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Manmohan Singh warned me of harm in 2G issue: TRAI Chairman

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Pradeep-Baijal-Manmohan-Singh

New Delhi: Yet another book has come out damning the previous UPA government with former TRAI Chairman Pradip Baijal alleging that the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had warned him of harm if he did not cooperate on 2G telecom licenses.

An accused in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case, he also claimed that the CBI wanted him to “implicate” Arun Shourie and Ratan Tata in the case. In his self-published book, The Complete Story of Indian Reforms: 2G, Power and Private Enterprise — A Practitioner’s Diary, Mr. Baijal, who was appointed head of the telecom watchdog by the NDA government in 2003, said the 2G scam trail began under UPA’s Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran regime.

“They (CBI) had warned me in each case that I would be harmed if I didn’t cooperate. Incidentally, this was exactly what the eminent economist Prime Minister had told me would happen if I did not cooperate in their scheme of things in the 2G case,” Mr. Baijal writes in an apparent reference to 2G case and disinvestment issues.

There were no immediate comments available from the former Prime Minister, while Mr. Baijal told PTI, “I have said everything. It is 100 per cent correct and I have evidence to prove everything.”

This is the third book in last more than a year that has come to haunt Dr. Singh and his government about state of affairs during his regime. The first book was written by his aide and media advisor Sanjaya Baru and later by former coal secretary P.C. Parekh who is also an accused in the case relating to coal blocks allocation.

Mr. Baijal said he was “not treated properly” after he gave recommendations on the unified licensing regime. “That led to many problem and that led to adverse inference against me by the ruling party then. When I met Prime Minister late, he said that you must listen to your Minister and you must take his view in to consideration. I said his view will get me in to lot of trouble,” he said.

Mr. Maran, who was Telecom Minister in UPA I from May 2004 to 2007, threatened Mr. Baijal with “serious consequences” if he gave recommendations on Unified Licences that would have replaced the old system of giving out permits on first-come-first-serve basis. “Dayanidhi Maran told me in my first meeting with him not to give Unified Licensing recommendations as directed by the Cabinet of the previous government. He further indicated that there would be serious consequences if I did,” Mr. Baijal wrote.

When he took up the matter with the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he wrote that “The PM also told me to cooperate with my Minister in the coalition government he headed, since non-cooperation could compromise his government.”

Mr. Baijal said that both Mr. Maran and his successor A. Raja suppressed his recommendations and sold spectrum to “a selected few without following any rules or procedures.”

He claimed that CBI wanted him to implicate Ratan Tata and Arun Shourie. Mr. Baijal writes that Mr. Maran knew exactly about discussion between him and Dr. Singh.

“I can only surmise that they were all working in tandem possibly along with the PM, Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal at different stages and were guiding the CBI enquiry, getting files removed and, making false statements in the media to make a case against the erstwhile TRAI.”

Mr. Baijal has alleged that Ratan Tata in 2004 informed him that “he was being threatened by Dayanidhi Maran that unless he accepted the merger of Tata Sky with Sun TV, he would ruin him. Ratan Tata refused to cooperate. They would alternatively threaten to harm me and my family and then dangle a carrot of sparing me if I implicated Ratan Tata and Arun Shourie,” he wrote.

Mr. Baijal said that his recommendation was meant to replace Unified Access Services Licence that were allocated with spectrum but TRAI’s “recommendation was not considered and the old regime continued which led to 2G scam later.”

The recommendation on UL was followed by another recommendation on spectrum related issues in May, 2005 that suggested bidding of spectrum in case adequate spectrum is not identified despite best efforts.

He said that bidding process must be avoided in view of the existing high burden of license fee, service tax, spectrum charges, etc. “Had I cooperated with Dayanidhi Maran and the PM, I would have been in jail today, held guilty for the 2G scam,” Mr. Baijal said.

Mr. Baijal said that he flagged issue of Mr. Maran being appointed as Minister as he is also a broadcaster but the “PM dismissed the concerns with serious argument that there is no conflict of since TRAI was an independent regulator.”

