It is every parent’s dream to have a gifted child; a child who shows a natural and extraordinary talent in worldly disciplines such as learning languages, solving math problems with ease, superior scientific reasoning, learning complex music composition and other various arts.
Here are two extraordinary children Anand Vardhan and Harsha Vardhan Thamnanabhatal, twins studying 10th class of HPS Ramanthapur, they are from Manthani a village in the state of Telangana since childhood they were encouraged to chant Hanuman Chalisa by their parents. By registering to participate in Shri Hanuman Chalisa Laksha Gala Parayan on Saturday, August 15, 2020, with 100,000 other participants they chanted and created divine vibrations around the world.
This event was organized by SiliconAndhra. This event has entered into “Guinness World Records” for most simultaneously Chanting Online.
Telangana Twins entered into "Guinness World Records" 4
When Afternoon Voice spoke to Harsh Vardhan about his achievement and what has inspired him to participate in such an event, he said “I am born in a family that has strong spiritual roots, and these are the family sanskaras (upbringings) that has always motivated me to practice religious chantings.”
Anand Vardhan said, “I and my brother are determined by our spiritual values. My parents always maintained certain discipline and wanted us to excel in life. We follow all those spiritual practices in regular life after our Upanayana. Upanayana is an initiation into the study of Vedas being a Brahmin.”
Sitaram Das Ji
When we spoke to Ayodhya Govardhan Nirmohi Akhara Mahant, Sitaram Das Ji he said, “These children in the future will help society to grow spiritually and create a world of stability, as they come of age, will help to smoothen this transition and lead the world in the times to come to greater spiritual awareness in all aspects of life and governance.
There was high drama in West Bengal’s Nandigram on Friday when the state voted in the second phase of the assembly election. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had to be displaced by central paramilitary forces after having to stay confined for more than two hours at a polling booth amid an extremely tense face-off between BJP and Trinamool Congress supporters.
She dialled Governor Jagdeep Dhankar from one of the booths and told him that “anything might happen at any moment”. Banerjee hit out at the Home Minister, alleging he instructed the central forces and that only BJP is getting support from central forces.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing a rally in Bengal spoke of the incident in Nandigram, saying “This shows that Didi has accepted defeat and BJP will be forming a government in Bengal”. Whereas he ignored the fact that Mamata will easily win the seat she went to Nandigram to reduce Suvendu in his political stature and she has successfully done that.
Suvendu has to prove his worth to his new political masters. In politics, no one’s political career is destroyed forever but gets dumped everywhere. Nandigram and Khejuri, which are Adhikari’s strongholds but people loved him as a TMC candidate then, now feel betrayed. Mamata is contesting from Nandigram to crush Suvendu, she never loses any election just like Modi and she is as popular in Bengal as Modi in Gujrat.
Mamata Banerjee declared her candidature from Nandigram for many reasons. It was a deft move and is not out of her character to take the fight to the front door of her enemy. She sent two major messages. The first is that she is reclaiming her 2011 daughter the soil image when she fought for the rights of local farmers of Nandigram and Singur.
While land acquisition at Singur was for Tatas, the land acquisition at Nandigram was for a chemical hub for the Salim group of Indonesia. At Nandigram, 14 protesters were killed in police firing and she gave her clarion call of Ma, Mati and Manush. With this move, she reminded the voters of the past and wanted to touch an emotional chord.
Furthermore, she sent a direct message to BJP and Suvendu Adhikari, the local strongman that she would not shy away from a direct face-off. Another underlying reason could be that she wanted an exit from Bhawanipore in south Kolkata, where her position, as I understand, is tough. She won the seat with a 50000 votes margin first in 2011, later in 2016, the margin was halved and the vote count in the Lok Sabha elections showed that the margin is down to 3000. Nandigram gave Mamata an opportunity to honourably exit Bhawanipore where she is expecting to win over.
Mamata has never lost an election since the 1989 Lok Sabha polls. She is a popular mass leader. Her integrity is good. She would normally get a walkover. But 2021 is a different ball game. The party is embroiled in corruption, extortion, Saradha, Rose Valley, Narad, the emergence of nephew as a potential successor. There was a perception created against her by national media and social media.
