Actor Aamir Khan is nervous about his upcoming release ‘Lal Singh Chadda’

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August 9, 2022

Bollywood actor Aamir Khan is currently very busy promoting his upcoming family entertainer ‘Laal Singh Chaddha.’

During a recent media interaction, the ‘3 Idiots’ actor revealed that he has not been able to sleep for the past 48 hours because of his film.

Aamir stated, “I am very nervous right now, it’s been 48 hours I have not slept. I am not joking, I am not able to sleep. My brain is in overdrive, so I read books or play chess online. I will be able to sleep only after 11 August.”

On being asked, that what is he going to do after the release of the film on August 11, Aamir said, “I will finally sleep after 11, I think me and Advait (director of ‘Laal Singh Chadha’) will sleep peacefully and then when we wake up, the audience will tell us whether they liked the film or not. Will wake up and discover.”

The ‘Lagaan’ actor talked about his way of getting an authentic reaction from the fans, and said, “I walk around in different theatres to watch the audience’s genuine reaction to the film. The audience doesn’t know that I am present in the hall. For the first week, I visit different cities and different halls to get the unfiltered reaction of the audience from the projection window or from the side doors. It depends on the theatre, where the hiding spot is better. Through this, I get an unfiltered response from the audience. If the audience knew that I am present in the hall, then the reaction may be different, but I want to experience a natural response from the public.”

Helmed by Advait Chandan, ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ is an official Hindi adaptation of the Academy Award-winning 1994 film ‘Forrest Gump’ which had Tom Hanks in the lead role.

It is scheduled to release on August 11. Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh and Naga Chaitanya are also a part of the film.

Woman cop held for demanding bribe from robbery case accused

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PTI

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August 9, 2022

The Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested a woman police naik from Maharashtra’s Raigad district for allegedly demanding bribe from a person accused in a robbery case, the ACB said on Tuesday.

Kunjan Dharmesh Jadhav (32), who was attached to Mangaon police station in Raigad, allegedly demanded Rs one lakh from the person to help him out of the case.

She later agreed to accept a sum of Rs 90,000 from him, ACB Raigad’s Deputy Superintendent of Police Sushma Sonawane said.

The robbery case accused complained to the ACB which conducted a probe and arrested Jadhav on Monday, the official said.

India gets an opening to regain influence in South Asia amid Sri Lanka crisis

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ANI

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August 9, 2022

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has resulted in a serious political and socio-economic impact on its residents. But for India, analysts regard this situation as an opportunity to regain lost ground in the island nation.

Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worse socio-economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948.

Amidst debilitating power shortages and a lack of critical resources, the country’s once robust healthcare system is now teetering on the edge of collapse.

The decline has severely impacted sexual and reproductive health services, including maternal healthcare and access to contraception.

Writing for the Diplomat magazine, Sameer Patil and Don McLain Gill argued that the unfolding situation may impede China’s intent to increase its regional strategic influence and power projection.

They argued that critical indicators of the strategic influence of an extra-regional power lie in its ability to sustain bilateral military exercises and operationalize defence cooperation with regional states.

Had I been chairman of selection committee, Shami would have been in Asia Cup squad: K Srikkanth

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ANI

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August 9, 2022

Mohammad Shami — Had I been chairman of selection committee, Shami would have been in Asia Cup squad: K Srikkanth 6

Former Indian skipper and ex-chairman of the selection committee Krishnamachari Srikkanth said that had he been the chairman of selectors currently, pacer Mohammed Shami would have been a part of Men in Blue’s squad for upcoming Asia Cup 2022, which will take place from August 27 onwards.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee on Monday announced the 14-members squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. The much-anticipated Asia Cup cricket tournament will take place from August 27 this ye

“In my team, Shami was literally there. If I was the Chairman of the selection committee, I think Shami would have been there and probably, I would not have gone with Ravi Bishnoi. But I still believe that Axar Patel was a serious contender in my team. It would have been a big toss-up between Axar Patel and Ashwin,” said Srikkanth during the show ‘Follow The Blues’ on Star Sports.