(Agencies)

Syria regime 'to accept de facto partition' of country

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Fighters from a coalition of Islamist forces stand on a huge portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on March 29, 2015, in the Syrian city of Idlib, the second provincial capital to fall from government control (AFP Photo/Zein Al-Rifai)

Fighters from a coalition of Islamist forces stand on a huge portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on March 29, 2015, in the Syrian city of Idlib, the second provincial capital to fall from government control (AFP Photo/Zein Al-Rifai)

by Sammy Ketz, AFP

Beirut: Weakened by years of war, Syria’s government appears ready for the country’s de facto partition, defending strategically important areas and leaving much of the country to rebels and jihadists, experts and diplomats say.

 The strategy was in evidence last week with the army’s retreat from the ancient central city of Palmyra after an advance by the Islamic State group.

“It is quite understandable that the Syrian army withdraws to protect large cities where much of the population is located,” said Waddah Abded Rabbo, director of Syria’s Al-Watan newspaper, which is close to the regime.

“The world must think about whether the establishment of two terrorist states is in its interests or not,” he said, in reference to IS’s self-proclaimed “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq, and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front’s plans for its own “emirate” in northern Syria.

Syria’s government labels all those fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad “terrorists,” and has pointed to the emergence of IS and Al-Nusra as evidence that opponents of the regime are extremists.

Since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011 with peaceful protests, the government has lost more than three-quarters of the country’s territory, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor.

But the territory the regime controls accounts for about 50 to 60 percent of the population, according to French geographer and Syria expert Fabrice Balanche.

He said 10-15 percent of Syria’s population is now in areas controlled by IS, 20-25 percent in territory controlled by Al-Nusra or rebel groups and another five to 10 percent in areas controlled by Kurdish forces.

“The government in Damascus still has an army and the support of a part of the population,” Balanche said.

“We’re heading towards an informal partition with front lines that could shift further.”

– ‘Division is inevitable’ –

People close to the regime talk about a government retreat to “useful Syria”.

“The division of Syria is inevitable. The regime wants to control the coast, the two central cities of Hama and Homs and the capital Damascus,” one Syrian political figure close to the regime said.

“The red lines for the authorities are the Damascus-Beirut highway and the Damascus-Homs highway, as well as the coast, with cities like Latakia and Tartus,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The coastal Latakia and Tartus provinces are strongholds of the regime, and home to much of the country’s Alawite community, the offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Assad adheres.

In the north, east and south of the country, large swathes of territory are now held by jihadists or rebel groups, and the regime’s last major offensive — in Aleppo province in February — was a failure.

For now the regime’s sole offensive movement is in Qalamun along the Lebanese border, but there its ally, Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah movement, is taking the lead in the fighting.

“The Syrian army today has become a Praetorian guard that is charged with protecting the regime,” said a diplomat who goes to Damascus regularly.

He said the situation had left Syrian officials “worried, of course,” but that they remained convinced that key regime allies Russia and Iran would not let the government collapse.

Some observers believe the defensive posture was the suggestion of Iran, which believes it is better to have less territory but be able to keep it secure.

“Iran urged Syrian authorities to face facts and change strategy by protecting only strategic zones,” opposition figure Haytham Manna said.

– Dwindling regime forces –

The shift may also be the result of the dwindling forces available to the regime, which has seen its once 300,000-strong army “whittled away” by combat and attrition, according to Aram Nerguizian, a senior fellow at the US Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“On the surface, the regime appears to have accepted that it must secure, hold and defend its core area of control… with its current mix of forces,” he said.

Those are approximately 175,000 men from the army, pro-regime Syrian militias and foreign fighters including from Hezbollah and elsewhere.

The Observatory says 68,000 regime forces are among the 220,000 people killed since the conflict began.

But the new strategy does not indicate regime collapse, and could even work in its favour, Nerguizian said.