This local strongman Suvendu Adhikari wanted payback. BJP is mounting a solid challenge and opinion polls show that it is within the striking range. Despite the statewide momentum is built up against her, she will neither lose Nandigram. People have immense faith in her, especially female voters.
Some voters were seen on Tv talking to media personals, “We will vote for Didi, she will win with a good majority. Suvendu Adhikari is dependent on Gujarati Leaders and lost all individuality. BJP is responsible for the Demonetization and privatization of banks and PSU which rendered many jobless. Further, BJP is against poor and senior citizens. It by introducing special trains for longer periods, deprived the senior citizens of their legitimate concessions. It’s also responsible for rising prices of Petrol, Gas and commodities. We the Voters of Bengal have decided to teach them a lesson.”
Let’s wait for 2nd May and see who teaches the lesson to whom.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us at feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
After Munde now NCP's Rajesh Vitekar accused of sexual harassment 7
A woman from Parbhani in Maharashtra has made allegations against NCP leader Rajesh Vitekar for sexually harassing her for more than a year. Vitekar is a close confidant of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar.
Vitekar’s mother is currently the Zilla Parishad President. For the past year, the woman has been going to the police station to register a case but her complaint is turned down.
She told Afternoon Voice, “I am devastated and running pin to poll for justice. Rajesh Vitekar tortured me for one year by making pornographic videos of me. I had complained against all this. I also have all the evidence. But I’m just told that the investigation will take its time and shunted out. I know they are powerful people and no one will hear my voice.”
According to the victim, Rajesh Vitekar scared her by saying that “No one can take any action against me because I have Sharad Pawar’s support.”
The victim accuses him of threatening his weight around in the name of big politicians.
The victim also approached Trupti Desai, a social activist and the founder of the Bhumata Brigade and Bhumata Foundation, a Pune-based organization to seek justice. Trupti addressed a press conference by reading out all the events in sequence.
Whereas Rajesh Vitekar said, “The entire drama is staged, it is like someone has taken supari (contract) to malign my name and they are doing it for cheap publicity. I have done nothing wrong and I believe in the justice system.”
While speaking to Afternoon Voice Bhumata Brigade’s Trupti Desai said, “Do you call it treachery to take the side of a sexually harassed victim against a powerful leader? I will stand by this victim until justice is delivered, no matter how powerful is the man.”
Speaking over the same Ajit Jagtap, editor of Maharashtra Garjana News quoted, “The allegations are serious and atrocities against women cannot be ignored. The Police has to do their job and the judiciary is capable of punishing those who are guilty but we the people are also aware of those thousands of cases that are suppressed in the state by force, price, penalty, discrimination and power.”
Earlier NCP leaders and former Social Welfare Minister Dhananjay Munde and NCP state president Mehboob Sheikh were accused of sexual harassment. Dhananjay Munde made a public statement about the woman in his life and soon after that the lady who had made allegations against him withdrew the grievance.
Recently, the Sanjay Rathore case also came under the purview of the government. Eventually, Sanjay Rathore of Shiv Sena had to resign from his ministry. So now all eyes are on what action the NCP would take against Rajesh Vitekar. And why series of NCP leaders are selectively accused of sexual harassment cases.
Rajesh Vitekar is the President of Parbhani Zilla Parishad, Chairman of Sonpeth Agricultural Produce Market Committee, and Director of Parbhani District Central Bank.
Vitekar contested from the Parbhani Lok Sabha constituency on NCP ticket, defeated by Shiv Sena candidate Sanjay (Bandu) Jadhav.
Hannan Mollah, General Secretary of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) | File Photo
Lakhs of farmers, protesting against the three farm laws passed by the union government last year, will march towards the Parliament on foot sometime in the middle of the month of May, said All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) General Secretary Hannan Mollah on Thursday.
Mollah told ANI that the march is being organised because “the government is not listening to the voices of the farmers”.
