Editor’s bail extended, says being hounded

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February 4, 2015

A Mumbai court extended the the bail of the Editor of an Urdu daily, at the centre of a controversy over publishing a cartoon of Prophet Muhammad, even as she wrote a blog to admit the “mistake” and seek “forgiveness”, while claiming she was being “hounded and harassed”.

Additional Sessions Judge A J Patangankar adjourned the hearing of the anticipatory bail application of Shirin Dalvi, Editor of ‘Avadhnama’, whose edition here has shut down after the publication of the cartoon triggered an outrage, and extended her interim protection from arrest till February 10.

The Mumbai police opposed granting of pre-arrest bail to Dalvi saying it would create law and order problem as people from the Muslim community were outraged over reproduction of the cartoon published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which was the target of a terror attack last month.

“The accused, Shirin Dalvi, editor of an Urdu daily Avadhnama, has hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community and granting her anticipatory bail will create law and order problem,” the police told the court.

Dalvi was arrested from Mumbra in neighbouring Thane district following a complaint after the cartoon was published on January 17 and released on bail by the concerned court later.

However, another case was registered against her with the N M Joshi Marg police station in Mumbai after which she approached the sessions court here last week to seek anticipatory bail, claiming the article was non-defamatory and did not hurt the religious sentiments of anybody.

She also said she had already apologised for reproducing the cartoon. Islam prohibits any form of idolatry and publication of cartoons of the Prophet is considered blasphemous.

The editor also told the court that she, in her official capacity, had only exercised her fundamental right to speech and expression.

In a blog written for a TV news channel, Dalvi began with an apology for having printed the cover of Charlie Hebdo.

Government to ban tobacco consumption at public places: Devendra Fadnavis

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Afternoon Voice

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February 4, 2015

Maharashtra government will soon impose a ban on tobacco consumption at public places, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.

“Cancer caused by consumption of tobacco, gutkha, paan masala and cigarettes affects not only that individual, but an entire family is destroyed,” he said.

“Consumption of tobacco at public places will be banned and necessary steps taken in this regard,” Fadnavis said after visiting the Tata Memorial Hospital on World Cancer Day.

The incidence of cancer is the same as it was 20 years ago. That is why there is a need to create awareness about it, he said.

It is seen that sale of tobacco and paan masala is on the rise in the vicinity of educational institutions. A ban on their sale will be enforced with the help of Home and education departments, he said.

“Punjab government has levied hefty taxes on tobacco. It is not yet clear what the impact of the heavy taxes has been. We will also consider it after the impact becomes clear,” the Chief Minister said.

Government to look into ‘causes’ forcing farmers to end lives

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Afternoon Voice

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February 4, 2015

The Maharashtra government has said that it will “look into the causes” which were compelling the debt-ridden farmers to commit suicide.

“The recent package that we had announced for farmers has already started reaching their bank accounts. This money can be used by them to pay their bank debts, loans taken from private lenders and other debts. In spite of this, we hear the reports of farmers committing suicide. This is astonishing,” a state Cabinet minister said.

“The issue (of farmers’ suicide) was raised in the state Cabinet meeting. The Chief Minister (Devendra Fadnavis) has assured that the causes will be looked into and a detailed report will be made,” he said.

The Shiv Sena, terming such incidents as “heart wrenching,” had recently slammed its ally BJP saying that while the farmers were committing suicide in Vidarbha region, the Chief Minister was attending business meet in Davos.

The state government had in December last year announced a Rs. 7,000 crore package for farmers whose crops were affected by the unseasonal rains and hailstorms and had also asked for funds from the Centre to help them.

It had also announced the intention of making the entire state drought-free by 2019.

Taking a step further, the state government had yesterday announced an additional package for farmers where the kin of each of the deceased farmers would be given Rs. 2.5 lakh. The farmers who lost their cattle will get compensation in the range of Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 35,000.

The farmers whose houses were damaged would get compensation in the range of Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 70,000, while for crop loss, the compensation will range from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 25,000 per hectare.

Two weeks back, the government had officially declared that 60 per cent of the state’s villages were facing a “drought-like” situation as they reported a crop yield less than 50 per cent of the standard yield in the area.

Daddy’s Day Out: All about Arun Gawli – Part II

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Vaidehi Taman

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February 4, 2015

Mingling with men in the riders of power is falling common to all those who carry serious ambitions and have the will and dash to see it achieved doubly quick and preferably early in life. This habit has made and even marred the careers of all such who work within the fringes of power like journalists, lawyers, financiers, police officers, and even political touts. Police officers in particular have always managed to get themselves off the hook or stalled some political bigwig out to get them. Such games necessarily require the cooperation and even active connivance of not only those in political power but also their middlemen.

Such middlemen often have turned out to be journalists who win the trust of these power centers, and act as brokers for their business. Journalists have the virtuous advantage of being able to get entry anywhere in the corridors of power mainly due to the importance of the mass media and its ability to transmit the sound bites. Mention the camera and sound bites and there may not be a single politician of any hue able to resist the possible good repercussions of such a chance.

