Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for Nasheman

Nobody becomes EC without political approach: Akhilesh

by


Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said that nobody becomes an Election Commissioner “without political approach”.

“People don’t get appointed there (Election Commission) without political approach. Since I too have been a Chief Minister, I know it,” Yadav said at the NDTV youth conclave here when asked if he trusts the Election Commission’s neutrality.

“A list of the proposed names comes (to the appointing authority). So, ultimately, they (appointees) have to pass through a political process. We may say from outside that the commission is neutral, but it does pass through a political arrangement,” the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister added.

Yadav pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a rally in Baghpat less than 24 hours before polling in neighbouring Kairana and Noorpur by-polls in Uttar Pradesh in May but the EC did not stop him.

He said that the rally could have influenced the voters in the adjacent constituencies.

Speaking about EVMs, Yadav said: “The trust has been breached, and I was the first to flag the issue. We can only request the EC to explain to political parties as to how it restores the EVMs that develop snag.”

The Samajwadi Party leader advocated the use of ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) for free and fair elections.

“If ballot papers are used, people’s anger would be vented and the trust-deficit with the EVMs will also be healed,” he said.

The Samajwadi Party leader also said that the nation must be “saved from the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)”.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is visible. But we have also to fight the one which is invisible. It was the RSS that spread false propaganda on the ground against the Samajwadi Party during the Assembly elections… the RSS creates gulf between different castes and communities,” Yadav said.

He said that the road to PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) passes through Uttar Pradesh and he and other like-minded parties would ensure that the BJP is defeated in the state in the next Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

“If the BJP is stopped in Uttar Pradesh, it will be stopped nationally… if anyone can stop the BJP, it is the regional forces,” Yadav said.

“I will all be for the alliance and will not hesitate to go back two steps, if needed (for the grand alliance). I will not back off,” he said, adding that the Congress as a national party ought to have a “large heart” on the alliance.

“Their (Congress) responsibility is bigger as it is a national party. They need to take the regional parties along,” he said.

(IANS)

After floods, Kerala Tourism gets first international charter

by


The money-spinning Kerala tourism industry celebrated quietly on Sunday after receiving the first chartered flight of tourists this season following the devastating floods.

The flight with 46 tourists from Australia landed at the Cochin International Airport here on Saturday night.

The heavy rains and unprecedented floods that shattered the state, leaving hundreds dead and thousands homeless and causing widespread destruction, led to numerous cancellations by tourists.

“Our efforts have already started paying off. Most of our tourist destinations are ready to welcome the visitors from India and abroad. The state government has accorded top priority to restoring roads leading to tourist places,” said Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran.

Kerala’s total direct earnings from the sector in the last calendar year touched Rs 26,000 crore, up from Rs 23,098 crore, a growth of 12.56 per cent.

Speaking to IANS, E.M. Najeeb, who heads the Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI), said it was a friend who organised the charter flight from Australia.

“They have planned a 21-day trip to India and had cancelled the three-day Kerala leg. When I came to know of it, I promised that they will have nothing to worry about in Kerala.

“By now 90 per cent of the damaged infrastructure has been put back to place,” said Najeeb.

Meanwhile, the 10th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) will be held here from September 27 to 30.

“The response has been huge. Close to 400 overseas buyers and 1,095 domestic buyers have registered to take part,” said Baby Mathew, President, KTM Society.

(IANS)

Fuel prices to drop in Karnataka: CM HDK

by


CM H D Kumaraswamy plans to slash taxes on fuel and is said to have directed the finance department to take necessary steps to reduce duty on petrol and diesel by at least Rs 2 to Rs 2.50 per litres.

The decision is expected to roll out on soon.

Kumaraswamy, had in his budget announced on July 5, had raised the tax percentage on petrol from 30 to 32 per cent and on diesel from 19 to 21 per cent. By this, the petrol rates were increased by Rs. 1.14 and diesel Rs. 1.12.

Rupee tracking closer to its fair value, say experts

by


The Indian rupee is “tracking closer to its fair value” and the scope for further rapid depreciation appears unlikely, though the time is appropriate for policy interventions to anchor negative sentiments, experts said on Saturday.

“Currently, the rupee is tracking closer to its fair value as per our fair value computation. From here on, the scope for rapid depreciation appears unlikely,” Yes Bank’s Group President and Chief Economist Shubhada Rao said.