“Modi Government and Parliament are not listening to the farmers then it is our right to go in front of Parliament and raise our demand and we will decide sometime between the middle in the month of May. Thousands of farmers will come to the border first, then march to Delhi on foot,” he said.
The AIKS General Secretary said that the farmers’ march will be peaceful and they will head for the Parliament to express their “grief and pain before countrymen”. He added that the exact date of the march has not been decided yet.
“We have decided to organise the program because the movement of farmers has become longer than four months. When the movement has become longer, the protests have to be organised continuously and therefore we have announced that we will encircle Food Corporation of India’s offices on April 5 because the government is planning to abolish the public distribution system,” said Mollah.
He said his organisation will “siege Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) outer ring road for 24 hours” on April 10, and will organise nationwide protests on Baisakhi and May day to raise their demands.
Protestors broke barricades to enter Delhi and indulged in vandalism across several parts of the national capital during their tractor rally organised to protest against the Centre’s three new farm laws on Republic day.
Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been protesting on three borders of Delhi — Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur — since November last year demanding repeal of the three contentious farm laws enacted last year.
A shopkeeper displays campaigning material of political parties for sale for West Bengal assembly elections 2021, in Kolkata on Friday. | Image Courtesy: AFP Photo
2021 has got some strong chances for BJP in West Bengal, but defeating Mamata Banerjee is not so easy even at the present too. She is loved by her people and she knows them better than anyone. Moreover, BJP also kept no stone unturned, they are working on every possibility. BJP already changed the perception and approach of the people in earlier held parliament elections and had won 18 seats out of 42 with a record, first time in the history of West Bengal.
CPM though they ruled the state for thirty-four long years, after which they had a significant decline in acceptance. CPM is majorly liked by intellectuals and government employees. Congress, except for some pockets in Murshidabad, they don’t have much to gain here. But, due to ongoing farmer’s protests, they might get a boost in votes but that won’t be enough to leave a mark. Moreover, CPM and Congress are forming a coalition but that isn’t enough to win too.
With Asaduddin Owaisi throwing his hat into the ring Mamata cannot be the sole owner of the minority vote which would get cut by AIMIM. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) entering Bengal means dividing Muslim votes in between TMC, AIMIM and Congress. And Hindu votes will go straight to BJP. As of now, the real competition is between BJP and TMC, both of them have many heavyweight leaders who can carry the parties alone.
Bengal has an estimated 30 per cent Muslim voters sprawling across 294 assembly seats. Both Mamata Banerjee’s TMC and BJP know the importance of the crucial minority vote bank. Banerjee, who often claimed herself to be champion of minority causes, is fighting from the Nandigram Assembly Constituency which has a sizeable presence of Muslim voters.
However, this year TMC has fielded 42 Muslim candidates which account for 14 per cent of the total candidates. In 2016, at assembly polls, TMC fielded 53 Muslim candidates. BJP is hoping that presence of Asaduddin Owaisi and more importantly, ISF leader and influential cleric Abbas Siddiqui would divide the minority vote bank causing damage to Banerjee’s vote share and seats.
In North Bengal, Muslim infested districts like Murshidabad, and South Dinajpur will witness a contest between Congress and TMC and BJP believes that like the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, now also this will benefit them big time.
Whichever party wins, they will not get a huge majority over the second one. This is going to be a tough election to win for both BJP and TMC. The verdict of Bengal has always been decisive, so there can be leeway that BJP’s gain would be visible in West Bengal 2021.
BJP has established interactions with prominent social groups (caste) like Rajbanshi. They have their upper hand in northern Bengal nearing Assam. Gurkhas are already against Mamata because of her idiocy. Their area is already a BJP stronghold.
Above all, Amit Shah clinched what can be termed as the moment of reckoning by inducting Suvendhu Adhikari personally in his presence into the party. With his entry, BJP got a credible local Bengali firebrand face but also got the momentum in its favour. The way Adhikari’s discord was handled by TMC leaders was boorish, to say the least.
BJP itself was finding it difficult to touch the magical figure of their 148 at Bengal assembly and Adhikari by himself could never be dreamt of dislodging Trinamool but the coming together of Adhikari to BJP was the tilting point for TMC.
