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An interaction with entrepreneur Nandita Singgha

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Time to celebrate celebrate Women’s Day with Nandita Singgha, Founder & Managing Director of “Total Presentation Devices Limited”.

Nandita Singgha

Nandita Singgha, happens to be a strong, wise and above all a successful albeit a gutsy woman entrepreneur synonyms to women power, she’s an epitome and a role model of millions of women who desire to carve a niche for themselves but fail to explore their credentials and bridge the gap between inspirations to aspirations.

Nandita Singgha came and she conquered the hearts of millions with her strong sense of leadership quality. Her company “Total Presentation Devices Limited” has become the 1st Bollywood Production Company to be ISO certified for quality services in the filmmaking process. ISO 9000 is a series of standards developed & published by the “International Organization for Standardization” (ISO), that define, establish & maintain an effective quality assurance system for manufacturing & service industries.

An ardent believer of the ideology #BeYourOwnBoss, Nandita Singgha has proved her mettle in the field of technology and this is just an extension of the same mission in a larger perspective. Nandita Singgha, an Indian women of 3rd world country has a vision matching to the best of American corporate practices.

Hence, for all those women harboring on the ship of desires, embark on a new journey this Women’s Day and set your sight on that one entrepreneurial goal every women wishes for. This Women’s Day activity will eventually grow into an online portal which takes place every year holding a vision to up rise women. Apart from honing aspiring women entrepreneurs, Nandita will also be looking at recruiting youngsters for her company.

Nandita averred, “I am inviting budding women entrepreneurs to share their venture dreams with me with a strong sustainable plan. If you have the determination & approach towards it, I would love to be a part of it and support the dreams. This Women’s Day, liberate your inner desire to be an entrepreneur. 8th of Mar, 2015 could be a new beginning for you and for me. If you dream of having your own business or running your own show, please write to me on nsinggha@gmail.com.”

Wishing all the readers a Happy Womens’ Day Nandita Singgha stated, “The subject of empowerment of women is becoming a burning issue all over the world including India since last few decades. There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women. The empowered women is powerful beyond measure and beautiful beyond description. Hence, as a token of love & celebration this women’s Day I am presenting them with an opportunity to fulfill their dreams and build a name for themselves.”

Being a successful entrepreneur, besides owning a production house is no cakewalk and Nandita Singhaa will surely vouch for it. Triumphing upon the hearts, Nandita Singgha has her platter full with a few films in the pipeline under her own production house banner.

Nandita Singhaa’s few films in the pipeline are ‘Middey’ to be directed by Nandita Singgha is based on true incidents where she has taken certain characters of a few journalists as reference who become powerful handling the entire system, underworld & ATS through journalism and bring justice to society; ‘J Returns’ to be directed by Nandita Singgha is based on a true incident and a story covered by a journalist named J who fights for Indian – American doctor Anandan Roy’s bail & justice who is based in US and J is from Mumbai and works as a TV newsreader; ‘Megacorp’, to be directed by Nandita Singhaa is a bilingual international movie based on a true incident & accident that had taken place in a pharmaceutical industry, the entire mystery was revealed by Jay a journalist by profession when his own sister dies untimely & ‘Red’ to be directed by Nandita Singgha, the plot of the film revolves around a group of journalists who identify themselves with Code Red, they work voluntarily by secretly fighting for injustice happening in society. They are the true heroes of the society where lots of recognition is yet to be given to them

Sure enough there is lots to look forward to, on this Women’s Day.

Egypt closes 27,000 places of worship

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People perform Friday prayers led by Egyptian cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi at Al Azhar Mosque in the old part of Cairo, Nov. 16, 2012. (photo by REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

People perform Friday prayers led by Egyptian cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi at Al Azhar Mosque in the old part of Cairo, Nov. 16, 2012. (photo by REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

by Rami Galal, Al-Monitor

An Egyptian administrative court on Feb. 18 upheld the Ministry of Religious Endowments’ decision issued in September 2013 to close down neighborhood places of worship of less than 80 square meters (861 square feet), a move intended to protect young people from the militancy and extremism that can prevail in such places, which lack the legal standing to hold Friday prayers.

