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Archives for March 2016

Opposition, govt clash in Rajya Sabha over Art of Living event on Yamuna banks

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Ravishankar Art of Living

New Delhi: A united opposition in Rajya Sabha today slammed the Government for allowing Indian Army to be used for a private event of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living foundation, saying the event itself on the ecologically fragile flood plains of Yamuna was an environmental disaster.

Government sprung to the defence of the ‘Art of Living’ guru saying his intentions cannot be doubted as he was committed to protecting environment. The event is being organised with all permissions, it claimed adding that the issue cannot be raised in the House as it was being heard by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

But the members were not satisfied and rushed into the Well shouting slogans, forcing a brief adjournment.

Sharad Yadav (JD-U) and Ghulam Nabi Azad (Cong) gave notice under rule 267 seeking adjournment of proceedings to discuss the issue but the Deputy Chairman P J Kurien ruled that the former’s notice was not in order but he was allowing the issue to be raised as a Zero Hour submission.

Terming the construction of temporary structure on the flood plains of Yamuna for Art of Living World Culture Festival from February 11 to 13 as “destruction unseen in history”, Yadav said NGT had earlier given orders disallowing contruction activity on the ecologically fragile zone and DDA had cancelled permission twice.

He wanted to know “under what pressure was Indian Army deployed to build pontoon bridge for one person.”

Demanding immediate stoppage of the construction, he said, “What function is he (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) doing? Kya tamasha kar raha hai (what drama is he doing)?”
Kurien asked members not to criticise anybody who cannot come and defend himself in the House.

Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) asked “can Indian Army be roped in to assist a private function… it is highly irregular … for Army to be called in to create facilities for a private function.”

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Ravi Shankar was committed to environment protection and the programme was “being conducted with all permissions and is not illegal.”

Azad said he was not against ‘Art of Living’ foundation or any cultural festival but was concerned about environment, bio-diversity and ecology.

The government, rightly so, became a great champion of environment at the recent climate summit at Paris but what was happening in the capital was of concern, he said and asked why no environment clearance was taken for the function and “who issued permission to build pontoon bridge.”

(Agencies)

If I speak on the beef ban, I will lose my job, says Chief Economic Adviser

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Arvind Subramanian

Mumbai: Days after he warned of social divisions hurting development, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian today refused to answer a question on beef ban saying he did not want “to lose his job”.

“You know that if I answer this question I will lose my job. But thank you nevertheless for asking the question,” he said while interacting with students of the Mumbai University here.

He had been asked if the beef ban will have any adverse impact on the farmers’ incomes or the rural economy, and his matter-of-fact reply was met with a round of applause.

The remark by Subramanian, who is on leave from the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington since October 2014, comes days after he spoke about the adverse impact of social tensions on development.

“The way you react to social cleavages has a critical impact on economic development. India is a wonderful example. What have reservations done, what have they not done, what has religion done, what has it not done, illustrate the general principle that these things have a huge impact,” he had said during a lecture in Bengaluru.

Beef ban became a national issue after a man was lynched by a mob on the outskirts of the national capital last year on the suspicion of stocking beef at house.

(Agencies)

Unlikely to campaign for WB, Kerala polls, says Kanhaiya Kumar

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Kanhaiya Kumar

New Delhi: JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar, who walked out of Tihar on bail last week where he was lodged in a sedition case, on Wednesday indicated that he is unlikely to campaign in the upcoming West Bengal and Kerala Assembly polls.

“I have already said that mainstream politics is not my calling. I am a student and want to be a teacher after I finish my PhD. However, I will continue with activism even then.

“Two of my friends are still in jail, we have raised whole lot of issues ranging from Rohith Vemula case and now the Allahabad University row. There is so much to do for the students that it is unlikely for me to take that much time to travel for campaigning,” he told PTI.

After an electrifying speech of Kanahaiya at JNU, the CPM General secretary Sitaram Yechury had declared that Kanhaiya would be campaigning for Left parties in the Assembly polls.

However, he later stated that Kanhaiya will not travel to Kerala and Bengal to campaign citing the bail and other issues involved in making him poll campaigner.

The 29-year-old research scholar also hit back at Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu who had said he was enjoying free publicity after his release from jail.

“Naidu said that I and other JNU students are enjoying the publicity and should rather go study. I want to tell him what we are doing is activism but what his government is doing is politics. Does he know the difference between the two? He should know this before making such comments,” he said.

Post his fiery speech at the campus after he returned from Tihar after 18 days, Naidu had advised the student leader to focus on academics instead.

“Kanhaiya is getting free publicity and is enjoying it. Why are they getting into politics? If they are interested in politics, they can leave studies and join politics. Simple. Join your favourite party,” the BJP leader had said.