Adhikari not only wields influence in the 16 seats of his home district Midnapore but his sway extends over 7 to 8 districts. He can make a difference in over 40+ seats if not more.
BJP was doing its rigorous homework right after the 2019 Lok Sabha election results were declared. It is one part that was planted years before. This groundwork has started giving bonuses. There was anger on the streets against Mamata but the biggest question was how could the BJP consolidate the anger not just into votes but also into seats. That is where Mamata started to dig her own grave. Giving prominence to her nephew and putting all eggs on the basket of Prasanth Kishore had estranged some of the powerful leaders of Trinamool.
Suvendhu is fast turning out to be similar to Himanta Dada in Assam. His rhetoric and ability to articulate in Bengali by highlighting the colossal failures of the TMC government is turning out to be a gamechanger for BJP. We can see jitters in the TMC camp and as we move along, we could see several more desertions from TMC to BJP in Bengal.
We often term in politics that it all depends on who makes the last mistake and now a series of blunders are committed by TMC which can be seen from the tone, tenor and body language of the CM. Some opinion polls are giving a decisive majority to BJP and I would not be surprised if we see BJP touching expected seats in Bengal although many pollsters are giving BJP a range from 135 to 175 seats.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us at feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
A BJP supporter with his body painted gestures during an election rally addressed by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kolkata | Image Courtesy: AFP
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP won 18 seats from earlier 2 and Mamata’s TMC got only 22. BJP came very close to TMC in vote sharing. Mamata Banerjee’s TMC successfully saw off the incumbency as the party won 211 seats bettering its 2011 assembly elections tally of 184.
TMC also registered a vote share of 44.91 per cent in 2016. After coming to power in 2014 at the Centre, the BJP aimed at spreading its footmark beyond the Hindi belt with its pure Hindutva agenda. Assam, Tripura, Northeastern states, Bengal, Odisha, and Kerala became crucial for the ruling party at the Centre and in 2019 they were very close to TMC.
Until 2019 TMC had many big leaders, like Suvendu Adhikari, Dinesh Trivedi, and Mukul Roy who were known as the strength of TMC, now switched their sides to BJP. Their muscle power also came to BJP along with them thus reducing booth capturing chances by TMC gone extremely down and also increased BJP’s chances to defend booths multifold times.
These leaders also brought workers, followers, and traditional voters with them. Thus, adding hugely to BJP’s votes in reducing that of TMC. West Bengal has a strong presence of women electorates as the female voters account for 49 per cent out of the total population that is eligible to exercise their franchise, according to data disclosed by the Election Commission ahead of the much-awaited polls.
BJP’s star campaigner Amit Shah left no stone unturned by making special mention to women voters.
Sudipto Das, an artist of Ravindra Bharti said, “As long as BJP talks about diligently doing its job and ensure that Core Hindu voters who are fed up with TMC, INC and the Left turn up to the polling booths and cast their votes then it is going to be Saffron Flag flying high in Bangla. Yes, there are 57 seats in Bengal which has over 40 per cent Muslim population but Bengalis are looking for a real change after the failed promise of Paribartan by Mamata in 2011 which should also see counter polarization of Hindu votes in favor of BJP.”
Mamata’s constant Muslim appeasement has created anger among Hindu voters and BJP’s Jai Shree Ram chants have conjured the vote possibility for them. There were many propagandas against Mamata refusing of Maa Durga Visarjan during Muharram, pictures of Muslim’s offering Namaz, stopping Chhath Puja citing Corona while allowing the gathering of Muslims. So-called atrocities on Hindus taking part in Durga Visarjan, pension to Imams, building a grand Haj house and so on.
“BJP designed its campaign very well and they moved strategically. Owaisi factor is another winning factor for the BJP, his mere presence will consolidate Hindu votes towards BJP. And no nationalist Hindu is going to vote for him. So, he can’t take even a single vote from BJP. On the contrary, he will bring more votes for them. Some Hindus who are at the moment on the TMC side will vote for BJP and Muslim votes would be divided,” said Abhishekh Bhattacharya an IT professional.