The Indian rupee on Friday closed at 71.85, recovering 34 paise from its previous close of 72.19 per greenback.

She, however, said policy interventions are required to anchor the “negative sentiments”.

“The government and Reserve Bank can make policy interventions now. If it does not, the expectations get un-anchored. It is very important to anchor the expectations and time is appropriate to do it,” she said on the sidelines of an event organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

According to her, there could be short term measures to contain the trade imbalance. In order to stop further depreciation of the rupee and widening of current account deficit (CAD), the government on Friday took some measures and a broad policy decision to curb non-essential imports and increase exports.

International Monetary fund (IMF) Senior Resident Representative for India, Nepal, Bhutan, Andreas W. Bauer, said as per their assessment, the real exchange rate level is “broadly in line with the fundamentals”.

Citing a study prepared by the lender, Rao said the recent phase of relative depreciation has reduced the misalignment of the Indian rupee from fair value based on real effective exchange rate (REER) rebased to FY12.

Estimated overvaluation is likely to have reduced to 3.7 per cent in August from 9.9 per cent in the corresponding month last year, she said.

(IANS)

Urdu version of Modi’s book ‘Exam Warrior’ launched

by


An Urdu version of the book ‘Exam Warrior’ penned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was launched here on Saturday, officials said.

The book was launched at a function organised by the India Islamic Cultural Centre. The event was attended by three cabinet ministers, film actors and hundreds of school children.

The book, which was launched earlier this year, already has versions in 14 languages including Hindi and English. Urdu is the 15th language in which the book has been published.

Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and MoS for PMO Personnel Jitendra Singh attended the launch, along with film actors Rishi Kapoor, Annu Kapoor and filmmaker Muzaffar Ali.

“No one else could have written this book. Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister to have come from the ground-level after many years….We have spent many decades in a feudal hangover,” Singh said at the event.

In praise of Urdu, he said there are many people who are not able to read Urdu script but want to read it, and for them it is not unlikely that an Urdu version written in the Hindi script may be launched in future.

Javadekar, who had recently launched the Telugu translation of the book, said that it is not only for children but for parents also who unnecessarily pressurise their children during exams.

The book, which has 25 chapters in all with lessons on how to beat stress during examinations, was distributed to all school children present there.

Anand to be star attraction at Tata Steel rapid blitz in November

by

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand will be the star attraction at the Tata Steel Chess India rapid and blitz tournament to be held here from November 9-14.

Anand, 48, said here on Saturday that he would return to the city to play in a GM competition after a gap of 32 years.

“I remember playing my first GM tournament in Kolkata in 1986 — that was also a Tata Steel event here. I was an International Master then,” Anand said during the announcement.

“I have played occasionally in India. But to have fellow top 10 players here, I am very happy and excited to be part of it. It will be a super tournament.

“I hope this tournament will revitalise chess in India. We now have a lot of chess fans in India who follow chess but its always happening somewhere else, some other time zone. This will be an excellent chance for them to come and enjoy like when the World Championship happened in Chennai, a lot of people saw an event live. This will be the same thing,” he added.

The USD 40,000 prize money tournament will feature three top players in the 2800-plus Elo rating, it was announced.

The top players include Azerbaijan GM and world number three Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Armenian GM and world number six Levon Aronian, the USA’s GM Wesley So who is world number 9, Japanese-American GM and four-time United States champion Hikaru Nakamura who is world number 14 and Russian GM Sergey Karjakin (world number 15).

Anand regained some form at the Sinquefield Cup that ended in August in St Louis, US.

The first Indian to become a chess GM, Anand went undefeated in the tournament, though he did not manage any wins either, and finished sixth out of 10 participants.

Anand is part of the Indian contingent for the Chess Olympiad later this month. It will be his first appearance in the tournament since 2006.

Apart from the Indian chess wizard, the Indian GMs include P Harikrishna, Surya Sekhar Ganguly, Vidit Gujarati, Nihal Sarin, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa as a total of 11 top-ranked players will compete in the meet at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

The participants will play a single round robin (all play all) rapid tournament from November 9-11 followed by a double round robin blitz on the last two days.

