BHOPAL:  Music label Saregama on Sunday said the company will change the lyrics and the name of the song ‘Madhuban mein Radhika nache’ after Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra alleged that the video of the track has hurt Hindu religious sentiments. 

Earlier in the day, Mishra set a three-day deadline for actor Sunny Leone and composers Sharib-Toshi to remove the ‘Madhuban mein Radhika nache’ music video and apologise or face legal action.

The minister’s warning had come after priests in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, protested against the video. “This is yet another incident where vidharmi (heretics) are making a mockery of our religion and hurting sentiments of Hindus in the name of art and creativity. Radha is a goddess for us (Hindus) and we’ve temples dedicated to her. Why don’t Sharib-Toshi dare to make a video song pertaining to their own religion?” the minister told journalists in Bhopal.

This isn’t the first time the MP minister had issued an ultimatum to makers of serials, web series and advertisements allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments. Earlier, he had announced that comedians including Munawar Faruqui, Kunal Kamra and Vir Das won’t be allowed to perform in the state. 

Meanwhile, two Hindu right wing outfits tried to burn an effigy of Sunny Leone here accusing her of “indecent dance” and hurting their religious sentiments in a music video, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday when the activists belonging to the two bodies tried to burn the actor’s effigy objecting over song “Madhuban”.

The song shares a few words of its lyrics with the iconic ‘Madhuban mein Radhika naache re’ song from 1960 film ‘Kohinoor’.

The activists belonging to ‘Srikrishna Sena Sangathan’ and ‘Yuva Brahmin Mahasabha’ were stopped in the act with assurance of an FIR in the matter, a police officer said.

“Surveillance cell has been requested to stop obscene dance scene in the song,” Vrindavan SHO Ajai Kaushal said.

No FIR was lodged in the matter till late Sunday evening.

During their protest, when the activists could not burn the effigy, they crushed it under their feet.

“On the assurance of action against the actor and producers, the plan of burning the effigy was withdrawn,” Sanjiv Singh Baba, national president, Srikrishna Sena Sangathan said.

Last week, a section of priests in Vridavan too had expressed objection over the video.

Akhil Bhartiya Tirth Purohit Mahasabha of Vrindavan has now extended its demand and has sought action against people behind the video produced by music label Saregama.

The producer, director, and financer should also be booked for the “offense”, Mahesh Pathak, the body’s national president said.

GUWAHATI: A mob of youngsters, suspected to be from a right wing organisation, created a ruckus during the celebration of Christmas at a Presbyterian church in Silchar town of southern Assam’s Cachar district on Saturday night.

After making their way into the church, the boys said they had no issue with the Christians celebrating Christmas but demanded the Hindus present there must leave the place at once saying that they had no business to be there.

The mob was livid that the Hindus were at the church when they were expected to celebrate “Tulsi Diwas” that coincided with Christmas. The local media reported that the youth, who had saffron scarfs wrapped around their neck, had allegedly manhandled the crowd and beat up one as they were forcing the Hindus vacate the church complex.

Cachar SP Ramandeep Kaur said it was a “small” incident. “There was an open and community Christmas celebration. Apart from Christians, there were people from other communities participating in the celebration,” the SP said.

She said that the mob said that Hindus should not participate in the celebration of Christmas. “We have not received any formal complaint so far. However, legal procedures against the people involved are being undertaken,” she added.

Last year, the Cachar administration filed a case suo moto after a right wing organisation had asked the Hindus against visiting any church in the district on Christmas day or face dire consequences.

DEHRADUN: After state cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat announced his resignation along with another MLA on Friday late evening, the state Bhartiya Janta Party president denied this saying the issues will be sorted soon. 

Though no resignation letter was received by the Governor of Uttarakhand till the time of writing this report. 

Sources from the Congress claimed that he was in Delhi yesterday and might join the Congress on Saturday in Haridwar in presence of former CHief Minister Harish Rawat or even later.

However, state BJP president has denied any such thing. “If there is any issue, it will be resolved soon. No one is resigning from the party or cabinet post,” said Madan Kaushik, state BJP president who was in Gopeshwar and will be teaching Dehradun on Saturday morning.

The state forest minister reportedly resignef in anger while the cabinet was on meeting in the state secretariat.

Another BJP MLA Umesh Sharma ‘Kau’ was also rumored to resign from the party which the MLA himself denied saying that he is the ‘Soldier’ of the BJP.

Interestingly, Harak Singh Rawat led rebellion against the then Harish Rawat government in year 2016 when nine rebel MLAs including Harak Singh Rawat left the Congress and joined the BJP. Kau was also among the rebels. 

Later, all nine contested on BJP ticket winning the 2017 assembly elections. Many of them including Rawat were given cabinet berth in the BJP government

Earlier this month, with talks of Harak Singh Rawat meeting Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, rumors of four other rebel leaders who left Congress to join Bhartiya Janta Party in year 2016 have been abuzz in power corridors of the hill state. 

However, political analysts say the minister in question is know for playing ‘pressure politics’. 

In October this year, former state cabinet minister Yashpal Arya who was cabinet minister in the incumbent BJP government joined Congress with his son Sanjiv Arya who won Nainital assembly seat in 2017 state assembly elections.

Arya had left Congress in January 2017 to join the BJP. He won the 2017 state assembly elections from Bajpur seat of Udham Singh Nagar district while his son won the elections to become MLA from Nainital assembly seat of Nainital district. 

The state BJP has been in alert mode since then. The BJP and the Congress remain at their competitive best to snatch each other’s leaders as the state assembly elections approach.