The Begusarai boy further said, “the entire country knows how difficult it is to get admission in JNU. Do they think we survive here without studying? Our motto is ‘study and struggle’, only the ones who are scared of the intellectual products of JNU call it politics”.

Kanhaiya also asserted that Naidu’s statement was “ironical” as he himself had started his career in politics as an ABVP student leader in 1973 after being elected as the students union president of Andhra University Colleges.

Kanhaiya was arrested on February 12 in a sedition case over an event on campus against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

While he was granted an interim bail for six months by Delhi High Court last week, two more students-Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya are still in custody in connection with the event.

Kanhaiya is now leading an agitation against the alleged branding of university as “anti-national”, release of his two friends, revoking of sedition charge and academic suspension of eight students including him.

(Agencies)

Modi unlikely to attend Art of Living event

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Narendra_Modi

New Delhi: Narendra Modi is unlikely to attend the Art of Living’s mega World Culture Festival organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Security concerns are being reportedly cited as the reason for Modi’s nonattendance.

According to news reports, the Special Protection Group, which provides security to the Prime Minister, has cited security concerns.

This agency reportedly fears a major stampede as there are no proper plans for emergency evacuation of the place.

The event is yet to get security, traffic, fire, and structural safety clearances. According to police officials, several issues were raised with the organisers but there was a serious lack of coordination.

He was scheduled to inaugurate the event on February 11.

(Agencies)

Bangladesh court upholds death sentence

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Mir Quasem Ali was convicted of murder and abduction during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.

Combatants who fought during the war of independence with Pakistan shout slogans. [Andrew Biraj/Reuters]

Combatants who fought during the war of independence with Pakistan shout slogans. [Andrew Biraj/Reuters]

by David Bergman, Al Jazeera

Dhaka: The top court upheld a death sentence on Tuesday imposed by the country’s International Crimes Tribunal on a leader of an Islamist political party for killing a freedom fighter during the 1971 war of independence.

In a short order read out by Chief Justice Surenda Kumar Sinha, the appellate division of the Supreme Court acquitted Mir Quasem Ali – a leader of Jamaat-e-Islami – of three other charges, including another offence that also carried the death penalty.

The court, however, upheld the convictions and sentences in six other cases.

So far, the International Crimes Tribunal – established in 2010 to prosecute those alleged to have committed war crimes during the bloody conflict with Pakistan – has convicted 24 people. Most convicted are leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, which in 1971 supported the military activities of the Pakistan military to stop Bangladesh’s secession.

Four men have now been executed.

“The appellate division has passed this judgment properly after scrutinising the facts, documents, materials and evidence in the court,” one of the prosecutors, Ran Das Gupta, told Al Jazeera. “The inspiration of the people has been fulfilled by this judgment.”

Jamaat-e-Islami called for a nationwide strike on Wednesday to protest at the verdict

Ali’s family questioned the ruling.

“The evidence presented against Mir Quasem Ali was self-contradictory and insufficient for a conviction,” said Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, Ali’s son. “Where the conviction itself has no basis, upholding of the death sentence is a travesty of justice.”

Lead defence lawyer Khandaker Mahbub Hossain said, “The judgment of the highest court of the law cannot be questioned. We will leave it to history.”

He added once the full written judgment containing the legal reasoning is published, the defence lawyers will consider whether to seek a review. Ali will be hanged within months unless a review reverses the ruling, or if he’s granted clemency.

MN Nahid Hossain, who came to the court to observe the proceedings, said “the whole country is satisfied with the judgment”.

The International Crimes Tribunal had ruled in its judgment in November 2014 that during the war Mir Quasem Ali was a leader of a pro-Pakistan militia, known as the Al Badr, and was in charge of a torture centre located at Dalim hotel in Chittagong.

The defence argued during Ali’s appeal that the prosecution’s own documents showed from the beginning of November 1971, when all the offences for which Ali was convicted are alleged to have taken place, the Jamaat leader was in the capital, Dhaka.

The tribunal and executions have divided Bangladesh and plunged the South Asian nation into its worst political crisis in years.

Movie Review: ‘London Has Fallen’, which has action unlimited, is a must watch for one & all

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london-has-fallen

Producers: Gerard Butler, Mark Gill Danny Lerner, Matt O’Toole, Alan Siegel & Les Weldon
Director: Babak Najafi
Star Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Alon Moni Aboutboul, Angela Bassett, Robert Foster, Melissa Leo & Radha Mitchell
Genre: Action Adventure
Verdict: GOOD

Plot: London Has Fallen is the sequel to the worldwide smash-hit Olympus Has Fallen. The story begins in London, where the British Prime Minister has passed away under mysterious circumstances. His funeral is a must-attend event for leaders of the western world. However, what starts out as the most protected event on Earth turns into a deadly plot to kill the world’s most powerful leaders, devastate every known landmark in the British capital, and unleash a terrifying vision of the future. Only 3 people have any hope of stopping it: the President of the United States (Aaron Eckhart), his formidable Secret Service head (Gerard Butler), and an English MI – 6 agents who rightly trusts no one.

