Farooq Abdullah apologizes for ‘sexist’ comment

December 6, 2013

Farooq_Abdullah_copyNew Delhi, Dec 6: At a time when the nation is debating safety of women at workplaces, Union minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday triggered a fresh row by saying that the situation is so bad that he is afraid of speaking to women these days.

Referring to the recent indictment of former SC judge Justice AK Ganguly by the SC panel, Abdullah said, "These days, I am afraid of talking to women. In fact I don't even want to keep a woman secretary, god forbid, if there's a complaint against me and I end up in jail."

On being asked if he is blaming women for the sudden spurt in crime against them, Abdullah said, "I am not blaming women, but the society."

"Such is the state of affairs today. I agree that incidents of rape have increased...but this has to stop somewhere," he added.

Abdullah drew flak from Congress as well opposition parties for his sexist comment.

Reacting to his comment, Congress leader Ambika Soni said, "I don't expect such comments (from him)."

BJP leader Smriti Irani said, "It is a very, very demeaning comment by such a senior political leader."

His son Omar Abdullah, Jammu & Kashmir chief minister, later on tweeted, "I'm sure the attempt wasn't to trivialise important issue of women's security so I hope dad apologises for the misplaced attempt at humour."

The fallout of Farooq Abdullah's quote was immediate on social networking site Twitter.

Reacting to his statement, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien tweeted, "Dr Abdullah, what have you gone and said! Expect more sensitivity from a senior public figure. And the father of a daughter."

Social activist Kiran Bedi said, "When men say they are afraid of hiring or talking to women as Farooq Abdullah did. They are visibly a victim of their own insecurity!"

Abdullah was forced to retract his controversial statement within hours.

"If I said something that hurt sentiments then I am sorry," Abdullah said. "My comments were misconstrued."

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News Network
July 21,2020

New Delhi, Jul 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday condoled the demise of Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon.

Tandon, 85, passed away at 5:35 am on Tuesday after a prolonged illness.

Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Modi posted a picture with Madhya Pradesh Governor and wrote, "Shri Lalji Tandon will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. He played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He made a mark as an effective administrator, always giving importance of public welfare. Anguished by his passing away."
"Shri Lalji Tandon was well-versed with constitutional matters. He enjoyed a long and close association with beloved Atal Ji. In this hour of grief, my condolences to the family and well-wishers of Shri Tandon. Om Shanti," he added.

President Kovind expressed condolences saying that we have lost a legendary leader today.

"In the passing away of Madhya Pradesh Governor Shri Lal Ji Tandon, we have lost a legendary leader who combined cultural sophistication of Lucknow and acumen of a national stalwart. I deeply mourn his death. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends," he tweeted.

His last rites will be performed at Gulala Ghat in Lucknow at 4:30 pm today.

Tandon was admitted to a hospital after complaining of breathing problems, difficulty in urination and fever. He has been undergoing treatment since June 11. 

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News Network
January 27,2020

New Delhi, Jan 27: Remember the story of two friends coming face-to-face with a bear in a forest? One of the two friends climbs the tree to save his life and the other, not knowing how to, lays on the ground, breathless, pretending to be dead.

Well, that lesson turned out to be useful for this man who pretended to be dead when a tiger had both his paws on the man's chest.

Yes, that is right. IFS officer Parveen Kaswan recently shared a video of a man lying under a tiger, with their faces extremely close to each other with the caption, "You want to see how does a narrow escape looks like in case of an encounter with a #tiger. #Tiger was cornered by the crowd. But fortunately, the end was fine for both man and tiger. Sent by a senior."

Another Twitter user shared the full 30-second video in the comments. He also said that the incident occured in Tumsar in Bhandara district, Maharashtra. The spine-chilling clip shows a tiger running freely in the fields trying to avoid people who have surrounded him and are trying to shoo him away.

In his quest to run away, the scared tiger grabs a human. When he sees that people are still approaching him and trying to scare him away, he gets up and runs away for his life. All this while, the man who was captured by the animal lays still on the ground and does not make an attempt to get free.

This is what stuck with Twitter and they are praising the man for his presence of mind.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Mumbai, Mar 28: Industrialist Ratan Tata on Saturday announced that Tata Trusts has committed Rs 500 crore for the medical supplies and equipments which will help combat the coronavirus outbreak.

"The COVID-19 crisis is one of the toughest challenges we will face as a race. The Tata Trusts and the Tata group companies have in the past risen to the needs of the nation. At this moment, the need of the hour is greater than any other time," said Ratan Tata, in an official release.

"Tata is committing Rs 500 crore for: personal protective equipment for the medical personnel on the frontlines; respiratory systems for treating increasing cases; testing kits to increase per capita testing; setting up modular treatment facilities for infected patients and knowledge management and training of health workers and the general public," Tata added.
Tata Chairman also expressed his deep gratitude for the members of all the organizations who are fighting coronavirus at the frontline, puting their life at risk.

"The Tata Trusts, Tata Sons and the Tata group companies are joined by committed local and global partners as well as the government to fight this crisis on a united public health collaboration platform which will strive to reach out to sections that are underprivileged and deprived," he added.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are 873 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases in the country and 19 fatalities have been reported.

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