[Nasheman news] New DelhiPresident Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi along with many others from across political lines paid homage to former Union Minister George Fernandes, who died on Tuesday after prolonged illness.
Modi called the 88-year-old long-time socialist a “fiery trade union leader”, who resisted the Emergency “tooth and nail”, while Kovind described him as a “champion of democracy”.
The President said he was distressed to learn of Fernandes’ death, who served India in many capacities, including as the Railway and Defence Minister.
“He epitomised simple living and high thinking. And was a champion of democracy, during the Emergency and beyond. We will all miss him,” the President’s office tweeted.
Modi said the former Minister represented the best of India’s political leadership.
“Frank and fearless, forthright and farsighted, he made a valuable contribution to our country. He was among the most effective voices for the rights of the poor and marginalised,” he said in a tweet. “Saddened by his passing away.”
The Prime Minister said the former Samata Party leader fought for justice, and could humble the mightiest of politicians at the hustings; a visionary Railway Minister and a great Defence Minister who made India safe and strong.
He said Fernandes never deviated from his political ideology during his long years in public life.
“He resisted the Emergency tooth and nail. His simplicity and humility were noteworthy. My thoughts are with his family, friends and lakhs of people grieving. May his soul rest in peace,” Modi said.
On Facebook, Gandhi said: “I am sorry to hear about the passing away of former Parliamentarian and Union Minister, George Fernandesji. My condolences to his family and friends in this time of grief.”
With the demise of Fernandes, India has lost a stalwart of its socialist movement, said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Twitter.
“He led many labour movements and fought against the injustice towards them… May his soul rest in peace,” he said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is the Janata Dal-United chief and has worked closely with Fernandes for three decades, described his death as the “loss of the tallest socialist leader”.
All official programmes of the Bihar Chief Minister were cancelled for the day.
Former JD-U chief Sharad Yadav remembered Fernandes as “a rare leader, who fought for working people for years”.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee tweeted that she was “very saddened” at Fernandes passing away and recalled him as the “much admired trade unionist”, whom she had known for decades.
Other senior JD-U leaders K.C. Tayagi, party state president Vashist Narain Singh and former Minister Shayam Razak also condoled the death.
Fernandes was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and had been out of the public eye. He was been bedridden for more than eight years, family sources said.
Fernandes rose to political prominence when he led the Bombay Taxi Unions Association and defeated S.K. Patil, a Congress heavy-weight in the 1967 general election.
A fire-brand and hardworking Fernandes, only 37 then, campaigned tirelessly, covering large swathes of the constituency with his workers getting a 48.5 per cent of the votes.
Fernandes later joined the Janata Dal. He served as Railway Minister in the V.P. Singh government from 1989 to 1990. He was instrumental in setting up the Konkan Railway project, connecting Mangalore and Bombay.
In 1994, Fernandes formed the Samata Party, which later allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
He was appointed convenor of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and served as the Defence Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government for two terms, between 1998 and 2004.
His term was eventful as it witnessed the Kargil War and the Pokhran test.
Archives for January 2019
Ex-Union Minister George Fernandes dead at 88 (Lead)
[Nasheman news] New Delhi Former Defence Minister George Fernandes, long-time socialist and a trade unionist, who fought the Congress all his life died on Tuesday after prolonged illness. He was 88.
Fernandes, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, has been out of the public eye and has been bedridden for more than eight years, family sources said.
He had a cold and cough and was taken to the Max Hospital in Saket by his wife, Liela Fernandes, earlier in the day, when doctors said that the veteran leader was already dead.
His son, who lives in New York, is expected back in a day or two, after which the funeral will take place, the sources said.
Fernandes, a long-time socialist, rose to political prominence when he led the Bombay Taxi Unions Association and defeated “uncrowned king of Bombay” S.K. Patil, a Congress heavy-weight in the 1967 general election.
A fire-brand and hardworking Fernandes, only 37 then, campaigned tirelessly, covering large swathes of the constituency with his workers. And when the results were declared, he unseated the ‘king’ with 48.5 per cent of the votes.
