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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
August 3,2020

New Delhi, Aug 3: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the timely supply of food and medical assistance to meet the requirement in Afghanistan.

During their telephonic conversation, PM Modi also reiterated India's commitment to the people of Afghanistan in their quest for a peaceful, prosperous and inclusive Afghanistan, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Monday.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the evolving security situation in the region and other areas of mutual bilateral interest.
Both leaders also exchanged greetings on Eid-Al-Adha. 

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News Network
July 11,2020

Kochi, Jul 11: Johnny Paul Pierce's five-month stay in Kerala has been a soul-soothing experience for 74-year-old US citizen. He now wants to spend the rest of his life here.

"Kerala is a beautiful place to live in. This is my fifth trip here. I usually stay here for six months. It is such a magical place to be and I want to share that with people from the US," Pierce told ANI.

He came to India on February 26 on a tourist visa and is staying at Kandanadu in Kochi.

According to Pierce's Advocate, his tourist visa is valid up to January 26, 2025. But on this visa, he can only stay consecutively for 180 days.

The guidelines of the Indian government permit continuous stay for only 180 days for foreigners on tourist visas. His 180 days were set to expire on August 24, which the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) extended to August 30.

The US citizen has approached the Kerala High Court seeking to convert his tourist visa into a business visa. The petition will be considered next week.

Pierce has sought a directive to the government to permit him to apply for the conversion of his tourist visa into a business visa and also to extend his stay, without having to leave the country.

"I am making a petition for an extra 180 days to stay. And I would also like to get a business visa in order to begin a tour company to bring people from the US to Kerala after the coronavirus. I wish my family could also come here. I am very impressed with what's is happening here. People in the US don't care about COVID-19," he said.

He talked about the risk of going back to his home country saying, "There are only 27 deaths in Kerala and in the US there over 1.3 lakh deaths. I do not want to go back to the US. I am 74 years old and I am at risk. This is a very safe place for me. I hope India embraces and allows me to stay."

"There's chaos in the US due to COVID-19 and government is not taking care like India. I want to stay here," he added.

Pierce further talked about his future plans, saying that if he is allowed to stay, he would like to lease a small resort and make a retirement community, which will be a COVID free zone.

Lastly, he made an appeal to the Indian government to let him stay in India saying that "all the immigration rules were made before COVID-19."

"There should be special consideration for people like me," he added.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

New Delhi, May 17: Eight of the 10 most valued domestic firms suffered a combined erosion of Rs 1,37,311.31 crore in market valuation last week, with Reliance Industries (RIL) taking the biggest knock.

Only Bharti Airtel and ITC from the top-10 list managed to close the week with gains.

RIL's market cap plunged Rs 65,232.46 crore to Rs 9,24,855.56 crore.

The market valuation of HDFC Bank declined Rs 22,347.07 crore to Rs 4,87,083.88 crore and that of Hindustan Unilever Limited tanked Rs 13,192.26 crore to Rs 4,77,458.89 crore.

ICICI Bank's market cap dropped Rs 9,770.06 crore to Rs 2,08,900.79 crore.

Infosys witnessed a decline of Rs 9,518.84 crore in valuation to reach Rs 2,77,814.09 crore while that of HDFC tumbled Rs 9,370.38 crore to Rs 2,83,293.70 crore.

The m-cap of Kotak Mahindra Bank slipped by Rs 7,805.2 crore to Rs 2,25,327.22 crore.

Tata Consultancy Services' market valuation dipped Rs 75.04 crore to Rs 7,10,439 crore.

In contrast, Bharti Airtel added Rs 13,147.89 crore to its valuation to stand at Rs 3,02,292.43 crore.

ITC's valuation also rose by Rs 7,744.11 crore to Rs 2,02,330.13 crore.

In the ranking of top-10 firms, RIL retained the number one spot, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, Airtel, HDFC, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and ITC.

During the last week, the Sensex declined 544.97 points or 1.72 per cent.

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