By : Pramesh S Jain

Good job by Bengaluru city police and Traffic Police and all senior cops were on their toes from 3 days and done a tremendous job for the bid adieu Actor turned neta Rebel Star Amaranth Ambareesh people from all walks of life appreciated Bengaluru city police.

End of an Era.

“Son Abhishek performs Ambareesh’s last rites ”

‘Ajatha Shatru’ Ambareesh’s demise leaves Kannada film industry ‘orphaned.

Lakhs of fans bid farewell to rebel Kannada cinema star Ambareesh on Monday, November 26, as he was accorded a state funeral.Ambareesh, who was also a senior Congress leader, died on Saturday due to cardiac arrest.

Former Union Minister and Kannada actor, Ambareesh was laid to rest on Monday at Kanteerava Studio in Bengaluru.As a mark of respect,the Kannada star was given state honour with 21-gun salute.Earlier, in the day,former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda,Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state chief BS Yeddyurappa and Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah paid last respects.The journey of the vehicle carrying Ambareesh’s remains started from Kanteerava Stadium and reached Kanteerava studio.

Rebel Star Ambareesh Mandyadha Gandu son of Mandya’s Son Abhishek performed the last rites and lit the funeral pyre, amidst chanting of Vedic hymns by priests.

In his lifetime,Ambareesh came to be known as Kaliyuga Karna after the famous Mahabharata character for his tendency to be generous to anyone who came to him seeking help.So,it came as no surprise that thousands of fans of the actor-politician stepped out on to the streets of Bengaluru to catch one last glimpse of their favourite hero.

“Actress Divya Spandana Ramya absence during ambareesh’s funeral”.

Thereafter, the body was taken Mandya and fans were allowed to pay their last respects to the ‘Rebel Star’. Now, the latest update is that some people from Mandya are unhappy with the actress-turned-politician Ramya for not coming to Mandya to honour Ambi.

Interestingly, Ramya had tweeted her condolences to Ambi’s family after his death. However, most people in Mandya feel that merely sending out a tweet is not enough.

In case you did not know, Ramya is a former MP from Mandya. She had entered the Parliament in 2013 by winning a bypoll. In the 2014 General Elections, she had contested from the same constituency again but lost.

After a flurry of discussions on Sunday, a compromise was reached.The body was airlifted to Mandya’s Vishweshwaraiah Stadium and was kept for public viewing from 5 pm in the evening on Sunday to 6 am on Monday.

The body was draped in the tri-colour and the famous Mysuru ‘peta’ (headgear) crowning his head,was then brought back to Bengaluru for the funeral procession.

The procession in Bengaluru began at 12 pm amid a catalogue of prominent personalities who paid a floral tribute to the star.Kannada actors Darshan,who rushed back from a film shoot in Sweden, and Yash were huddled in a discussion alongside Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy,Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara,Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.Shivarajkumar,film fraternity as,Puneet Rajkumar, Arjun Sarja,Jaggesh, were among the other prominent names at the procession.

His body was placed in a glass casket inside a van decorated with orange, white and green flowers.Inside,his wife Sumalatha and son Abhishek were seated next to the glass casket along with few other relatives.Heavy security personnel including police and members of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) led the way as the van made its way out of the Kanteerava Stadium towards Hudson Circle.In all, around 2,000 police personnel were deployed in and around the stadium, and along the route of the procession.

Fans of the actor, who had lined up in numbers on either side of the road leading out of the stadium broke into cries of “Ambarishavarige Jai” as the convoy began its 12 km journey to Kanteerava Studios. The van crossed Halasuru Gate Police Station and made its way towards Mysore Bank Circle and eventually towards CID Junction.

All along the way, fans and well-wishers looked on as the colourful convoy passed by. They took their phones out and clicked pictures and began walking with the convoy. There was no untoward incident or anger at the loss of the beloved actor.

Traffic came to a standstill in parts of the city’s centre even as the group of people following the convoy continued to grow in number by the time the procession reached Kanteerava Studios four hours later.