This move sets a precedent that raises many questions about the fate of mosques in many Egyptian villages, the grounds of which are usually less than 80 square meters. In reply, opponents of the decision such as the Salafist Nour Party claimed that closing down places of worship without providing a larger alternative serves to further bolster extremist ideology, considering that the larger existing mosques cannot accommodate Friday worshippers who line surrounding streets to pray. On the opposite end of the spectrum, supporters of the decision such as intellectuals and scholars say that those mosques are time bombs that threaten national security, as they fall outside the purview of the Ministry of Religious Endowments and are used to spread subversive ideologies.

At the same time, the ministry has awarded 400 preaching permits to Salafist leaders without requiring oration tests, despite the ministry’s previous and constant accusations that they spread extremism.

Ahmed Karimeh, a professor of Sharia at Al-Azhar University, told Al-Monitor that legal teachings and conventions specify that Friday, Eid and main prayers must be conducted in a mosque, and not in a neighborhood place of worship. The five daily prayers can be held at these informal sites, but not the special celebration prayers. In that sense, the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments upheld a recognized religious law.

Karimeh explained that closing those neighborhood places of worship, located in apartment buildings, commercial buildings or factories, would help mitigate the influence of extremist religious orators such as those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafist groups or Shiites, who use those places of worship to take advantage of religious gatherings. As such, the Ministry of Religious Endowments’ decision, while late, was the correct one.

But Karimeh warned that the move would be to no avail if the ministry allowed people without credentials to take to pulpits. Initially, in August 2013, the ministry allowed only Al-Azhar imams access to pulpits, a decision later reversed in February when, for political considerations, the ministry allowed Salafists to preach, a disastrous decision that turned mosques into time bombs under the control of violent, Salafist-born militant factions, according to Karimeh. Allowing Salafists to preach for political considerations as an Islamic alternative to face the Islamic State ideology, at a time when hundreds of Al-Azhar scholars applied for but were denied preaching permits, runs contrary to the ministry’s repeated statements that it would bar non-Al-Azhar imams from taking the pulpit.

Karimeh criticized the ministry’s examination policy and said that it solely tested the applicant’s memorization of the Quran, without evaluating his general culture. He added that closing down neighborhood places of worship would not be enough to confront extremism. Toward that end, attention must be paid to the preachers, who should be properly schooled and financially compensated, so as to allow them to better educate themselves, instead of having to work as taxi drivers or vegetable vendors to provide for their families.

Karimeh also denied claims that some villages lacked proper mosques. It should be noted that neighborhood places of worship and mosques with surface areas of less than 80 square meters numbered 27,000 in all of Egypt’s provinces and villages.

Before the Ministry of Religious Endowments made its decision, the Egyptian Dar al-Fatwa issued a September 2013 edict, endorsed by a majority of religious scholars, barring the multiplicity of mosques in villages and cities, unless when absolutely necessary, as a plethora of places of worship only serve to divide believers. It explained that group worship was required for all scripted prayers, as those were celebrated for the love of God, but Friday prayers were inherently different, in that they are a form of offering to God.

An estimated 400 permits were issued to Salafists, who pledged not to use Friday prayers for political purposes. A follow-up committee was formed by the ministry in February to oversee new imams during Friday prayers, cancel their permits and initiate legal proceedings against them if they failed to abide by their agreement with the ministry, as well as permanently bar them from taking the pulpit of any mosque in the country.

The Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments previously adopted numerous measures to combat extremism and control religious rhetoric, and continuously affirmed that imams not affiliated with Al-Azhar would never be allowed to preach, going as far as to close down 27,000 neighborhood places of worship. The sudden shift in position by the ministry was followed by it issuing preaching permits to 400 Salafist leadership figures that it considered extremist, a clear reflection of the state of confusion that prevails in Egypt today.

Don't refer to IS as 'Islamic,' urges Russian Council of Muftis

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Russian Grand Mufti Ravil Gainutdin in Moscow in December 2014

Russian Grand Mufti Ravil Gainutdin in Moscow in December 2014

by Joanna Paraszczuk, RFERL

The international community should not use the word “Islamic” when referring to the militant group Islamic State, according to the first deputy chairman of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Rushan Abbyasov.

Abbyasov said that leaders of the Council of Muftis of Russia had joined representatives of several Arab countries in calling for the use of the word “Islamic” to be dropped when referring to IS in the media and elsewhere in public discourse.

Abbyasov made his comments in a live interview with Russia’s Vesti FM radio station ahead of a meeting in Moscow with diplomatic representatives of Yemen, Iraq, Palestine, Kuwait, Algeria, Jordan, and Sudan, pro-Moscow Russian news site RIA Novosti reported on March 3.