Srikkanth opines that the squad is good but needs one more medium pacer. He feels bad for Axar Patel, who could not make it to the squad.

“I am very happy for Deepak Hooda – he can bowl a bit, he is a good hitter and he’s a good striker of the ball. What I like about Deepak Hooda is that he is a good striker of the ball, he is a flirter.

Otherwise, this squad is a fantastic squad, only feel bad for Axar Patel. I still believe that he’s a good bowling all-rounder, may be in Australia conditions. I am not going for just the Asia Cup, but yes, this must be a blueprint for the ICC T20 World Cup also,” he added.

Former Indian wicketkeeper and ex-chief of selectors Kiran More also said that the event will be special for Virat Kohli since he needs to make a comeback. “It has been too many innings. The other batsmen also have been performing really well.

Overall, the squad looks good, and well-balanced. There are good all-rounders too – R Ashwin has been batting well. Definitely, Axar Patel has been performing well throughout the year too.

India’s squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan. The star pacer of India Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru. Three players – Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar have been named as standbys..

Nitish Kumar says, ”we have seven Mahagathbandhan parties, 164 MLAs in Bihar assembly”

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ANI

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August 9, 2022

Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar on Tuesday staked claim to form the next government in Bihar with the support of seven parties after he broke alliance with BJP and resigned as Chief Minister.

He said there are seven parties including RJD who are supporting him. “I came here to meet Governor and gave my resignation. There are 7 parties including 164 MLAs along with Independents in Mahagathbandahan,” Kumar told reporters.

He was accompanied by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. The JD(U) and RJD, who together constitute a majority in the 243-member state assembly.

JD(U) has 45 and the RJD has 79 MLAs. They also have the support of smaller parties like Jitan Manjhi’s HAM. The BJP has 77 MLAs in the state assembly.

Nitish Kumar earlier in the day broke his alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following a meeting of JD-U leaders and legislators. He then sought time from Governor Phagu Chauhan and tendered his resignation.

According to sources, many JD(U) legislators told Kumar in today’s meeting that the alliance with the BJP had weakened the party since 2020. Without naming Chirag Paswan, the legislators are reported to have recalled the actions of the former Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief during the 2020 state assembly polls while warning Kumar that if they were not alert, it would not be good for the party.

A meeting of the RJD-led opposition alliance was also held at former chief minister Rabri Devi’s residence.

The meeting authorised Tejashwi Yadav to take an appropriate decision on government formation in Bihar.

Nitish Kumar again breaks alliance with NDA

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ANI

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August 9, 2022

Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar’s resignation came as deja vu as JD-U in the past also had dumped Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join a family-led party – Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Nitish Kumar has taken multiple U-turns in the past. In 2015, Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) broke the alliance with BJP and joined hands with RJD and Congress.

The Mahagathbandhan of JD(U)-RJD-Congress won the 2015 election. Kumar returned as the Chief Minister and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav became the deputy chief minister.

However, the Mahagathbandhan collapsed in the year 2017 and Nitish Kumar got reunited with the BJP.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kumar resigned, breaking his alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After tendering his resignation, Nitish Kumar left the Raj Bhavan and arrived at the residence of Rabri Devi in Patna.

Kumar said that all party MPs and MLAs are in consensus that they should leave the BJP-led NDA alliance.

Caretaker Chief Minister Kumar said, “All MPs and MLAs reached a consensus that we should leave the NDA. Soon after, I resigned as Bihar CM.”

“All the meetings with the MPs, MLAs and MLCs of both the Houses were held today. Everyone’s wish was that we should leave NDA. So as everyone wished, we accepted the same and submitted the resignation from the post of the Chief Minister in the NDA government,” he added.

After tendering his resignation, Nitish Kumar left the Raj Bhavan and arrived at the residence of Rabri Devi in Patna.

Kumar, earlier in the day, held a meeting with JD(U) leaders to discuss his next political moves. He then sought time from Governor Phagu Chauhan.

