Don't like either PM Modi or Amit Shah, says Javed Akhtar

Agencies
May 3, 2019

May 3: Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar said he does not like either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or BJP chief Amit Shah and maintained Congress president Rahul Gandhi is unlikely to become the next PM.

Referring to a remark of the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur, Akhtar said he will suggest Modi to use her "curse" to get rid of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and other terrorists.

"I do not like Modi and his assistant Amit Shah," he told reporters here when asked what qualities he likes in the Prime Minister.

However, he praised former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BJP veteran L K Advani.

Vajpayee was a different person, said the noted screenwriter, a recipient of the Padma Bhushan.

He criticised the BJP for branding those who don't agree with its views as "anti-national".

"Our country's atmosphere stands vitiated today. The BJPs ideology is that if you are not with them then you are an anti-national," Akhtar said.

"No. I don't see him becoming prime minister," he said when asked whether he sees Gandhi as a prime ministerial candidate.

"We are not witnessing a presidential form of elections. In India, people choose their respective MP and not vote for just one name or face," he said.

The Bollywood veteran said he disapproves of Gandhi's slogan of 'chowkidar chor hai' (the watchman is a thief), repeatedly hurled by him at Modi over the Rafale jet deal.

Akhtar said he was not aligned to the Congress now and will not be associated with the party in the future.

He said neither the BJP nor the Congress will get a majority in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and the next government would be a coalition.

Akhtar said he will suggest Modi to use the "curse" of Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, on Saeed and other terrorists to get them eliminated.

He was reacting to a query regarding Thakur's statement that she had "cursed" former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare following which he died.

Thakur had later apologised for the statement.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Kuala Lumpur, Feb 24: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has submitted his resignation to the king, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday, amid talks of forming a new coalition to govern the country.

Mahathir, 94, assumed office in May 2018 for his second stint as prime minister.

A spokesman from the prime minister's office declined to comment, saying only that a statement will be issued soon.

The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to talk to the media.

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Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has said that CBSE board results can be declared by August 15. The results of both class 10 and 12 will be declared at an interval of just a few days.

However, the decision to open schools will be taken after August keeping in mind the current COVID-19 situation. At present, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has not set any date for reopening schools.

Nishank said during a discussion "We hope that the results of both 10th and 12th class will be declared by August 15. These include the results of previous exams and the results of examinations in July."

On the issue of reopening of schools, Nishank said "after August the process of opening schools will be started."

A final decision in this regard will be taken only after assessing the prevailing conditions. According to the HRD ministry, after August, new sessions will also start in universities.

Meanwhile, the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has also written to the HRD ministry on the subject of reopening schools. Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia said in the letter, "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said some time ago that we have to learn to live with coronavirus. So it would be better to open schools with proper safety measures."

Sisodia said that first of all, we have to assure every child that they are important to us. Everyone has equal rights over the physical and intellectual environment of his school. Education cannot progress beyond online classes only. It would be impossible to pursue education only by calling older children to school and keeping younger children at home.

Several private schools have also suggested measures to the HRD ministry to open schools and safety in schools during this period. However, the ministry is not in a hurry to reopen schools at present. According to senior officials of the ministry, at present, preparations are being made to conduct the remaining board exams of class 10 and 12 between July 1 and 15.

After the examinations, the first priority is to declare the results. Only then can the process of reopening school colleges begin.

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News Network
May 20,2020

New Delhi, May 20: With 5,611 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 tally reached 1,06,750 on Wednesday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 140 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 3,303.

Out of the total cases, 61,149 are actives cases and 42,298 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-affected state with 37,136 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu (12,448 cases), Gujarat (12,140 cases), and Delhi (10,554 cases).

The nationwide lockdown imposed as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus has been extended till May 31.

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