[Nasheman news] LucknowA delegation of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and its ally Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) met Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik at the Raj Bhawan on Wednesday and submitted a memorandum against the grounding of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport here.
The 15-member delegation, led by senior party leaders Ahmad Hasan and Rajendra Chowdhary, apprised the Governor of the development and registered their protest against what they termed was throttling of democratic and political rights.
BSP supremo Mayawati has already castigated the Yogi Adityanath government over the action and called it a conspiracy to thwart their political movement across the state.
Yadav was to take a private chartered flight to Prayagraj on Tuesday where he was to attend a students union event, which was disapproved by the Allahabad University officials.
The former Chief Minister was asked by district officials of Lucknow to go back to his home as the Allahabad administration had apprehended law and order issues if the SP leader visited the campus.
The incident had sparked protests across the state with SP workers disrupting traffic, taking to the roads and attacking government property.
Rizwan Asad chief editor of Nasheman News interviewing Prakash Raj
Amit Shah visited Goa to collect Rafale files from Parrikar’s bedroom: Congress
Nasheman News : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national President Amit Shah’s “real” mission during his Goa visit on Saturday was to take away files related to the Rafale deal from Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s bedroom, Goa Congress spokesperson Jitendra Deshprabhu alleged on Tuesday.
He also claimed that some of the documents related to the Rafale deal, which were leaked to the media over the last few days, could have been part of Rafale files which were stashed at Parrikar’s private residence.
“The Congress alleges that (Shah’s) Goa visit was to collect the files at Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s home… The files were taken away. Once the files are taken away, they (Shah and the BJP) can be at peace and they can then sack Manohar Parrikar, who can no longer blackmail the top leadership now,” Deshprabhu alleged at a press conference organised at the opposition party’s state headquarters.
He said a leaked audio tape, purportedly containing a journalist’s conversation with Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, had already confirmed that the former Defence Minister did keep files related to the Rafale deal in his bedroom.
The controversial tape, in which Rane is heard telling a yet-unnamed journalist that Parrikar during a recent cabinet meeting had said that Rafale files were stashed in his bedroom, had created a stir in Parliament in January.
Deshprabhu now alleges that Shah visited the state to collect the same clutch of files and had an unscheduled 45 minutes with Parrikar at the latter’s private residence, before eventually addressing a party booth workers’ meeting near Panaji.
He also alleged that some of the documents which were leaked to the media over the last few days came from the former Defence Minister’s residence.
“It is possible that a few documents have slipped from there. Because N. Ram (of The Hindu) is quoting documents. Documents are also being sourced from other places. Where are they coming from? Amit Shah’s job was to clear files from Parrikar’s bedroom so that their scam is not exposed,” he added.
Go and sit in the corner: CJI to CBI official
Nasheman News :“Go and sit in the corner,” Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi told former acting CBI Director M. Nageswara Rao, after holding him guilty of contempt of the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice was in no mood to listen to Rao’s explanations on the issue of transferring out Additional Director A.K. Sharma, who was probing the Bihar shelter home horror, without the court’s permission.
Rao and CBI’s in-charge of prosecution S. Bhasuran were held guilty of contempt of court for disobeying its order to not transfer out Sharma. They were also fined Rs 1 lakh each.
Refusing to accept the unconditional apology tendered by Rao on Monday, the bench, also comprising Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, directed the CBI officer to sit in the courtroom for the remaining working hours of the day.
“The dignity of the court must be maintained, but this is brazen,” Chief Justice Gogoi said.
Rs 2,000 aid to BPL families announced not eyeing elections’
Nasheman News : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Tuesday said the Rs 2,000 assistance to 60 lakh below the poverty line (BPL) families was not announced with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections.
On Monday, Palaniswami made the announcement to provide financial assistance to the BPL families in the state affected by the cyclone Gaja, drought and failure of rains.
Speaking in the Assembly, Palaniswami said many districts are suffering from drought and agricultural workers are not getting sufficient wages. People affected by the cyclone Gaja in several districts of the state don’t have jobs.
Taking these factors into account, the government announced Rs 2,000 financial grant to the BPL families, he said.
“The aid will be given to all the BPL families regardless of their political affiliation.”
He said the outlay for this will be Rs 1,200 crore and will be made in the supplementary demands for grants to be made this fiscal.
Swiggy launches ‘Stores’ platform for FMCG, medicine delivery
Nasheman News : In a bid to challenge the dominance of online fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) delivery platforms like Grofers and Big Basket, food delivery app Swiggy on Tuesday launched “Stores” – a platform to allow users to order groceries, medicines and other daily amenities.
“Swiggy ‘Stores’ extends the option of ordering food from nearby restaurants to ordering anything from any store across your city,” Sriharsha Majety, Co-Founder and CEO of Swiggy wrote in a blog-post.
With “Stores”, Swiggy aims to connect people to every store, retailer or brand – both online and offline – and deliver goods to people’s doorsteps.
“We’re taking our first step by launching across Gurugram and will deliver from over 3,500 stores across the city. We’ve already partnered with over 200 stores in categories such as fruits and vegetables to florists and pet care stores,” Majety added.
“Stores” platform has been made available within the main Swiggy app itself.
“We are launching ‘Stores’ in beta for now, while we fine-tune the service to make sure it meets the high standards that we at Swiggy hold ourselves to,” Majety noted.