“Supply lines would have far less overstretch to contend with, and the regime’s taxed command-and-control structure would have more margin of maneuver.”

Thomas Pierret, a Syria expert at the University of Edinburgh, said that to survive, “the regime will have to lower its expectations and concentrate on the Damascus-Homs-coast axes.

“Militarily, the regime probably still has the means to hold the southeastern half of the country long-term, but further losses could weaken it from within.”

Erdogan to New York Times: “Who are you? Know your place”

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Protesters are confronted by police during a demonstration at Kizilay square in central Ankara June 16 | Photo: Reuters

Protesters are confronted by police during a demonstration at Kizilay square in central Ankara June 16 | Photo: Reuters

by teleSUR

Erodgan said New York Times would face dire consequences if it criticizes the US administration in the same way it does with Turkey.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the New York Times newspaper on Monday for publishing an editorial on May 22 accusing the president of attacking the media in the country.

“As a newspaper, you [the New York Times] should know your place,” he said in a televised speech in Istanbul. “You are meddling in Turkey’s affairs by writing something like this. By publishing this editorial, you are overstepping the limits of freedom,” he added.

In its editorial, the New York Times claimed that Erdogan had a long history of intimidating and co-opting the Turkish media. “Erdogan appears increasingly hostile to truth-telling. The United States and Turkey’s other NATO allies should be urging him to turn away from this destructive path,” the editorial read.

“Who are you? Can you write such a thing [writing a critical editorial] against the U.S. administration? If you do, [the administration] would immediately do what is necessary,” Erdogan said during a panel organized by a think-tank in Istanbul.

Moreover, this is not the first time that Erdogan has clashed with the New York Times. In September, the Turkish president also criticized the U.S. daily for running a story claiming that Turkey is one of the biggest sources of recruits for the Islamic State group.

Rohingya families' escape to the safety of New Zealand

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Rohingyas who fled Myanmar 20 years ago share their thoughts about friends and family facing persecution back home.

Rohingya

by Al Jazeera

After escaping from Myanmar 20 years ago, Rohingya Muslim Shah Alam Ali and his brother worked in Thailand and Malaysia before being granted residency in New Zealand.

They say that the people they left behind are never far from their thoughts.

“It’s like they are living in an open space prison,” Ali told Al Jazeera. “They have no rights to go out. They have no rights to study.”

He says that if they had stayed in their hometown of Sittwe, in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, they would likely be with four of their brothers and sisters in camps.

Since 2012, more than 100,000 people, mainly Rohingya Muslims, have been forced from their houses because of attacks led by Buddhists, and are unable to return.

Cameron Hudson of the US Memorial Holocaust Museum told Al Jazeera that inherent racism and xenophobia now exists within a cross-section of Burmese society.

Earlier this month, researchers from the museum travelled to the country and found what they termed early warning signs of genocide.

Others disagree with the use of the term genocide, but there is no doubt in the minds of Shah Alam Ali, his friends and family that those still in Myanmar are in danger.

Bofors deal not a scandal, but a media trial: Pranab Mukherjee

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Republic Day Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee has said the Bofors arms scandal of the 1980s was more of a “media trial” and none of the charges have been proved in any Indian court.

Mukherjee, a former defence minister, made the remarks in an interview with Dagens Nyheter newspaper ahead of an official visit to Sweden next week.

“The first point is no Indian court has given a verdict on it, and though the process of trial is going on…unless somebody, some authoritative institutions describe it as a scandal and punish it, how could you say that it is a scandal,” he said.

“You may have some doubt, you may have some suspicion, but that’s not the proof,” Mukherjee said in response to a question whether a scandal such as the Bofors affair could be avoided in future.

“The so-called scandal which you talk of, yes, in the media, it was there. There was a media trial. But I’m afraid, let us not be too much carried by publicity,” he said.

“But up to now, no Indian court has given any decisive verdict about the alleged scandal.”