Kanteerva Studio was packed up with rebel star Ambareesh fans ”

Law and order and traffic security arrangements was well deployed across city under the leadership of Bengaluru city police commissioner,T.Suneel Kumar with Addl CPs as,B.K.Singh,Seemanth Kumar Singh,P.Harishekaran,Alok Kumar,Nanjundswamy,Joint CP,Satheesh,DCPs,as,Annamalai, Devaraj,Chetan Singh Rathore,Dr.M.B.Boralingaiah,Ravi.D. Channanavar,M.N.Anucheth,Rahul kumar Sharpode,Girish.S,Abdul Aahad,Jagadeesh,Saraha Fathima,

with all ACPs,150 inspectors of law and order,Traffic and CCB with 30 KSRP and 34 CAR platoons with 3 RAF companies with SWAT force with Riot control rapid action force and all staffs of Bengaluru city law and order and traffic and CCB cops were deployed from Kanteerva stadium to Kanteerva Studio and they have maintained law and order all the senior officials as Alok Kumar,Chethan Singh Rathore,Annamalai,Girish S,with RAF companies and other officers as special force as Kabadi team of Bengaluru city police appointed by Alok Kumar,were controlling the crowd at the entrance of the Kanteerva where many fans were gathered and for their safety and gave a message to miscreants that do not indulge in any ruckus we are ready and they were seen wearing safety Protector guard with this the funeral rituals as last rites was concluded in the evening at 5.55pm Abhishek lit the pyre and consigned with flames and as soon as Ambareesh was laid to rest Sumalatha Ambareesh break down with tears and his son too breakdown as he lost his mentor,friend and father the whole crowd was disbursed by 7pm and for this chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and deputy chief minister and Home Minister of karnataka state Dr.G.Parameshwara and DG&IGP of karnataka state Neelamani N Raju too appreciated all the cops for their exemplary and commendable efforts in maintaining law and order .

An entire stretch of Outer Ring Road was packed with his fans, seen standing on the flyover, buildings and even on branches of trees to watch the funeral being beamed onto several LED screens.

The area around the studio was so crowded that the funeral procession that started from Kanteerava Stadium, in a vehicle decked with flowers, took over an hour-and-a-half to traverse the last stretch of 200 metres from Goraguntepalya. The procession traversed a route of 13 km through Central and North Bengaluru, in over five hours, to reach the studio and people thronged the streets through the route to pay their respects.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and General Secretary, AICC, K.C. Venugopal met Mr.Kumaraswamy as emissaries of AICC president Sonia Gandhi and handed over personal condolence message to him. The Chief Minister later handed over the message to Abhishek

Kanteerava Studios, an iconic studio mostly used to make Kannada films was also the place chosen to cremate Rajkumar. Members of the Rajkumar family who attended the funeral procession confirmed that they had raised no objections to the state government’s decision. “He was like a father to us. He helped anyone who came to him seeking help which is a rare thing in the industry. We will agree with what the government decides is best,”Raghavendra Rajkumar had said when questioned by reporters at Kanteerava Stadium.

It was not just the film industry that was united in his death.Political leaders cutting across political lines waited for the convoy to arrive at the Studios. From Siddaramaiah to Yeddyurappa to Deve Gowda, everyone considered Ambareesh to be one of their own and just like in his lifetime, Ambareesh was the centre of attraction for one last journey.

Amid chanting of Vedic hymns, a teary-eyed Abhishek, Ambareesh’s son,performed the last rites and lit the pyre in the presence of thousands of mourners, including people from the film industry and politics.

As the pyre went up in flames, Abhishek and Ambareesh’s actress-wife Sumalatha broke down and were inconsolable.

