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Yoga is for rich and lazy people: Karnataka Minister H Anjaneya

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Karnataka Social Welfare Minister H. Anjaneya

Karnataka Social Welfare Minister H. Anjaneya

Bengaluru: Amid the preparations for the upcoming International Yoga Day celebrations on June 21, a Karnataka minister on Wednesday said Yoga is for ‘lazy’ people who do not have time for exercise.

“Yoga is for lazy people, especially people belonging to well to do families. They do not have time for exercise in the open including taking a walk,” H Anjaneya told reporters here.

On the contrary, people who work in the fields and sweat it out, do not require Yoga, the minister said, even as the Congress government in the state is joining the rest of the country in observing June 21 as International Day of Yoga.

The social welfare minister said that more than anything else people should encourage their children to play outdoor games including running and walking, instead of practising yoga.

Asked whether his department will organize yoga exercises for students from Morarji Desai residential schools, Anjaneya said, “People should ask their children to indulge themselves in playing outdoor sports including running and long walks instead of yoga.”

Launching a tirade against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the minister said he should not indulge in Yoga and spend time in running the country. “The PM should not profess or indulge in Yoga because his time is precious and instead he should spend time on running the country, which is his duty,” he said. The minister said there are Yoga gurus and experts to impart yoga.

(Agencies)

14-year-old minor raped by boyfriend, his friends

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RAPE

Bengaluru: Three have been arrested for raping a 14-year-old girl in the city on Thursday June 18.

The accused are yet to be identified by the police, however it is said that one of the accused is the boyfriend of the girl.

As per the reports, the said boyfriend called the girl to his room on the pretext of meeting her. He then forced himself on her along with two other friends of his.

It is also said that the girl is in a state of shock, she had recently lost her father and lives with her mother and grandmother.

Emergency can happen again, cautions L K Advani

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a. Photo: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times

a. Photo: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times

New Delhi: BJP patriarch L K Advani’s statement that “forces that can crush democracy are stronger” now created a buzz in political circles leading to speculation that it was a barb aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi but RSS dismissed it while Congress and other BJP rivals shared his concern.

“At the present point of time, the forces that can crush democracy, notwithstanding the constitutional and legal safeguards, are stronger,” Advani told Indian Express in an interview.

In the years since the Emergency in 1975-77, he said, “I don’t think anything has been done that gives the assurance that civil liberties will not be suspended or destroyed again. Not at all.”

“Of course, one can do it easily…But that it cannot happen again–I will not say that. It could be that fundamental liberties are curtailed again,” the former Deputy Prime Minister, who is now a member of the BJP’s Margadarshak Mandal, and was incarcerated during the Emergency along with a number of opposition stalwarts then. Advani also said that he did not see any sign in the polity that assures him any outstanding aspect of leadership with a commitment to democracy and to all other aspects related to democracy is lacking.

“Today, I do not say that the political leadership is not mature. I don’t have faith because of its weaknesses. I don’t have the confidence that it (Emergency) cannot happen again.”

Commenting on Advani’s remarks, RSS ideologue M G Vaidya said Advani is a member of the BJP’s Magadarshak Mandal and he did not think he was sending a message to Modi.

“I don’t feel anything like that. He (Advani) is quite senior in age and experience. So he can talk to Modi. He is in the ‘Margdarshak Mandal’ of BJP. I don’t think he has an intention of sending a message to Modi through this interview.” BJP spokesperson M J Akbar also felt it was not aimed at individuals but at institutions.

“I think Advanji was referring to institutions rather than to individuals. I respect his views, but I personally don’t see emergency, any chance of any emergency being reimposed in the country. I think that age is over, Indian democracy is too strong, much stronger now,” he said.

However, Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan latched on to Advani’s remarks saying the “jury is out” from the ruling party itself and he was indeed hinting at “emergency-like” situation under Modi’s rule.

“Today the jury is out. Advaniji is vocal. What he had to say, he has said,” he told reporters. “It is obvious whom he is talking about, whose government is there, who is the Prime Minister. He knows it. But he is a statesman-like leader of the BJP. He did not want to name the Prime Minister. But whoever reads the interview, he/she would understand he is talking about Modi,” Vadakkan said.

Quoting from Advani’s remarks, he said the veteran leader is “right” when he says the present situation in the country signals towards emergency.

(PTI)

Lalitgate: Cong questions PM's silence, says he too is liable

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modi

New Delhi: Congress today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his “silence” on the Lalitgate, saying he should come out of his ‘meditation’ and answer the nation as he too is “liable”.

“It is ordinance raj. All mantris have become tantris. One minister, what he or she eats, drinks, where they go. The Prime Minister knows everything. But he is unaware when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was talking to UK authorities on Lalit Modi’s travel documents.

“That means, there was consent of the Prime Minister (for granting travel documents to Lalit Modi)…he is liable. Prime Minister Modi should come out of political Vipassana, and keep truth before the nation,” Congress spokesman Tom Vadakkan told reporters.

Asked about reports of scam-tainted former IPL chief Lalit Modi hosting Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Rajiv Shukla too, Vadakkan said they did not hold any official post unlike Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and hence, there was no quid pro quo.

