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New Delhi: Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has wished the very best to the athletes representing India at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, starting from 7th September.
“The people of India will be enthusiastically cheering for our athletes representing India at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, starting 7th September.
We all wish our contingent for the Rio 2016 Paralympics the very best. I am sure our athletes will give their best & make us proud”, the Prime Minister said.
Panaji: Upset with the removal of Subhash Velingkar as Goa RSS chief, over 300 Sangh workers have announced that they will quit the organisation and vowed to “defeat” BJP in the Assembly polls next year if he is not reinstated.
RSS yesterday removed Velingkar who had crossed swords with BJP government over the issue of medium of instruction (MOI) in schools with members of his outfit BBSM even showing black flags to party chief Amit Shah recently.
The Sangh said he was trying to engage into “political activity” which is contrary to its tradition.
“We want that either Velingkar should be reinstated or we (over 300 volunteers) all should be relieved along with him. Since the Sangh has not reinstated him (Velingkar) during the entire day, we have decided to tender resignations,” Sangh member Pravin Nesvankar told reporters late last night here.
A large number of RSS workers from the state last night held an ’emergency’ meeting for over three hours at Bambolim near here in the backdrop of Velingkar’s removal.
Velingkar, the convener of Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) which is fighting for withdrawal of grants to English medium schools and for the cause of promoting regional languages as MOI in the coastal state, has been at loggerheads with the saffron party as well as Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.
“RSS workers will now work for a new political front that will contest the Goa Assembly polls,” said Nesvankar in the presence of members like Ratnakar Lele and Krishnaraj Sukerkar.
“We will defeat the BJP in the upcoming elections,” Nesvankar added.
Sangh’s South District head Ramdas Saraf said the volunteers will not work for RSS until the decision to relieve Velingkar is withdrawn.
(Agencies)
New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday told the Supreme Court that he stood by his remarks blaming the RSS for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and said he was ready to face a trial for alleged defamation of the ideological parent of the ruling BJP.
Gandhi’s lawyer Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court that the Congress Vice President stood by what he had said about the RSS and the 1948 assasination of the Mahatma.
Rahul Gandhi withdrew a petition before the apex court that had sought quashing of the defamation proceeding in a Maharashtra trial court.
The bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman allowed the petition to be withdrawn but did not grant Rahul Gandhi an exemption from appearing before the trial court.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist Rajesh Kunte filed the defamation case against the Congress leader over his remarks at a 2014 election rally that people associated with the Hindutva group killed Mahatma Gandhi.
Rahul Gandhi had moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court order refusing to interfere with the defamation case against him.
The Congress leader told the Supreme Court through his lawyer last week that he did not blame the RSS but “people associated with it” for the Mahatma’s assassination.
(Agencies)
Mumbai: Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani unleashed his telecom disruptor Jio, announcing free voice calls and zero roaming charges for its customers. Ambani’s big switch from oil to mobile was announced at the company’s 42nd AGM on Thursday.
“Jio’s 4G network covers 18,000 cities and towns, and over 2 lakh villages. By March 2017, we will cover 90% of India’s population. It will be largest 4GE network today,” he said.
Reliance has tied up with around 20 smartphone brands including Samsung, Micromax and LG to bundle Jio SIM cards with them with free voice and data for three months.
Ambani has also set a target of getting 100 million customers in the shortest possible time, for the ‘young’ Jio team.
Ambani listed out Jio’s road map, saying it was based on 10 points. “It has the best quality broadband network, affordable 4G devices, compelling content, superior service and affordable tariff.
This what a Jio customer will get:
1) Starting Monday, September 5, Jio’s boquet of apps, all services available for everyone absolutely free. Till 31 December 2016.
2) By March 2017, we’ll cover 90% of India’s population.
3) The JioFi router has been launched at just Rs. 1,999.
4) New Lyf devices starting at Rs. 2,999.
5) More than 70% of all devices sold in India support 4G LTE. And that soon that will be 100 percent.
