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Rahul Gandhi and Congress apart, triple anti-incumbency looms as major threat to Narendra Modi’s return in 2019

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BJP is hopeful of bettering its 2014 Lok Sabha performance in 2019. It has formed governments in 13 states which have held elections after May 2014 and retained two states. Along with its allies, the party now rules 20 states which send 63 percent of total MPs to the Lower House. Narendra Modi’s approval ratings remain high and he enjoys a lead of over 30 percent versus Rahul Gandhi in India Today Mood of the Nation Survey.

However, all is not hunky dory for the party. BJP has lost four Lok Sabha by-polls held in 2018, all in the Hindi heartland. The Opposition has smelled blood and Congress is leading discussions to form a grand alliance. Whereas, regional parties like TMC and TRS have initiated a discussion to form a Federal Front. Amidst this background, a number of commentators have started questioning BJP’s ability to repeat its historic performance in 2019.

PM Narendra Modi with Hazrat Syed Muhammad Ashraf Ashrafi at the opening ceremony of the World Islamic Sufi Conference in New Delhi.


These alliances, formed purely on an anti-Modi plank, may not worry the prime minister at this stage too much.

While it is no mean feat to lead a majority government at the Centre, having chief ministers in two-third states and 274 MPs in Lok Sabha — the highest tally of any party since 1984 — could act as a double-edged sword. In addition to this, BJP now has 35 percent of all India MLAs and controls many municipalities across the country. This heightens the risk of BJP facing triple anti-incumbency in 2019. It is the biggest threat to Modi making a comeback in 2019 in my opinion.

Hazare’s strike enters day 4, aide claims he lost 4 kgs

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Social activist Anna Hazare has lost 4 kgs, his aide claimed, as his indefinite hunger strike entered its fourth day. Hazare’s blood pressure, however, is normal, his close associate Datta Awari said.

Hazare has been on an indefinite hunger strike since March 23 to press for his demands, including the appointment of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states. His 2011 agitation had led to the passing of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013, but the Centre is yet to appoint an ombudsman.

This time Hazare is also demanding the government give better Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) to farmers to address agrarian distress.

Kapil Sharma is back, and how

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So he is back, after all. The naysayers and party-poopers are biting their nails. To his credit, Kapil Sharma has adopted a completely new format for his comeback, and viewers don’t get to see even a shred of the earlier shows, except the sexist quips.

So switch on your television sets again because Kapil Sharma is back.

“Family Time With Kapil”, which kick-started on Sony Entertainment on Sunday evening, is fun to watch… If you like game shows where people, who would normally not be caught doing such things, are seen balancing playing-balls between their derriere.

The tempo was preserved to the end, and Kapil’s old colleagues Kiku Sharda and Chandan Prabhakar provided able support. No one missed the spoilsports from Kapil’s earlier shows who have chosen to their separate way. And yes, Navjot Singh Sidhu was also back on the show, though I am not very sure what his function would be this time.

Sidhu did get his judge’s chair, though. Old habits die hard. And who knows this better than Kapil?

But who cares? As Kapil said at the start, “Game toh ek bahana hai, har family ko saath jutana hai. (The game is just an excuse, the idea is to bring families together.)”

There were digs galore about Kapil’s mishaps during the past year, and Sidhu even slipped in a dig about the comedian’s flopped big-screen plans.

I had fun watching Kapil’s comeback timing. I can see families switching on to the show, for no better reason except to see Kapil act naughty. At one point, he asked a member of the audience why he didn’t bring his wife on the show.

“Insha Allah agli baar aapke liye laaonga biwi ko,” said the over-enthusiastic guest.

“Aapki biwi aapko mubarak ho,” Kapil remarked.

No offence meant. Let the fun begin. Even Ajay Devgn, who came on the show, seemed to enjoy himself.

Three stars for this one.

(IANS)

Smriti takes dig at Rahul amid data breach allegations

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Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani on Monday took a swipe at Congress President Rahul Gandhi amid allegations that his party had shared user data with a Singapore-based firm from its official app “WithINC” that has now disappeared from the Google Play Store.

Irani tweeted to Gandhi, asking him if his team had misunderstood his demand to get Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “NaMo” app deleted and instead removed “WithINC” from the Google store.

