"Jab hoga toh pata chal jaayega: Congress President Sonia Gandhi April 12, 2017 13:35
Sonia Gandhi will remain as the president of the Congress for a longer period, contrary to earlier reports suggesting that her son and party vice president Rahul to be elevated as the Congress' official head soon. According to a news agency, when Sonia was asked about Rahul's elevation as the party president, she replied in a cryptic manner, stating, "Jab hoga toh pata chal jaayega (You will know when it will happen)." The buzz around organisational changes in the Congress has been doing the rounds for quite some time now. The Congress president has been refraining from attending key party functions and shouldering important responsibilities. It is the Congress vice-president who was taking centrestage in the day-to-day party affairs. Under Rahul's leadership the party has faced humiliating defeats since 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Things for the grand old party looks grim after the Congress has scored badly in the assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand recently. Moreover, Rahul is yet to give the Congress a major election victory under his leadership, the post is expected to remain elusive for him. A section of Congress is opposed to Rahul's elevation, others in the party wanted him to 'officially' take charge of the party, since Sonia is not so active in politics due to health-related issues. By Premji
Read MoreGoshamahal BJP legislator Raja Singh booked for hate speech April 10, 2017 15:26
Hyderabad, Goshamahal BJP legislator Raja Singh's hate speech against those opposing Ram temple at Ayodhya has triggered strong reaction from the Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT). "Indian Muslims are not wearing bangles. We will not tolerate your rantings with silence. We warn you Raja Singh," said MBT leader Amjedullah Khan. Khan has approached the Dabeerpura police station to file a complaint against Raja Singh for his provocative statements during the Ramnavami procession. He has lodged a complaint with a copy of Raja Singh's speech on a CD. Based on the complaint, a case was lodged against Raja Singh under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) of IPC. "We have registered the case after legal opinion. We will decide whether to transfer it to Shahinayathgunj police station," said Dabeerpura inspector D Venkanna Naik. Khan has posted a video reaction to the speech: "Why has Hyderabad police not acted against Raja Singh yet? Why is Telangana government not taking action?" he asked. "We also know how to give you a fitting reply," he said. "With the case of title deed still to be settled in the apex court, Raja Singh's statements are contempt of court," he said in the police complaint. Amjedullah said Raja Singh had taunted Muslims by saying: "Tum hamara pair pakad lo, kahin na kahin tumhara Babar ki masjid bana denge. (Fall at our feet, we will help build your Babar's mosque somewhere)." In the Ram Navami Shobha Yatra, Raja Singh had said: "Ram lalla, hum aayenge. Mandir wahin banayenge. (We are coming. The temple will be built there)." The BJP MLA said that the 'mullah sarkar' has gone in Uttar Pradesh. "Ab tumhari baap ki sarkar hai (now it's our own government)," he told the crowd. MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owasi said, "I prefer to ignore Raja Singh's remark. Let them speak more. Then Hindus who voted for BJP will realise they have been taken for a ride". By Premji
Read MoreEC cancels RK Nagar bypoll April 10, 2017 12:03
The election commission has decided to cancel the by-election to the R K Nagar constituency, which is scheduled on April 12. This comes two days after the income tax department has raided the Tamil Nadu health minister Vijayabaskar and reportedly seized evidence of bribing voters. “The by-election to fill the vacancy in RK Nagar shall be held by the commission in due course when the vitiating effect created by the distribution of money and gift items to lure the electors gets removed with the passage of time and the atmosphere in the constituency becomes conducive to the holding of free and fair election," said a 29-page statement signed by chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi and his two associates and election commissioners A K Joti and O P Rawat. I-T officials told the media representatives that the raids had helped to uncover a major plot to bribe voters. The documents unearthed showed that close to Rs 90 crore was distributed to voters in R K Nagar constituency by the AIADMK Amma party which has fielded T T V Dhinakaran. "Before parting with the case, the commission cannot help expressing its anguish over the sordid state of affairs as revealed in the reports of the election expenditure observers, election expenditure monitoring teams, static surveillance teams, flying squad teams, video surveillance teams, as well as the reports of the income tax authorities," the statement said. "Some of the states have particularly excelled in innovating more and more subtle ways to circumvent the statutory provisions enacted by parliament to curb the menace of money power in elections," said the commission. "If not their express consent, their tacit approval to resort to such undesirable activities on the part of their candidates and electoral managers cannot be wished away. It is high time they exerted their moral influence and legal authority to rein in their erring candidates and electoral managers without loss of time if democracy is to flourish and deepen its roots in our country," it said. The commission has directed under Article 324 of the Constitution read with sections 150, 30 and 56 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and further read with Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 and all other powers enabling it in this behalf, that its notification dated March 16 announcing the by-election stands rescinded forthwith. Consequently, all actions and steps taken by the returning officer have been declared null and void, said the EC. By Premji
Read MoreNaam Shabana Movie Review March 31, 2017 11:31
Naam Shabana starts with two Indian agents being killed in Austria by Mikhail a mafia don. Shabana (Taapsee) who is on a date with her boyfriend Jay (Taher Shabbir) undergoes an eve-teasing incident that ends up in the death of Jay by the eve-teasers. It is during this time she will be approached by secret agents and she gives her nod to an operation. Succeeding at her first task in eliminating Jay’s killers, she is soon sent out for another mission involving Tony (Prithviraj Sukumaran). The rest of the film is all about what happens next.