6) 1 million wifi hotspots across India
7) 25% extra data for students holding a valid id card
8) 2.8 million songs, 6000 movies and thousands of magazines and newspapers to be added for Jio customers
9) Reliance launced Jio Money for customers to go cashless with the help of this digital wallet
10) There will be no blackout dates for Jio customers. No extra charges for festive days. Customers can access their bill at real-time after every transaction.
(Agencies)
Dulquer Salmaan Is Now A Thrissur Gadi
Young heartthrob Dulquer Salmaan has now started his latest venture shooting in Thrissur. This is the 1st time he is joining hands with veteran filmmaker Sathyan Anthikad. As always this movie will also be a complete family entertainer. This movie is penned by IqubalKuttipuram. The movie is planning shoot completely in Thrissur. The movie depicts the relationship between a father & son. Mukesh essays the role of a wealthy father & Dulquer Salmaan as his son. It also has Anupama Prameshwaran as a lady leady lead along with another debutante. After Premam, Anupama is busy with Telugu projects and this would be her 2nd movie in Malayalam.
Another Big Release For Diwali 2016
Another big release has been planned for Diwali 2016. Dhanush’s Kodi, Vishal’s Kaththi Sandai & Karthi’s Kaashmora will be hitting the screens as a Diwali treat this year. Now it looks like that Mahesh Babu will also a have a release for Diwali 2016. The Prince is currently busy shooting for director A. R. Murugadoss’s Tamil – Telugu bilingual project. The 1st look of this most anticipated flick will be released on Deepavali day which falls on 30th Oct, 2016. It is also being speculated that Ilayathalapathy’s Vijay 60’s 1st look will also be released for Diwali.
Sneha Signs A Tamil Biggie
Sneha Signs A Tamil Biggie. Actress Sneha who has been on a year long sabbatical after giving birth to her son will soon be making a comeback with a Malayalam flick with Megastar Mammootty. And now it has been confirmed that the Punnagai Ilavarasi has bagged a role in an interesting biggie.
It has been officially confirmed that the earthy beauty Sneha has signed up to play an important role in Thani Oruvan director Mohan Raja’s next film with Sivakarthikeyan & Nayanthara in lead roles. The film also stars Fahad Faasil, Sathish & RJ Balaji in other important roles.
Mahesh Babu Follows Rajini, Kamal & Vijay
Mahesh Babu Follows Rajini, Kamal & Vijay. Director A. R. Murugadoss’s Bollywood flick Akira is all set to hit the screens this Friday 2nd Sept, 2016 while he has already started working on his mega budget Tamil – Telugu bilingual with Mahesh Babu in the lead. The shooting of this film has started last month. A grand set has been erected in EVP Theme Park in the outskirts of Chennai. A lengthy 40 days shoot schedule will take place in this set. It is worth noting that Superstar Rajinikanth’s 2.0 has been extensively shot in EVP. Kamal Haasan’s Uttama Villain & Vijay’s Theri were also shot in this location which has become a favorite of Kollywood.
Nayanthara Joins ADMK!
Nayanthara Joins ADMK! What triggered the buzz. Some sections of the media are going gaga reporting that Nayanthara has entered politics and that too has affiliated herself to none other than the Amma herself. The reason for this widespread speculation is that the lady superstar agreed to preside over and give away Amma Awards to sports persons. The Amma Sports Foundation on the occasion of National Sports Day & the 1st anniversary conducted the event recently at the Madras University compound to honor deserving sports persons, real achievers & unsung heroes. The special guests included Viswanathan Anand, P. T. Usha, Vasudev Bhaskaran & Kris Srikanth. The awardees were mighty pleased to accept the Amma Awards from the hands of Nayan who was at her smiling best.
Sree Ramaraksha 1st Look Out
Sree Ramaraksha’s 1st look is out now. Sree Ramaraksha is a family entertainer starring Rajith & Shamili in the lead roles. Written & directed by Raamu, it has Nisha, Vijay Kumar, Shafi, Jyothi, Shankarabharanam Rajya Lakshmi, Kasi Vishwanath and others in important roles.
Talking about the entertainer, the makers say, “Sree Ramaraksha is a wholesome family entertainer produced on Vasishta Cine Academy banner by Prabhath Varma. Raamu is making his directorial debut with this film. Along with family based entertainment, Sree Ramaraksha has a message of social responsibility”.