“Ye kya Rahul Gandhi ji. It seems your team is doing the opposite of what you asked for. Instead of deleting NaMoApp, they have deleted the Congress App itself,” Irani said, posting screen shots of the play store that shows the Congress app is not available.

She asked the Congress chief if he would care to answer “why Congress sends data to Singapore servers which can be accessed by any Tom, Dick and Analytica”, referring to the British firm that was at the centre of a storm for illegally accessing Facebook user data for political purposes.

The minister’s remarks came after the Congress described the allegations of its involvement in the data breach baseless.

The Congress said the “WithINC” app was being used for social media updates alone since transitioning the membership to the website.

“This morning, we were forced to remove the app from the Playstore as the wrong URL was being circulated and people were being misled. The “WithINC” app is a membership app and has not been in use for over five months since we moved membership to http://www.inc.in from 16th Nov 2017,” the party said in a series of tweets.

Amid allegations and counter allegations, Gandhi also accused Modi of misusing his position to build a personal database with the data of millions of Indians via the NaMoApp promoted by the government.

“If as PM, he wants to use tech to communicate with India, no problem. But use the official PMO APP for it. This data belongs to India, not Modi,” Gandhi said hitting out at Modi and the BJP after the ruling party accused the Congress of sharing users’ data with a Singapore-based firm.

Caught between devil & deep-sea, BJP is a greater evil: Bhushan

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By David Bodapati

Lack of transparency in electoral funding and donations to political parties is destroying the moral fabric and values in India, said Prashant Bhushan and urged for a cashless funding for political parties. Deploring the unprecedented assault on the values and democratic institutions of India by the ruling government, anti-corruption crusader Prashant Bhushan gave a clarion call to the foot soldiers of Swaraj Abhiyan and other movements interested in social justice, equality and democracy to connect and engage with the people at grassroot level to end corruption and wage a relentless war against its many vicious facets in electoral politics.

Eminent Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is also the president of Swaraj Abhiyan, a social movement and a political forum to restore the rights of the citizens of India, spoke at length about the `Politcal Corruption and Dangers to Democracy’, a talk organised by Swaraj Abhiyan and Jana Sangrama Parishat here on Sunday.

Later addressing the Media, he said: “In Karnataka things have come to a passe. DK Shivakumar and the likes of Kheni have joined Congress, which ignored the corruption cases against them. The BJP has Mr Yediyurappa, as their face in Karnataka as CM candidate and leader of the election campaign despite indictment in many cases by Lok Ayukta and CBI. The parties have all been partners in crime, but the people are stuck.”

“Though it is a choice between the deveil and the deep sea, BJP is a far greater evil in Karnataka,” he exhorted commanding all democratic forces to join in advocating for transparent, corruption-free governance ahead of the Assembly Elections. He pooh-poohed the tainted Reedy brothers joining the BJP campaign despite their bleak and black record in the mining looting that went on for years in the State.

“All the democratic institutions are being destroyed. Central Vigilence commission, Central Bureau of Investigation, Media, et al. Bringing the allegedly corrupt and those with tainted history as saviours of corruption has eroded the existence of the watchdogs of corruption,” he added. For a long time the CVC three-member team was largely vacant. After a petition was filed in the SC that the vacancies were not filled, members with questionable integrity were nominated. Likewise, the Special Director of the CBI appointed by the BJP government had an ongoing investigation against himself, he revealed citing the appointment of Rakesh Asthana, an 84 batch IPS officer from Gujarat, who himself was under the scanner of CBI.

The respected lawyer, who along with Yogender Yadav is spearheading Swaraj India, the new political outfit advocating for clean and honest politics, also exposed the BJP governments finance bill last year which nullified the limit of 7.5 percent of profit of corporates that can be funded to political parties. “When we are talking about transparency in funding to political parties, the Electoral Bonds have become an instrument of changing black money to white. They are bearer bonds with no name or serial number,” he said quoting a Rafael deal that priced the machines three time over. “Bonds are given to a party and they cash it. And no one knows where the money came from, even if it is a clear kickbacks on the deals.” Is the government that promised to bring back the Black Money, actually promoting Black Money, the Kala Dhan, he questioned!

The Bengaluru based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is replaced by a bogus one-year old Ambani firm `Reliance Defence’ for the Rafale deal and they protect the corruption by invoking a `secrecy agreement’ with the French government, which appears ridiculous for me when you are talking about the public money laundering to the tune of 10,000 crores of rupees. “I have written a book on Bofors, compared to Rafale it’s chicken-feed,” the legal expert felt.

