Anti-Narendra Modi posters show him with Bollywood villainesses

June 28, 2012
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Ahmedabad, June 28: Narendra Modi is likely to be in Delhi today to stand by PA Sangma as he files his nomination papers for President of India. Mr Sangma is the candidate of Mr Modi's party, the BJP.

Back home, in Gujarat, new posters critical of Mr Modi have appeared in Rajkot, 200 kilometres from the state capital of Gandhinagar. The Gujarat chief minister is lampooned - his face has been morphed with that of a woman, and is shown alongside Bollywood actors Shashikala and Lalita Pawar, whose careers were built on their vicious depictions of angry and conniving spoilers, determined to drive a wedge between the ingenue lead and her love interest.

The slogans on the posters suggest that like them, the Gujarat chief minister is creating fault-lines within his party.

Posters have been appearing against Mr Modi for the last few weeks - in cities like Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Lucknow and in Delhi, outside the BJP office. Nobody has accepted responsibility for them.

Those close to Mr Modi believe they are the work of a group loyal to Sanjay Joshi, who has long served as one of Mr Modi's least-favourite people. It was at the chief minister's insistence that Mr Joshi resigned first from the party's national executive, and then later, from the BJP.

The dissent against the chief minister has been peaking, worryingly for his party, just months ahead of Gujarat's election. Keshubhai Patel, a senior leader who was replaced as chief minister by Mr Modi, has been meeting with other Modi critics like Suresh Mehta. In a blog earlier this week, Mr Patel wrote that Gujarat today is worse than the Emergency. Mr Patel and others have accused the chief minister of being autocratic in his decision-making, and intolerant of any criticism.

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News Network
August 7,2020

Kozhikode: An Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board overshot the Kozhikode tabletop runway on landing there today. The Boeing 737 “fell off” the runway into the valley, broke into two causing death and devastation. 

According to reports, around 20 people were dead including two pilots.

An Air India spokesperson said: “Air India Express flight IX 1344 operated by Boeing 737 aircraft from Dubai to Calicut overshot the runway at Kozhikode at 7.41 pm Friday. No fire reported at the time of landing. There are 174 passengers, 10 infants, two pilots and five cabin crew on board. Rescue operations are on and passengers are being taken to hospital for medical care. We will soon share the update in this regard.”

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing this accident. “Prima facie, the aircraft landed beyond the touchdown point and fell into a valley. It has broken into two. We suspect some casualties. More information is awaited,” said a senior DGCA official.

Taking to twitter, defence minister Rajnath Singh wrote: “Devastating news from Kozhikode, Kerala. I am deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to an accident carrying several passengers on Air India flight. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.”

Foreign minister S Jaishankar tweeted: “Deeply distressed to hear about the Air India Express tragedy at Kozhikode. Prayers are with the bereaved families and those injured. We are ascertaining further details.”

While, senior BJP leader from Kerala K J Alphons tweeted: “Second tragedy of the day in Kerala: Air India Express skids off the run way at Kozhikode, front portion splits , pilot dies and lots of passengers injured . All passengers evacuated. Very lucky the aircraft didn’t catch fire.”

More details are awaited.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

New Delhi, Jan 16: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that he supported a negotiated peace deal between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan.

Gen. Rawat was speaking along with other world leaders at Raisina dialogue organised by India's influential think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

Arguing that terrorism was going to stay in the world as long as states were going to use it against other states, he said it was important to prevent states from using terrorism as a "proxy war".

"The only way to deal with it was what the US did post 9/11," he said, adding that the war against terror was necessary.

However, now a peace deal with Taliban is required, Gen. Rawat said.

"It must be a negotiated peace deal so that the Taliban stops using terrorism," he added. Hinting that the US should maintain its presence in Afghanistan, the CDS said that though Afghan security forces are now equipped to fight back terror groups in Afghanistan but they still need support.

The newly appointed CDS officially confirmed that India has shifted its stance on Taliban. India has traditionally been opposed to the Pakistan-backed Taliban in Afghanistan. Thousands of Afghans were given refuge in India when they fled the country due to oppression and terrorism of the Taliban regime. India is in alignment with the democratically elected government in Kabul that the Taliban remains supported by Pakistan.

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News Network
May 29,2020

Bengaluru, May 29: Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda mourned the demise of Rajya Sabha member and Managing Director of leading Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi M P Veerendra Kumar, hailing him as a great journalist and writer.

"My deepest condolences on the demise of former union Minister and Rajya sabha member Shri M.P. Veerendra Kumar. He was a great journalist and writer. May god give strength to his family & his people to bear the loss," Gowda said in his condolence message.

Veerandra Kumar, who was a member of PTIs Board of Directors, died late Thursday at a private hospital in Kozhikode in Kerala following cardiac arrest.

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