Nasheman News : A delegation of young Hindi film actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, and filmmakers Karan Johar, Rohit Shetty and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Thursday to discuss how the entertainment industry can contribute to nation building.
The ‘Prime Minister’s Squad’ — as Shetty put it — also included Ekta Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao, Vicky Kaushal and Bhumi Pednekar.
Karan called the meeting an “incredible opportunity”.
“As a community, there is a huge interest to contribute to nation building. There is so much that we want to do, and can do. This dialogue was towards how and in what ways we can do that…
“Together we would love to inspire and ignite positive changes to a transformative India,” Karan wrote on Instagram alongside a squad selfie with Modi.
Karan thanked the government on behalf of the film industry for the GST reduction in movie ticket prices that was implemented recently.
Movie tickets costing more that Rs 100 were brought down from 28 to 18 per cent — a move that was hailed by the industry.
It was a result of two meetings held with the PM last year.
While their past meetings drew ire for zero women representation, this time Alia, Ekta, Ashwiny and Bhumi lent the woman power.
Tiwari, who directed “Nil Battey Sannata”, said in a statement: “It was an honour meeting our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji with inspiring lovely friends. An interaction that takes storytelling to new heights… Building a better society through entertainment. Thank you for the GST reduction and space to connect thoughts.”
Bhumi tweeted: “Thank you for your time honourable Modi sir. Truly a moment to be remembered.”
Ranveer was all smiles as he posed while hugging Modi.
“Jaadoo ki Jhappi! Joy to meet the Honourable Prime Minister of our great nation,” tweeted the ‘Padmaavat’ star.
Rajkummar said it was an “insightful meeting”, while ‘Uri’ actor Vicky was “happy and honoured” to meet the PM and Sidharth wrote: “Thank you Narendra Modi sir for an enriching and insightful conversation. It was an honour to meet you today and we are grateful for your support towards the film industry.”
ACB likely to question minister C puttarangashetty
Nasheman News : The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is likely to question Backward Classes Welfare minister C Puttarangashetty based on the confessions made by Mohan Kumar, a stenographer and the prime accused in the cash seizure case at Vidhana Soudha.
Mohan was handed over to ACB custody by the Vidhana Soudha police on Wednesday, January 9. The ACB is now awaiting court permission to access Mohan’s phone to collect details of other communication he had made regarding the source of money.
It is gathered that the money seized from Mohan was taken in different batches. Mohan had personally gone out and collected cash from different individuals twice, meanwhile, two other accused in the case allegedly walked into the Vidhana Soudha with a total of around Rs 8 lakh in their possession.
Sources informed that everyone involved in this case will be questioned including the minister.
Mohan was caught by the police when he was on his way to meet the minister and during the investigation done by Vidhana Soudha police, Mohan had confessed that he was holding the money on behalf of Shetty. He had also revealed the name of Krishnamurthy, who is the PA of Labour Minister Venkataramanappa, and two other officers working in Vidhana Soudha.
BJP shattered people’s hopes : H K Patil
Nasheman News : Congress campaign committee chief H K Patil on Thursday said the party will analyse 2018 assembly election results and learn from mistakes, if any, to improve its performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Patil, who has been recently appointed as the head of the campaign committee, said the Congress and JD(S) leaders will soon decide on the seat-sharing and contest the elections together. On JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda’s demand for 12 out of 28 seats in the state, Patil said, “The JD(S) supremo has stated that they are asking for 12 seats, but they have also said they are flexible and both the parties will finalise it after discussions.”
He also said: “People had a lot of hopes when the BJP government came to power in 2014, but all that has been shattered now as the government has not taken any pro-people initiatives.” Citing the government’s decision on the CBI chief and supreme court verdict reinstating him, the Congress leader accused the BJP government of taking constitutional institutions lightly. “Congress will explain all these issues to people of the state and seek their support in the Lok Sabha polls,” he added.
Man commits suicide in front of a Metro train
Nasheman News : Ayouth allegedly attempted suicide by jumping into a moving metro train on Friday.
The incident took place near Basavanagudi National College Station when a young man jumped out of the train trying to commit suicide. The life of the driver left immediately after breaking the driver. He was immediately taken up and taken to the hospital.
Hundreds of passengers at the train station were shocked to see the scene. The police are on their way to the venue. The young man’s identity is yet to be understood.
