Censor Board clears Padmavati with no cuts

New Delhi, Mar 2: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his comments that no one from the minority community will be affected by amended Citizenship Act and asked why then was the community excluded from the law in the first place.

Addressing a rally in Kolkata, Shah assured people of the minority community that not a single person will lose citizenship due to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

"The Home Minister says that no minority will be affected by CAA. If this is correct, they should tell the country who would be affected by CAA. If no one would be affected by CAA, as it currently is, why did the government pass the law?

"If the CAA aims to benefit all minorities (no one will be affected, says HM), then why are Muslims excluded from the list of minorities mentioned in the Act?," the former finance minister asked in a post on Twitter.

At his first public rally in Kolkata after the 2019 general elections, Shah said, "The opposition is terrorising the minorities. I assure every person from the minority community that the CAA only provides citizenship, does not take it away. It won't affect your citizenship."

"The opposition parties are spreading canards that refugees will have to show papers but this is absolutely false. You don't have to show any paper. We will not stop until all refugees are granted citizenship," Shah told the public.

Islamabad, Jun 24: A plane crash which killed 97 people in Pakistan last month was because of human error by the pilot and air traffic control, according to an initial report into the disaster released Wednesday.

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane came down among houses on May 22 after both engines failed as it approached Karachi airport, killing all but two people on board.

"The pilot as well as the controller didn't follow the standard rules," the country's aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said, announcing the findings in parliament.

He said the pilots had been discussing the coronavirus pandemic as they attempted to land the Airbus A320.

"The pilot and co-pilot were not focused and throughout the conversation was about coronavirus," Khan said.

The Pakistani investigation team, which included officials from the French government and the aviation industry, analysed data and voice recorders.

The minister said the plane was "100 percent fit for flying, there was no technical fault".

The county's deadliest aviation accident in eight years came days after domestic commercial flights resumed following a two-month coronavirus lockdown.

Many passengers were on their way to spend the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr with loved ones.

A gang has been spreading rumours about me in the Hindi film industry that is preventing him from getting work, says Academy award-winning music director A R Rahman.

Collaborations between him and the Hindi film industry have reduced as a result, he adds

The maestro had composed music for Sushant Singh Rajput's Dil Bechara said that the reason he is not doing a lot of work is that a gang has been spreading rumours about him which resulted in him getting fewer projects.

Rahman's comments come amidst a raging insider versus outsider debate in Bollywood following actor Sushant Singh Rajput's untimely demise last month.

During an interview with Radio Mirchi, the Oscar-winning music director was asked the reason for doing less Hindi films.

Rahman said there has been "misunderstanding" between him and filmmakers as some people have been spreading "false rumours" about him in the industry.

"See, I don’t say no to good movies, but I think there is a gang, which, due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumours. So when Mukesh Chhabra came to me, I gave him four songs in two days. He said, 'Sir, how many people said don’t go, don’t go (to him). They told me stories after stories'," he said.

"I heard that, and I said, 'yeah okay, now I understand why I am doing less (work) and why the good movies are not coming to me.' I am doing dark movies, because there is a whole gang working against me, without them knowing that they are doing harm," the composer added.

Rahman has composed the music for Rajput's last movie "Dil Bechara", which premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on Friday. The film, directed by Mukesh Chhabra, also features Sanjana Sanghi and Saif Ali Khan.

The composer further said that he is aware of people's expectations from him but the "gang" is getting in his way.

"People are expecting me to do stuff, but there is another gang of people preventing that from happening. It is fine because I believe in destiny. I believe that everything comes from God.

"So, I am taking my own movies and doing my other stuff. But all of you are welcome to come to me. You make beautiful movies, and you are welcome to come to me," Rahman added.

Dubbed ‘Mozart of Madras’, A R Rahman has composed soundtracks for movies like Swades, Dil Se, Guru, Rockstar and more recently Sushant Singh Rajput’s Dil Bechara. 

The composer won two Academy Awards in 2009 for his songs in the popular Hollywood movie, Slumdog Millionaire. The composer also received a Golden Globes Award for his work in this movie.