Sena lauds Rahul for being dignified while criticising PM Modi

Agencies
May 10, 2018

Mumbai, May 10: The Shiv Sena on Thursday praised Congress president Rahul Gandhi for being dignified while attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speeches and said he could pose a challenge to the BJP in 2019.

The BJP should have welcomed Gandhi's declaration of his prime ministerial ambitions, the NDA ally said, adding that it was against democracy to make fun of Gandhi over his remark.

The BJP should have challenged him to defeat it in the 2019 general polls.

Gandhi had said two days ago that he was ready to occupy the prime minister's post if his party wins the most seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, making known his ambition for the top executive post.

Reacting to the comment, Modi wondered whether the country would ever accept such an "immature and naamdar (famous)" leader for the post.

Rebuking the BJP for criticising Gandhi's comments, the Sena said people would decide if the Congress president would become the prime minister in 2019 or face defeat.

"However, saying that he (Gandhi) is eager to become the prime minister or making fun of him is against democracy," it said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"If there is democracy left in the country, the BJP should have welcomed Gandhi's statement and challenged him to defeat it in 2019," the Sena said.

Lavishing praise on the 47-year-old Congress leader, the Sena said, "Rahul Gandhi today is not the same as he was in 2014. He has become a strong-minded person after bearing criticism. He can pose a challenge to the BJP in 2019 and the Gujarat Assembly polls have proved this."

According to the Uddhav Thackeray-led party, the BJP uses "derogatory" language against Gandhi but he has never stooped to those levels to attack Modi and has "respected" him as the prime minister.

Gandhi's opponents have to agree that he has maintained a "certain degree of political class", the Sena said.

Taking a jibe at Modi, it said, "The PM has started remembering his 'alliance dharma' now. We are happy to hear that."

It said the BJP thinks there is no dialogue between the Congress and its allies. But what has been the BJP's level of interaction with its coalition partners and how many decisions in the interest of the country have been taken by working together, the bickering ally sought to know.

Allies were being "stabbed in the back" with the sword of power, which the BJP got due to the collective efforts of NDA partners, the Marathi daily said.

If the BJP asks how Gandhi can be the contender for the prime ministerial post when there are seniors in the Congress and UPA allies, then BJP stalwarts like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi will be the right persons to answer, the Sena quipped.

"Similarly, Modi and (BJP chief) Amit Shah appointed the (country's) president without talking to NDA partners," the publication claimed.

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News Network
June 25,2020

Jun 25: Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s $40 billion surge this week and the recent ascent of Pinduoduo Inc. have reshuffled the ranking of China's richest people.

The country's largest game developer has surpassed Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as Asia's most-valuable company, with its shares rising above HK$500 in intraday trading Wednesday for the first time. Pinduoduo, a Groupon-like shopping app also known as PDD, has more than doubled this year.

The rallies have propelled the wealth of their founders, with an added twist: Tencent's Pony Ma, worth $50 billion, has surpassed Jack Ma's $48 billion fortune, becoming China's richest person. And Colin Huang of PDD, whose net worth stands at $43 billion, has squeezed real estate mogul Hui Ka Yan of China Evergrande Group out of the top three earlier this year, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the digitization of the workplace and changed consumers' habits, boosting shares of many internet companies. Now tech tycoons are dominating the ranks of China's richest people. They occupy four of the top five spots: Ding Lei of Tencent peer NetEase Inc. follows China Evergrande's Hui.

‘Perform Strongly'

Tencent has come a long way since hitting a low in 2018, when China froze the approval process for new games. Since then, the stock has almost doubled, and last month the tech giant reported a 26 per cent jump in first-quarter revenue.

“Tencent's online games segment will probably perform strongly through the Covid-19 pandemic, and most of its other businesses are relatively unscathed,” said Vey-Sern Ling, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst.

That has been a boon for Pony Ma, 48, who owns a 7 per cent stake in the company and pocketed about $757 million from selling some 14.6 million of his Tencent shares this year, data complied by Bloomberg show.

The native of China's southern Guangdong province studied computer science at Shenzhen University and was a software developer at a supplier of telecom services and products before co-founding Tencent with four others in the late 1990s. At the time, the company focused on instant-messaging services.

It has been a long comeback for Pony Ma. He overtook real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin as China's second-richest person in 2013 and topped Baidu Inc.'s Robin Li as the wealthiest in early 2014. Later that year, Alibaba went public in the U.S., catapulting Jack Ma's fortune.

Bloomberg Intelligence's Ling notes, however, that Tencent's jump this year has lagged behind some internet peers, especially those in e-commerce, games and online entertainment. Just consider: Tencent shares have climbed 31 per cent in 2020, while PDD's American depositary receipts have more than doubled. Alibaba, meanwhile, has advanced just 6.9 per cent.

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News Network
January 19,2020

Shirdi, Jan 19: Shirdi in Maharashtra will remain closed for an indefinite period from today in the wake of state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's decision to develop Pathri town in Parbhani district as Sai Baba's birthplace.

However, Deepak Madukar Muglikar, Chief Executive Officer of Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, has said that Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi will remain open today and will not be impacted by the closure of the city.

"There are some reports in media that Sai Temple in Shirdi will remain closed on January 19. I want to clarify that it is just a rumor. Temple will remain open on January 19," Mr Muglikar said.

A call has been given for indefinite closure of Shirdi after Mr Thackeray's reported comment terming Pathri in Parbhani as Sai Baba's birthplace.

"Devotees will not face any difficulty if they come to Shirdi," said B Wakchaure, member of Saibaba Sansthan Trust.

Uddhav Thackeray has recently announced that Pathri will be developed as the birthplace of Sai Baba for religious tourism and also took a review meeting of the development plans in the Parbhani district.

One of the most popular religious destinations in the country, Saibaba Temple in Shirdi witnesses lakh of devotees visiting the holy site every year.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Ghaziabad, Jul 28: Days ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, Nand Kishore Gurjar, a BJP MLA from Loni assembly constituency in Ghaziabad, has stoked controversy as he asked people celebrating the festival to "sacrifice their children instead of animals" on the occasion. He also claimed that "meat spreads coronavirus" so people should not be allowed to sacrifice innocent animals.

"People who want to sacrifice on Eid should sacrifice their children. I will not let people consume meat and alcohol in Loni. We will not let people sacrifice innocent animals because meat spreads coronavirus," the BJP legislator said while speaking to reporters.

"The way people have followed the guidelines of the government by not offering prayers and namaz at temples and mosques to contain COVID-19, in the same way, they must not give the sacrifice of animals on this Eid," he added.

"Earlier, sacrifices of animals used to be done in Sanatan Dharam as well. However, now coconut is offered instead. I request the Muslim brothers not to give 'qurbani' of animals. We will stop those who will perform the ritual animal sacrifice. We will not let this happen in Loni," he said.

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