Fernandes later joined the Janata Dal. He served as Railway Minister in the V.P. Singh government from 1989 to 1990. He was instrumental in setting up the Konkan Railway project, connecting Mangalore and Bombay.
In 1994, Fernandes formed the Samata Party, which later allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was appointed convenor of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and served as the Defence Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government for two terms, between 1998 and 2004.
His term was eventful as it witnessed the Kargil War and Pokhran test.
Facebook to launch transparency tools for electoral ads in India
[Nasheman news] New Delhi Facebook will launch transparency tools for electoral ads in India next month to help prevent foreign interference and make political and issue advertising on its platform more transparent.
Advertisers will need to be authorised to purchase political ads and the social networking giant will give people more information about ads related to politics and issues.
“We will create a publicly searchable library of these ads for up to seven years. The library will include information on the range of the ads’ budget, number of people they reached and demographics of who saw the ad, including age, gender and location,” Samidh Chakrabarti, Director of Product Management, Civic Engagement at Facebook, said in a blog post on Monday.
Facebook said it is planning to set up two new regional operations centres, focused on election integrity, located in its Dublin and Singapore offices.
“This will allow our global teams to better work across regions in the run-up to elections.A
“These teams will add a layer of defence against fake news, hate speech and voter suppression, and will work cross-functionally with our threat intelligence, data science, engineering, research, community operations, legal and other teams,” explained Katie Harbath, Global Politics and Government Outreach Director at Facebook.
The company said it will continue to expand its third-party fact-checking programme which covers content in 16 languages.
“We have rolled out the ability for fact-checkers to review photos and videos in addition to article links, because we know multimedia-based misinformation is making up a greater share of false news,” said Facebook.
The company said it will organise a series of workshops over the next six months in Singapore, Delhi, Nairobi, Berlin, New York, Mexico City and others, inviting experts and organisations who work issues such as free expression, technology and democracy, procedural fairness and human rights.
One-way traffic on Jammu-Srinagar highway
[Nasheman news] Jammu One-way traffic will move on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on Tuesday from Srinagar to Jammu, a traffic department official said. No vehicle will be allowed in the opposite direction.
“Traffic from Qazigund will move onwards after 1 p.m. as many trucks moving towards Srinagar as per Monday’s schedule have not crossed the Jawahar Tunnel yet,” he added.
Reports also said a fresh landslide has hit the road at Anokhi Fall in Ramban district and clearance operation was underway.
The strategic highway was closed for six consecutive days and was partially restored from Jammu to Srinagar on Monday.
Indonesia Masters: Saina crowned champion as Marin withdraws after injury
Nasheman News : Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal was crowned champion of the Indonesia Masters 2019 on Sunday after her opponent Carolina Marin pulled out of the summit clash due to an injury.
Marin, the reigning Olympic champion and three-time world champion, twisted her right knee after landing awkwardly following a smash in the first game itself.
The Spanish shuttler was leading 10-4 before her discomfort and pain made her pull out of the mega final.
Saina was the runner-up in the 2018 edition of the Indonesia Masters.
Rayudu banned from bowling in international cricket
Nasheman News : India’s Ambati Rayudu has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after the part-timer’s action was reported during the first ODI against Australia earlier this month, the ICC announced on Monday.
“The International Cricket Council today announced that Ambati Rayudu has been suspended from bowling in international cricket,” an ICC statement read.
“The player elected not to submit to a test of his bowling action within the stipulated period of 14 days of being reported for a suspect action, and therefore he has been suspended with immediate effect in accordance with clause 4.2 of the ICC regulations, which can be found here.”
“The suspension will remain in place until he is tested, and can demonstrate he is able to bowl with a legal action,” it added.
The 33-year-old India player was reported on January 13 for a suspect action during the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia in Sydney.
The ICC also announced that Rayudu may however continue bowling in domestic cricket without being tested.
“However, according to Article 11.5 of the Regulations and with the consent of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Rayudu may be allowed to bowl in domestic cricket events played under the auspices of the BCCI,” the statement further read.