Ambareesh’s close friend and Telugu film actor Mohan Babu could not control his grief and burst into tears many times.Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda placed wreaths on the body of Ambareesh and paid their last respects.BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa,former deputy chief minister R.Ashoka,former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde,former Karnataka chief Minister Siddaramaiah,Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad, actress-politician Jayaprada and a host of film actors and actresses from South India and politicians were among those who paid their last respects to the departed soul.Wrapped in the tri-colour, Ambareesh’s body was Sunday evening taken to Mandya, his home district, where tens of thousands stood in long queues to have a final glimpse of the actor.
The body was brought back to Bengaluru on Monday noon for the last rites to be performed.A large funeral procession followed as the hearse, bedecked with 1,800 kg of flowers, wound its way from the Kanteerava Stadium to the Kanteerava Studio covering 12 km, amid tight security.Elaborate security arrangements were made with the deployment of 11,000 men in uniform, comprising the city police, three battalions of Rapid Action Force (RAF), 30 battalions of Karnataka State Reserved Police (KSRP) and 34 battalions of City Armed Reserve battalions.Four Additional Commissioners of Police and 15 Deputy Commissioners of Police oversaw the security arrangements all along the procession route, police said.Traffic came to a grinding halt in the city on several major roads as the funeral procession passed through with thousands of people gathered on both sides.Ambareesh, a three-time Lok Sabha member and also a former minister at the state and central levels passed way on Saturday after a prolonged illness.

Bengaluru,DC,Vijay Shankar, presided the full funeral and final rites of Ambareesh with very peacefully and all the leaders and family members and film fraternity paid their last respect to Ambareesh.

He is survived by his wife and a son.Known as a “rebel star”, Ambareesh had acted in over 200 films.

Entering the tinsel world through the movie ‘Nagarahavu’ (king cobra), directed by veteran late PuttannaKannagal in 1972, Ambareesh had carved a niche for himself inthe Kannada film industry, particularly as an “angry man”,earning the title “rebel star”.Ambareesh also had a successful career in politics, having been an MLA, a Lok Sabha member and a former minister.He had been in the erstwhile Janata Dal, JDS and the Congress in his political career that suffered a setback when he was asked to resign as a minister during the previousSiddaramaiah government.Since then, Ambareesh had faded into political obvilion.Ambareesh had won the several state government film awards and was bestowed with an honorary doctorate by the Dharwad university.

Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy thanked all the police personnel,Media and film fraternity and public for their cooperation in paying homage to Ajathashatru Rebel Star Ambareesh.The state is in deep grief over the demise of two former Union Ministers, CK Jaffer Sharief and Ambareesh.The restraint shown by their fans and followers at this moment of sorrow is commendable.I express my wholehearted gratitude to them for cooperating with the administration to bid adieu to these popular leaders with respect and dignity.I am also grateful to Deputy CM Dr Parameshwara my cabinet colleagues, legislators and leaders from the film fraternity.I appreciate the wonderful job done by officers, police personnel and media who worked around the clock to perform the last rites of these leaders peacefully and also the Mandya district administration for making arrangements for the public topay their last respects to #Ambareesh.And my special thanks to Union Defence Minister @nsitharaman and the Air Force for their timely help in providing a defense helicopter to carry the mortal remains of Ex-minister #Ambarish from Bengaluru to Mandya for public homage he tweeted.

 BJP’s roadmap to Rajasthan is released. BJP has released the Rajasthan manifesto which it calls Sankalp Patra. Rajasthan will go to polls on 7th Decemeber 2018. CM Vasundhara Raje along with Union Minister Arun Jaitley released the manifesto, which is the future roadmap of the state. Here is what CM Raje said:

-Mobile phones have been provided to one crore women to connect them to government schemes: CM Raje in Jaipur

-We have subsidised electricity to make it affordable to all sections of society. Farmers have been provided with insurance which includes a cover for any disability in case of severe illness or accident
-We have fulfilled 81 percent of the promises that we made in the last manifesto
-Many colleges and universities have been set up across Rajasthan. The state has gone from being 27th to number 2 in the country, in terms of education

-We have passed a very strict law on sexual harassment and rape for the safety of girls and women. Our government at the Centre recently made rape for minors punishable with capital punishment

Union Minister Arun Jaitley was also present as the BJP manifesto was released. He briefed the media about the promises that were to be fulfilled by the state government in during its next tenure.