Read MoreYugadi - Celebration of a new beginning March 28, 2017 15:50
Yugadi, Telugu: Ugadi/Yugadi, Kannada: Yugadi, Konkani: Yugadi and Marathi: Gudi Padwa is the New Year's Day in the Deccan region of India. It falls on a different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar. Luni-Solar calendars consider the position of the Moon and the position of the Sun to divide the year into months and days. The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March–April) and Ugadi marks the first day of the new year. Chaitra is the first month in Panchanga which is the Indian calendar. Ugadi or Yugadi is celebrated as the first day of the year by the people of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. On this day new Samvatsara, which is a cycle of sixty years, starts. All sixty Samvatsara are identified by unique name. Ugadi marks the change in the lunar orbit as the beginning of the new Hindu lunar calendar. It heralds the advent of spring. Mother Nature awakes to give birth to new plants and cover earth in a blanket of green. As spring accompanies new life on earth, Ugadi accompanies a feeling of joy, growth and prosperity. LegendThe legend associated with the festival is that the Lord Brahma started creation of the vast universe on the auspicious day of Ugadi or Chaitra suddha padhyami. Lord Brahma created the days, weeks, months and years in order to count time and then created all other elements present in the universe. SignificanceThe most important thing in the festival is Panchanga Shravanam – hearing of the Panchanga. The Panchanga Shravanam is done at the temples by the priests or astrologers. Before reading out the annual forecasts as predicted in the Panchanga, the officiating priest reminds the participants of the creator – Brahma, and the span of creation of the universe. The reading of the Panchanga involves reading of other Tidhis (wealth and prosperity) during the year and ends with a forecast for various sectors of the social life and the strengths and effects of various constellations and their transitions. The scriptures state that the benefits reaped by the listener as well as the reader, are equivalent to having a dip in the holy river Ganges. CelebrationsHouses are thoroughly cleaned and washed. People buy new clothes for themselves and their family members to enjoy the spirit of Ugadi. people wake up before the break of dawn and take a head bath. The bath is supposedly to be taken after massaging with sesame oil. The festival is wrapped in traditions. The ceremonial day starts early, with the elderly ladies of the family getting up at around 4.30 a.m. While chanting mantras, several rituals are followed during the day to mark the celebration. Ugadi is celebrated by decorating with fresh flowers and fresh mango leaves. Among the flowers mainly the sweet smelling jasmine is used for the decorations. People splash fresh cow dung water on the ground in front of their house and draw colorful floral designs. All the members of the family gather and pray together and seek blessings from the Almighty. Food, is the normal trend in all festivals and occupies an important place in this festival too. Special dishes are prepared and enjoyed by the people to mark the festival. Ugadi special cuisineThe special dish prepared during the festival of is Bevu Bella or Vepapoota Pachadi. A paste made from jaggery, neem buds, tamarind juice and raw mango. All the ingredients are ground together to make a fine paste. The significance of this item is that it denotes all the tastes of life. The bitter, sweet and sour tastes each remind us the basic fact that life is a mixture of happy and sad events and we must remain ready to accept everything in life. In Andhra Pradesh, dishes such as pulihora, bobbatlu and preparations made with raw mango are the favourites. By Premji
Read MorePhillauri Movie Review March 25, 2017 09:41
Phillauri is the story of Kannan (Suraj Sharma) who returns back from Canada. He is about to get married to his sweetheart Anu (Mehrene) in Amritsar. After being declared a ‘manglik’, he is asked to marry a tree to solve his future problems post-marriage. Kannan gives into pressure and married a tree, only to find later that he’s now married to the ghost of Shashi (Anushka Sharma), whose soul lived on the tree. The rest of the film is all about Shashi and why she turned a ghost. Watch Phillauri to know about the complete story.
