New Delhi: News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on News18 over its coverage and communalizing of the Hijab row in Karnataka. The channel is owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.

NBDSA has also said that the news anchor of the channel, Aman Chopra violated the Code of Conduct by linking panelists supporting the Hijab to Al-Qaeda.

Justice AK Sikri in his decision passed on Friday said that while the broadcaster was entitled to conduct debate on the issue after the Karnataka High Court’s decision, the problem lay with the narrative and tilt given to the program.

“NBDSA observed that while having a debate as to whether the wearing of a Hijab be allowed in the schools or not, there was no occasion to blow up the debate by making it a communal issue”, the order said.

The order was passed on a complaint by Tech Ethics and Safety professional Indrajeet Ghorpade filed in response to a program aired on News18 on April 6 in which the anchor, Aman Chopra, referred to the Muslim girl students as “Hijabi Gang”, “Hijabwali Gazwa Gang” and made allegations that they had resorted to rioting.

The Authority also recorded that Chopra had not only violated the guidelines and ethical standards but also failed to follow the decision of the Bombay High Court in the case of Nilesh Navalakha v Union Of India which calls for an anchor to apply his/ her mind and prevent the program from drifting beyond permissible limits.

“However, in the instant case, not only had the anchor failed to stop the other panelists from crossing the boundary but had given a platform to express extreme views which could adversely affect the communal harmony in the country,” said the order.

The NBDSA also directed News18 to take down the video of the offending program from its website and all platforms within 7 days. It told News18, if such violations are repeated in the future, the NBDSA might have to ensure the personal presence of anchor Aman Chopra before it.

Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor

Patna: Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Thursday hinted that he was receiving financial assistance for his ‘Jan Suraaj campaign’ in Bihar from his former clients, many of whom were now chief ministers of their respective states.

He made the candid disclosure at a press conference in Valmiki Nagar, a picturesque but remote forest reserve situated along the Indo-Nepal border, about 300 kms from the Bihar capital.

Kishor has been on a ‘padayatra’ since October 2 and intends to cover 3,500 km on foot, touching every nook and corner of his home state before his campaign evolves into a full fledged political party.

He was asked about the source of funding for his drive which is a matter of much speculation. JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, whose party had hired Kishor’s services long back, recently expressed apprehensions that the IPAC founder might be getting funds from the BJP, which lost power in Bihar two months ago following Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s abrupt exit from the NDA.

“In the last one decade, I offered my services for at least 10 polls and was successful in all but one,” recalled Kishor, who counts the UP assembly polls of 2017, in which his advices were allegedly ignored, as his only failure.

“At least six people I helped win are chief ministers now. I did not take money from them, though the media may not believe me. But now I am seeking their help for the experiment we are carrying out in Bihar,” said Kishor, who first shot to fame in 2014 when he managed the Lok Sabha election campaign of Narendra Modi.

The IPAC founder announced his retirement from professional political consultancy last year after he helped Mamata Banerjee pull off a sensational victory in West Bengal.

His other former clients include Arvind Kejriwal, M K Stalin and Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief ministers of Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh respectively, besides Amarinder Singh, whom he had helped win Punjab for the Congress.

He asserted, “I have not taken a single rupee from anyone in Bihar” and underscored that his campaign was bereft of expenses like helicopter rides, erecting huge daises, putting out advertisements and ferrying crowds.

“We are not yet a political party. But once we get there, a mere Rs 100 donation from two crore families across Bihar will help us raise an amount sufficient to put up a good fight at the hustings”, said the 45 years old who has ruled out the possibility of joining hands with any of the established parties.

Kishor, who evidently enjoys taking digs at Nitish Kumar and the latter’s current ally Lalu Prasad, both of whom had benefitted from his services when they had first joined hands in 2015, also remarked “the JD(U) and the RJD (Prasad’s party) have never been able to win Bihar on their own”.

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin

Chennai: A probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the Coimbatore explosion case would be recommended to the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government said here on Wednesday.

The state government also announced raising a special police force to foil sabotage and bolster its intelligence wing.

In a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister M K Stalin at the Secretariat, the present status of investigation related to the explosion was taken up and it was decided to set up a special force to prevent similar incidents.

On 23 October, 75-kg explosives were seized in Coimbatore from the residence of 29-year-old Jameesha Mubeen who was killed after a gas cylinder exploded.