The Congress had released its second list of candidates for the Rajasthan Assembly polls, pitting Manvendra Singh, the son of late BJP veteran and former Union Minister Jaswant Singh, against Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in her traditional Jhalrapatan seat.

Former BJP MLA Manvendra Singh, who recently joined the Congress, is among the 32 candidates announced by the party on the day.

Jhalrapatan in Jhalawar district has been sending Raje to the Assembly since 2003.

Manvendra Singh who represented Sheo constituency in Barmer, quit the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in September, upset over the sidelining of his father in the party ever since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

 A soldier and three militants, including the deputy commander of the IS-aligned Ansar Ghazwatul Hind group, were killed in two separate gun battles in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, police said.

The soldier and two militants possibly of the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit were shot dead in Redwani village in Kulgam district.

The soldier’s identity has not been revealed while the identity of the two militants was being ascertained.

A sub-inspector and a constable of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were also injured in the fighting which led to street protests by civilians.

The security forces had surrounded Redwani around 2 a.m. after receiving a tip that two to three terrorists were hiding in the south Kashmir village.

Amid the search operations, the hidden terrorists opened fire, triggering the gun battle.

As the fighting erupted, youths in the area resorted to heavy stone pelting at the security forces in a bid to let the militants escape. The security forces fired used tear gas and then fired pellets to disperse the mob. Four to five youths suffered pellet wounds.

The second gunfight in Pulwama district’s Hafoo village, which began in Tral area around 7 a.m., saw the death of Shakir Hassan Dar, the deputy chief of the Ansar Ghazwatul Hind led by Zakir Musa, a police officer said.

Zakir Musa is said to be aligned with the Islamic State although authorities say that the global terror group does not have any major presence in the state.

Authorities suspended mobile Internet services in both districts.

Train services between the Kashmir Valley and Bannihal town in Jammu region also remained suspended.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has cleared the loans of over one thousand farmers in Uttar Pradesh.

“Cleared the loans of farmers from Uttar Pradesh… select few were booked by me on train from Varanasi, and given OTS (‘OTS: One Time Settlement with Bank Of India’),” Amitabh tweeted late on Monday.

He also personally met some of them to give them their bank letters.

“And then the meeting with the farmers from UP and the giving of the OTS certificates to a select few from the 1398.

“Let the Laxmi of the house, the daughter give them that. Laxmi the Goddess of wealth. Shweta, the daughter, the Laxmi of the house,” he wrote.

He shared his photographs with Shweta on the blogpost.

Amitabh did the OTS and invited 70 farmers to Mumbai by blocking an entire train compartment for them to personally give away the bank letters.

Earlier in 2017, the “Piku” star helped over 350 farmers by paying off their debts and helping the families of 44 Maharashtra soldier who died in combat.

He had then handed over the amount to the farmers and the soldier’s families along with his wife Jaya.

IANS

 A small plane overshot its destination in Australia by almost 50 km after its pilot fell asleep in the cockpit, air safety officials said on Tuesday.

The pilot was the only person on board the Piper PA-31 aircraft from Devonport to King Island in Tasmania on November 8, the BBC reported.

The incident, classified as a case of “incapacitation”, is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

Officials have not said how the pilot awoke before landing the plane safely.

“During the cruise, the pilot fell asleep, resulting in the aircraft overflying King Island by 46 kilometres,” the ATSB said in a statement.

The ATSB said it would interview the pilot and review operating procedures before releasing a report next year.

Last year, five people died when a plane on its way to King Island crashed moments after takeoff in Melbourne.

IANS

 Opening his campaign in Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, accusing the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government of doing nothing during its tenure while only the KCR “dynasty” flourished.

Addressing his first rally in the state, which goes to poll on December 7, Modi devoted most of his time castigating KCR and his party for neglecting the state for the sake of vote-bank politics and doing nothing to solve problems related to power, water and roads.