Relations between Sweden and India were seriously damaged when allegations surfaced that Swedish arms manufacturing company Bofors had paid $640 million as kickbacks to secure a $1.3 billion contract to sell 410 howitzers to the Indian Army.

The scandal contributed to then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s defeat in the 1989 parliamentary polls. Mukherjee, a senior leader of the Congress, was a close confidante of Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1991.

Mukherjee asserted during the interview that it was “yet to be to be established that there was a scandal”. He further said that despite the scandal, the Bofors howitzers were prized by the army.

“I was the defence minister of the country long after Bofors, and all my generals certified that this is one of the best guns we are having. Till today, the Indian Army is using it,” he said.

The Bofors howitzers played a key role in the campaign to push back Pakistani troops who occupied strategic heights in the Kargil sector of the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in 1999.

(Agencies)

Bangalore University split into three universities

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Bangalore University

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet has approved amendments to the Karnataka State University Act in order to split the Bangalore University into three. The boundaries of the new universities will be based on Legislative Assembly constituencies.

Currently, more than 600 degree colleges are affiliated to Bangalore University. The three parts that the university would be divided into are: Bangalore University, Bangalore Central and Bangalore North.

Sources in the State Secretariat said that while the Bangalore University would continue to function from its Jnana Bharati campus, the new Bangalore Central University would be located at Central College campus in the City.

The campus of Bangalore North University would be located at Jangammana Kote in Sidlaghatta taluk, Kolar district. For the time being, the Bangalore North University would commence functioning from its Post-Graduation Centre in Kolar.

Each university is expected to have 200 affiliated colleges. All the three universities would include teaching and research activities.

The Bill related to splitting Bangalore University three-way, is expected to be passed in the State Legislature session that is likely to be held in July.

(Agencies)

US media highlight Modi govt's first year failures

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CHINA-INDIA-POLITICS-MODI

New York: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi- led government marks its first year in office on Tuesday, American media has taken a critical view of his accomplishments, saying his flagship ‘Make in India’ drive is “so far mostly hype”, job growth remains sluggish amid “outsize expectations”.

“India’s Modi at One Year: ‘Euphoria Phase’ Is Over, Challenges Loom,” reads a headline in the Wall Street Journal of an article on Modi’s first year as Prime Minister.

“A year after Indian voters handed Narendra Modi a once-in-a-generation mandate for change and economic revival, messy realities are sinking in,” the WSJ report said.

It said that Modi’s ‘Make in India’ drive, aimed at supercharging manufacturing growth, ” is so far mostly hype”.

It cited economic parameters like exports to say that the “economy is merely limping along”.

Inflation-adjusted lending for capital investment last year fell to a level not seen since 2004, it said adding that exports were down for the fifth straight month in April, corporate earnings were dismal and foreign institutional investors have pulled around USD 2 billion out of Indian stocks and bonds in May so far.

The New York Times, in a news analysis, said Modi must face the reality that much of his agenda is still only potential.

“From abroad, India is now seen as a bright spot, expected to pass China this year to become the world’s fastest-growing large economy. But at home, job growth remains sluggish. Businesses are in wait-and-see mode. And Modi has political vulnerabilities, as parliamentary opposition leaders block two of his central reform initiatives and brand him ‘anti-poor’ and ‘anti-farmer’,” the NYT article titled ‘After a Year of Outsize Expectations, Modi Adjusts His Political Course for India’ said.

It said “most formidable of all is a problem” Modi has “made for himself: outsize expectations that he would sweep away constraints to growth in India, like stringent laws governing labour and land acquisition.

The NYT quoted senior vice president at leading Indian garment exporter Orient Craft’s Vimarsh Razdan as saying that the Modi government’s “image became larger than they themselves.

“They have become superheroes. And everyone knows superheroes don’t exist,” he said in the report.

The WSJ article said that while Modi has swaggered across stages from New York to Paris to Sydney, helping put the country back on investors’ maps, “on other key fronts, Modi has moved less decisively, frustrating investors who hoped for bolder change after last year’s election.”