Aces: Director Babak Najafi has maintained the suspense and the tempo of the film with some witty one – liners thrown in. Amongst the brigade of the actors Gerard Butler (who also doubles up as one of the producers) & Aaron Eckhart lend some credibility to the movie. But pray what was an acclaimed actor like Morgan Freeman doing in this part of London.

Minuses: Not much of a plot to follow, but it really doesn’t need one. Anyways the end result is that London Has Fallen is almost like a run – of – the – mill action fare.

Last Word: This entire trip to London is enjoyable to some extent. So don’t get your hopes too high and you won’t be terribly disappointed.

Movie Review: All in all ‘Sarpanch Bhagirath’ is a meaningful fare

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Sarpanch Bhagirath

Producer: Shivkumar Lad
Director: Ramdass Phutane
Star Cast: Upendra Limaye, Veena Jamkar, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Kishore Kadam, Swarangi Marathe, Savita Malpekar, Jaimala Inaamdar, Vijay Joshi, Mira Umap, Vasant Avsarikar, Uday Lagu, Anand Panse & Jaywant Wadkar
Genre: Social Drama
Verdict: AVERAGE

Plot: Sarpanch Bhagirath tells the story of Rahi Girme and Bhagirath Girme, the OBC village headman. And also of the 6000 plus castes of this country and one of the millions of voters who are tangled in the caste system. God – The Almighty has created only two genders, xx and xy. But man has created a 3rd gender called ‘caste’. And Sarpanch Bhagirath raises a pertinent question as to who will abort that.

Aces: The thoughtful intention behind making this film is laudable and the director Ramdass Phutane and his entire coterie of actors too deserve a special praise for doing justice to their roles to best of their ability.

Minuses: Too many subplots like the caste problems, the reservation problems in lieu with the OBC grievances mar the flow of the movie. And music too is another distraction.

Last Word: Sarpanch Bhagirath is a film meant for the rural masses. Single theatre audiences may appreciate the movie but it is certainly not a film for the multiplex audiences.

Woman allegedly gang-raped by three including GP member’s husband

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rape

Bengaluru: In yet another rape shocker reported on Woman’s Day, a 36-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by three men, including husband of a GP member, at HSR layout police station limits in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The woman, resident of E Krishnappa Colony, in her complaint said that the trio forcefully entered her house and raped her in front her adolescent son and even filmed the incident.

Santhosh Reddy, husband of a local GP member and two others were taken into custody by the police, following a complaint.

(Agencies)

Plea in SC for restraining Vijay Mallya from leaving India

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Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today agreed to hear tomorrow a plea filed by a consortium of 17 PSU banks seeking a direction that industrialist Vijay Mallya be restrained from leaving India.

“List it for hearing tomorrow,” a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit said, when Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for PSU banks, mentioned the matter for urgent hearing.

Rohatgi said that the plea has been moved by 17 banks, including State Bank of India, against Mallya whose various firms have taken loan from them.

He also said that the dues run into thousands of crores.

(PTI)

Govt was forced to listen to people: Rahul Gandhi on EPF tax withdrawal

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rahul gandhi

New Delhi: As the government rolled back the controversial proposal to tax EPF withdrawal, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday mounted a fresh attack on it, saying the attempt to tax the safety net of the middle class was “morally” wrong.

The Congress Vice President, in a series of tweets, said the government was forced to listen to people and roll back the “patently unfair” tax on EPF.

“Finally the Govt was forced to listen to people and roll back the patently unfair tax on EPF.

“But the attempt to tax the safety net of millions of hard working middle class people was morally wrong and shows this Govt’s anti-ppl mindset (sic)”, he said on the micro-blogging site.

In the face of all round attack, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday completely rolled back the controversial proposal.

He made a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha during which he also announced withdrawal of imposing monetary limit for contribution, of employers to provident and superannuation fund of Rs 1.5 lakh for taking tax benefit.

Terming as “big victory” for people of the country the roll back of the proposal, Congress said Modi once again “quickly and meekly” caved into the pressure exerted by Rahul Gandhi.

Congress spokesman Sanjay Jha tweeted “Modi, ONCE AGAIN, quickly/ meekly caves in to pressure exerted by @OfficeOfRG, fighting for the common man. #EPF(sic)”.

Party’s chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala termed it as a “big victory” for people of the country.

“Modi government was forced to withdraw the anti-people measure in the wake of nationwide protests of the salaried class. It is a big victory of people (sic),” he said on the micro-blogging site.

(Agencies)

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