Around 4 pm, Kumar arrived at Raj Bhavan and met Governor Phagu Chauhan and apprised him of his decision to quit as Chief Minister.

BJP’s plans failed in Bihar; the Saffron party shunted out of power

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Afternoon Voice

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August 9, 2022

nitish kumar, tejashwi yadav, rjd, kumar, bjp, bihar, bihar politics — BJP's plans failed in Bihar; the Saffron party shunted out of power 10

Nitish Kumar with Tejashwi Yadav approached the Bihar Governor to form a new government, hours after he broke off an alliance with the BJP and resigned as Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar met with his MLAs before coming to his decision on dumping the BJP for a second time. He met with the Governor late this afternoon to hand in his resignation. “I’ve resigned, and I’ve informed my MLAs about this,” he said to the media after seeing the Governor.

He met the Governor a second time with Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav to seek a new term as Chief Minister. Other parties like the Congress are expected to join the new alliance. The BJP’s senior leaders from Bihar are flying to Patna to discuss the fallout. They include Sushil Kumar Modi and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. “Nitish Kumar has betrayed the people of Bihar and the BJP. People will teach him a lesson,” Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal said at a news conference.

The tension between the two parties hit a breaking point over Nitish Kumar’s concerns that Union Minister Amit Shah is working relentlessly to split the Janata Dal (United). To this end, Nitish Kumar blames RCP Singh, a former leader from his own party, for serving as Amit Shah’s proxy. RCP Singh quit the JDU on the weekend after his party accused him of deep corruption.

In 2021, RCP Singh joined the union cabinet as the representative of Nitish Kumar’s party. The Bihar Chief Minister was upset about being offered only one cabinet position. Yesterday, his closest aide said that RCP Singh had decided to join the centre of his own accord and had informed Nitish Kumar that Amit Shah had said he alone was acceptable as the JDU rep in the cabinet. “Will Amit Shah decide our party’s matters?” said Rajeev Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh, who is the president of the JDU.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD, which is Bihar’s single-largest party, also met today to discuss the Bihar crisis. The party is headed by Tejashwi Yadav. The party is expected to formally announce its support for Nitish Kumar, reviving an earlier alliance with him (the partnership lasted for less than three years). Tejashwi Yadav will, according to sources, serve as Deputy Chief Minister in a new government.

Till 2017, Tejashwi Yadav was a minister along with his brother in Nitish Kumar’s government which had three components: the JDU, Lalu Yadav’s party, and the Congress. Nitish Kumar had formed an alliance with them after calling off a decades-long relationship with the BJP. But he accused Tejashwi Yadav and his brother of corruption and used that controversy to end his alliance with ‘secular’ parties and returned to the BJP.

Nitish Kumar is reportedly convinced that Amit Shah wants to repeat the Maharashtra model in Bihar – Uddhav Thackeray was forced to quit as Chief Minister after Eknath Shinde, a senior leader from his party, the Shiv Sena, instigated a huge revolt in partnership with the BJP. Eknath Shinde was rewarded by the BJP with the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister.

Maha Covid update: 1,782 new cases and seven death

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PTI

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August 9, 2022

Covid,diseases, Maharashtra covid update — Image:Representative/Agencies

Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 1,782 new coronavirus infections and seven pandemic-related deaths, the health department said in a release.

The state’s COVID-19 case tally rose to 80,62,519, while the death toll reached 1,48,150.

On Monday, Maharashtra recorded 1,005 new cases and four fatalities.

Mumbai recorded 479 new cases and zero fatalities.

Ahmednagar, Satara and Ratnagiri districts recorded one death each. The Pune Municipal Corporation and Kolhapur district recorded two deaths each.

The case fatality rate in the state stands at 1.83 per cent.

There are 11,889 active cases in the state now.

As many as 1,854 patients recovered since the previous evening, taking the tally of recoveries to 79,02,480.

The recovery rate in the state stands at 98.02 per cent.

With 36,182 tests conducted since Monday evening, the tally of samples tested so far rose to 8,34,90,115.

