How long will people be fooled with ‘mandir wahi baneyenge’ slogan, Thackeray asks

Agencies
November 23, 2018

Mumbai, Nov 23: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Thursday said the Ram temple issue is raked up before every election and wondered for how long will people be ‘fooled’ with the ‘mandir wahi banayenge’ slogan.

Thackeray said that during his visit to Ayodhya on November 25, he would “seek an answer” as to how many more elections will people be fooled with the slogan.

The Sena chief collected soil from Shivneri fort in Junnar tehsil of Pune district, where Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born. He told reporters that he will carry the soil to Ayodhya during his visit on Sunday.

Thackeray had announced during the Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally in Mumbai that he will visit Ayodhya on 25 November and “question” Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the construction of the Ram temple.

“The soil where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born carries with it sentiments of all Hindus and collecting these sentiments will speed up the process of the construction of Ram temple,” he said.

“The issue of Ram temple is raked up before every election. I will seek an answer as to for how many more elections will the people be fooled with the slogan Mandir wahi banayenge,” he said.

The slogan is used by Hindutva groups, who aim to build a Ram temple on the site of the demolished Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

Asked if permissions were granted for his public rally in Ayodhya, Thackeray said his original programme includes visit to the site to seek Lord Ram’s blessings, as announced in the rally.

“Seers there had expressed their desire that I should visit the site, so I will take their blessings and also take part in the evening aarti on the banks of the Sarayu river,” he said.

In a bid to intensify his party’s campaign for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Thackeray has given a new slogan– ‘Pehle mandir, fir sarkaar’ (first the temple, then the government).

A Sena functionary said a special train has been booked to ferry Shiv Sena members to Ayodhya for Thackeray’s visit.

Women party workers and Yuva Sena cadres have been asked not to come to Ayodhya for want of accommodation, he said.

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zahoor ahmed,K…
 - 
Saturday, 24 Nov 2018

 Jab tak beakoof is desh me rahenge. aap bi kuch kam nahi.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Mumbai, Aug 6: Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday that overly focusing on what sovereign rating agencies think can take one's eyes off what needs to be done for the economy.

"It is also important to convince both domestic and international investors that after the crisis associated with the pandemic is over, we will return to fiscal responsibility over the medium term, and the government should do more to convince them of that," Rajan told the Global Markets Forum.

India was placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March for more than two months to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but cases have continued to rise steadily since the government eased restrictions in June, stymieing hopes of an economic recovery.

The government has announced several initiatives to help the poor and small- and medium-size businesses, but actual cash outgo from the government's measures has been estimated at just about 1% of GDP.

Several attribute the fiscal prudence to fear of a downgrade after Moody's cut India's rating and outlook in early June followed closely by a change in outlook from Fitch.

The central bank on its part too has reduced the key lending rate by 115 basis points on top of the 135 bps last year and is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 bps later on Thursday.

"The RBI and government have certainly been cooperating, but it seems like it is elsewhere, the ball is in the government's court to do more," Rajan said.

He said the RBI needs to focus on whether credit is reaching the stressed areas of the economy and also if the viable firms were able to access credit and not the unviable ones.

"And I think that's where it has to focus its attentions, because resources, as you well know, are limited in India today."

Recently analysts, however, have cited the growing possibility the RBI may prefer to pause and cut rates only at its October meeting.

Government officials too have suggested the possibility of any more fiscal stimulus being announced, would only come in the second half of the fiscal year, once a recovery has taken root and coronavirus cases have peaked.

"What India should focus on at this point is protecting its economic capabilities, so that when it has dealt with the virus it can go resume activity in a reasonable way. That should be the focus," Rajan said.

"And if it does that, there is no reason why the rating agencies will not see that as an appropriate policy".

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News Network
March 6,2020

New York, Mar 6: A 23-year-old Indian with a student visa in the US has pleaded guilty to sexual enticement of a minor girl, prosecutors have said.

Sachin Aji Bhaskar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

He pleaded guilty before Senior US District Judge William M Skretny to sexual enticement of a minor.

The charge carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life in prison, a fine of USD 250,000 or both, US Attorney James P Kennedy said.

Prosecutors alleged that Bhaskar communicated by text and email with an 11-year-old girl for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.

Through those communications, Bhaskar enticed the victim to engage in a sexual activity with him in August, 2018, they said.

The sentencing in the case is scheduled for June 17.

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News Network
July 11,2020

Kochi, Jul 11: Johnny Paul Pierce's five-month stay in Kerala has been a soul-soothing experience for 74-year-old US citizen. He now wants to spend the rest of his life here.

"Kerala is a beautiful place to live in. This is my fifth trip here. I usually stay here for six months. It is such a magical place to be and I want to share that with people from the US," Pierce told ANI.

He came to India on February 26 on a tourist visa and is staying at Kandanadu in Kochi.

According to Pierce's Advocate, his tourist visa is valid up to January 26, 2025. But on this visa, he can only stay consecutively for 180 days.

The guidelines of the Indian government permit continuous stay for only 180 days for foreigners on tourist visas. His 180 days were set to expire on August 24, which the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) extended to August 30.

The US citizen has approached the Kerala High Court seeking to convert his tourist visa into a business visa. The petition will be considered next week.

Pierce has sought a directive to the government to permit him to apply for the conversion of his tourist visa into a business visa and also to extend his stay, without having to leave the country.

"I am making a petition for an extra 180 days to stay. And I would also like to get a business visa in order to begin a tour company to bring people from the US to Kerala after the coronavirus. I wish my family could also come here. I am very impressed with what's is happening here. People in the US don't care about COVID-19," he said.

He talked about the risk of going back to his home country saying, "There are only 27 deaths in Kerala and in the US there over 1.3 lakh deaths. I do not want to go back to the US. I am 74 years old and I am at risk. This is a very safe place for me. I hope India embraces and allows me to stay."

"There's chaos in the US due to COVID-19 and government is not taking care like India. I want to stay here," he added.

Pierce further talked about his future plans, saying that if he is allowed to stay, he would like to lease a small resort and make a retirement community, which will be a COVID free zone.

Lastly, he made an appeal to the Indian government to let him stay in India saying that "all the immigration rules were made before COVID-19."

"There should be special consideration for people like me," he added.

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