The explosion happened while he was moving past a temple on a car in Tamil Nadu’s western textile city and he had allegedly tried to evade a police check post.

Senior officials of the NIA held discussions in Coimbatore on Wednesday with Tamil Nadu police over the explosion and the investigation.

Quoting Stalin’s directives to officials in the meet here, the government said it was decided to recommend to the Centre to entrust the case to the NIA.

The move is considering the possibilities of links transcending Tamil Nadu borders and the likelihood of international connections emerging during the investigation of the explosion case, an official release here said.

As part of measures to further strengthen security, the government said it would set up new police stations at the three localities of Karumbu Kadai, Sundarapuram and Koundampalayam in Coimbatore.

During Stalin’s review of the overall law and order and security scenario in the state, it was decided to install additional high-tech surveillance cameras in key cities of Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore.

The Chief Minister directed officials to post additional personnel in the intelligence wing and protect and encourage informers.

Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu, Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu and top state and intelligence officials took part in the high-level meeting.

Coimbatore was brought under a tight security cover, following the explosion in front of Kottai Eswaran Temple in the heart of the city in the communally sensitive Ukkadam area, on Deepavali eve.

In the meanwhile, over 100 BJP workers and sections of local people held a prayer meeting and lit lamps in front of the Lord Shiva temple to thank the presiding deity for protecting the city and its people from a “big disaster”.

Led by BJP Mahila Morcha president and Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, a group of women sat on the ground and lit lamps. Kottai Eswaran temple is formally known as Sangameswarar temple.

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been invoked in the Coimbatore explosion case and five men — associates of Mubin — have been arrested so far and the state police is currently probing the matter.

Mubin was quizzed by the NIA in 2019 in connection with a case on propagation of ISIS ideology. In 1998, Coimbatore witnessed bomb blasts.

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday told his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu that the Ukraine conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and the nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side.

In telephonic talks, Shoigu briefed Singh on the evolving situation in Ukraine, including his concerns about possible “provocations through use of ‘dirty bomb'”, the defence ministry said.

The conversation took place at the initiative of the Russian defence minister amid escalation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.

“Singh reiterated India’s position on the need to pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy for an early resolution of the conflict,” the ministry said.

“He pointed out that the nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side as the prospect of the usage of nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic tenets of humanity,” it said.

It said the two ministers also discussed bilateral defence cooperation as well as the deteriorating situation in Ukraine.

There has been intensification of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine with Moscow carrying out retaliatory missile strikes targeting various Ukranian cities in response to a huge blast in Crimea nearly two weeks back.

Moscow blamed Kyiv for the blast.

The Indian embassy in Ukraine has asked Indian nationals to leave the country at the earliest in view of fresh wave hostilities.

Ghaziabad (UP): A 35-year-old man was battered to death by a brick following a dispute over car parking opposite a hotel here, police said on Wednesday.

The victim has been identified as Varun, a son of a retired assistant sub-inspector of the Delhi Police and resident of Jawli village in the Teela Mor area.

The incident took place on Tuesday night when Varun had gone to a roadside eatery for dinner and parked his car near another car, the door of which could not open due to it.

This led to an altercation, after which Varun was beaten up brutally with a brick.

Severely injured, Varun was rushed to GTB Hospital for treatment where he died, ASP (Second) Gyanendra Singh said.

An FIR has been lodged on the complaint of the victim’s father against unknown assailants. Five teams of police have been deputed to nab the killers

NEW DELHI: For the first time, the turnover of the Khadi Village Industries Commission has exceeded a turnover of over Rs 1.15 lakh crore, thanks to massive growth in sales of its products.The KVIC comes under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Official sources said this is unprecedented for any fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company in the country. “This has happened on the back of high global demand for khadi and its products,” said the KVIC department.

India has recorded more than four times growth in the sale of khadi products in the last eight years, it said. “Globally in vogue, the fabric has found much favour with local and overseas customers especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the pitch for self-reliance,” it added.

The khadi fabric owes its popularity to its quality of being ‘warm in winter’ and ‘cool in summer’, besides carrying a pure patriotic fervour.“In 2021-22, the overall turnover of KVIC stood at Rs 1,15,415.22 crore as compared to Rs 95,741.74 crore in the previous year, recording a growth of 20.54 per cent,” the department said.