(IANS)

Shutdown in Telangana town over Dalit man’s killing

by


A shutdown was imposed in Telangana’s Miryalguda town on Saturday over the murder of a Dalit man in an apparent case of honour killing.

Shops and business establishments remained closed in the town in Nalgonda district, about 150 km from Hyderabad.

Dalit organisations took out rallies, demanding justice for the family of 23-year-old Pranay Kumar, who was hacked to death on Friday as he was coming out of a hospital along with his wife Amrutha Varshini, with whom he had an inter-caste marriage six months ago.

They were in love since their school days and had married against the wishes of the girl’s parents. Since then, he was facing threats to his life, according to informed sources.

Amrutha, who is five-months pregnant, told reporters that her father Maruthi Rao is behind the murder. She said he had been tracking their movements.

The police have reportedly arrested Rao, who allegedly hired a killer to murder Pranay. Amrutha’s uncle T. Shravan was also detained.

CCTV cameras near the hospital captured the gruesome crime. Scanning of CCTV images of the last few days by the police also revealed that the killer had conducted a recce of the area.

(IANS)

HC seeks clarification from BBMP on Kannada lang in name boards

by


The Karnataka High Court sought response from the BBMP’s on a petition challenging the civic body’s circular asking businesses to reserve 60% of space on their name boards for Kannada.

The Retailers Association of India challenged the BBMP order seeking all licensed retailers to ensure 60% of display in Kannada language on their name board in bold letters and 40% in other languages.
However, the HC asked the association as to promote the Kannada language in educational institutions and not in commercial establishments.

It also added that promoting languages cannot be done by keeping name boards as a medium.

The order had rules mentioned and had warned that retailers would lose their trade licences if they failed to abide by the norms. However, they asked the court to quash the order, saying it was illegal, arbitrary and against the provisions of the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976.

The court asked the BBMP to submit a reply on the sustainability of its order, and adjourned the case.

(PTI)

Modi launches ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ movement, says more cleanliness achieved in 4 years than in previous 65

by


Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched “Swachhata Hi Seva” (cleanliness is service) movement by interacting with common people and personalities from diverse fields through video conferencing at 17 locations and said the country has achieved more in sanitation coverage in the last four years than that in the last 60-65 years.

The interaction, stretching about two hours, included with industrialist Ratan Tata, actor Amitabh Bachchan, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and spiritual leaders Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Maa Amritanandamayee, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Dadi Janki, besides devotees from Ajmer Sharif dargah and Patna Sahib Gurudwara.

Modi performed “shramdaan” (manual labour) at Babasaheb Ambedkar Higher Secondary School in Delhi after his video interaction. An official release said the Prime Minister drove to the school and back in normal traffic without customary protocol and no special traffic arrangements were made for his visit.

The Swachhata Hi Seva movement aims at boosting public participation in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and is being organised in the run-up to the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission on October 2 next month, which will also mark the commencement of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.

In his remarks during video conferencing, Modi said cleanliness coverage was 40 per cent in 2014 and it now has grown to over 90 per cent on account of people’s efforts.

“Who could have thought that we will progress so much in cleanliness coverage in the last four years that could not be achieved in the last 60-65 years. Could anybody have thought that nine crore toilets will be built in the country in four years? Had anybody imagined that about 4.5 lakh villages, over 450 districts and 20 states and Union Territories will become open-defecation-free (ODF) in four years?” he said.

Modi said the day marks a new resolve, new enthusiasm and a new dream. “Today 1.25 crore citizens are going to repeat the pledge of cleanliness is service. From today till October 2, we all will contribute with new energy and enthusiasm to make the country clean,” he said.

“We can say with pride that every section, every community, every caste, people of every age are taking this big campaign forward. Whether it is village, city, street or a corner, no part of the country is untouched by the campaign,” he added.

Modi said that toilets can be provided and efforts made for proper waste management, but cleanliness is a habit which has to be included in daily experience. “This a yagna for change in behaviour in which all of you are taking part.”

He said the name of “swachhagrahis” (cleanliness workers) will be written in golden letters when history of this movement is written.

“The way the freedom fighters and martyrs are viewed with respect, your contribution will also be remembered with the same respect as a true inheritor of revered Bapu’s legacy, because you have become a soldier in efforts to rebuild the country, save lives of the poor and restoring the country’s image in the world.