Dipanjan Ghosh, an entrepreneur from Kolkata told us, “According to me there will be a good fight between the political parties, but I think Mamata Banerjee–led TMC will win the West Bengal assembly election.”
When asked what’s his take on the BJP, Ghosh said, “BJP has done nothing as of now, there could be a tough fight but there are very few chances of BJP to mark their name in West Bengal. No matter what people say but as per my prediction, there will be a coalition government coming up here. Let’s hope for the best and see what happens next.”
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday appointed Police Inspector Milind Kathe as the head of the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of Mumbai Police.
Earlier, the CIU was headed by suspended officer Sachin Vaze who is now in National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody in connection with the explosive-laden car which was recovered near Mukesh Ambani’s house on February 25.
The Antilia bomb scare has been in the headline for months. There has been a lot of speculation going around the murder of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiren, however, nothing has been proven yet.
The body of Mansukh Hiren was recovered on March 5 from the Mumbra creek in Thane.
Similarly, the MVA government also removed Param Bir Singh from the post of Mumbai Police Commissioner and appointed Hemant Nagrale as the new Mumbai Police Commissioner.
Sachin Vaze has been the prime accused in this case. On Tuesday the NIA informed the court that Vaze and former policeman Vinayak Shinde were a part of the meeting where the murder of Hiren was planned.
The agency also claimed that the former suspended cop had used a mobile phone to contact a conspirator. Without naming the conspirator, NIA stated that it was close to unravelling the conspiracy and the motive behind the crime.
After that, the special court extended the NIA custody of Vinayak Shinde and another accused Naresh Gor, a cricket bookie, till April 7 in connection with the murder.
It was political trending on Twitter on Tuesday morning and BJP supporters were trying to prove some Maharashtra minister lead Sushant Singh Rajput to commit suicide. All these fake theories ruled the internet and mainstream media channels for three long months and finally the case was handed over to CBI but so far, no conclusion is drawn.
He was suffering from depression for some time. A few days ago, there was news of the suicide of Sushant Singh’s former manager. Disha Salian jumped from a multi-storey building in Malad, Mumbai. Sushant was devastated by the news. Sushant Singh Rajput was a druggist. He was talented, educated and intelligent. But he had many flaws. He smoked weed, was a drinker and a cheater. He ditched many girls whom he knew for years. He wanted to become big in Bollywood. That’s why he started dating a long list of actresses.
But soon Sushant would find himself as a bankable star which is a big feat for any television star of his type. But then success went in his head. That’s why he was destined to fall. He gave many critical hits but the audience as always preferred watching Salman’s movies and Karan Johar’s ‘Student of the Year‘ type of drama. Somehow Sushant Singh Rajpoot’s movies were not that hit, except one or two.
If you recollect the events where our Prime Minister frequently invited Bollywood stars to his programme, Sushant Singh Rajput was never invited or ever had any chance to click pictures with CM or PM. You can understand how low profile the actor had. So, Sushant never found mainstream acceptance. The media never cared about him, either way. The media never highlighted him much. Only his death has got all the attention but while he was alive, no one knew who he was.
Sushant’s death was blamed upon poor souls like Rhea Chakraborty who had nothing to do with the whole issue. Taking advantage of the low emotional maturity of the public, the ruling party BJP then targeted Rhea, Aaditya Thackeray for electoral politics. This is the final nail in the coffin of the decency left in the country. This barbaric act of subjugating a girl, harassing and passing any judgment shows disdain for liberty.
Many conspiracy theories were spread by the BJP. One of the most stupid being of the Disha, Sushant’s manager being gang-raped by a political figure and then Sushant Singh being eventually murdered for knowing the fact. If this wasn’t retarded enough a charlatan by the name of Steve Huff made a video on interaction with Sushant’s ghost. So anyways, Sushant died and we still don’t know what the hell happened.
So, this tells us that the audience is making up stories to fill in the blanks. They’re using their prejudices, preconceived notions and creating crackpot theories. This is aided by the vile media spokesperson Arnab Goswami and Navika Kumar.