The shoot is all done but for one song. “The talkie part is all done. The 1st look teaser & the audio will be released in Sept, 2016”, director Raamu says.
Kumari 21F Remake Launched
Kumari 21F remake was launched recently. Sukumar’s Kumari 21F will be remade into Kannada under Hayagreeva Chalana Chitra by G. Sridhar and A Sampath Kumar. The same will be presented by Sukumar Writings. To be directed by Sriman Vemula, who has worked as an associate director at Annapurna Studios for 9 years, this one marks the debut of Pranam Devaraj, 2nd son of actor Devaraj.
Nidhi Kushalappa Is Reprising Hebbah Patel’s Role
Nidhi Kushalappa is all set to reprise the role of Hebbah Patel. The film was launched in a “puja” ceremony held at Kanteerava Studios in Bengaluru. The ceremony was attended by Sandalwood star Shiv Rajkumar, Vijayendra Prasad (Rajamouli’s father), Sukumar & Surya Pratap (the director of the original).
Inkokkadu Release Date Confirmed
Inkokkadu Release Date Confirmed. After a much wait, the release date of Inkokkadu has been confirmed. It’s hitting the screens on 8th Sept, 2016. Starring Vikram in dual roles, the thriller also stars Nayanathara & Nithya Menon. It’s directed by Anand Shankar. Producer Neelam Krishna Reddy has sold the distribution rights of the Vikram starrer to Abhishek Nama of Abhishek Pictures.
“Our objective has always been to bring quality cinema to the audience. The producer Shibu Tameens & director Anand Shankar have made Inkokkadu on high technical values. Music director Harris Jayaraj, cinematographer RD Rajashekar & editor Bhuvan Srinivasan are the names. That says it all,” The producer says.
Jyo Achyutananda Censor Done
Jyo Achyutananda has been censored by the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Jyo Achyutananda censor done and the release date has been finally finalised. Jyo Achyutananda’ was censored and it has been certified with a clean ‘U’. The movie is slated for release on 9th Sept, 2016. Directed by Avasarala Srinivas & produced by Sai Korrapati, it stars Nara Rohith, Naga Shourya & Regina Cassandra in lead roles. “It’s not a love triangle and none of them is imaginary. It’s a simple story – that of brothers”, the director has said. “I’m really fortunate to have found a place in the industry and the love I have received for my 1st ever film fills me with immense satisfaction. I hope I continue to get opportunities to bring more smiles to you”, he recently added. The film has music by Kalyan Koduri.
Sajid Yahiya’s 2nd Film Is Already In Controversies
Sajid Yahiya’s 2nd film is already in controversies. After the debut directorial venture IDI Sajid Yahiya has started working on his next project. The story line itself is really interesting. It’s about a girl who is deeply influenced with a Superstar’s onscreen personality. Manju warrier & Indrajith would show case the leasing roles. But still the makers haven’t got the Superstar for this movie. They are expected to get Mohanlal as the title role as he is the ideal man concept for most of the ladies. Unfortunately writer Kaloor Ravikumar claims that the story is raised up from his works which were published in a prominent Malayalam publication. And he filed a complaint to the FEFKA writers union.
MM 2 Gets A Clean ‘U’ from Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC)
The much awaited film Mungaru Male 2 from producer Gangadhar (Mungaru Male of December end 2006 was produced by E Krishnappa) has got the clean ‘U’ certificate from the regional censor board Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
The smiling Shashank & producer Gangadhar announced the clean ‘U’ to media that had gathered to another film assignment at Sri Renukamba digital theatre. Already super hit in songs from Arjun Janya ‘MM 2’ is heading for release on 9th Sept, 2016. Shashank with a few super hit films like Moggina Manasu, Sixer, Krishnan Love Story, Bachchan & Krishna Leela has high hopes of a big hit for this film Mungaru Male 2. Mungaru Male released in Dec, 2006 was directed by Yogaraj Bhat – the biggest top grosser of the Kannada cinema history. That has also given “Golden star” status to Ganesh.
