British award for actor Darshan: How PR agencies in Karnataka fooled media

coastaldigest.com news network
October 20, 2017

Bengaluru, Oct 20: Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa hit the headlines during Diwali thanks to an award presented to him in the United Kingdom.

Many television channels and daily news papers in Karnataka reported that the Sandalwood star was officially honoured by the British parliament. Some Kannada TV news channels went on to claim that he was the fourth Indian and first South Indian to be honoured by the British parliament.

An invitation sent by the Indian born British Labour Party MP Veerendra Sharma to Darshan inviting him to the British parliament also went viral on social media. “It’s a great honour and privilege to host you at the House of Commons, on October 19. We’ve decided to felicitate you, for the hard efforts you’ve put in through your movies to promote Karnataka's art and culture,” the MP wrote.

Darshan, who was busy shooting for his upcoming film 'Kurukshetra' in Hyderabad, flew to London on Wednesday and received an award inside the British Parliament.  However, it was not an official award by the British government or parliament.

The event was in fact organised by the Karnataka Business Chamber, a London based NRI group which is striving to promote the art and culture relationships between United Kingdom and Karnataka. It had asked the MP to write to Darshan and invite him.

Shocked by media reports, Virendra Sharma issued press release stating that he had invited the actor in his "personal capacity" to receive an honour in London. “I would like to make it clear that the invitation was issued by me, in a personal capacity,” he clarified.

In a mail to coastaldigest.com, the British MP also said: “Many members of the local community and Kannada diaspora requested that I invite Mr Darshan Thoogadeepa to Parliament.”

Meanwhile, a London based Kannadiga, told coastldigest.com that Darshan was invited for a private event and not a public event sponsored by the British government or parliament. The official awards given by the British government are MBE, OBE, Knighthood and Victoria Cross.

According to him, Public Relations (PR) agencies might have deliberately misled the media in Karnataka. “This was not only paid news but also made news,” he opined.

Unlike Indian parliament, the British parliament’s banquet halls can be hired for a private event for a fee and the host can award his/her guest with an award to please them, he said. 

Comments

Aravind
 - 
Tuesday, 24 Oct 2017

Congrats Darshan,

 

whatever the media said, it is a commendable achievement. Thanks Darshan for making every Kannadiga proud of himself by your achievement

Aravind
 - 
Tuesday, 24 Oct 2017

Darshan Kudos, no information whatsoever could deny Darshan's credibility as a great Actor. Congratulations

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News Network
July 31,2020

Bengaluru, July 31: Denying irregularities in covid-19 equipment purchase by the Karnataka government, the state unit of the BJP has issued legal notices to Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar demanding that they apologize or face a defamation suit. 

The notices seek a public apology for the allegations levelled against the government on irregularities in the procurement of Covid-19 equipment and supplies. 

Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress president, have been doggedly pursuing allegations of corruption against the BJP government and have demanded a judicial inquiry. 

BJP general secretary N Ravi Kumar said that while the Congress leaders claimed that Rs 4,157 crore was spent during Covid-19, they also allege that the government has not responded to any of the 20 letters written by them. "If the government has not provided any answer to the Opposition, where did they get the figures from," he said.

None of the allegations of corruption is specific and the statements made are factually incorrect. "These statements, without any basis, have been issued calculatedly to lower the image and damage the reputation of the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party, representatives of the party and the ministers in the government," the notice issued on behalf of Ravi Kumar read.

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News Network
March 27,2020

Belgaum, Mar 26: The police on Thursday thrashed people who had gone to offer prayers at a mosque despite the nationwide lockdown in force.
In a video, the police personnel can be seen thrashing the people with batons while they were leaving after offering prayers at a local mosque here.
In another incident in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh, the police made few youngsters hop along a road and even gave the 'murga,' punishment to a few of them for violating the restrictions.
Similarly in Uttar Pradesh's Budaun, the police made people hop along a road with their bags strapped on their backs as a punishment. The people were possibly going to their native places.
In the video of the Budaun incident, a few men can be seen being made to hop along the road with a stick-wielding policeman keeping a watch.
SSP Budaun told ANI that an investigation is being conducted into the incident and expressed an apology for the police's behaviour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a 21-day countrywide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, saying that "social distancing" is the only option to deal with the highly contagious disease.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 8,2020

Dubai, Jul 8: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has revoked landing permits issued to UAE-based private jets flying Indian expats who are willing to fly back to UAE. With this the operation of private jets from India to the UAE has stopped.

The development comes days after DGCA stopped UAE airlines from chartering repatriation flights to India. 

The DGCA’s decision has come as a huge disappointment for desperate expats who are trying every means possible to return to the UAE, and were shelling out up to Dh15,000 per ticket.
 
All charter flights were operating with the appropriate permissions and clearances for the specific mission, route and destination, said the charterers.

DC Aviation Al-Futtaim, the only integrated VIP handling and hangar facility in DWC, said in an official statement: "As a result of the DGCA suspension of flights into India, our Challenger 604 aircraft which was scheduled to land in Dubai today has been affected."

Afi Ahmed, managing director of Smart Travels, said he has received news from official sources that all approvals for operation of private jets have been barred until July 10.

"Even the flights that had been given approvals stand cancelled. Some flights organised on July 9 have also been grounded," said Ahmed, who was also stranded in Kochi, Kerala, till July 4 but returned home in the UAE on-board Global 6,000, the largest business jet, organised by a Dubai-based aviation company.

Ganesh Rayapudi, a UAE-based businessman who has been trying to organise flights from India to UAE, said: "The government has kept on hold all charters. At least 52 passengers were desperately waiting to come back from Hyderabad on these flights and were willing to collectively cough up Dh400,000."

He added: "I agree that it is unfair to those who cannot afford these prices. However, UAE residents have commitments here; they were tired of waiting and willing to go any lengths, including taking the expensive route."

On July 3, India's DGCA announced via an official circular that scheduled international flights will remain suspended till month-end and only those on a case-to-case basis will be allowed to operate. These flights were suspended on March 22 due to the ongoing pandemic.

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