Left leaders are my heroes; I am not saffron: Kamal Haasan

News Network
September 1, 2017

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 1: Days after asking his fans to be ready to march to Fort St George, where the TN Assembly stands, Kamal Haasan met Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Speaking to reporters after meeting the veteran communist leader, the actor said "Left leaders are my heroes, I am certainly not saffron.''

"My colour is obviously seen over the forty years I have been working in cinema. It is definitely not saffron,'' Kamal Haasan said about his political affiliations.

Both Kamal and Pinarayi Vijayan said politics was indeed part of their talk. However, both refused to throw more light into what transpired in the meeting.

Pinarayi Vijayan and wife Kamala received Kamal and the actor had a traditional Onam feast with the CM.

"It was a friendly visit. But, politics was part of our talk. We spoke about south Indian politics and happenings in Tamil Nadu," Pinarayi Vijayan said after the meeting. He said Kamal had been a friend for long but was seeing him for the first time after becoming the CM.

After the visit, Kamal Hassan said he wanted to come and meet Pinarayi Vijayan last year itself but couldn't because of an accident. "This is a learning experience for me", he said. To queries from reporters, Kamal said colour of his politics was definitely not saffron. When quizzed whether he would work with the left movement, he answered, "Wait patiently".

He visited Pinarayi Vijayan for interviewing him for the Onam special show of CPM- controlled Kairali TV. A year ago, Pinarayi Vijayan was among the first ones to congratulate Kamal Hassan on receipt of the prestigious Chevalier Award.

The actor has been taking on Tamil Nadu state ministers and even engaging them with political attacks over corruption and NEET of late. The actor recently took on the TN CM as well and wondered why no one has sought the resignation of the chief minister.

On how much time he can devote to politics, the actor said that "It's not about joining politics. But, it is about how much time I can devote.''

The actor further said that the issues were more important than the government and people were more important than the government.

Speaking about his meeting with the Kerala CM, the actor said that he has been talking to Kerala CM about it (joining politics) and taking advice from him. He further said that he would be meeting more politicians. "I'll meet more politicians before I take a call on joining politicis,'' the actor added.

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News Network
July 23,2020

Mumbai, Jul 22: Actor Sara Ali Khan on Wednesday treated her fans to an extremely adorable family picture from a Holi celebration during her childhood days.

"Mother, Daughter- Iggy Potter. Riot of colours with Water Slaughter. Mommy so young I almost forgot her. Gulaal we threw, off-guard we caught her. But it was healthy fun with no totter. After all she's mother dearest- the OG Fautor," the 'Simmba' star poetically captioned the adorable Holi throwback picture on Instagram.

In the picture, Sara was seen coloured in Gulaal along with her mother Amrita Singh and brother Ibrahim Ali Khan. Sara looked loveable in the childhood picture as she wore an endearing smile with her neatly tied hair in a ponytail. Mom Amrita was seen smiling along with the kids, while she held little Ibrahim as he smiled and posed for the camera.

The post on the photo-sharing platform garnered more than 6 lakh likes within an hour of being posted.

Meanwhile, on the film front, Sara Ali Khan is awaiting the release of her latest comedy-drama 'Coolie No.1' with Varun Dhawan.

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News Network
February 17,2020

New Delhi, Feb 17: Indian officials denied entry to British lawmaker Debbie Abrahams on Monday after she landed at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Debbie Abrahams, a Labour Party Member of Parliament who chairs a parliamentary group focused on the Kashmir, was unable to clear customs after her valid Indian visa was rejected, her aide, Harpreet Upal, told The Associated Press.

Abrahams and Upal arrived at the airport on an Emirates flight from Dubai at 9 am. Upal said the immigration officials did not cite any reason for denying Abrahams entry and revoking her visa, a copy of which, valid until October 2020, was shared with the AP. A spokesman for India's foreign ministry did not immediately comment.

Abrahams has been a member of Parliament since 2011 and was on a two-day personal trip to India, she said in a statement.

"I tried to establish why the visa had been revoked and if I could get a 'visa on arrival' but no one seemed to know," she said in the statement.

"Even the person who seemed to be in charge said he didn't know and was really sorry about what had happened. So now I am just waiting to be deported ... unless the Indian Government has a change of heart. I'm prepared to let the fact that I've been treated like a criminal go, and I hope they will let me visit my family and friends."

Abrahams has been an outspoken critic of the Indian government's move last August stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its semi-autonomy and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories.

Shortly after the changes to Kashmir's status were passed by Parliament, Abrahams wrote a letter to India's High Commissioner to the UK, saying the action "betrays the trust of the people" of Kashmir.

India took more than 20 foreign diplomats on a visit to Kashmir last week, the second such trips in six months.

Access to the region remains tight, with no foreign journalists allowed.

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Agencies
July 15,2020

New Delhi, Jul 15: Air India has started the process of identifying employees, based on various factors like efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on compulsory leave without pay (LWP) for up to five years, according to an official order.

The airline's board of directors have authorised its Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal to send employees on LWP "for six months or for a period of two years extendable upto five years, depending upon the following factors - suitability, efficiency, competence, quality of performance, health of the employee, instance of non-availability of the employee for duty in the past as a result of ill health or otherwise and redundancy", the order said on Tuesday.

The departmental heads in the headquarter as well as regional directors are required to assess each employee "on the above mentioned factors and identify the cases where option of compulsory LWP can be exercised", stated the order dated July 14.

"Names of such employees need to be forwarded to the General Manager (Personnel) in headquarter for obtaining necessary approval of CMD," the order added.

In response to queries regarding this matter, Air India spokesperson said,"We would not like to make any comment on the issue."

Aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries due to the coronavirus pandemic. All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, LWP and firings of employees in order to conserve cash flow.

For example, GoAir has put most of its employees on compulsory LWP since April.

India resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the airlines have been allowed to operate only a maximum of 45 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights. Occupancy rate in Indian domestic flights has been around 50-60 per cent since May 25.

Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23.

The passenger demand for air travel will contract by 49 per cent in 2020 for Indian carriers in comparison to 2019 due to COVID-19 crisis, said global airlines body IATA on Monday.

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