His government has avoided privatising state-run banks and companies, which could trigger unpopular job cuts.

Despite vows to improve India’s reputation for unpredictable tax collection, the government has hit investors with demands for back taxes they say they should not have to pay, it said.

The leading US dailies did give credit where due to the Modi government, saying as he marks the anniversary of his swearing in, he can point to some accomplishments.

The WSJ report said Modi has allowed more foreign investment in railways and defence and helped cut red tape.

His government has also deregulated fuel prices and permitted private competition in coal mining–“market-friendly moves designed to attract investment.”

His administration has also helped open millions of bank accounts for the poor and created new pension and insurance programs.

It quoted Krish Iyer, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores Inc in India, as saying that the company is “seeing a lot of progress in ease of doing business. We feel encouraged by the market- and consumer-driven policies of the government.”

The NYT analysis said chief executives feel that since Modi came to power, India’s business culture has “indeed changed”.

“They rejoice that they no longer have to notarize all documents submitted to the government and say that it is far easier to find bureaucrats at their desks during the workday,” it said.

“By most measures, India’s economy has had a good year,” the NYT report said adding that India is heavily reliant on imported oil, and plunging prices have cut the cost of government fuel subsidies, allowing the authorities to rein in a chronic budget deficit.

Inflation fell to 4.87 per cent in April and foreign direct investment has risen by more than 25 per cent, to USD 28.8 billion in the 2014-15 fiscal year.

It noted other “flurry of changes” that the Modi government introduced including deregulating prices for diesel, petroleum and cooking gas, and raising limits on foreign investment in the defense and insurance sectors to 49 per cent.

Coalfield leases, found to have been sold at artificially low prices, were reallocated through a transparent process as were telecom spectrum allocations, it said.

(PTI)

Black money: Names of Yash Birla, four others with Swiss bank accounts disclosed

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Yash Birla

Berne: Industrialist Yash Birla, along with two Mumbai-based individuals behind City Limousines scam, are among five Indian nationals with Swiss bank accounts whose names have been made public in Switzerland’s official gazette with regard to ongoing tax probes against them in India.

The others are Gurjit Singh Kochar, son-in-law of late realty baron Ponty Chadha, and a Delhi-based businesswoman Ritika Sharma.

The names of these five “Indian nationals” have been made public in Switzerland’s Federal Gazette with regard to details sought about them by the Indian authorities.

Among these, some details have already been shared by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) with India including about Birla and Sharma of Blessings Apparel.

These are in addition to the two other Indians – Sneh Lata Sawhney and Sangita Sawhney – whose names have also been made public in similar manner for being probed by the Indian tax authorities.

In the case of Sayed Mohamed Masood, being probed for a major ponzi scheme run from Mumbai through City Limousines, some details were shared by the Swiss authorities in the past. His accounts were also frozen a few years ago following a request from the Enforcement Directorate.

Fresh details about him and about Chaud Kauser Mohamed Masood have been sought by the Indian authorities, as per the notifications published in Switzerland’s official gazette.

There was no reply to queries mailed to Birla’s office, while repeated calls to Sharma did not elicit any response. Earlier also, when Birla’s name had come out in a leaked HSBC list of Swiss bank accounts, he had declined to comment.

A family representative declined to comment on the notification issued about Kochar, who is believed to be outside India. He is facing probe by the Income Tax Department and other agencies for quite some time. No contact details were available for comments from Masoods.

Making public these names, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) has asked them to file an appeal within 30 days before the Federal Administrative Court if they do not want their details to be shared with the Indian authorities under their ‘mutual assistance’ treaty on tax matters.

In the case of Birla and Ritika Sharma, whose details have been already shared by the Swiss authorities, the notifications also mention their addresses in India, but the information given to India has been withheld from the gazette.

No further details – other than their names and dates of birth – were made public for other “Indian nationals”.

