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Rahul hugs Modi and says this is Congress

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday took everyone in the Lok Sabha by surprise when he went and hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi after tearing into the BJP-led government during the no-confidence motion.

“I have not an iota of hatred or hard feelings against you. You hate me, I may be ‘Pappu’ for you. But I love you and respect you because I am the Congress,” Gandhi said at the end of his fiery speech.

He then walked across to the ruling benches and hugged Modi who was also taken by surprise.

The Prime Minister, a little taken aback at first, called Gandhi back and shook hands with him with a pat on his back. The two exchanged some words.

As the opposition members gave Gandhi a standing ovation and thumped their desks, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said such conduct was against the rules of the House.

Two injured after coming in contact with high-tension wire

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A young man and a teenager suffered serious burn injuries when they came in contact with a high-tension overhead wire while flying kite in north Delhi, police said on Thursday.

Police said Kartik, 18, and his juvenile neighbor, 14, received over 60 percent burn injuries when they received electric shocks while flying a kite on the terrace of the latter’s Sonia Vihar house on Wednesday afternoon.

Some children standing on adjoining buildings raised an alarm, following which their family members rushed upstairs and tried to pull them away with the help of bamboo sticks, Deputy Commissioner of Police Atul Kumar Thakur told IANS.

Both were later taken to nearby GTB Hospital.

Kartik is an auto-rickshaw driver while the teenager is a Class 6 student.

“We will take action against officials concerned for negligence. We are awaiting improvement in their condition to record their statements,” the officer added.

Legal luminaries, civil society groups say Anti-Trafficking Bill will criminalise communities

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The old framework of Social Welfare Legislation is given a go by and the people of India do not want this draconian law which criminalizes communities. The government is escaping from its responsibility by handing over the implementation of such important issues to the Police Department and is criminalizing the activities of the poor and marginalised by this ill-drafted Trafficking Bill,” said Prof Babu Mathew, legal expert and activist, at the Public Meeting which opposed the Anti-Trafficking Bill in its present form here on Wednesday.

Over 250 members from over 16 groups of NGOs, workers unions, and legal experts criticized the Trafficking Bill, which ironically, was introduced in the Parliament on the same evening by the Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi even as the Public Meeting is in progress in the city.

Rehab centers and protection homes run by private parties have curtailed the liberty of the victims and this crime has been happening across the country. It is a violation of the victims’ fundamental right. If this Bill becomes a Law, it will be draconian, anti-people and is meant to protect the vested interests. It is another kind of Swach Bharat where you want to clean up those poor and marginalized communities who are an eyesore to the society and push them under the carpet,’’ remarked BT Venkatesh, an eminent lawyer, on behalf of Reach Law, a co-organiser of the event.

Imprisonment for trafficking leading to AIDS or begging or injecting of hormones, will ultimately lead to criminalisation of trans-identities and it is not just about sex workers and Transgenders, time has come for all workers to unite and fight,” said Nisha Gulur, Transgender leader and President of National Network of Sex Workers, India (NNSW) echoing the words of Babu Mathew who gave a clarion call for all workers to unite.

“Victims whether it is bonded labour or those into begging, will now be criminalized and this legislation will override the Bonded Labour Act, which is a much better Act and is serving the purpose,’’ said Kiran Kamal of Jeevika.

“The Bill miserably fails to address the legal and real-time challenges that arise in addressing trafficking in persons and securing the rights and dignity of trafficked victims. Furthermore, trade unions and workers’ rights groups and many other stakeholders, who will be affected by the new legislation, have not been consulted while drafting the Bill,” said Rajesh Umadevi, Executive Director, Sangama. “This bIll continues to conflate trafficking and sex work by its silence. No law should harm the citizens of its own country,’’ said Aarthi Pai, lawyer, and social activist.
“Moving people away from their workplaces in the name of rehabilitation is curtailing their freedom of movement and association and it is a gross violation of our fundamental rights. The promise of a ‘victim-centric’ law falls flat as all that trafficked victims get is ‘detention’ in protection homes – a practice that has been severely criticised by international Human Rights experts and community groups,” said Bharathi, secretary, Karnataka Sex Workers Union.
Karnataka Garment Factory Workers Union (KOOGU), Sangama, Reach Law, CIEDS Collective, Karnataka Sex Workers Union (KSWU), Uttara Karnataka Mahila Ookutta (UKMO), National Network of Sex Workers (NNSW), Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU), South India Federation of Trade Unions and Jeevika (a group fighting against bonded labour) and Fedina. Lakshmi of Garment Workers Union, Bharathi of KSWU, Madhu Bhushan of CIEDS and others spoke.
All the 16 groups passed a resolution to demand the Parliament to:
1. Refer the Bill to a Standing Committee and conduct comprehensive consultations with all stakeholders including the affected communities.

Bollywood Buzz

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Akshay Kumar Unveils The Trailer Of His Film Chumbak

Unveiling the trailer of his latest Marathi film Chumbak in Mumbai as a presenter, Akshay Kumar confessed that he is a big fan of Marathi films and said that he had no hesitation to accept that content oriented films are no longer being made in Hindi of late. “I am not looking at profits as a presenter of Chumbak. Films which are being produced in Marathi of late have the kind of real characters that are incredible. If I wanted, I could have made a film like Rowdy Rathore 2 and made 3 times more than what Rowdy Rathod but I opted to make a film like Padman because I wanted to highlight the problems that women face in their day to day life. People have been asking me whether I would act in Marathi films besides producing them. I had acted in a Marathi film called Adhikar for director Mahesh Tilekar a decade ago and produced 2 films. If I am able to get the right script with an out of the box content, I will be ready to not only produce films in Marathi but also act in them. I liked Riteish Deshmukh’s films Balak Palak as well as Lai Bhaari. I had even toyed with the idea of making a biopic on the late actor Dada Kondke but since the script did not turn out to my satisfaction, I decided not to go ahead with the project.”

Anil Kapoor Effortlessly Slips Into 4 Interesting Avatars In Fanney Khan

Anil Kapoor aces 4 different looks with ease!  Anil Kapoor’s journey in Indian film industry has been nothing short of inspiring. His illustrious career spanning 3 & a half decade has been lined up with several iconic characters & films, as the star constantly improves his game and reinvents himself with every passing year. The superstar has metamorphosed several memorable characters with great élan sporting captivating looks. Having been associated with the Race franchise for over a decade, it came as no surprise that the actor walked away with rave reviews for his stupendous performance sporting the suave & the stylish look, well complimented by white beard in Race 3. While he effortlessly slips into the garb of a common man in Fanney Khan sporting a look as real & convincing as it can get, in fact he is all set to surprise the audience, especially his fans, yet again by playing the matured character of a father in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga.

A Wrap For Jeetu Joseph’s Film ‘Body’s Shoot!

The shooting schedule of Jeethu Joseph’s movie Body starring Emraan Hashmi, Rishi Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala & Vedhika has concluded. The team recently wrapped after they shot 45 days of the schedule in parts of Mumbai & Mauritius. Body is a directorial debut of Jeethu Joseph who directed renowned Malayam film Drishyam & is Produced by Sunir Kheterpal for Azure Entertainment & Viacom motion pictures. The post production of the film begins in Aug, 2018 & the music has been sold to T-Series.

The Shoot For The Season Of ‘The Trip In Pondicherry’ Kickstarted

After the resounding success of the ever season of The Trip In Pondicherry – Season 2 kicks off 1 & half years later we last saw the girls. This season the travel destination for the Trip is – the French colonized Pondicherry. The show is all set to launch in Sept, 2018 and the lead cast Amyra Dastur, Mallika Dua, Sapna Pabbi, Shweta Tripathi are all set to embark on a beautiful trip of drama, twists & turns, self-discovery & a generous dose of romance.

An Interaction With Telugu Actor Prabhas

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Prabhas – The ‘Darling’ Of The Masses Post Bahubali

Prabhas the handsome hunk and above all the heartthrob of millions of fans of Telugu cinema is finally in the starry spotlight thanks to SS Rajamouli, the creator of the most famous franchise Bahubali. But things were not so rosy for Prabhas when he had started off in his career, even though he happened to be the son of Telugu filmmaker Uppalpati Raju and the nephew of legendary Telugu actor turned politician Krishnam Raju. So this shy & sweet boy Prabhas had to struggle hard initially to get his first ever break with a Telugu film called Eshwar. And then he was involved in seventeen other clichéd films bordering on the romantic theme of “Boy Meets Girl” before landing up roles in Bahubali: The Beginning & Bahubali: The Conclusion and the rest, as they say, is an adventurous history of Prabhas. So after being a part of Telugu Cinema for one and a half decade, Prabhas is now busy wrapping up Saaho along with his co-stars Shraddha Kapoor & Neil Nitin Mukesh.

*To begin with telling us how was life before & after the phase of being involved with the “Bahubali” franchise almost for half a decade?

*Honestly speaking after getting involved with the “Bahubali” franchise for more than half a decade, my filmy career almost did a volte-face. Earlier I did almost seventeen Telugu films with the same clichéd themes of a “Hero meets the Heroine”, “Hero encounters the Villain”, “Hero fights with the Villain” and eventually, but never before a good fight, “Hero wins over the Heroine’. There was nothing to look forward to, the same old routine. One of these films I had done with SS Rajamouli too. And it was all thanks to him that I got rid of this routine cycle of my filmic career. So I have almost 5 years to SS Rajamouli for his epic creation the “Bahubali” franchise and life after this is beyond imagination. So much so that I don’t have words to describe my joy. I could not achieve so much even after doing seventeen Telugu films that I have achieved with just 2 films of SS Rajamouli. Needless to say that I learned a lot. I gained a lot of enriching experience too. Another good thing that happened to me after passing through the “Bahubali” phase was that I happened to be the first ever Telugu actor to have his wax figure installed at Madam Tussad’s Museum.

*In the wake of the grand success of the “Bahubali” franchise you have signed only one Telugu film Saaho? How come?

*Yes! After doing the epic franchise of “Bahubali” I could have easily signed on the dotted line of every film that was offered to me. Yes I was also offered half a dozen other films on the lines of Bahubali. But I put my foot down and refused all the offers. No sir I cannot afford to waste another half a decade on another epic film like Babhubali.

*But what made you choose Saaho was it the lure of working with a Bollywood heroine like Shraddha Kapoor and also a chance to connect with the Bollywood film industry?

*After Bahubali it was only Saaho’s script that had caught my fancy. As said before I had already refused dozens of offers. In fact Saaho literally lived up to my criterion of selecting a good script. But then there was no other temptation. Shraddha Kapoor was signed on much later that is before the film went on the floors.

*But I am sure you are interested in connecting with the Bollywood film industry sooner or later?

*Yes! I am very keen to do Bollywood movies for sure but once again only if I like the script. It must offer me something concrete to literally sink my teeth into it. Then comes the other aspects like a good producer and his good banner, a good director and to be very frank I am not really fussy about my co-star. I may even go ahead and act opposite a rank newcomer. Maybe before Bahubali I would not have gone to such length of picking & choosing. Like my other contemporary South Indian actors and even my senior South Indian actors even I have the desire to make it big in Bollywood. So let’s see which way the wind blows.

*But you also made a fleeting appearance in a Bollywood movie in actor – director Prabhudheva’s Action Jackson? What say?

*That’s it! Action Jackson was just that a fleeting appearance. I did it just for my good friend Prabhudheva.

*So what is Saaho all about?

*Saaho is a trilingual film that is being made in Hindi-Tamil-Telugu. It is an out an out commercial film with each and every actor having a well-defined role which has been narrated from Shraddha Kapoor’s character’s point of view, no it is not totally a female oriented film. But every character is very important they are just not fleeting in & out of the movie. It is a UV Creations movie being produced by V Vamshi Krishna Reddy & Pramod Uppalapati. Besides it is being directed by Sujeeth. Surprisingly many other Bollywood actors also feature in Saaho besides Shraddha Kapoor and the main antagonist Neil Nitin Mukesh. The other Bollywood actors are Jackie Shroff, Chunky Pandey, Mandira Bedi, Evelyn Sharma, Aditya Shrivastav of CID fame, Mahesh Manjrekar, Murli Sharma, Rudranil Ghosh & the late Narendra Jha in supporting roles. Saaho has been shot in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Dubai – especially in Burj Khalifa, Abu Dhabi & Romania. I don’t think it will be fair to reveal anything more.

*How was Shraddha Kapoor as a co-star?

*Shraddha Kapoor is the main highlight of Saaho. She has literally put her heart & soul in her debut Telugu movie Saaho. I totally enjoyed working with her and our pair looks very good & fresh on the screen. She was not only fun to work with but our on screen chemistry too is something really good to watch out for. She is very professional, extremely dedicated and yes even a big & starry Bahubali actor like me learnt a lot from her. Next time I would really like to work with Shradhha Kapoor in a proper Bollywood movie.

*Do you remember any of the routine Telugu movies that you had ended up doing before Bahubali happened to you?

*Those films were not routine some of them were really well made but of course they could have been made even better. So even if it was the run of the mill films I have no regrets in doing them. Some of the films that I really remember are Varsham, Chatrapathi, Chakram, Billa, Darling, Mr. Perfect and how can I forget Mirchi for which I had bagged the Nandi award as a “Best Actor”.

*What is the real reason for delay in doing a Bollywood movie?

*You see when Bahubali was dubbed in Hindi it was the small screen actor Sharad Kelkar who had ended up dubbing for me. So now I am trying my best to learn Hindi with its perfect nuances. And as and when I do a Hindi film, a typical Bollywoodian movie I would like to do it’s dubbing all by myself. I still have the hangover of a South Indian accent whenever I try to speak or converse with someone in Hindi.

*So what next after Saaho?

*My next movie after Saaho will be a small budget movie bordering totally on a love story and to be filmed entirely in Europe. It is all set to go on the floors next month.

*One last question with the option of skipping it if you want? So what would you like to say about the rumors linking you with your Bahubali co-star Anushka Shetty?

*First of all I take all the rumors & gossip in my stride being a part & parcel of my profession. No I will not deny that we both are very good friends as of now or till now. You can also call us family friends but don’t try to read anything more into it at least not more than what is necessary. Yes! I am even aware of the marriage rumors circulating about us. But I believe in accepting such rumors with a pinch of salt. Period!!!

Lorry operators begin nationwide undetermined strike

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The undetermined strike by the lorry operators affiliated to the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) across the country to highlight removal of toll plazas on the national highways and other charters of demands commenced in the state on Friday.

The indefinite strike was to press the demands of reducing fuel price and for a uniform national pricing with quarterly revision, transparency and reduction in third party insurance premium.

Abolition of tax deduction at sources, rationalization of presumptive income under Sections 44 AE of Income Tax Act were the other demands. The AIMTC also demanded the government to address the E-Way Bill operational issues, abolish direct port delivery scheme and streamline port congestion.

Three lakh lorries off the roads
C. Dhanaraj, secretary, Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners Federation, one of the constituents of the AIMTC, told The Hindu that the association accounted for 4.60 lakh lorries, of which three lakh lorries were already off the road from Friday.

About 1.5 lakh lorries have carried loads of onion, dhal and other perishable items to north Indian states and they too were returning back to Tamil Nadu.

Mr. Dhanaraj said that in Salem district alone, about 40,000 lorries were off the road and this has affected the transportation of vegetables, fruits, textiles, sago.

Mr. Dhanaraj said that despite the discussion the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, had with the office-bearers of the AIMTC on the removal of toll plazas on Thursday, no compromise could be reached on the issue.

The lorry operators are firm on continuing the strike till all their just demands were conceded by the Centre, Mr. Dhanaraj said.

The lorry booking agents who have expressed their support to the strike call suspended the booking of consignments since July 15. According to P. Rajavadivel, president of the Tamil Nadu Booking Agents Association, due to this about 15,000 lorries which used to carry the loads to other states daily, were not being operated from Friday.

Due to the commencement of the strike, all the major lorry sheds in Salem and Namakkal districts were overflowing with the vehicles. The grounded lorries have also occupied all the space available in the lorry bays on national highways and in the fuel retail outlets. [Read more…]

DCM tells to increase women’s safety to police patrolling in plainclothes.

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Karnataka deputy chief minister (DCM), Dr G Parameshwar, has instructed senior police officers to increase the number of police personnel in plainclothes on patrol duty to bring down cases of atrocities over women in the state. He issued this instruction during the second meeting about app-based taxi services, which was held at his office on Thursday, July 19.

Parameshwar noted that ensuring the safety of women who use app-based taxi services is very important and that it should be ensured that atrocities on women never happen when using these services. He asked the police to hold discussions with the concerns operating such services and take suitable steps to improve safety aspects relating to women.

The DCM noted that although there have been a number of laws and programmes aimed at handling atrocities on women, there is lack of proper knowledge about them among the people. He, therefore, asked the officials to see that knowledge about the laws governing women’s safety, programmes and information about the helpline effectively reach the populace through advertisements. Noting that there are enough grants under Nirbhaya scheme, he asked the police to use this grant to buy 5,000 CCTV cameras, a thousand two-wheelers, as well as jeeps and deploy additional police in plain clothes for patrolling during nights to keep an eye on such activities.

Parameshwara also held discussions with a delegation from Bavaria, a federal state in Germany, which has offered to train Belagavi police during November this year. Similar training had been imparted for Mysuru police earlier. He wanted the delegation to come up with ideas to increase the number of police stations and also the percentage of women personnel in the police force.

Fake mark sheet, degree gang busted in UP

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Police here have busted a gang which used to provide fake mark sheets of class 10, 12, B.A, B.Tech, Pharmacy and MBA, officials said on Friday.

Five persons, including a former secretary of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) — the youth wing of Congress, have been arrested in this connection, police said.

A police officer said the gang used to provide fake mark sheets, diplomas and other degrees for students for varsities spread over Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

One laptop, 133 degrees, five mobile phones, a sports utility vehicle (SUV) and two colour printers have also been seized from the gang members, who have been sent to jail after interrogation.

They have been identified as Uma Shankar, Ajay, Anil Kumar, Rajesh and Salman. Most of them are from the National Capital Region (NCR).

WhatsApp to limit message forwarding to 5 chats in India

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As the government served WhatsApp with a second notice asking it to check the spread of fake and provocative content, the Facebook-owned platform on Friday said it is launching a test to limit forwarding that will apply to everyone in India.

“In India where people forward more messages, photos, and videos than any other country in the world, we’ll also test a lower limit of 5 chats at once.

“We will also remove the quick forward button next to media messages,” WhatsApp said in a blog post.

In its second notice, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) on Thursday said WhatsApp has been requested to come out with more effective solutions that can bring in accountability and facilitate enforcement of the law in addition to their efforts towards labeling forwards and identifying fake news.

“It has been conveyed to them in unmistakable terms that it is a very serious issue which deserves a more sensitive response,” MeitY said.

WhatsApp said that with new changes, which it will continue to evaluate, “will help keep WhatsApp the way it was designed to be: a private messaging app”.

“We are deeply committed to your safety and privacy which is why WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, and we’ll continue to improve our app with features like this one,” it added.

In its first reply, WhatsApp wrote to the IT Ministry, saying the company is horrified by terrible acts of violence.

The IT Ministry had asked WhatsApp to ensure that the platform is not used for malafide activities over the growing instances of a lynching of innocent people owing to a large number of irresponsible messages filled with rumours.

WhatsApp, which has over 200 million monthly active users in India, listed several measures it is taking — including labeling Forwarding messages — to control the spread of misinformation and abuse on its platform.

Several people have lost their lives in the past one year by lynch mobs after rumours of child lifting triggered via messages on WhatsApp.

Of a friend, girlfriend and the storm

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Flick through a crime thriller that explores how a woman’s blind trust in her friend leads to the tragic accident of her son; read the story of a woman, perfect as a girlfriend, trying to get a guy back into her life; skim through a complex tale, featuring many ways in which families love, betray, honour and sacrifice for one another; and know how women can identify self-defeating behaviour that holds them back.

The IANS bookshelf has all this on offer this weekend.

1. Book: The Friend; Author: Teresa Driscoll; Publisher: Thomas and Mercer/Westland; Pages: 292; Price: Rs 399
On a train with her husband, miles from home and their four-year-old son, Ben, Sophie receives a phone call. Two boys are in hospital after a tragic accident. One of them is Ben.

She thought she could trust Emma, her new friend, to look after her little boy. After all, Emma is a kindred spirit, someone Sophie was sure she could bare her soul to, despite the village rumours. But Sophie can’t shake the feeling that she has made an unforgivable mistake and now her whole family is in danger.

Because how well does she know Emma, really? Should she have trusted her at all? Time is running out. Powerless to help her child, still hours from home, Sophie is about to discover the truth. And her life will never be the same.

Author Teresa Driscoll is a former BBC TV news presenter. Having covered crime for long, she was deeply moved by the haunting impact on relatives, friends and witnesses and it is those ripples, she explores now in dark fiction.

2. Book: The Perfect Girlfriend; Author: Karen Hamilton; Publisher: Wildfire Books/Hachette India; Pages: 358; Price: Rs 399
Juliette loves Nate. She will follow him anywhere. She has even become a flight attendant for his airline, so she can keep a closer eye on him. They are meant to be.

The fact that Nate broke up with her six months ago means nothing. Because Juliette has a plan to get him back. She is the perfect girlfriend. And she’ll make sure no one stops her from getting exactly what she wants. True love hurts, but Juliette knows it’s worth all the pain. Read this book to know where her qualities eventually land her.

The author is a recent graduate of the Faber Academy and, having now put down roots in Hampshire to raise her young family with her husband, she satisfies her wanderlust by exploring the world through her writing. “The Perfect Girlfriend” is her first novel.

3. Book: The Storm; Author: Arif Anwar; Publisher: Aleph; Pages: 348; Price: Rs 599
Shahryar, a recent PhD graduate and father of nine-year-old Anna, must leave the US when his visa expires. In their last remaining weeks together, we learn Shahryar’s history, in a village on the Bay of Bengal, where a poor fisherman and his wife are preparing to face a storm of historic proportions.

That story intersects with those of a Japanese pilot, a British doctor stationed in Burma during World War II, and a privileged couple in Calcutta who leave everything behind to move to East Pakistan following the partition.

Inspired by the 1970 Bhola cyclone, in which half a million-people perished overnight, the structure of this novel mimics the storm itself. Building up to a series of revelatory and moving climaxes, it shows the many ways in which families love, betray, honour and sacrifice for one another.

4. Book: How Women Rise; Author: Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith; Publisher: Penguin; Pages: 242; Price: Rs 494
Do you hesitate about putting forward ideas? Are you reluctant to claim credit for your achievements? Do you find it difficult to get the support you need from your boss or the recognition you deserve from your colleagues? If your answer to any of these is “Yes”, then “How Women Rise” will help get you back on track. Inspiring and practical by turns, it identifies 12 common habits that can prove an obstacle to future success and tells you how to overcome them.

In the process, it points the way to a career that will satisfy your ambitions and help you make the difference you want to make in the world.

How women rise is a great read for any woman who wants to identify self-defeating behaviours that are holding her back, gain insight into why she engages in those behaviours and develop skills to confidently achieve her goals.

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