The celebrated public figure known for his no-nonsense and honest approach broached several other topics like proprtional representation, Lokpal, Santosh Hegde’s report in Karnataka, unending scams of Nirav Modi, Choksi and Mallya, and patiently replied to the questions of the Media, who flocked to the hall attended by over 200 audience.

Hiremat of Jana Sangrama Parishat, who spoke about the corruption and need to cleanse the political system in Karnataka, chaired the meeting. Nisha Gulur, a transgender leader from Swaraj Abhiyan and a founder member of Swaraj India anchored the programme in Kannada.

Pratima Nayak, State Committee member of Swaraj India, film actor Kishore and others from Swaraj Abhiyan and Jana Sangrama Parishat were also present.

Mr Bhushan left for the Youth4Jobs programme in the city after a quick and well-attended press conference.

Swaraj Abhiyan’s political wing, the Swaraj India, recently launched the all India farmers MSP Satyagraha agitation from Yadgir with Yogender Yadav launching the combined movement for farmers. The party is expected to announce its manifesto and the first list of 7 to 10 candidates in a few days for the Karnataka Assembly elections including the support to a couple of independent candidates after the loss of their respected farmers’ leader Puttanaiah. The former Sarvodaya Party leader and farmers voice was the only sitting MLA of Swaraj India in Karnataka before he passed away.

SC seeks Centre’s response on challenge to polygamy, nikah nama

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Seven months after declaring instant triple talaq unconstitutional, the Supreme Court (SC) today agreed to examine the constitutional validity of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ in the Muslim community.

The SC noted that the five-judge bench which examined instant triple talaq – and pronounced their order in August last year – had kept open the issues of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’.
The SC today issued notices to the Centre and the Law Commission asking them to make their stand clear on a batch of petitions asking the two practices be abolished. Polygamy is the practice of being married to more than one woman. Nikah-halala is a practice intended to curb divorce. Under it, a man cannot remarry his former wife without her having her go through the process of marrying someone else, consummating that marriage, getting divorced and observing a separation period called Iddat.
One petitioner, a Hyderabad-based lawyer, has contended that while Muslim law allows a man to have multiple wives by way of the temporary marriages or polygamy, the same permission is not extended to women and therefore the law violates the fundamental rights of Muslim women.
Another petition, filed by a Delhi-based woman, has said that by virtue of the Muslim Personal Law, section 494 of IPC (marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife) was rendered inapplicable to Muslims and no married woman from the community has the avenue to file a complaint against her husband for the offence of bigamy.
In a historic decision last August, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court by 3:2 majority struck down triple talaq, or instant divorce, as unconstitutional. While then Chief Justice J S Khehar and justice S Abdul Nazeer held triple talaq to be part of fundamental right to religion of Muslims and said it was not unconstitutional, Justices Kurian Joseph, R F Nariman and U U Lalit said triple talaq violated the fundamental right of Muslim women as they are subjected to arbitrary irrevocable divorce through this practice.

Big Boss Modi likes to spy on Indians: Rahul

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “Big Boss who likes to spy” and accused him of recording audio, video and tracking user location through GPS from his mobile app.

“Modi’s NaMo App secretly records audio, video, contacts of your friends and family and even tracks your location via GPS (Geo-positioning System). He’s the Big Boss who likes to spy on Indians,” Gandhi tweeted.

“Now he wants data on our children. 13 lakh NCC (National Cadet Core) cadets are being forced to download the app,” he said, urging the people to delete the Namo App from their smartphones.

The Congress chief’s remarks comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) earlier on Monday accused him of sharing users data with a Singapore-based firm.

Earlier, the BJP had accused the Congress of compromising national security by roping in London-based political data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica to run its 2019 election campaign. The firm is allegedly involved in social media data manipulation.

53 killed in Russian shopping mall inferno

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At least 53 people, including 11 children, were killed and 16 people were reported missing in a massive blaze that broke out at a shopping mall in Russia’s Kemerovo city, according to authorities.

The bodies were recovered early Monday morning, Russian Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told Sputnik news.

Twenty people have been rescued and about 100 others evacuated.