3rd ODI: Clinical India outclass New Zealand to clinch series
Nasheman News : India rode on another all-round show to thrash New Zealand by seven wickets in the third ODI at the Bay Oval here on Monday and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match rubber.
This is India’s first ODI series win in New Zealand in a decade. The Men-in-Blue last achieved the feat under Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2009.
Chasing a below-par 243, India lost opener Shikhar Dhawan after a breezy 28 off 27 balls, but fellow opener Rohit Sharma struck his 39th ODI fifty to lay the foundation in the company of the skipper Virat Kohli, who also got to his 49th ODI half century.
Rohit (62 off 77 balls; 4X3, 6X2) and Kohli (60 off 74; 4X6, 6X1) forged a 113-run second wicket stand to ease the work for the middle order, weakened by the absence of the in-form former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was left out of the playing XI after suffering a hamstring injury.
Rohit appeared the more aggressive in the second wicket stand, stamping his authority over the Kiwi bowlers and smashing them all over the park before racing to his half century and taking India’s total to the three figures.
Kohli wasn’t left much behind and the Delhi right-hander gradually matched his partner shot by shot to eventually get to his fifty even as the India total swelled past the 150-run mark.
Just when the duo looked set to take the men-in-blue to another easy win, left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner deceived Rohit with a flighted delivery to be stumped only for the second time in one-day internationals.
Three overs later, Kohli also followed Rohit back to the dressing room after being spooned by Henry Nicholls at cover off Trent Boult, leaving the untested middle order to fetch another 76 runs from 113 balls.
The new pair of Ambati Rayudu (40 not out) and Dinesh Karthik (38 not out) showed no nerves and went about the business in their customary fashion.
While Rayudu, who was on Monday suspended by the ICC from bowling in international cricket, started off aggressively, Karthik was welcomed by a bouncer and the Tamil Nadu stumper didn’t look back from there on, playing his natural game and eventually sealing off the deal in India’s favour.
Earlier, pacer Mohammed Shami starred with the ball taking three wickets to help India overcome veteran Ross Taylor’s defiant 93 and Tom Latham’s 51, and restrict the hosts to 243 in 49 overs.
Shami accounted for the wickets of opener Colin Munro (7), Taylor and Ish Sodhi (12) while fellow quick Bhuvneshwar Kumar accounted for the scalps of the other opener Martin Guptill (13) and Trent Boult (2).
Electing to bat on a slow track, New Zealand once again lost the momentum quite early after the cheap dismissals of the openers before skipper Kane Williamson (28) and Taylor steadied the ship with a brief 33-run third wicket stand.
The middle overs witnessed comeback man Hardik Pandya (2/45) and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/51) ripping through the Kiwi middle and lower order even after Taylor and Latham were engaged in a 119-run fourth wicket stand.
Barring that, New Zealand fans had hardly anything to cheer for as the tail also failed to wag as the innings eventually ended in the penultimate over.
Both the sides will now move to Hamilton for the fourth match on Thursday.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 243 (Ross Taylor 93, Tom Latham 51; Mohammed Shami 3/41, Hardik Pandya 2/45, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/46) lose to India 244/3 (Rohit Sharma 62, Virat Kohli 60, Ambati Rayudu 40 not out; Trent Boult 2/40) by 7 wickets.
Will always be ‘big brother’: Shiv Sena on alliance with BJP in Maharashtra
Bharatiya Janata Party’s warring ally Shiv Sena on Monday said that it would the big brother in alliance with the saffron party in Maharashtra and will stay the same.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting chaired by party chief Uddhav Thackeray, the Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP and chief whip in Parliament, Sanjay Raut, reiterated that the party will play the role of a big brother if an alliance is made for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
On reports of BJP and Shiv Sena to fight on an equal number of seats, Raut said, “There is no proposal from the BJP to form any alliance with the Shiv Sena. Those who wish to forge an alliance with us are talking about it. We are not waiting for any proposal to be offered to us”.
Raut also said that the party wanted the income tax threshold to be raised from the existing Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh.