Read MoreTrapped Movie Review March 22, 2017 19:34
Trapped is the story of Shaurya (Rajkumar Rao) who admires his colleague Noorie (Geetanjali Thapa). He takes his time and finally impresses her. She agrees for a dinner date with him after which their friendship turns into love. Here comes a twist as Noorie gets engaged to someone and the wedding date nears. It is during this time Shaurya asks her to move with him and finds a flat in an empty rise building on the limited budget he has. Just before he invites Noorie, he gets locked in his new flat and the rest of the film is how he survives alone without electricity and water. Watch Trapped to know about the rest.
Read MoreUttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announces the portfolios of his Minister March 22, 2017 18:13
Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath has announced the portfolios of his ministers with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister keeping Home and Finance with himself. His Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya was given PWD and irrigation and Dinesh Sharma was given higher education ministry and parliamentary affairs. Dayashankar Singh's wife Swati Singh gets women welfare portfolio Mohsin Raza, gets minority welfare portfolio, additional charge of IT ministry Chetan Chauhan to be Sports Minister Srikant Sharma: Power Minister Rajesh Agarwal: Finance Suresh Khanna: Parliamentary affairs, Urban development Ashutosh Tondon: Basic Education Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi: Women Welfare Satish Mahana: Industrial development Swami Prasad Maurya: Labour, Service planning, Urban employment and Poverty alleviation Surya Pratap Shahi: Agriculture, Agricultue research minister Siddharth Nath Singh: Additional charge of Health ministry By Premji
Read MoreParrikar wins trust vote March 16, 2017 13:05
After the assembly elections Goa has given a fractured verdict with no one having absolute majority to form a government. In a swift action BJP has ensured teh support of other parties and Manohar Parrikar who was the Union Defence Minister resigned and took charge as the Chief Minister of Goa. Congress as usual was fighting for the leadership and missed the chance to garner support from other parties, even when they are the largest party. They ridiculed themselves by approaching the Supreme court to stop Parrikar from swearing in but the apex court has dismissed the plea. The Apex court has ordered for the floor test by Thursday. Today after the oath taking of the newly elected MLAs, the floor test is conducted and the Parrikar government has won the trust votes with 22 in favour. This is one votes more than what is expected. BJP has added one more state into their kitty, while Congress has lost a good chance due to poor floor management. With this Congress Mukt Bharath is gaining momentum. By Premji
Read MoreIndia fast-tracks hydro projects in disputed Kashmir, much to the anxiety of Pakistan March 16, 2017 12:11
For the development of Jammu and Kashmir, India has fast-tracked the hydropower projects worth $15 billion in Kashmir in the recent months, ignoring the warnings from Islamabad that power stations on rivers flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had suggested last year that sharing the waterways could be conditional on Pakistan clamping down on anti-India militants. "I say the way you look at these projects, it is not purely a hydro project. Broaden it to a strategic water management, border management problem, and then you put in money," said Pradeep Kumar Pujari, the top ranking official in the power ministry. Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, said that he would confer with the Ministry of Water and Power on the proposed Indian projects. He noted that India would be attending a regular meeting of the Indus Commission later this month in Lahore. "It seems that finally India has realized the importance of this mechanism under the IWT (Indus Waters Treaty) for resolving water disputes related to the Indus water and its tributaries." "We have developed barely one-sixth of the hydropower capacity potential in the state in the last 50 years," the senior official at the Water Resources Ministry said. "Then one fine morning, you see we cleared six to seven projects in three months; it definitely raises concern in Pakistan." "The cumulative effect of these projects could give India the ability to store enough water to limit the supply to Pakistan at crucial moments in the growing season," A 2011 report by the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said. By Premji
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