Similar is the case for other foreign nationals including the British, Spanish and Russians. In case of American and Israeli citizens, their full names have been withheld and they have been identified by their initials and dates of birth. At least 40 such ‘final notices’ have been published in the Swiss Federal Gazette so far this month, while more such names are expected to be published going forward.

The alleged stashing of wealth by Indians in Swiss banks has been a matter of great debate in India. The Indian government has been pushing the Swiss authorities for a long time to share information on the suspected tax evaders, while Switzerland has shared some details in cases where India has been able to provide some independent evidence of suspected tax evasion by Indian clients of Swiss banks.

While there was no reply to queries mailed to the FTA spokesperson in this regard, these names are being published in the Swiss Federal Gazette in the backdrop of the Swiss government being flooded with requests on suspected black money hoarders in Swiss banks from various countries including India.

As per these notices, the concerned persons can file an appeal before the Federal Administrative Court within 30 days, while providing the reasons and evidence in their support. Through these gazette notices, the Swiss FTA is also looking to give the concerned persons an opportunity to resort to legal remedies. These are the persons about whom foreign governments are requesting information.

As per a report in the ‘Sonntagszeitung’ weekly, the Swiss authorities have been “inundated with requests for assistance” and the nations that wanted to know details about their suspected tax-dodging citizens included “France, Germany, Russia, India and half a dozen other countries”.

“Now, the authority will publish the names of those affected in the Federal Gazette, which is available to everyone on the internet,” it said, while adding that those being named may include “well-known personalities”.

As per the report, banks do not have much interest in contacting such customers as many no more hold the accounts.

It further said that questions have been raised about requests made by India and Germany being based on stolen data.

The report, however, quoted FTA’s Alexandre Dumas as saying, “We are never sure if they are stolen data. However, there is the principle of faith”.

Committing full support to India’s fight against the black money menace, Switzerland last week had said its Parliament would soon consider changes in laws to look into the possibility of sharing information in cases being probed on the basis of stolen data of Swiss bank accounts.

Switzerland’s Economic Affairs Minister Johann Schneider Ammann during his India visit on May 15 said that the Swiss government was sensitive to the fact that the issue of black money was very important for India and needed to be resolved.

“Switzerland has decided to follow international standards, including those framed by OECD, in sharing information and providing assistance to foreign countries probing such cases, but we have to ask our Parliament to make changes in our laws,” he said.

Indian Parliament has recently passed a new black money law under which those found to be stashing illicit funds in foreign locations, including Swiss banks, would face strict penal action, including up to ten years in jail and a penalty of 90 per cent of funds in addition to 30 per cent tax levy.

However, a one-time ‘compliance window’ will be provided before the law comes into force and this would let the persons with foreign assets to come clean by payment of 30 per cent tax and 30 per cent penalty.

(PTI)

Filmmaker Rupesh Paul makes waves at Cannes

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The Memoirs Of An Indian Geisha

Filmmaker Rupesh Paul is really making waves at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival with 2 of his films ‘The Monk Who Fucked The Limousine’ & ‘The Memoirs Of An Indian Geisha’. This time again Rupesh Paul has reached Cannes Film Festival with his 2 films namely ‘The Monk Who Fucked The Limousine’ & ‘The Memoirs Of An Indian Geisha’.

Incidentally speaking ‘The monk who Fucked A Limousine’ is based on the story of Delhi rape case ‘Nirbhaya – India’s daughter”. ‘The monk who Fucked A Limousine’ was screened for the buyers in the Marche du film section of Cannes. ‘The monk who Fucked A Limousine’ is produced by O. P. Rai, presented by Kala Niketan Entertainment & written by Sritama Dutta. The main lead of monk has been enacted by Omkar Das Manik Puri who was the lead of Oscar nominated movie ‘Peepli Live’. Although the people will not believe but the veteran filmmaker Rupesh Paul has decided to unblock one more buzz & talks by screening his new movies. Unexpected thoughts are the cup of tea of Rupesh Paul. The person who has made an out of the frame movie will be able to do justice with the story of India’s daughter.