Ballary Darbar Real Story
Ballary Darbar is based on the real story. The district of Ballary in Karnataka is very important and said to be a gold mine for its full potential in “Mine”. The recent developments in the history have revealed the scores of affluent people activity and some of them have been booked for illegal mining. All such developments of the “Mine Lords” ruling is the concept for Style Srini who made Toofan Kannada cinema. He has worked as assistant to a few Telugu films. He has based some of the real life happenings for this – love darbar, money darbar & revenge darbar as main contents. Sreenu has written story, screenplay, dialogues besides direction. The shoot was also held in & around Ballary district. 4 songs are scored by Charan Arjun.
Mumbai: Even after two months of rigorous investigation the security agencies have not found any solid evidence against Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik, who is accused by a section of media of inspiring terrorists and violating foreign funding norms.
No violations
Highly placed sources said that the Islamic Research Foundation, the NGO run by Dr Naik, has almost come out clean on foreign donations received. In its reply submitted before the home ministry last week, Dr Naik’s NGO has given details of funds reportedly received in 2014 from Dubai with an explanation on expenditure, a senior MHA official said on the condition of anonymity.
The NGO has received nearly Rs 93 lakh from Dubai in 2014. Naik’s spokesperson Arif Malik said: “In 2014-15, MHA carried out inspection of our accounts and foreign donation utilisation and after three weeks of exhaustive investigations gave us a clean chit.
Still the NGO is facing the threat of ban under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) after solicitor-general Ranjit Kumar wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs asking it to take action against the televangelist.
Probe to be intensified
Meanwhile, the security agencies have been asked to analyse Dr Naik’s speeches in a more comprehensive manner and conduct a more exhaustive probe before any decision is taken on whether to gag him and ban his NGO, Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), as an unlawful association.
The development comes with the Law Ministry advising the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which has jurisdiction over security agencies, that not enough evidence is on record to proceed against Naik.
“We have been advised to analyse a larger number of speeches delivered by Naik to arrive at a clearer picture of whether he is liable for any action. While several of his speeches have already been analysed, we will now have to go through as many of his speeches as is possible – not all his speeches might be easily available,” a source in the MHA said.
The process could take weeks, or even months, as it is “extremely laborious”. The source said, “Videos of Naik’s speeches available in the public domain will have to be authenticated to prove they are not doctored in any way, and then they will have to be carefully transcribed.”
Terror allegations
Meanwhile, security agencies have claimed that nearly 55 terror accused, arrested from across the country over the past decade, have reportedly been influenced by Dr Naik, or at least they have watched Dr Naik’s speeches. These terror accused include those who were picked up as far back as 2005. However the agencies have failed to produce any proof for their claims.
Dr Naik’s lawyer has refuted these allegations and said that if his speeches are seen in their full context, no one would conclude that he had inspired people to commit acts of terror. Those leveling allegations against Naik might have relied upon doctored speeches available on the Internet, and not on the entire speech, his lawyer had earlier said.
(Agencies)
Kochi: The additional sessions court, Ernakulam, on Wednesday acquitted eight persons including PDP leader Abdul Nasar Madani in the case related to the secret meeting of banned outfit Islamic Sevak Sangh (ISS) held at Mynagappally, Kollam, in 1992.
Additional sessions court judge K M Balachandran acquitted the eight persons including Madani’s father granting benefit of doubt.
The judgement in the case was delivered 24 years after the Sasthamkotta police had registered the case.
The case pertains to a secret meeting of ISS held at Madani’s residence at Mynagappally, after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. Trial in the case was shifted to Ernakulam from Kollam after Madani prayed for the same. Madani and his aged father were also exempted from appearing before the court at trial stage.
Of the 16 accused in the case, eight are still absconding.
During the raid at the meeting, the police had seized country made pistol, 1.4kg of gunpowder, ammunition, metal detector, notices and pamphlets of ISS. Of the 21 witnesses in the cases, two had died after delay caused in the beginning of trial. The court examined seven witnesses , 18 material objects and 18 documents during the trial stage.
The police had submitted chargehseet in the case.
(Agencies)