Swiggy’s new platform comes amidst controversies ignited by hundreds of restaurant owners sending a petition to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleging wrongdoings by food delivery companies.
The petition, first reported in January, accused Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats and Foodpanda of misusing their dominant positions by engaging in practices such as deep discounting, in-house kitchens and internal sourcing.
Court nod for lie-detector test of Kalabhavan Mani’s friends
Nasheman News : A court here on Tuesday granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct lie-detector tests on seven friends of late actor Kalabhavan Mani.
On February 8, Jaffer Idukki, Sabumon and five others had presented themselves before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate, offering to undergo the tests as demanded by the CBI that was probing the popular actor’s death in 2016.
According to the guidelines, the test can take place only with the concurrence of those who are to undergo it.
Mani, 45, who acted in some 200 films in Malayalam and other languages, was admitted to a hospital in Kochi on March 4, 2016 for an alleged liver ailment. He died two days later.
Forensic experts said an insecticide (Chlorpyrifos) was found in the actor’s blood but the police failed to crack the case.
Mani was staying in a 30-acre farmhouse near Chalakkudy, away from his home, his wife and daughter, where these friends were believed to be present on the day the late actor fell ill.
After his death, the hospital authorities reported the presence of an organophosphate pesticide in the body, leading to speculation that Mani might not have died a natural death.
Ever since, his family has been running from pillar to post to ascertain the real cause. In 2018, the Kerala government too sought a CBI probe.
Karnataka BJP seeks judicial probe into audio tape
Nasheman News : The BJP’s Karnataka unit on Tuesday sought a judicial inquiry into the audio tape in which state Assembly Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar’s name figured in an alleged conversation between party leader B.S. Yeddyurappa and JD-S legislator Naganagouda Kandakur’s son Sharanagouda.
“The Speaker should order a House committee probe or judicial inquiry into the audio tape as we do not trust the (state) government to hold a fair probe by its police monitored SIT,” Bharatiya Janata Party MLA J.C. Madhuswamy said in the Assembly amid a ruckus between the ruling and opposition members.
Echoing Madhuswamy, another BJP MLA Suresh Kumar said his party feared a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe would lead to a witch hunt against its members.
“Hence, we urge a judicial probe into the audio tape,” Kumar told the Speaker.
On the Speaker’s directive, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday ordered the SIT probe into the audio tape he released on February 8 to expose Yeddyurappa’s alleged attempt to lure Kandakur to join the BJP.
The Speaker has asked for the inquiry report in the next 15 days.
Rejecting the BJP’s demand, Kumar said an SIT probe was desirable as a judicial inquiry would be delayed.
Kumar adjourned the House proceedings when the ruling and opposition members levelled charges and counter-charges during the debate on the issue.
Kabbadi player killed in road accident
Nasheman News : National-level kabbadi player Vikesh Kumar Rawat died after being run over by a truck in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district on Tuesday.
Rawat died instantly near the Blooming Buds school situated on the Deoghar-Dumka highway. The body was sent for post-mortem.
Expressing grief, kabbadi players in Deoghar said Rawat had to participate in the recruitment of the Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) at Bokaro on Wednesday.
Rawat had represented Jharkhand from junior to senior level in kabbadi games from 2011 to 2014.
Indian selectors to meet on Feb 15 to pick squad for Australia series; focus on workload management
Nasheman News : Two cricket World Cup wins in 44 years, yet the flame carried in the hearts and minds of savants in India burns. As a top tier team, India once again is in search of the Golden Fleece.
Workload management of the stars will be on top of the mind when the selectors meet in Mumbai on Friday to pick the squad for the white ball series against Australia.
The Indian team is set to play two T20Is and five ODIs against the Aussies in what is set to be the last set of international games that the boys get before going into the 2019 World Cup in England, starting on May 30. The only practice they will get after this is in the Indian Premier League.
The Selection committee will look at keeping the right balance as they would not only wish to give the senior guys ample rest before going into the showpiece event, but also wouldn’t want to give the Australians the upper hand in what will be the last series before the World Cup. India has been playing incessantly overseas and the fast bowling wolf pack has had no real rest.
BCCi sources said: “Workload management of the senior players will definitely be the main area of discussion as we all know that the Indians have been on the road and the selectors and team management have made a conscious effort to ensure that the players get ample rest between games and series. Like you saw, regular skipper Virat Kohli was rested for the back end of the New Zealand series. You might see Rohit Sharma rested for some games here.
“But it is also important to note that the Indians would want to keep the foot on the pedal and ensure that they don’t give the Australians any momentum going into the World Cup. A good series against India would mean a confidence booster for the team. So, there has to be a balance so that the composition of the team is not affected,” he explained.
While Rishabh Pant is almost certain to get more game time, it will be interesting to see if someone like Ajinkya Rahane gets one last go to seal a place in the World Cup squad. In the bowling department too, Jasprit Bumrah is almost certain to make a comeback after a well-earned rest during the New Zealand series.
In fact, head coach Ravi Shastri has already made it clear that players will be monitored even during the IPL.
“We’ve been in touch with the BCCI and CoA in this regard. We have certain plans in place and we’ll be looking to follow them. Usually, the two months of IPL are seen as relatively free months for me and I can just sit down and enjoy the cricket, watch out for new, young talents that keep emerging. But this IPL will be about monitoring the players, keeping the World Cup in mind,” he said in a recent interview.