Sushant Singh Rajput became known as Manav from his first serial Pavitra Rishta on Zee TV. From there is coming back for him as he goes up in his life from serials to movies. As far as his stardom is concerned, he is very famous for his role as Mahendra Singh Dhoni in MS Dhoni – The Untold Story.
Aditya Thackeray had openly admitted his friendship with Bollywood saying it is not a crime. Aaditya, the young face of Shiv Sena, the youth who envisions many possibilities in India and Maharashtra. Why would he be part of such nasty things? And what is the need? Just because the son of Narayan Rane, has stated that Aaditya attends Bollywood four times a week, are we going by his words?
The opposition leaders took every advantage of Sushant’s death by maligning the ruling government, their 24/7 media coverage name-calling Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and CP of Mumbai. Aaditya did not even know Disha and why would he? He is not only MLA but the son of CM. Disha was just some manager of Sushant that too Sushant met her 23 days before he died.
Even Sushant and Aaditya never met. This all drama purely out of politics and it’s sad people are using someone already dead to do so… These days politics have gone to the lowest level and the biggest factor people have lost their thinking ability.
Sushant was going through a tough phase of depression, lockdown added to it. Police found some prescription medicines and reports of some medical treatment he was undergoing in his flat. In his final days, he was reported to have grown more reclusive, repulsive and more irritable. It’s obvious – Sushant Singh Rajput was a depressed drug user who probably took too many drugs one day and hanged himself.
There’s no evidence of any murder or whatever else TV channels keep blabbering about. There’s no other angle to this story however you look. It’s very common for depressed people to commit suicide, especially those who are on medication. All depression medications come with suicide warnings. One thing is sure no politician has killed him, rather no one has killed him but he killed himself.
On Sunday, the state government announced restrictions on large gatherings as a part of the measure to curb the spread of Coronavirus. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reportedly asked officials to make preparations for a lockdown as people were not following Covid rules.
A mob of sword-carrying Sikh protesters broke through barricades at a Gurdwara in Maharashtra’s Nanded on Sunday evening and attacked policemen, leaving four injured after the police refused to allow a religious procession because of the rules directed by the Chief Minister’s office.
In a video commonly shared online, a group of Sikhs with swords is seen rushing out of a gate of the Gurdwara complex, breaking through barricades put up by the police and attacking policemen standing guard. According to a police officer, four personnel were injured and police cars were damaged.
Pramod Kumar Shewale, superintendent of Police said, “We informed Gurudwara well in advance that the “Hola Mohalla” procession would not be allowed because of Pandemic rules. We had spoken to the Gurdwara committee members and the priests. After explaining the situation, they agreed that this year, no procession will be held and a low-key celebration will be held within the complex.”
The low-key event was to begin at 4 pm. “But some of the youngsters got impatient. When Babaji explained the situation to them, they moved to Gate number 1 and started moving on the traditional route of the procession,” he added. The “Hola Mohalla” procession traditionally includes a display of Sikh martial skills.
Despite the ban on gatherings in the state, the locals had planned to go ahead with the procession. The police had put up barricades near the Gurdwara. The trouble reportedly started when the Nishan Sahib, or the Sikh religious flag, was brought to a Gurdwara gate and participants in the event started arguing. A large group then stormed out of the gate.
A viral video of the incident showed the mob storming the Gurdwara, breaking barricades and attacking the policemen.
“Permission for the Hola Mohalla procession was not granted to them due to the pandemic. The gurdwara committee was informed and they had assured us that they would abide by our directives, the official said. However, when the Nishan Sahib was brought to the gate around 4 p.m. they started arguing and over 300 youth broke the gate and began attacking policemen,” he said.
Nishan Sahib is a triangular saffron-coloured flag furling outside a Gurdwara on a steel pole covered with a saffron-coloured cloth that is most popularly associated with Guru Hargobind. The flag also has an insignia called Khanda in the middle. The Khanda includes two swords and a chakra.
In connection with violence, the police have arrested 17 people and booked 400 persons so far. Several vehicles were also damaged in the violence, the official said.