“We have arrived at this idea, that today we can try to neutralize these groups ideologically. At the minimum, we should remove the prefix ‘Islamic’ [from Islamic State],” Abbyasov was quoted as saying.

The Russian Council of Muftis deputy chairman said that the media and others should refer to thIS “just as [the militants] are positioning themselves — as terrorists, bandits, and radicals, but we should try to remove the prefix [of “Islamic”] that they have given themselves and which they are trying to play with,” Abbyasov told Vesti FM.

Abbyasov said he believed that dropping the term “Islamic” from the name of the militant group would have a significant impact.

“If the international community would not call them ‘Islamic’ then believe me, they can be destroyed ideologically,” he said.

Abbyasov recalled that a group of over 120 Muslim scholars had released an open letter to IS militants and followers recently.

The letter declared that the militant group’s ideology was “completely contrary to the essence of Islam,” Abbyasov said.

The letter, released in September 2014, used Koranic sources to refute the militants’ ideology.

Abbyasov said that the militants had taken elements of the Koran out of context.

“You can pull out any [Koran] quote out of context. To deal with the Koran, you don’t only need knowledge of Arabic, but of the many sciences that make it possible to reveal the full meaning of the verses and all the meanings that are inherent in the Holy Koran,” he concluded.

Abbyasov’s comments come amid increasing concerns in Russia about the threat posed by IS to the country’s security. Russia is not only concerned that Russian nationals who fight in Syria could return and commit terrorist acts on Russian soil, but also that the group’s ideology could prove a pervasive source of radicalization for Russian Muslims or Muslim foreign laborers from Central Asian countries.

Recent attempts to combat the threats Russia believes are posed by IS include a December 2014 ruling by the Supreme Court that deemed IS a terrorist group. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) included the IS group on a “unified list” of 22 terrorist groups published on its website last week.

Unprecedented spike of executions in Saudi Arabia: Amnesty

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Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has beheaded dozens of convicts, including foreign drug traffickers, since the start of the year in what Amnesty International calls an unprecedented pace of executions in the kingdom.

Those put to the sword have included five Pakistanis, two Jordanians, two Syrians, an Indian and a Yemeni, with few foreign governments willing to publicly appeal for clemency from the wealthy Gulf state.

Three beheadings in a single day on Tuesday — one for rape and two for murder — took the total so far this year to 38, according to an AFP tally. That is about three times the number over the same period in 2014, but observers disagree about the reasons.

There was also a surge in beheadings in the latter months of last year towards the end of King Abdullah’s reign. He died on January 23 and was succeeded by King Salman.

“It began before Salman,” a diplomatic source said, who did not want to be further identified. “The Saudi authorities want to show everyone they are strong, people can rely on them to keep the security and the safety in the kingdom.”

The aim is to deter all forms of violence but the policy is linked to the kingdom’s fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, the source added.

In September, Saudi Arabia began airstrikes against ISIS in Syria as part of the US-led coalition, raising concerns about possible retaliation inside the kingdom.

Security officers arrested three Saudis who allegedly acted “in support of” ISIS when they shot and wounded a Dane in November. Authorities also blamed ISIS-linked suspects for the killing of seven members of the country’s minority Shia community.

However, critics opposed to US involvement in the conflict with ISIS have pointed out that Washington in partnership with its Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia, played a role in the formation and expansion of extremist groups like ISIS by arming, financing and politically empowering armed opposition groups in Syria.

In January three Saudi border guards died in a clash with Saudi “terrorists” trying to sneak in from Iraq.

“They certainly don’t want to seem soft,” Toby Matthiesen, a research fellow in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Cambridge, said of the Saudi authorities. But he did not see a connection with the fight against ISIS.

“I don’t think it’s going to frighten Daesh” by executing a few more criminals, Matthiesen said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

London-based Amnesty said there is no evidence the current “alarming spike” in Saudi executions is connected with the battle against ISIS or “terrorism.”

“It would… be a stretch to say that this is an attempt to deter violence,” because almost half of this year’s executions were for drug-related non-violent crimes, Amnesty’s Saudi Arabia researcher Sevag Kechichian told AFP.

“It is impossible to tell what exactly is driving these numbers,” he added.

Amnesty recorded 11 executions from January 1-26 last year, 17 for that period in 2013, and nine in 2012.