Rupesh Paul

Whereas ‘The Memoirs Of An Indian Geisha’ is being produced under the banner of Rupesh Paul Productions Ltd. Geisha is the term which still needs a clarification. Known to be a girl for entertainment of men.

This time ‘Kamasutra 3D’ director Rupesh Paul is all set to release the trailer of his movie ‘The Memoirs Of An Indian Geisha’ at the Cannes Film Festival. The poster of ‘The Memoirs Of An Indian Geisha’ was launched at Cannes on 20th, May, 2015. And people were surprised & happy to see the posters. The story of the movie is all about the memories of a Geisha, as always Rupesh Paul has chosen an Indian girl to play the role of a Geisha. The girl who might have posed nude or semi nude in the film that would be awaited till the trailer comes out. ‘The Memoirs Of An Indian Geisha’ has been produced by Rupesh Paul Productions & executive producer is Akaash.

Rupesh Paul

In this movement of time where the big corporates like Viacom 18, UTV, Yash Raj Films couldn’t make it possible to manage there own booth at Cannes, the same was done by Rupesh Paul’s team. Rupesh Paul avers, “I survive in this industry just because of the content and the titles of the movie. Otherwise this big corporates would have eaten me before. For my survival I keep catchy & sensational titles. ‘Kamasutra’ has a record of getting the maximum number of sales in 2013 defeating all big companies. Cannes is the best way for me to talk about my films. The presence of the great & mighty bollywood in Cannes market is only EROS & Disney India apart from us.”

Dr Mohan Kumar, Indian brand ambassador is in Cannes too. He visited the booth of Rupesh Paul in France at cannes films festival. Rupesh Paul averred, “Dr. Mohan Kumar raised his eyebrows when he saw words like “The monk” & “Fucked” he instantly raised his eyebrows and showed a sign of disbelief. Later on he giggled for the word being used in the poster itself. He was curious to know about why I use these kind of titles for my movies . I explained to him, the reason behind getting a chance to showcase my films are only the titles of my films. My survival depends upon the content & the titles otherwise the corporate companies will vanish me.”

Earlier on Rupesh Paul had got 2 grand premiers in Cannes, ‘Saint Dracula’ in 2012 & ‘Kamasutra 3D’ in 2014.

BJP asks Siddaramaiah government to hand over Lottery Scam Case to CBI

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Photo: The New Indian Express

Photo: The New Indian Express

Bengaluru: A day after a senior IPS officer was suspended in connection with an alleged lottery scam, senior BJP leader and Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda said the probe should be handed over to CBI as “top officials and some ministers are involved in it”.

“…just because top officials and some of the senior leaders-ministers of the present government are involved in this (single-digit lottery scam) – I think this cannot be investigated by the police of Karnataka. If they are fair enough, they should refer the matter to the CBI so that there could be clean and neat investigation and truth comes out,” he told reporters in Bengaluru.

Alok Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police (West Bengaluru), was yesterday suspended for his alleged involvement in lottery scam.

A government order said yesterday, Mr Kumar had illegal contact with Pari Rajan, said to be the kingpin in the scam, and not only helped him but also interfered in the investigation process. Mr Rajan is already in police custody.

However, Mr Kumar has denied any kind of involvement in the case and demanded a fair investigation.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said the action was taken on the basis of a interim report submitted by the CID. Siddaramaiah who had held a meeting of senior police officials earlier this month, had ordered a CID probe into the alleged scam. He had also said that government would take strict action against those involved in the scam.

Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Suresh Kumar said it was a case of intelligence failure and questioned the intelligence wing for not keeping Siddaramaiah informed for two years.

“How can Home Minister escape from his responsibility? Why did our state intelligence not keep Chief Minister informed for two years? It is a case of intelligence failure, pure and simple. Here is an example of how to weakly handle Home Ministry,” he said.

Government had earlier suspended Dharanesh, Superintendent of Police (Lottery Squad) in connection with the case.

(PTI)

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