It is this cooperative spirit that has made the careers of many journalists and his many patrons. A sterling example of this game of ups and downs is perhaps the case of former journalist Ketan Tirodkar, once known to the fraternity of Mumbai scribes as an ace crime reporter. A job in a bank meant access to several bits of crucial information to act upon or even possibly trade upon. The job acted as a catalyst to his plans to make it big in life on his own steam, long since having refused to depend upon his reputed well to do family’s resources.

Finding himself in a courier company, he became an ace at extracting and even trading crucial bits of information sustained with uncomplicated evidence which could help his company rivals to steal a march over his own company.

From there, it was only a step away to journalism with the help of ambitious police officers who did not really have too many scruples about finding a sanctimonious way to the top of their careers. Among such officers were the encounter specialists who owed their long careers to sharp shooting cops. Tirodkar did not find himself alone there, but had company in another sharp shooting cop, Daya Nayak, who had gained fame.

Nayak’s association with a school based in native Dakshinkannada had already come in for scrutiny when Tirodkar blew the whistle on him and exposed his dealing with Chhota Shakeel. And, the course of history followed with Tirodkar in apparent moment of remorse at his own deeds and surrendered himself to the law, the custodians of which by then thought it apt to charge him with the stringent Maharashtra Control Of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA). Having made a clean breast himself of all his past deeds and misdeeds and even now in the midst of facing the flak for it, Tirodkar does not require any public acknowledgement but is a subject of this edit only due to his proximity with me as I closely observed his career in both its upward and downward swings.

Tirodkar has paid for his self-confessed misdeeds the balance installments via his uncertain life, but he stands as an example to all aspiring young journalists or even less actively disposed young people of the route a human being can take to the top. What he has done can be called criminal but one must at the same time think of several officers like the one mentioned above. Almost, all of them and even a long list of other Dirty Harrys not mentioned must be admitting in private that very often all that glistens and very brightly so is not profit. Of police officials, it must be said that they too are every bit as media savvy and of scheming nature to use their offices in an unconstitutional manner.

Anyways, now gang wars and crime stories of underworld have come to an end and is no longer projected by Mumbai media. Film directors like Ram Gopal Verma made few movies on Mumbai underworld, which has its own charm. Mumbaikars read news and is fascinated with films based on underworld. Players of the underworld too changed with time. Some hide themselves away from Mumbai, some are murdered and encountered, many fled away from the country. However, one is still here. He is in jail, challenging a system and running his empire with the help of his old loyalists. Soon, we will see a movie on his life.

Gawli returns to Mumbaikars’ life….

Rajnath summons Home Secy, CBI chief over Matang arrest row

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Afternoon Voice

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February 4, 2015

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday summoned Home Secretary Anil Goswami in connection with reports that a top ministry official had allegedly made attempts to stall arrest of Congress leader Matang Sinh by CBI in connection with the Saradha scam.

The Home Minister called Goswami soon after he came to office this morning. They discussed the issue for nearly an hour.

It is believed that he might have been asked about attempts by a senior ministry official on Saturday when the CBI decided to place Sinh, a former union minister of state for home, under arrest.

After the meeting, Goswami refused to take any questions from the media.

This meeting was immediately followed by Singh calling CBI Director Anil Sinha, who apparently briefed the minister about the sequence of events that unfolded ahead Sinh’s arrest.

Sinha also refused to take any questions from the waiting media outside the office of the Home Minister. The director held a separate meeting with Goswami.

The CBI is believed to have sent a report to the Prime Minister’s Office in this regard, sources in the agency said.

The Home Minister was briefed by officials about reports suggesting that a top ministry official had allegedly attempted to stop the arrest of Sinh who was picked up by CBI in Kolkata on Saturday.

Implement choice-based credits, president urges varsities

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Afternoon Voice

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February 4, 2015

President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday urged universities to consider implementing the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) as it would ensure seamless mobility of students across higher education institutions in the country as well as abroad.

“…because of the diversities in evaluation systems, students have suffered in the acceptance of their credentials across the university system and in accessing employment opportunities. The initiative of CBCS will ensure seamless mobility of students across higher education institutions in the country as well as abroad,” Mukherjee said.

He was speaking at a conference of vice chancellors of central universities. This is the third such conference convened by the president since assuming the office.

Mukherjee added that the credits earned by students can be transferred and would be of great value in the event of their seeking migration from one institution to the other.

While 23 central universities have already implemented CBCS, Mukherjee “urged remaining universities to consider implementing this system from next academic year”.

The vice chancellors of 40 central universities, to which the president is the visitor, participated in the conference. Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani also attended it.

Mukherjee said the human resource development ministry and institutes of higher learning should develop eco-systems for deriving maximum benefits from applying technology to learning.

He said the university is a role model for the society at large and its persuasive power extends beyond the classroom and called upon central universities to work with at least five villages each to turn them into model villages under the central government’s ‘Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’.

Mukherjee said during his visit to Norway and Finland, he called upon academicians and experts to come and teach in India, under the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), in higher education.