The end-of-year figures turned out to be all about the same, “despite the vast differences in pace and distribution of executions throughout the year,” Kechichian added.

“The current rate, however, has been truly unprecedented.”

After 27 executions in 2010, the number jumped to around 80 annually, with 87 last year by AFP’s tally. The figures have been among the world’s highest.

In statements carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the ministry has cited deterrence as a reason for carrying out the punishment. It has also talked of “the physical and social harm” caused by drugs, and said the death penalty for murderers aims “to maintain security and realize justice.”

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi version of Islamic sharia law.

Human rights groups have expressed concern about the dangers of innocent people being wrongly sentenced to death.

Christof Heyns, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said in September that trials “are by all accounts grossly unfair” and defendants are often not allowed a lawyer.

He said many confessions were obtained under torture.

Similar statements have not come from Western governments, Amnesty said, accusing the West of “double standards” towards Saudi Arabia.

Other countries disagree with the kingdom’s use of the death penalty, the diplomatic source said, but he asked if that meant they should stop talking with Saudi Arabia about “terrorism,” climate change or economic issues on which they cooperate.

“We need to work together,” the source said.

(AFP, Al-Akhbar)

After beef ban, Maharashtra government scraps quota for Muslims

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Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis with PM Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis with PM Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI

Mumbai: Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government in Maharashtra has scrapped an ordinance providing reservation for Muslims, despite the Bombay High Court allowing quota for the community in educational institutions.

“An ordinance to this effect (providing a five per cent job quota) lapsed on December 23 last year,” a Maharashtra government resolution said.

“Considering this fact, the concerned government resolution issued on July 24 last year is being scrapped,” the government resolution said. In June last year, Maharashtra’s earlier Congress-NCP government had approved a 16 per cent reservation for Marathas and a five per cent for Muslims just ahead of the October 15 Assembly polls, after the Congress was routed in the general elections.

The quota was given through two separate categories,namely the Educationally and Socially Backward Category (ESBC) for Marathas as well as a Special Backward Class (Muslims) segment for the Muslims.

On November 14, 2014, the Bombay High Court had stayed implementation of the decision of the erstwhile Congress-NCP government to provide 16 per cent reservations for Marathas in jobs and education, which was announced just ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls.

The court had also stayed the Maharashtra state’s decision to provide a five per cent job reservation to Muslims in government service, but it allowed quotas for them in educational institutions. The Maharashtra state government had challenged the Bombay High Court order in the Supreme Court, which refused to interfere with the interim decision of the High Court but asked the Maharashtra state government to go back to the Bombay High Court on the issue.

On January 5, this year, the Bombay High Court gave three weeks to the Maharashtra state government to file an affidavit submitting data to justify its decision to provide reservations to Marathas and Muslims in jobs as well as educational institutions.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court had said that the Supreme Court had already laid down the law for reservation as per which it cannot exceed 50 per cent of the total seats. In fact, 52 per cent of seats in government jobs and educational institutions are already reserved for targeted groups.

However, in the run up to the Maharashtra Assembly poll,the erstwhile Congress-NCP government had raised reservations to 73 per cent by announcing a 16 per cent quota for Marathas and a five per cent quota for Muslims.

(Agencies)

Everyone must watch 'India's Daughter': Nirbhaya's Father

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nirbhaya-father

New Delhi: A day after the Nirbhaya documentary ‘India’s Daughter’ caused a ruckus in the Parliament, urging the government to ban the telecast in India, Nirbhaya’s father said that the ‘documentary holds a mirror to the society.’

Speaking to NDTV, Nirbhaya’s father said that ‘banning the documentary will only encourage people more to see it.’

“Everyone should watch the film. If a man can speak like that in jail, imagine what he would say if he was walking free,” said the father of the young woman who was brutally gang-raped, tortured and killed by six men, including a 17-year-old, on a moving bus.

The woman came to be known as “Nirbhaya” or fearless, and became a symbol for India’s fight to check crimes against women.

“The documentary exposes what is happening. If the country has taken a decision, we have to accept it,” he told the news channel.

Despite the opposition from the Indian government BBC Four aired the documentary early on Thursday morning.

The documentary is based on the 2012 Delhi gangrape which shook the nation. It includes interviews of Nirbhaya’s parents, doctors, lawyers and one of the accused Mukesh Singh. The filmmaker Leslee Udwin too appealed to the Indian government that banning the documentary was not right.