“There is immense power in 125 crore citizens, our enthusiasm is on the rise and our pledge is to achieve success,” he said.

The Prime Minister interacted with school children from Dibrugarh in Assam, members of milk and agriculture cooperatives assembled in Mehsana, personnel of ITBP from the high-altitude Pangong Lake in Ladakh, women swachhagrahis from Dantewada in Chhattisgarh and Salem in Tamil Nadu, citizens from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh and Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, volunteers engaged in cleaning the Ganga from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh and railway employees from Rewari in Haryana.

Yogi Adityanath, who was in Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, said during the video interaction that the state would become ODF by October 2, 2019, and his government had constructed over 1.36 crore toilets in the last 17 months.

He said cleanliness was a distant dream for 99,000 villages of the state four years ago and only about 25 lakh toilets were built in the state by the previous Samajwadi Party government in about two-and-a-half years since the launch of the “Clean India” campaign on October 2, 2014.

Amitabh Bachchan said he found TV to be an “effective way to spread the message of cleanliness” and people should focus on ensuring their immediate surroundings are clean.

Ratan Tata said sanitation and cleanliness are important factors in ensuring good health of people.

“To be a strong India, the foundation has to be strong and that foundation is the health of our people. We can reduce and eliminate several diseases if we support the Swachh Bharat movement,” he said.

(IANS)

US Warns the World Against Going to Business With Iran, But May Squeeze India Into Waiver List

by

The United States has warned of having a “fundamentally different set of rules” to deal with the countries continuing to have economic activities with Iran after its sanction against Tehran becomes fully operational on November 4.

Make no mistake about it, come November 4 (and) there will be a fundamentally different set of rules with respect to anyone who deems it necessary to engage in economic activities with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters at a news conference here Friday.

In the absence of any waiver or concession from the Trump Administration, it could have major implications for India, which is one of the biggest importers of Iranian oil and is currently developing the strategic Chabahar port.

Officials of the two countries are having an ongoing discussion on both the issues. This includes the meeting between the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department. The meeting took place immediately after Pompeo’s press conference.

“There are still a number of decisions pending before the November 4 deadline that we’ve got to make about waivers or potential waivers, and we’re working our way through each of them, Pompeo said.

India is one of the countries which is likely to get some waiver, given the strategic nature of Indo-US ties, the strategic importance of the Chabahar port and its burgeoning energy needs.

India, on its part has already started reducing its oil intake from Iran, but is unlikely to bring it down to zero.

You can see many countries already taking actions to move out of Iran, to discontinue doing business with them in advance of the November 4 deadline, Pompeo said in response to a question, adding these countries understand the seriousness of the US sanctions.

Pompeo said they also appreciate that trading with Iran is “supporting the exact kinds of malign activity that President Donald Trump has been talking about since the first day he took office.”

The various “malign activities” that the US Secretary of State listed included alleged supply of missiles by Iran to Houthis to launch into Gulf countries airports.

These activities further included “the activities we have seen taken by Shia militias against American interests or the assassination efforts underway in the heart of Europe,” said Pompeo.

The world is beginning to see that the challenge is much bigger than anything that the JCPOA even pretended to have addressed, he said.

Pompeo said he has also seen the statements “the Iranians have said this week.”

They’ve said, boy, if we end up withdrawing, we’ll start from a much higher level. I may have the quote off just a little bit but I’m very close. Wow, what does that say about the existence of the agreement, right?

“They’re going to start from a much higher level. It tells you that the agreement itself didn’t stop all the paths to nuclear weapons in the way that it was sold to the American people,” he said.

During the news conference, Pompeo slammed the former Secretary of State John Kerry for having talks with the Iranian leadership.

What Secretary Kerry has done is unseemly and unprecedented. This is a former secretary of state engaged with the world’s largest state sponsor of terror. He was talking to them. He was telling them to wait out this administration, Pompeo said.

You can’t find precedent for this in US history, and Secretary Kerry ought not to engage in that kind of behavior. It’s inconsistent with what foreign policy of the United States is, as directed by this President, and it is beyond inappropriate for him to be engaged in this, he said.

I wasn’t in the meeting, but I am reasonably confident that he was not there in support of the US policy with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran, who this week fired Katyusha rockets toward the United States embassy in Baghdad and took action against our consulate in Basra, Pompeo said.

 

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives