trail in Telangana, also said the Congress was gaining ground at the national level, while the BJP-led NDA was losing partners.

“I don’t want to say that…. the question is that ultimately he (Rahul Gandhi) is the best material for the prime minister,” he told PTI when asked whether the proposed anti-BJP coalition will project Gandhi as its leader.

Quoting Naidu as having said that the Congress is the “mentor” in the larger context of unity among opposition parties, Moily noted, “That’s how things are shaping up”.

The former union minister said there will be a consolidation of opposition parties against the NDA at the national level.

He asserted the Congress was likely to win the elections in all the five states–Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram–where the poll process was underway.

“Things are shaping up so well, evolving so well, the opposition unity is becoming a reality, and the Congress party is picking up in all the five states… (there’s) likelihood of coming to power. Definitely, it adds up to the credibility of our leader Rahul Gandhi,” he said.

Moily was dismissive about scepticism over the success of a broad-based opposition alliance with the possibility of partners squabbling on the issue of who would be the prime minister.

“All that is not correct. Everybody is united against Narendra Modi, the present BJP regime. When it comes to unity against Narendra Modi and NDA, all parties are united and that is important,” he said.

PMO refuses to share details of corruption complaints against ministers

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Afternoon Voice

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November 21, 2018

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has refused to share details of alleged corruption complaints received against Union ministers, saying providing such information “may be a subjective as well as a cumbersome exercise”.

The PMO’s assertion comes at a time when a senior officer in the country’s premier probe agency — Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) — has levelled corruption charge against Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary.

Replying to an RTI query, it said the PMO receives complaints against various Union ministers and high-level functionaries from time to time.

“These include pseudonymous and anonymous complaints. The complaints so received are duly examined keeping in view the veracity of the allegations/accusations and supporting documents in relation to these accusations,” the PMO said in reply to the RTI application filed by whistleblower bureaucrat Sanjiv Chaturvedi.

Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service officer, has exposed several corruption cases in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here when he was posted as the chief vigilance officer — which acts as a distant arm of the Central Vigilance Commission to check corruption — during July 2012 to August 2014.

In its reply to the RTI plea, the PMO said after taking the needful action, the records are not kept in one place and these are scattered across different sectors and units of this office.

“These complaints received relate to a variety of matters including corruption related and non-corruption related matters. The applicant in his application has only sought details of all corruption related complaints.

“To identify, examine and categorise each of these complaints as corruption-related complaints may be a subjective as well as a cumbersome exercise,” the PMO said.

The collation of information sought will require the undertaking of a thorough search of numerous files, it said.

“Such an exercise will disproportionately divert the resources of the office from the normal discharge of its functions and attract the provisions of Section 7 (9) of the Right to Information Act,” the PMO said.

The section says “an information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of the record in question”.

The allegations against Minister Chaudhary was levelled by CBI officer Manish Kumar Sinha, who had on Monday dragged the names of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chaudhary and Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) K V Chowdary over alleged attempts to interfere in the probe against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana, who has also been divested of his duties and sent on leave by the government along with CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma.

Chaturvedi had earlier sought a probe against CVC K V Chowdary claiming that he had allegedly closed corruption cases in the AIIMS.

Looks like Deepika wasn’t a ‘head-to-toe’ Sabyasachi bride after all!

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Afternoon Voice

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November 21, 2018

After facing flak last year from Anushka Sharma’s wedding photographer for not crediting images, ace designer Sabyasachi Mukherji has been called out yet again- this time, for falsely claiming ownership of actor Deepika Padukone’s Konkani wedding attire.

Sabyasachi clarified on Wednesday that Deepika’s wedding saree for the Konkani ceremony was not designed by him but bought from a local Bengaluru store by the bride’s mother, Ujjala Padukone, and then given to Sabyasachi for matching the jewelry.

Taking to his Instagram, Sabyasachi wrote: “As per Konkani tradition, the bride’s saree is gifted to her by the mother for the wedding. Deepika’s wedding saree was given to us by her mother Mrs Ujjala Padukone. We have just received information that the saree was bought from Angadi Galleria, Bengaluru and we would like to them due to credit for the same.”

Earlier, in his description of the dress, the designer wrote, “Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) and Ranveer Singh (@ranveersingh) head-to-toe in Sabyasachi for their wedding in Lake Como, Italy. All of us at Sabyasachi wish the lovely couple our very best for a wonderful and happy married life.”

Deepika and Ranveer took off for their destination wedding on November 3. They tied the knot at Lake Como, Italy in a traditional Konkani ceremony on November 14, while a Sindhi wedding was organised on November 15, both of which were attended by close-knit relatives of the two actors.

The newly-weds, today, will host a wedding reception in Bengaluru, while another wedding reception will be held in Mumbai at The Grand Hyatt on November 28.

Kim Kardashian’s sexy Instagram posts ‘bother’ husband Kanye

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Afternoon Voice

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November 21, 2018

Kim Kardashian, who single-handedly raises the sexy quotient with her Instagram posts, revealed that husband Kanye West gets upset when she posts her raunchy photos on social media.

During her appearance on the latest episode of ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, Kim and host Ellen got talking about an August Instagram post where the American television star can be seen baking in the kitchen wearing only a bra and underpants.

Taking a jibe at the photo, Ellen said, “You can get in trouble with your husband sometimes over too many photos like that” and asked if these kinds of photos typically bother Kanye.

To which Kim said, “Yeah it does, it’s like half and half. He always wants me to be me and feel confident and we’re having fun, but it also bothers him.”

Explaining why she chooses to post the pictures on social media, she said, “I go through waves. Sometimes I’m like, ‘Ok I’ll be more conservative on my Instagram’ and sometimes I really need to get something out if I’m feeling good about myself or I’ve been working out really hard, and I’ll post something and he’ll get upset. It’s a cycle.”

Earlier in October, during her appearance on ‘The Alec Baldwin Show’, Kim admitted that marrying Kanye West has affected her independence.

The Hollywood couple tied the knot in May 2014. Kim and Kanye share three children, namely, daughters North (5), and Chicago (8 months), as well as son Saint, who will be turning 3 on December 5.