Maharashtra’s coronavirus figures: New cases: 1,782; New deaths: seven; Active cases: 11,889; New tests: 36,182.

No respect for women on Maha cabinet expansion: NCP Supriya Sule

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PTI

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August 9, 2022

With no representation for women in the Eknath Shinde-led cabinet, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule on Tuesday said the decision shows that the ruling parties in Maharashtra do not respect women.

A total of 18 MLAs- nine each belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena- took oath as cabinet ministers at a function held at Raj Bhavan.

Talking to reporters, Sule said it was “unfortunate and shocking” that not a single woman could find a place in the expanded cabinet.

Without taking state BJP president Chandrakant Patil’s name, she said many times BJP leaders have expressed views that women should be confined to the kitchen.

“Many times people of that party express the view that women should be confined to the kitchen…it has started reflecting in their words and actions.

In May, Patil had taken a jibe at Sule asking her to “go home and cook”. He had later said he meant no disrespect to women.

“It is unfortunate that not a single woman found a place in the cabinet. Fifty per cent of the population of the country is women and not a single woman finding a place in the cabinet is shocking and surprising. This decision shows that they don’t respect women,” she said.

When asked about Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Rathod’s induction into the cabinet, Sule said it was the BJP which vociferously demanded his resignation over the death of a woman when he was a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

“I am happy that he has been made a minister. When he was with us, we maintained that injustice is being done against him. But it was the BJP that demanded his resignation by making wild allegations. But what happened to Puja Chavan whose death forced Rathod to resign from the cabinet?” Sule asked.

In remarks that were laced with sarcasm, Sule said she was happy that many leaders who were earlier with the NCP found a place in the new cabinet.

“Many strove hard for years and yet they could not become ministers. But our talented and intelligent people got a chance. I whole-heartedly thank the BJP,” she said.

Among the ministers, Uday Samant, Deepak Kesarkar (both from the Shiv Sena) and Vijaykumar Gavit (BJP) were NCP legislators at some point in time. Radhakrisha Vikhe-Patil was a senior Congress leader and also held the post of the Leader of Opposition before joining the BJP.

Chirag Paswan demands President’s rule in Bihar, saying “Nitish Kumar has zero credibility”

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ANI

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August 9, 2022

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan on Tuesday demanded President’s rule in Bihar followed by fresh elections after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned from his post and broke his alliance with BJP. Hitting out at Kumar, Chirag Paswan said, “today, the credibility of Nitish Kumar is zero”.

He said that fresh assembly elections should be held to allow people to give a fresh mandate. “We want President’s rule to be imposed in Bihar and the state should go for a fresh election.

Do you (Nitish Kumar) have any ideology or not? In the next polls, JD-U will get zero seats,” Chirag Paswan, son of former Union minister late Ram Vilas Paswan, said.

Nitish Kumar met state Governor Phagu Chauhan and submitted his resignation. Kumar had earlier in the day held a meeting with the JD(U) leaders to discuss the political situation and the party’s next course of action.

He then sought time from Governor Phagu Chauhan. JD-U MLAs and MPs supported chief minister Kumar’s decision. Without naming Chirag Paswan, the legislators are reported to have recalled the actions of the former Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief during the 2020 state assembly polls while warning the CM that if they were not alert, it would not be good for the party.

Paswan had fielded rebel candidates in all seats fought by the JD(U) in the 2020 polls, in what some have alleged was part of a plot of the BJP to wedge its way into the ruling coalition in the state.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan opposition alliance was also held here today at former chief minister Rabri Devi’s residence with the participation of leaders of the CPI-ML and the Congress – part of the Opposition ‘Mahagathbandhan’ alliance in the state.

According to sources, after the meeting with Rashtriya Janata Dal MLAs, MLCs authorised party leader Tejashwi Yadav to take an appropriate decision. Congress and Left parties MLAs have also expressed their support to Yadav, sources said.

Sources said that RJD party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav is closely watching the developments but everything was being done by Tejashwi Yadav.