The fire at the Winter Cherry (Zimnyaya Vishnya) shopping mall erupted on Sunday afternoon on the top floor of the four-storey building engulfing an area of some 1,500 sq.metres, reports TASS news agency.

There has been no official information on the cause of the fire.

Amid conflicting reports, some have described the source of the fire as the children’s playground, suggesting that the trampoline there caught fire after a child allegedly misused a lighter, reports RT News.

Another version suggests that electrical wiring at the playground had short-circuited.

The fire has been contained and a criminal investigation has been launched.

Russian Deputy Emergencies Minister Vladlen Aksyonov said: “Two out of three cinema halls caved in from the fourth to the third floor of the building.”

A group of children from a school in Terescevsky were at a movie theatre near the centre of the blaze.

According to local KP News, some of the trapped children called their families from inside the theatre.

“Tell mom that I loved her. Tell everyone that I loved them,” a 12-year-old girl told her aunt before her phone switched off.

The mall with an overall area of 23,000 square.metres was opened in 2013. It has a parking lot for 250 cars, shops, a bowling alley, a children’s centre, cinemas, food courts and a petting zoo.

Steve Smith, David Warner to stand down for the rest of Test

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Steve Smith and David Warner will stand down as captain and vice-captain for rest of Australia´s third Test match against South Africa, Cricket Australia said Sunday as it investigates a ball-tampering scandal.

There have been growing calls for Smith to be sacked as captain after he admitted being the mastermind of a premeditated plan to change the condition of the ball on the third day of the Test in Newlands on Saturday.

“Following discussions with Steve Smith and David Warner they have agreed to stand down as captain and vice-captain respectively for the remainder of this Test match,” CA chief James Sutherland said in a statement. Sutherland said Tim Paine would step in as acting captain for the remainder of the Test.

“This Test match needs to proceed, and in the interim we will continue to investigate this matter with the urgency that it demands,” he added. “Both Steve and David will take to the field today under Tim’s captaincy.”

Sutherland earlier Sunday announced an investigation into the scandal, which has plunged Australian cricket into crisis and resulted in widespread condemnation at home, including from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

CA’s head of integrity Iain Roy and head of team performance Pat Howard were flying to South Africa to conduct the investigation. “All Australians, like us, want answers and we will keep you updated on our findings, as a matter of priority,” the CA head added.

Television footage had showed Smith’s teammate Cameron Bancroft, 25, taking a yellow object out of his pocket while fielding in the post-lunch session and appearing to rub it on the ball. He was later charged with attempting to change the condition of the ball. Smith, 28, has earlier said he would not quit as he felt he was still “the right person for the job”.

Harbhajan Singh Angry At ICC, Slams It For Letting Off Cameron Bancroft With Just A Fine For Ball Tampering

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India spinner Harbhajan Singh today slammed the ICC for letting off Australian opener Cameron Bancroft with only a fine of 75 percent of his match fee and not a ban, despite his role in the ball tampering scandal in the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

Harbhajan recalled the 2001 South Africa Test where five Indians — Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Shiv Sunder Das and Deep Dasgupta, apart from him, were banned for at least a Test by match referee Mike Denness for various offences. He also referred to the 2008 Sydney Test against Australia, infamously described as Monkey gate, where he was banned for three Tests for an alleged racial slur against Andrew Symonds.

“wow @ICC wow. Great treatment nd FairPlay. No ban for Bancroft with all the evidence whereas 6 of us were banned for excessive appealing in South Africa 2001 without any evidence and Remember Sydney 2008? Not found guilty and banned for 3 matches.different people different rules,” he tweeted. Former England captain Michael Vaughan too was critical of ICC’s decision.

“1 Match Ban & 100 % March fee Fine for Smith #ffs … 75% match fee fine for Bancroft and some bloody Demerit points for Bancroft … Pathetic penalties for CHEATING … Surely this moment was the time to set a precedent … !!?? All the team should be penalised,” he wrote in his handle. Australia captain Smith was today handed a one-match suspension and fined 100 percent of his match fee after he owned up to a ball-tampering conspiracy in South Africa.

However, opener Bancroft was fined 75 percent of his match fee and handed three demerit points for breaching Level 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the third day’s play. The incident that led to the charges being laid took place during South Africa’s innings yesterday afternoon when Bancroft was seen on television holding a foreign object while rubbing the ball, before hiding the yellow object in his pocket, then inside his trousers.

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