Indian cricket team does not support views of Hardik, Rahul: Kohli
Nasheman News : Breaking his silence on the “sexist comments” made by Hardik Pandya and Lokesh Rahul on a TV chat show, India team captain Virat Kohli on Friday denounced the statements and said the team management is still waiting for a decision on the duo.
Terming the comments as “inappropriate”, the 30-year-old skipper said the belief in the dressing room is completely different from the individual comments of the two young players.
“We as the Indian cricket team and responsible cricketers do not support such views,” Kohli said ahead of the first ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here.
“The two concerned players have realised what has gone wrong and they have understood the magnitude of what has happened,” he said.
On Thursday, Vinod Rai, Chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) had recommended a two-ODI ban on the duo but fellow member Diana Edulji had pushed for a legal opinion before deciding on the quantum of punishment.
In such a scenario, both Pandya and Rahul’s participation in the first two ODIs against Australia is still not clear, which might disturb the playing combination for at least the opening match.
On being asked about the possible combination if the duo is banned, Kohli said: “From the combination and team balance point of view, yes, you’ll have to think about the combination you’ll need then.”
“You don’t have control over these things so you have to address it the way it unfolds. That’s how we are looking at it, the combinations will have to be looked at when the decision comes out and from there on we’ll see what needs to be done about the whole situation.”
IPS officer files criminal defamation case against senior bureaucrat
Nasheman News : A senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre on Friday filed a case of criminal defamation against senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar, currently serving as principal secretary (Home) in the state government.
Senior IPS officer Amitabh Thakur has alleged that Kumar had made remarks on him which were “without any basis” and has sought action against Kumar.
In his comment as Amitabh’s reviewing officer as IG (Rules and Manual) during April 1, 2017 to October 26, 2017, Kumar had written in the IPS officer’s performance appraisal report that the “general impression about him is that he is extremely litigious and on many occasions has created embarrassing situations for the government.”
Calling these words defamatory and alleging that Kumar wrote them without any basis, Thakur has sought criminal action.
Registering the case, acting Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Ritish Sachdeva fixed January 21 for recording Amitabh’s statement.
Cricketers Hardik, Rahul suspended pending probe
Nasheman News : The participation of all-rounder Hardik Pandya and opener Lokesh Rahul in the three-ODI series against Australia, starting in Sydney on Saturday, has been thrown into jeopardy as the duo have been suspended for their controversial comments in a television talk show.
The decision comes after Diana Edulji, the woman member of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), advocated suspension of the duo until the quantum of sentence is announced.
CoA chairman Vinod Rai had earlier recommended a two-ODI ban for the duo but Diana decided to seek legal opinion before taking any action.
“Based on legal opinion and till the time the final procedure is laid down to address this issue, will recommend that a communication be sent to the concerned players and the team immediately,” Diana wrote in an email, accessed by media.
“It will be imperative that the players be put under suspension till a further course of action is decided for this misconduct,” the mail added.
In this regard, a five-member Apex Council comprising the elected office bearers — President, Vice President, Secretary, Joint Secretary and Treasurer — has been formed to conduct the probe.
Under such a scenario, India will be compelled to take the field without Pandya and Rahul in the series opener at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
According to a BCCI source, Rahul isn’t in the first choice playing XI while Pandya is also out of at least the first ODI even as the team management is still awaiting a final call.
Earlier on Friday, breaking his silence on the allegedly sexist comments made by Pandya and Rahul, India skipper Virat Kohli denounced the duo’s statements and said the team management is still waiting for a decision on the duo.
Terming the comments as “inappropriate”, the 30-year-old skipper said the belief in the dressing room is completely different from the individual comments of the two young players.
“We as the Indian cricket team and responsible cricketers do not support such views,” Kohli said during the pre-match press conference in Sydney.
“The two concerned players have realised what has gone wrong and they have understood the magnitude of what has happened,” he added.
On being asked about the possible combination if the duo is banned, Kohli said: “From the combination and team balance point of view, yes, you’ll have to think about the combination you’ll need then.”
“You don’t have control over these things so you have to address it the way it unfolds. That’s how we are looking at it, the combinations will have to be looked at when the decision comes out and from there on we’ll see what needs to be done about the whole situation,” he added.
India’s second moon mission in mid-April
Nasheman News : India’s second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 with a lander and rover will be attempted in mid-April, a top space official said on Friday.