According to media reports, ex-IPL chief had hosted Tharoor, Shukla and Raje at a Mumbai hotel in 2010. Raje was Opposition Leader in Rajasthan Assembly then.

“Now it has come to fore that the then Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan, who is the Chief Minister now, her bills were paid by IPL. Those who are against us will say Tharoor was there, Shukla was there, (NCP chief Sharad) Pawar was there, but they were not Leader of Opposition. In Raje’s case, it is proved there was quid pro quo,” he claimed.

On reports claiming that Raje’s son Dushyant had business links with the former IPL chief, Vadakkan said the matter needs to be investigated.

“It is very difficult to say which Modi has what relations with whom. If the relations are with Chhota (Lalit) Modi, then in whose protection Chhota Modi is, who is giving him transit passport, these are all matters of investigation. These linkages involving Bada Modi, Chhota Modi can be established only then,” he said.

(PTI)

Lalit Modi row: Congress asks Vasundhra Raje to quit along with Sushma Swaraj

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Vasundhra Raje

New Delhi: With the latest revelations in Modigate drawing Vasundhra Raje into the controversy, Congress today demanded that Rajasthan Chief Minister also resign along with External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Swaraj should step down and Raje should also resign for “helping Lalit Modi, an economic offender and fugitive,” spokesperson Shobha Ojha told reporters.

Ojha also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his silence in the matter so far showed that “there is a mute support by the PM to these leaders”.

Besides, she said the party wanted a Supreme Court monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to go into the Modigate.

She dismissed as laughable BJP’s charge that Congress was targeting women leaders of BJP.

“Since they want to hide their crimes, they are raising the gender issue which is condemnable and laughable,” she said.

Taking a dig at Modi government, she said that Modigate showed “achche din” for economic offenders like Latit Modi with the entire government coming to his rescue.

Raje and Swaraj stand “exposed for helping Lalit Modi”, she alleged.

(PTI)

Ramadan fasting ban: China Uighur Muslims forced to skip fasting during Holy Month

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Uighur

by Mugdha Variyar, IBT

China is reportedly forcing officials in the restive Xinjiang region to swear that they will not fast during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins on Thursday.

Xinjiang is home to Uighur Muslims, and China has cracked down on the region ever since Islamist militants carried out deadly terror attacks in the recent years.

In continuation of last year’s ‘ban’ on Ramadan fasting, state websites have been putting up notices asking officials and civil servants, and even students and teachers, to not observe Ramadan, according to Reuters.

In some particularly restive counties in Xinjiang, officials have been asked to give assurances, orally and in writing, “guaranteeing they have no faith, will not attend religious activities and will lead the way in not fasting over Ramadan”, Reuters reported citing state media.

Ramadan is the holiest month of the year for Muslims around the world, which involves fasting from dawn to dusk and offering prayers and reading the Quran over 30 days.

Apart from a ‘ban’ on fasting, China is also stoking religious sentiments by ordering halal restaurants to remain open during the day in the Jinghe county, while also ordering shops to continue selling cigarettes and alcohol.

China’s clampdown on the month of Ramadan in the restive region is being seen as a provocation for more unrest in the region.

“China is increasing its bans and monitoring as Ramadan approaches. The faith of the Uighurs has been highly politicized, and the increase in controls could cause sharp resistance,” Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the exiled Uighur group, the World Uyghur Congress, was quoted saying.

China already ruffled feathers by imposing a ban on burqas in Xinjiang’s capital of Urumqi in December last year.

Around 20 million Muslims live in China, with eight million Uighur Muslims, who speak Turkish, concentrated in the Xinjiang region in the country’s northwest.

'Elephant rockets' kill dozens in Damascus suburb

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Activists say improvised bombs dropped on rebel stronghold of Douma leave at least 36 people dead.

Men search for survivors at a site hit by what activists said was heavy shelling by the Syrian government on Douma [Reuters]

Men search for survivors at a site hit by what activists said was heavy shelling by the Syrian government on Douma [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

The Syrian government has used so-called elephant rockets in an attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma, killing at least 36 people, including children, according to activists.

The rockets, named after the distinctive noise they make when they are launched, are improvised weapons made by attaching rocket motors to much larger bombs – a process that increases their destructive power while greatly reducing accuracy.

This greatly increases their destructive effect, while accuracy is lost and range is limited.

On Wednesday, activists accused the government of using surface-to-surface missiles in Douma as clashes continued between opposition fighters and government forces.

In video posted online of Tuesday’s attack, residents were seen scrambling to rescue a brother and sister trapped after a building was destroyed.

There were shouts of joy as the girl was pulled alive from the rubble while her brother could still be heard calling for help.

More than 60 people, including many children, were injured in the bombardment, activists said.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said two shells struck Arnous Park in Damascus late on Tuesday as many people were out shopping ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, expected to begin on Thursday. It says the shells killed nine people and wounded 13.

Improvised arsenal

The rebel stronghold of Douma has been under attack by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad for the last three years.

Elephant rockets are part of an improvised arsenal used by government forces, who have already been condemned for using barrel bombs and chemical weapons on civilians.