The record growth in sales of khadi products has happened despite a partial coronavirus-induced lockdown in the first three months of 2021.“Khadi products and clothes have gained popularity in 18 countries, including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Australia, Canada, Russia, Bhutan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, New Zealand, and many other European and West Asian countries,” said a senior KVIC official.

KVIC sources said that khadi’s phenomenal growth has been possible with the constant support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who always promotes the wider use of khadi across the country. As per sources, khadi items like trousers, shirts, and jackets from India have got greater popularity in overseas markets than other KVIC products.

“Khadi industry has not only extended its markets but has also created 1.75 crore jobs in the past eight years in India. Even during the Covid-induced lockdown, khadi masks were more in demand, giving an impetus to the employment of local artisans,” said an official.

HYDERABAD: Barely a week before the Munugode byelection, Cyberabad police on Wednesday night raided a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city and reportedly detained three persons for allegedly trying to lure four TRS legislators into the BJP

The MLAs in question — Guvvala Balaraju (Atchampet – SC), B Harshavardhan Reddy (Kollapur), Rega Kantarao (Pinapaka-ST) and Pilot Rohith Reddy (Tandur) — themselves tipped off the police, Cyberabad Commissioner of Police (CP) Stephen Raveendra revealed.

The detained have been identified as Ramachandra Bharati alias Satish Sharma, a priest from Faridabad in Haryana, Simhayaji, pontiff of Srimanatha Raja Peetham in Tirupati and Nandakumar, owner of a restaurant, Deccan Pride in Hyderabad. “The trio offered Rs 100 crore each to the TRS MLAs besides contracts and positions of power.

Briefing the media after the raid, the Police Commissioner too said they had received information that the trio were trying to entice the legislators with money, and contracts among other things to switch loyalties. “The information received was that they were holding consultations…. based on which we raided the farmhouse. We will take legal action against the accused,” he said.

The trio was caught red-handed at the farmhouse in Moinabad. The farmhouse reportedly belongs to MLA Pilot Rohith Reddy. Going by the developments, it seems the TRS has outwitted the BJP. Highly-placed sources confirmed to TNIE that even the State unit of BJP was unaware of the horse trading. “Delhi BJP leaders were overseeing this operation.. it was time-bound as they wanted the legislators to join the party at BJP chief JP Nadda’s public meeting in the State on October 31,” they said, adding that there was “tonnes of evidence” to prove BJP’s culpability.

The accused, Ramachandra Bharati, is said to be close to the RSS and was seen several times with top BJP leaders and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Nandakumar, on the other hand, is said to be close to Union Minister of State for Tourism G Kishan Reddy. TRS sources also revealed that the Delhi BJP leadership was in talks with multiple MLAs.

A senior pink party leader disclosed to TNIE that the Delhi BJP had been holding consultations with the four legislators for at least three weeks. It was learnt that the BJP leadership had first approached Rohith Reddy who informed TRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. “This is a shameless display of how the BJP has been using its ill-gotten money to destabilise an elected government. This time, they have been caught red-handed,” the senior leader said.

Rohith Reddy, Harshavardhan Reddy and Rega Kantha Rao won on Congress tickets in the 2018 Assembly elections and later joined the TRS. The Chief Minister will hold a press conference on Thursday where he is expected to present more evidence. It is learnt that some conversations are a part of the evidence in which there were references to a few top BJP leaders.

Meanwhile, TRS MLA Balka Suman said, “The TRS MLAs busted the conspiracy hatched by the BJP and exposed the saffron party. The entire country witnessed the conspiracy of the BJP.”He advised BJP leaders to do some good work in Telangana and win the hearts of the people, instead of resorting to horse-trading. The four MLAs, however, said they would speak to the media on Thursday only after consulting the TRS chief.

KCR to hold press conference

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will hold a press conference on Thursday where he is expected to present more evidence. It is  learnt that some conversations are a part of the evidence in which there were references to a few top BJP leaders. There was “tonnes of evidence” to prove BJP’s culpability in the matter, highly-placed sources told TNIE

Accused reportedly close to Shah, Kishan

The accused, Ramachandra Bharati, is said to be close to the RSS and was seen several times with top BJP leaders and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Nandakumar, on the other hand, is said to be close to Union Minister of State for Tourism G Kishan Reddy. TRS sources also revealed that the Delhi BJP leadership was in talks with multiple MLAs.