“We are targeting mid-April to launch Chandrayaan-2 as there were certain tests which could not be done in time for the earlier scheduled January 3 launch,” Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan told reporters here.
The details of the tests, which were yet to be performed for the mission, were not disclosed by the space agency.
The window to land on the lunar surface is open between March 25 till the end of April, Sivan said.
The Rs 800-crore Chandrayaan-2 mission comes a decade after the maiden mission Chandrayaan-1 was launched on October 22, 2008 from the country’s only spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 90 km northeast of Chennai.
The 3,890-kg Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, to be launched onboard the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-3, will orbit around the moon to study its conditions and collect data of its topography, mineralogy and exosphere.
After reaching the 100km lunar orbit, lander with rover will separate from the spacecraft and gradually descend to soft land on the moon at a designated spot. The rover’s instruments will observe and study the lunar surface.
The lander has been named “Vikram” as a tribute to the pioneer of India’s space programme and former ISRO chairman (1963-71) Vikram Sarabhai.
While Chandrayaan-1 reached the lunar orbit on November 8, 2008 and its impact probe crashed onto the moon on November 14, 2008, the 675kg spacecraft was lost on August 29, 2009 after orbiting at 100km away from its surface and mapping its chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic properties for over nine months.
Meanwhile, Israel, which is planning to launch its lunar mission in February, will most likely be the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon, after China in December 2013, the US in 1969 and then Soviet Union in 1959.
Don’t screen ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’: SAD
The Supreme Court on Thursday declined an urgent hearing to a PIL filed against the Delhi High Court order dismissing a ban on the release of the trailer of ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’.
The Delhi High Court dismissed a PIL yesterday which sought a ban on ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ and its trailer on allegations that it defamed the constitutional post of the prime minister. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao said the petitioner has no locus standi to file the plea and private interest was involved in it.
Petitioner Pooja Mahajan alleged that provisions of the Cinematograph Act are being misused and the film producer has released the trailer affecting the image of the office of the prime minister and giving a bad name to it at the national and international level.
During the hearing, the producers of the film said they were not made a party in the PIL and the court should not pass any order without hearing them.
Advocate Sangram Patnaik, appearing for film producers Sunil Bohra and Dhaval Gada, objected to the petition saying it was not maintainable and how could the production house was not made a party. He said if the adverse order is passed, it would be the producers who would be affected as it is their money which is at stake.
A single judge had earlier refused to entertain the plea asking the petitioner to file it as a public interest litigation.
The film is scheduled to release on January 11. The film starring Anupam Kher as Manmohan Singh is based on a book of the same name by the former prime minister’s media advisor Sanjaya Baru and is scheduled to release on January 11.
Agencies
Stalin rules out alliance with Modi-led BJP
Nasheman News : DMK President M.K. Stalin on Friday categorically ruled out any alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His rejection comes a day after Modi declared that the party’s doors are open for alliances and it cherishes its old friends.
DMK was a coalition partner in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In a statement issued here, Stalin said the DMK party will not align with BJP with Modi as the Prime Minister for the past four-and-half years.
On Thursday, MOdi had said: “A strong NDA is an article of faith for us. It is not a compulsion. Even when the BJP won a majority on its own, we preferred to run the government with our allies. We cherish our old friends and our doors are always open for parties. But more than political issues, the winning alliance is the alliance of the people.”
He was interacting with booth level BJP workers of five parliamentary constituencies of Arakkonam, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Erode and Krishnagiri.
Modi was replying to a query on whether the BJP will ally with the ruling AIADMK, DMK or mega star Rajinikanth, who is yet to float a political party, in the Lok Sabha elections.
“Atalji brought a new culture in Indian politics – that is of successful coalition politics. He gave top importance to regional aspirations. He showed that the Centre and the state can work together for the welfare of our nation.
“But Atalji indeed was in direct contrast to the Congress which has never cared for regional aspirations. Congress ill-treated regional parties, regional aspirations and regional people because they felt that they alone have the right to be in power,” Modi said.
Stalin termed Modi’s statement as strange and surprising that he is following late Vajpayee’s political culture.
According to Stalin, the DMK was part of NDA government led by Vajpayee to provide a stable government under the framework of Common Minimum Programme (CMP).
Stalin said the DMK came out of NDA once voices of communalism were raised.
He said Modi is not Vajpayee. And under the Modi government, the rights of Tamil Nadu were snatched.