Speaking in the US on Tuesday, John Kerry, secretary of state, said he was confident Assad’s government was responsible for a “preponderance” of chemical attacks against his own people.

“I think everybody’s patience is wearing thin with respect to the extraordinary depravity of the weaponry and mechanisms for delivery which Assad has used against his own people,” he said,

Kerry said he had discussed Syria’s use of chemical weapons with Sergei Lavrov, Russian foreign minister, by phone and was confident Lavrov would raise it with Assad, who agreed in 2013 under a US-Russia brokered deal to dismantle the country’s chemical weapons arsenal.

He said chemical weapons were dropped from aircraft and the US was putting together data to support its claims that Assad’s government was responsible for the attacks.

The UN Security Council is currently debating a draft resolution that will help determine who is responsible for using chlorine as a chemical weapon. Russia questions whether a resolution, being drafted by the US, is needed.

Kerry said it was possible that Syria’s opposition may also have had access to chemical weapons “at one point in time or another”, although he emphasised that rebel forces did not have access to aircraft or helicopters.

Rescuers managed to pull several people alive from the rubble in Douma [Reuters]

Although chlorine is not a prohibited substance, its use as a chemical weapon is prohibited under a 1977 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013.

Members of the Syrian Medical Society are expected to give evidence to the US foreign affairs committee on Wednesday that shows Assad is using chlorine on civilians.

The latest developments come as the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura is in Damascus pushing for a political solution to end the conflict.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, with a network of sources on the ground, says it has documented 230,000 deaths in Syria’s war, almost 70,000 of them civilians.

Sushma Swaraj reacts angrily on Twitter; Chidambaram demands release of letters to UK

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Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday reacted angrily to a tweet suggesting she took favours to get her daughter a seat in a medical college through the northeast quota.

“My daughter is a barrister and Oxford graduate. What you say is absolutely false,” she replied to the tweet.

The twitter handle ‘Soch @pakoed’ had insinuated that “Sushma is no stranger to taking and giving favours! Her daughter studied through NorthEast quota in medical college.”

Twitterati immediately reacted, wondering at Sushma’s impulsive response to a stray tweet. The handle @pakoed was deleted, though its tweet was retweeted by others.

Sushma’s twitter supporters urged her not to be hassled by a “dog that barks” and keep up her good work.

On Monday too, Sushma appears to have lost her cool, targeting a senior journalist of a news channel that was reporting on the Lalit Modi episode. “Look who is preaching propriety – of all the persons Navika Kumar!” she posted.

Sushma’s daughter Bansuri is a lawyer, who is reported to have appeared in passport cancellation matters relating to former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi before the court.

The Congress has pointed this out in its accusations against the minister, citing “conflict of interest”.

The senior minister is facing flak for having helped Lalit Modi procure documents to travel to Portugal in 2014. Lalit Modi, who is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial impropriety in the money-spinning IPL, stays in London.

Her husband Swaraj Kaushal was governor of Mizoram from 1990 to 1993 and is an expert on the northeast.

(IANS)

FIR against Sadhvi Deva Thakur for sterilisation remarks

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Sadhvi Deva Thakur

Srinagar: An FIR has been registered against a Hindu Mahasabha leader for her controversial remarks that Muslims and Christians must undergo sterilisation to restrict their growing population.

The FIR was lodged against vice president of All India Hindu Mahasabha Sadhvi Deva Thakur at Sadder police station yesterday on the directions of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Srinagar V S Bhau.

The CJM had directed Station House Officer of the police station to register a case against the accused under relevant provisions on an application by former Secretary of Jamiat-e- Ahlihadeeth A R Bhat, seeking action against the Hindu leader.

An FIR has been lodged against Sadhvi for “promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”, a police official said. He said she has been booked under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language) and 295-A (outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the RPC.

Sadhvi had on April 12 said “the population of Muslims and Christians is growing day by day. To rein in this, the Centre will have to impose emergency, and Muslims and Christians will have to be forced to undergo sterilisation so that they can’t increase their numbers.”

She had also exhorted Hindus to have more children and increase their population so as to have an effect on the world. In another controversial remark, she had said idols of Hindu gods and goddesses should be placed in mosques and churches, while coming out strongly in support of installing a statue of “patriot” Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, in Haryana.

(PTI)

Pappu Yadav manhandles air-hostess, threatens to beat her with 'chappal'

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Pappu Yadav

New Delhi: The dark side of the VIP culture came to light once again when MP Pappu Yadav alias Rajesh Ranjan manhandled an air-hostess and threatened to beat her with his ‘chappals’ on-board a Patna-Delhi Jet Airways flight.

The commotion began after the MP dropped dessert on his bag which was kept near his feet and ordered the flight crew to clean it by showing his chappal to them, according to report.

In her complaint, the air-hostess has also stated that Pappu Yadav manhandled her and pushed her forcefully while delighting from the plane.

Moreover, the MP didn’t even follow the safety instructions when he was flying.

Captain Rajesh Singh Sehgal of flight 9W 728, where the incident took place, alerted Delhi air traffic control about it and asked to be put ahead of other planes lined up for landing in Delhi.

(Agencies)

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