In an interview with TNIE, Harish Rawat when asked about allowing the rebels join the Congress back had said that the rebels must accept their ‘Crime Against Democracy’. 

“Look, they all have committed crime against the democracy. And in democracy if anyone accepts their mistake their apology must be accepted. But they just admit the crime against democracy which they committed. Also, we know there is a ruckus in the BJP and they also realize now that they are stuck in the wrong party,” the former CM had said. 

Later, Harak Singh Rawat had said that he and Harish Rawat are two brothers. The former went even ahead stating that his place is always at his (Harish Rawat) feet as a younger brother.

BHOPAL: A high level meeting chaired by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan put it’s seal on appointment of 25 BJP leaders as heads and vice chairpersons of Nigam and Mandals (state boards/ corporations) in Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening.

The long pending exercise finally ensured the rehabilitation of at least nine former MLAs, seven of them ex-Congress MLAs, who had lost the November 2020 by-elections on BJP tickets, after quitting their old party in March 2020, to bring down the 15 months old Kamal Nath led Congress regime.

Six of these seven former Congress MLAs were union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalists, who were awaiting their political rehabilitation a year after their by-poll loss.

The seven Congress MLAs, who were appointed as heads or vice chairpersons of state corporations, included ex-ministers Imarti Devi (appointed head of MP Laghu Udyog Nigam), Aidal Singh Kansana (head of MP State Agro Industries Development Corporation Limited), Giriraj Dandotiya (MP Urja Vikas Nigam). Four other ex-Congress MLAs, among them Ranveer Jatav, Jaswant Jatav, Munnalal Goyal and Raghuraj Kansana too have been appointed as heads of state corporations.

These seven former Congress MLAs were among the 22 Congress MLAs, whose resignations from the Vidhan Sabha and their parent party had scripted the collapse of the Kamal Nath government in MP in March 2020. All these seven MLAs, however, had lost in the November 2020 by-elections on BJP tickets from the same seats they had won from as Congress candidates in 2018 assembly polls.

The two former BJP MLAs (all being originally from the saffron party), including Manju Dadu and Ramesh Khatik were appointed as vice chairpersons of state corporations/boards. Two BJP leaders, Rajendra Singh Mokalpur and who finished second in past assembly polls too have been appointed vice chairpersons of state corporations/boards.

Besides them, at least four former BJP organization leaders, including Shailendra Barua, Jitendra Litoria, Ashutosh Tiwari and Jaipal Chawda too have been appointed heads of state boards/corporations.

According to informed political sources, among the new appointees, maximum six each are CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia backers, while two are considered close to ex-CM Uma Bharti.

Senior state BJP leader Vinod Gotiya, who is considered close to BJP national president JP Nadda has been appointed the head of MP State Tourism Development Corporation.

Importantly, the BJP national general secretary (organization) BL Santosh during his visit to MP last month had asked for completing the long pending political appointments to state boards/corporations at the earliest.

The completion of long pending appointments to state boards/corporations by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government assumes significance in view of the upcoming panchayat polls and future urban local body polls.

The posts of heads and deputy heads of state boards/corporations have been lying vacant since the Shivraj Singh Chouhan led previous BJP government had lost power in 2018 assembly polls. The successor Kamal Nath government had made a few political appointments to the boards/corporations, but most posts were still vacant.

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday hailed former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying that he was the only leader after Jawaharlal Nehru who was appreciated by people across the country, and added that the ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’ slogan truly suits him.

Speaking to reporters here, Raut said, “Atal Bihari Vajpayee played a pivotal role in cementing the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas’ line truly suits him.”

The Sena MP was responding to a question related to Vajpayee on the late BJP leader’s birth anniversary.

“Vajpayee was the only second leader in India, who was appreciated across the country after Jawaharlal Nehru. May it be Nagaland or Puducherry, there were people who respected Vajpayee,” he said.

Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani were the two major pillars of the BJP, who helped the party spread across the country, Raut said.

LUCKNOW: Wads of currency worth Rs 150 crore were confiscated so far during Income Tax raids at the premises of Kanpur businessman Piyush Jain on Friday. 

The I-T raids, which commenced on Thursday, are still underway at various premises including the house, office, factory, cold store, and petrol pump of Jain in Kanpur, Kannauj, Mumbai, and Gujarat.

The raids were initially conducted by GST officials on the charge of tax evasion but later drew in I-T sleuths also as more details about the unaccounted wealth amassed by the trader started surfacing.

Jain, a perfume trader and the manufacturer of pan masala, is believed to be close to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Jain had manufactured a perfume launched by Akhilesh a couple of months back.  

Visuals of Jain’s wealth and the raids underway showed note-counting machines scattered on the floor, surrounded by wads of cash bundled in plastic and tape.

Piyush Jain, basically belongs to Chhipatti in Kannauj where he has a residence, a perfume factory, cold store and a petrol pump.

UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi accused the SP of allegedly getting “help from corrupt people and goons”.

But, SP leader Anurag Bhadouria tweeted that Jain was affiliated to the BJP and that the SP had nothing to do with this friend of the BJP, nor his perfume.

MUZAFFARNAGAR: Two people were arrested here for allegedly drugging a Class 10 student and gang-raping her, police said on Saturday.

The minor girl had gone for tuition classes on Thursday from where two people allegedly drugged her and took her to a forest area near Sadpur village, according to a complaint lodged by her family.

Two more people were waiting there and all four allegedly raped her, as per the complaint.

She was later found in an unconscious state by her family members who had started searching for her along with police after she did not return home.

She narrated the episode to her family after coming around.

According to local Jansath police station SHO Bablu Singh Verma, a case was registered against four people based on the complaint and two were arrested.