Scotland's Cricket World Cup hopes ended by Bangladesh

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bangladesh-cricket

by BBC Sports

Kyle Coetzer scored Scotland’s first World Cup century but their tournament hopes were ended with a six-wicket loss to Bangladesh in Nelson.

Scotland can no longer qualify for the knockout stages after losing their fourth match out of four in Pool A.

Coetzer’s 156 was the best World Cup score by an associate nation batsman and helped his team post 318-8 – their highest score against a Test side.

But Tamim Iqbal (95) led Bangladesh to victory with 11 balls to spare.

It was the second-highest successful run chase in a World Cup game after the 329-7 Ireland managed against England at Bangalore in 2011.

The result means England must beat Bangladesh when the two sides meet on Monday if they are to keep alive their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

Scotland, meanwhile, face the daunting task of taking on Sri Lanka and Australia in their remaining group matches.

Their chances of a first World Cup victory looked promising after Coetzer brought up his record-breaking century in style by hitting his second six.

The 30-year-old Northamptonshire batsman finished with 17 fours and four sixes in his 134-ball innings.

Scotland were reduced to 38-2 in the 10th over after being asked to bat but Coetzer put on 78 with Matt Machan (35) and then 141 with captain Preston Mommsen (39).

His stand with Mommsen was Scotland’s first century partnership in 12 matches at World Cups.

After Coetzer was dismissed in the 45th over with Scotland 269-5, Richie Berrington (26) and Matt Cross (20) combined for a quickfire 39 that saw their side past 300 for only the third time in ODIs.

While Saxton Oval is a high-scoring ground, the total was made tougher for Bangladesh when opening batsman Anamul Haque appeared to dislocate his right shoulder when diving to stop a boundary and was unable to bat.

Scotland seamer Josh Davey took an early wicket but Tamim and Mahmudullah (62) made excellent progress before the latter was dismissed in bizarre circumstances.

The batsman was bowled by Iain Wardlaw for 62 after deflecting a leg-side delivery on to the stumps off his back foot.

Tamim was closing in on Bangladesh’s first hundred in a World Cup match but was trapped leg before wicket by Davey to renew Scotland’s hopes.

But Mushfiqur Rahim made a rapid 60 from 42 balls and then Shakib Al Hasan (52 not out) and Sabbir Rahman (42 not out) completed the victory with no further alarms as Scotland’s bowlers struggled.

Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan out of AAP's PAC; Kejriwal's resignation rejected

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Yogendra-Yadav-Prashant-Bhushan

New Delhi: Senior AAP leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, who were on a collision course with party Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, were today voted out of Political Affairs Committee of the party, which has been rocked by dissidence in recent days.

In a show-down in the party’s 21-member National Executive (NE), supporters of Kejriwal voted out Yadav and Bhushan by 11 to eight votes. Kejriwal and Mayank Gandhi were not present at the meet.

Yadav and Bhushan’s ouster from PAC came days after the duo had raised red flag against continuation of Kejriwal as National Convener as also questioned his working style, evoking a sharp reaction from Kejriwal supporters who accused Bhushan and his father Shanti Bhushan of wanting to have a “vice-like grip” on all party wings, from PAC to policy committee to NE.

The two leaders left the stormy session after the decision of the Executive. While Yadav maintained that he would continue working as dedicated worker of the party, Bhushan left saying that a majority decision will prevail.

Later announcing the decisions of NE, AAP leader Kumar Vishwas said Yadav and Bhushan will be given new roles.

“The party has decided to relieve them from the responsibility as members of the PAC. They will be assigned new role and responsibility,” Vishwas said.

He said “personal opinions and personal differences” will not come in the way of the unity of the party, which will deliver on its promises and will not betray the trust of the people.

Ahead of the meet, while Yadav had offered an olive branch to the party’s top brass saying the question of Kejriwal staying as National Convener has never been an issue while Bhushan had said that he was “firm on ethics”.

Both leaders have, in the past few days, had alleged that the three-year-old party has strayed from the core ideals of ‘swaraj’ (self-governance) and transparency that set it apart.

Speaking to reporters after his removal, Yadav said, the party was created with “blood and sweat” of thousands of supporters whose trust should not be betrayed.