Under the GIAN, the human resource development ministry has asked central universities for a list of eminent scholars and researchers for inviting them as guest speakers or scholars.

PM Modi uses development mantra in bid to woo voters

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Afternoon Voice

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February 4, 2015

Singing the development mantra in his last rally three days ahead of Delhi assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today tried to woo voters by highlighting central welfare schemes and trashed the opinion polls which gave an edge to AAP, saying BJP will get majority.

Attacking BJP’s main rival AAP on recent allegations of “dubious” donations, Modi said he was asked by his friends whether he has also given donation to AAP and when he got it checked, “I was surprised to know that even Mahatma Gandhi and (US President Barack) Obama have donated to them.”

“What kind of people are they (AAP)? In public life there should not be any place for such lies,” the Prime Minister, who has been holding rallies for three consecutive days in Delhi, targetted AAP without naming it.

Trashing opinion polls which have predicted majority for AAP, he asked people not to get swayed by these “lies” and said last time during last assembly elections they (AAP) claimed that they will win more 50 seats but could not even manage the highest tally.

“Even when I contested from Varanasi in Lok Sabha, they (surveys) said Modi will lose by three lakh votes. I don’t know who (pollsters) are they,” Modi said, adding he was wondering how someone who could not win his own Lok Sabha seat was being projected as someone big, in an apparent reference to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.

Talking about various welfare schemes undertaken by his government to help the poor, Modi, during the rally in South Delhi’s Ambedkar Nagar, said his politics was all about development without which no state can progress.

“My politics have only one style, only one mantra and only one focus and that is development. And it means that there should be change in the lives of the poor people. Their children should get education, their parents should get medicine. And there should be concrete house in place of jhuggis,” he said.

He referred to ‘Jandhan’ and direct benefit transfer for gas cylinder subsidy as pro-poor measures taken by his government.

In an apparent attack on Congress, he said his was neither a “ghotala sarkar (government of scam)” nor was a government run with the help of “ghotalebaaz (scamsters)”.

Case against Sharad Yadav for casteist remarks against Bihar CM

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Afternoon Voice

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February 4, 2015

A case has been registered against JD(U) president Sharad Yadav for his alleged casteist remarks against Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.

“A case has been registered against Sharad Yadav in Airport Police station under SC/ST (Prevention of atrocities) Act on the direction of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Patna Jitendra Rana.

Rana said the case was registered last night on order of Patna Chief Judicial Magistrate Bharat Singh, who had summoned the police to his court.

Lok Janshakti Party state general secretary Vishnu Paswan had on December 3 last year filed a case against JD(U) president Sharad Yadav in the CJM court here under SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act.

He alleged that Sharad’s comments at Kanpur on December 2 last year about the educational and political qualification of chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi hurt the sentiments of Dalits and people of Musahar castes. He had also filed a complaint with the Harijan police station at Boring Road.

Paswan said the JD(U) president had described Manjhi as a “musahar” (rat eaters) who never went to a school.

“How can he become the CM as he has not seen books and school,” Sharad had said in Kanpur.

The Patna SSP said the police would proceed in accordance with laid down rules in the case.

NIA arrests one more accused in Burdwan blast case

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Afternoon Voice

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February 4, 2015

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested one more person from West Bengal in connection with the October 02, 2014, Burdwan blast.

The person, identified as Mufazzil Haque, is a close aide of suspected Burdwan blast mastermind Sheikh Rehmatullah alias Sajjid and he was arrested for allegedly running a recruitment camp for Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) terror outfit from a madrassa in Murshidabad.

Haque was arrested from Mokimnagar area of the district bordering Bangladesh last night, official sources said.

The fresh arrest came days after four JMB militants, who were running terror camps in West Bengal, were arrested in connection with the blast.

The NIA has so far arrested 17 people, mostly Bangladeshis, for the blast that took place at a house in Khagragarh in Burdwan, killing two JMB militants and injuring another.

The agency said the investigation so far has revealed that the militant outfit had established its network in many districts — particularly in Murshidabad, Nadia, Malda, Birbhum and Burdwan in Bengal, Barpeta in Assam, and Sahibganj and Pakur in Jharkhand.

Regret calling Northeast people “immigrants” in Vision Document: BJP

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Afternoon Voice

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February 4, 2015

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday regretted the use of word “immigrant” for people from the Northeast, in its Vision Document released for the Delhi Assembly Elections.

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that it was an “inadvertent mistake” on the part of the party to have used the word “immigrant” for people from the Northeast.

“We regret the same,” Prasad said.

“BJP is a party that has always been active for safeguarding the interests of people from the Northeast, wherever they live. BJP has always believed brothers and sisters from the Northeast are proud citizens of India,” he stated further.

The Congress had yesterday attacked the BJP for referring to Northeast people as “immigrants” in its Vision Document, and asked if the party considers people from the region like those from other countries.

The BJP rushed to make amends, withdrawing the word and stressing that the “brothers and sisters of the Northeast are the pride of Delhi”.

BJP leader and Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who is from Arunachal Pradesh, when cornered by journalists, had said that the word was a “typo” and “clerical error”.