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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Agencies
June 19,2020

New Delhi, Jun 19: Delhi minister Satyendar Jain's health has deteriorated further. He is infected with the coronavirus. Jain has also been diagnosed with pneumonia. He is being shifted to an ICU.  According to doctors, Jain is now kept full-time on oxygen support as his oxygen saturation level has dipped.  

Jain was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital early Tuesday after running high fever and suffering a sudden drop in oxygen level. The 55-year-old leader's test result came positive on Wednesday evening after a second test. Jain was brought to the hospital and was administered a test for the novel coronavirus infection on Tuesday morning, for which he tested negative. But he still ran fever and showed symptoms, so another test was done after 24 hours of the first.

He will now be shifted Max Hospital in Saket and administered plasma therapy. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also wished for Jain's speedy recovery.

On Thursday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia took over the charge of health, PWD, power and other departments held by Jain. Jain will remain the cabinet minister without any portfolio in the Arvind Kejriwal government until he recovers. 

On Sunday, Jain attended a high-level meeting on the coronavirus situation in the national capital, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, which was also attended by Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal, Kejriwal, Sisodia and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.

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Agencies
February 6,2020

Bijnor, Feb 6: Apprehensions over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are now so strong that a team of economic enumerators were allegedly manhandled in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district and faced stiff resistance from the people.

A team of the economic census enumerators in Bijnor, on Wednesday, sent a letter to the District Magistrate narrating the difficulties they are facing in some parts "due to misinformation".

District magistrate Ramakant Pandey, when contacted, said that he had asked the department concerned to complete the work on time. "If teams are facing any problems, we will sort it out at once. No hurdle in economic census will be tolerated," he said.

According to District Economic and Statistics Officer, Harendra Malik: "Our teams are facing protests in minority-dominated areas as people are linking it to the NRC. Some team members were manhandled.

"We have now asked village heads and municipality chairmen to help our teams in the survey and convince the people. Our teams are trying to convince them that it is a routine work which is being carried out for years. It has nothing to do with the NRC or CAA."

He further said that they plan to hold a series of meetings with people's representatives, including village heads and chairmen, so that they could put an end to this confusion.

The seventh economic census was flagged off in Bijnor by District Magistrate Ramakant Pandey on January 6. There are around 3,000 enumerators and 569 supervisors engaged in the census being carried out under the supervision of economic and statistics department. It is expected to be completed by March 31.

The economic census is aimed at collecting data about the financial status of people engaged in unorganised sector.

Meanwhile, the areas where the enumerators are facing stiff resistance include Kalhari village in Najibabad block, Amipur Narain village in Mohammadpur Devmal block, Anisa Nangli village in Dwarka block and the Mirzapur Bella village in Jalilpur block.

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News Network
February 9,2020

Srinagar, Feb 9: Authorities on Sunday snapped mobile internet services in Kashmir as a precautionary measure to prevent any law and order disturbance on the seventh death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru, officials said.

The mobile internet services were suspended early in the morning as the authorities apprehended violence in the valley in view of the bandh call given by separatist outfits, the officials said.

The authorities had restored 2G internet services in Kashmir on January 25, more than five months after snapping all communication facilities in the valley following abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 last year.

Police on Saturday lodged an FIR against the banned Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) for calling a strike on Afzal Guru's death anniversary.

Guru was hanged in 2013 inside Tihar jail for his role in the Parliament attack in December 2001.

Two journalists were summoned by police for reporting the JKLF press release, which had called for strike on Sunday and Tuesday -- the death anniversary of the outfit founder Mohammad Maqbool Bhat.

They were let off after five hours of questioning. Bhat was hanged in 1984 and is buried inside Tihar jail.

Meanwhile, normal life in Kashmir was affected due to the strike, the officials said.

Markets and business establishments remained closed, while public transport was largely off the roads, they said.

There have been no reports of any untoward incident from anywhere in the valley so far, the officials added.

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