(Agencies)

Actor Mohan Babu manhandles reporter, politicos condemn assault on the media

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times-now-mohan-babu

New Delhi: Cutting across party lines, several politicians on Wednesday condemned actor Mohan Babu’s indecent gesture towards a reporter and said there can’t be any excuse for assaulting the media.

The actor pushed a journalist of a leading English channel when the scribe asked former home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to respond to the ongoing controversy surrounding the Nirbhaya documentary.

BJP leader Nalin Kohli said the media’s job is to ask questions and added that there cannot be any excuse for assaulting the media.

“Of course, people may raise or have issues related to their privacies, non-intrusion may be there. So, I would say that is condemnable. Nobody should assault the media. They are doing its job,” he added.

Congress leader Renuka Chaudhary also echoed similar sentiments and appealed for self-regulation of the media and general public.

“I am not aware what the facts are. The media, public, people have a relationship that sometimes go this way or sometimes go that way. Violence in general that we do not approve of and it would be best if we could regulate our self and see that we do not step on each others’ toes,” she said.

(ANI)

Gang-rape documentary: BBC telecasts film in UK as India calls for worldwide ban

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mukesh-singh

New Delhi: The British Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday morning (IST) telecast the controversial documentary in UK featuring one of the December 16 gang-rape convicts despite Indian government’s call to block the film worldwide.

The documentary’s broadcast was advanced by the BBC from its original March 8 scheduled date, coinciding with International Women’s Day.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police is, reportedly, likely to question Leslee Udwin, the British filmmaker who made documentary and interviewed convict Mukesh Singh in Tihar jail here.

The Home Ministry on Wednesday obtained orders from court to restrain the broadcast of the documentary and promising to investigate how permission was given to interview the rapist.

The issue was raised in both houses of parliament, as members across party lines asked the government to stop the telecast of the documentary saying it insulted women.

“Our government condemns the incident of December 16, 2012 in the strongest possible terms and will not allow any attempt by any individual, group or organisation to leverage such unfortunate incidents for commercial benefits,” Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in a statement in both houses of Parliament on Wednesday.

“In what condition this order was given I have asked for full information on that. In future, no one will be given permission to interview rapists,” the Home Minister said, as both houses saw members protest against the documentary.

Rajnath Singh said the permission for the documentary was granted in 2013, adding that the documentary maker violated the conditions on which the permission was granted.

Sushilkumar Shinde, who was the home minister in 2013, however, said he was not responsible for it.

“I had not given any permission to make a documentary on the Nirbhaya case. It was not given by me. I observed the conversation in parliament, Rajnath Singh has not mentioned my name. It must have been given by somebody, I do not know,” Shinde told reporters on Wednesday.

Making similar statements in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the home minister said orders were obtained from court Tuesday night to restrain the broadcast of the documentary.

A Delhi court on Wednesday directed continuation of the ban on the telecast of the documentary.

Rajnath Singh said he was personally hurt when he got to know about the documentary.

“I would like to make it clear. As soon as I got to know about this incident, I was personally hurt. I immediately talked to the concerned authorities and gave instructions that it should not be telecast in any condition, and (restraining) orders were taken from court last night (Tuesday) that whatever has been telecast should not be released,” he said.

As the Home Minister promised responsibility will be fixed, official sources said Tihar jail director general Alok Verma met him on Wednesday on the issue.

Parliament members across party lines condemned the interview of the December 16 gang rape convict, while some said it reflected the mentality of several other men in society.

“There is a documentary which is so derogatory. It should not be shown,” Janata Dal-United leader KC Tyagi said raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha.

Nominated member Javed Akhtar said that while members were angry about the comments made by the convict, he has heard similar comments in the house.

“The anger is why the interview was taken. Is the anger on why he said these things, or the anger is why is it being told to the world? I have heard such things in this house,” Akhtar said.

BJP Lok Sabha member Kirron Kher said: “Mentality needs to be changed. They don’t consider women as human beings.”

Several women activists also raised objections to the documentary calling it unacceptable.

“This is totally unacceptable. We have to draw an ethical boundary. I do not understand why they are doing it (airing the interview),” women’s rights activist Ranjana Kumari told reporters.

Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Barkha Singh said: “This defames the nation. How could they be given permission for interview?”

The documentary “India’s daughter” by British filmmaker Leslee Udwin has kicked up a storm over the interview of one of the six men who raped the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist on December 16, 2012 on board a moving bus in Delhi.

(Agencies)

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