While his campaign in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan revolved around Congress bashing and targeting the Nehru-Gandhi family, Modi concentrated in Telangana on the “failures” of the TRS government and attacking Rao.

“The Chief Minister is following the Congress footsteps and believes that if the Congress can rule for 50-55 years doing nothing, then he too can do it,” he said, calling the elections an to seek accountability from the TRS government and teach them a lesson.

“People here have been longing for water. Despite his assurances, nothing has been done. People who cannot even ensure drinking water for the masses have no right to seek votes,” the Prime Minister said.

With the health infrastructure in the state in “shambles”, Modi flayed the KCR government for opting out of the Ayushman Bharat scheme – the National Health Protection Scheme covering over 10 crore families.

“The CM suffers from insecurity and doesn’t have an iota of trust on even himself. He depends a lot on astrologers, spends a lot of time on prayers and is superstitious. He feels so insecure that he did not join Ayushman Bharat, doing gross injustice to the people of the state.”

He also ridiculed KCR for early dissolution of the Assembly, saying the early elections have given the people an opportunity to “get rid off” TRS a little earlier.

“This government’s hallmark is half-hearted promises, half-hearted schemes and they did not even complete their term,” he said.

Taking a jibe at KCR for promising to turn Nizamabad into London, Modi said even smaller towns and cities in BJP-ruled states were better off and advised the Chief Minister to “stay in those towns” to learn about development.

Claiming the BJP’s only mantra was inclusive growth and development, Modi said politics of vote bank had destroyed the country.

“Wherever politics of vote bank, of caste and of dynasty flourished, there has been no development.

“Telangana was formed after years of struggles and numerous sacrifices of youth. The state government doesn’t have the right to destroy that sacrifice. Those who promised welfare of youth, farmers, tribals and the oppressed but did nothing should be taught a lesson by the people,” said Modi.

IANS

 Lamenting that the political discourse in the country has hit a new low, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said on Monday that the Congress, rather than the BJP-led NDA, should have conferred the Bharat Ratna on late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The former Prime Minister was given the country’s highest civilian award in 2015 at his residence months after NDA came to power.

Abdullah was referring to speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that his linguistic behaviour is unbecoming of the prime minister.

He said Modi is using foul language against India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru as well as other leaders such as Indira Gandhi.

“Has he forgotten what Nehru did for the country? Has he forgotten what Indira Gandhi did for this country — she gave her life for the nation.

“If we are here, it is because of the legacy that has been passed on to us. His (Modi’s) conduct is just not becoming of the prime minister. I have never referred to my mother in my political speeches. What is he doing?” Abdullah asked.

He then praised Atal Bihari Vajpayee and recalled a personal conversation with the former prime minister where he praised Nehru.

Abdullah said that Vajpayee, even as he came from the RSS background, understood the fact that the nation could not be run by one man.

“But one mistake that the Congress made was not presenting him with the Bharat Ratna. He was worthy of it,” Abdullah said in the presence of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He was participating in a panel discussion following the launch of “Fables of Fractured Times” by former minister in Singh’s cabinet Manish Tewari.

IANS

The mortal remains of veteran Congress leader and former Union minister C K Jaffer Sharief were on Monday laid to rest with full state honors at the Khuddussab burial ground here.

Sharief, 85, died at a private hospital here Sunday following a cardiac arrest.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Haj Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, MLC Naseer Ahmed MLA and Former Minister Roshan Baig, Former Union Minister Rahman Khan MLA N A Haris, KPCC President Dinesh Gundurao along with Karnataka in-charge of party affairs K C Venugopal, paid their last respects at the burial ground.

Other leaders who paid their respects were Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara.

Before the body was brought to the burial ground, it was kept at the Masjid-E-Qhadria for prayers and at the office of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee for people to pay their last respects with full state honoures.

The body was received by KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao in the presence of Azad and other Congress leaders.

Sharief, a seven-time Lok Sabha member, was a staunch loyalist of Indira Gandhi.

He had served as the railway minister in the P V Narasimha Rao government between 1991 and 1995.