“Uddhav Thackrey Ji said on the 10 per cent EWS quota to General Category that people with annual income of 8 lakh must be exempted from paying Income Tax. Since you have labelled them poor, they must be exempted,” he said.
At the meeting held in Thackeray’s Matoshree residence in Mumbai’s Bandra, with party MLAs and MPs in attendance, the Sena also took some other key decisions.
During the meeting, Thackeray also discussed the drought situation and farm distress in the state with party legislators, Raut said.
Till 2014, the BJP and Sena, allies for long, used to have an understanding under which the former would contest a larger share of Lok Sabha seats and the latter would get a greater number of Maharashtra Assembly seats to fight.
In this way, both parties took the role of the elder and younger sibling in the general and state polls in their political “brotherhood”.
The 2014 Assembly polls, however, ended this “sibling” agreement as the BJP, on the back of a strong Narendra Modi wave and contesting alone, won 122 seats against the Sena’s 63 in Maharashtra.
The BJP went on to form a government in the state under Devendra Fadnavis and the Sena had to contend being the junior partner.
Agencies
Siddaramaiah manhandles woman for questioning his performance
Siddaramaiah is seen snatching a mic from the woman which results in her dupatta coming down.
Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost his cool while interacting with a woman on Monday. A video of the incident has gone viral.
In it, Siddaramaiah is seen snatching a mic from the woman which results in her dupatta falling down.
The Congress leader was furious with something that the woman had said and did not even seem to realise what just happened. Siddaramaiah then asked her to shut up and sit down.
The incident took place in Mysuru.
The woman in question was complaining about the lack of developmental work in the constituency. Angry over her questions, the honourable former chief minister leaped forward to pull the mic from her hand.
The news of Siddaramaiah misbehaving with the woman comes just two hours after Siddaramaiah preached Union minister Ananth Kumar Hegde about public decency.
In a tweet, Siddaramaiah said: “Ananth Kumar Hegde is not fit to be an MP. He should apologise and resign immediately for his insensitive comments towards @dineshgrao and also for his provocative statements aimed at creating social conflicts.”
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to slam Siddaramaiah for his act. The BJP called him a modern day Dushashan (brother of the Kuravaa king Duryodhan who outrgaed the modesty of Draaupadi in Mahabharat). The BJP said the present JDS-Congress governmnet in Karnataka is no different from the rule of the evil Kauravas in Mahabharat.
“He is Siddaramaiah threatening and abusing a women openly. Demon Dushashana is finally reborn and (has) resumed power in the governmnet of Karnataka,” the Karnataka BJP said in a tweet.
“This is how Congress-JDS treats women,” the BJP said.
On the other hand, the Congress has justified Siddaramaiah’s action. Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao told news agency media that at times people start behaving in a rough manner while asking question and you want to pull the mic from them.
Agencies
Ranji Trophy: Pujara’s ton takes Saurashtra to the brink of victory
Nasheman News : An unbeaten 201-run partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson against hosts Karnataka on Sunday brought Saurashtra to the verge of sealing a Ranji Trophy final berth.
Chasing a moderate target of 279 runs, Saurashtra suffered a top-order collapse before Pujara (108 batting) and Jackson (90) put on a rescue act with their side now just 55 runs away from victory with seven wickets in hand.
The visitors were once reeling at 23/3, thanks to pacer Vinay Kumar, who struck twice to pack off Vishvaraj Jadeja (0) and Snell Patel (0). However, Pujara and Jackson’s sensible batting not only repaired the damage but also took Saurashtra to the brink of victory with the fifth and final day left.
Saurastra were 224/3 when stumps were drawn for the day.
Earlier in the day, Karnataka resumed from the overnight score of 237/8 and could add just a couple of runs before being bowled out.
Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja starred with the ball for Saurashtra with figures of 5/78.
Brief scores: Saurashta 236 all out, 224/3 (Cheteswar Pujara 108 batting, Sheldon Jackson 90 batting; Vinay Kumar 2/48 ) need 55 runs to win vs Karnataka 275 and 239 all out (Shreyas Gopal 61, Mayank Agarwal 46; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 5/78)
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