Nana Patekar’s NGO donates Rs 12.75 lakh to farm widows

Bihar, Mar 5: A complaint has been filed before a court in Bihar against lyricist Javed Akhtar over his remarks on the FIRs being registered against expelled AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the wake of Delhi riots.

The complaint was lodged on Wednesday by Amit Kumar, a local advocate, before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Thakur Aman Kumar.

On the basis of a newspaper report, the complainant has alleged that Akhtar's remarks were seditious and promoted religious hatred.

The media report was based on Akhtar's tweet of February 27 that "So many killed, so many injured, so many houses burned, so many shops looted so many people turned destitute but police has sealed only one house and looking for his owner. Incidentally, his name is Tahir. Hats off to the consistency of the Delhi police."

The violence in northeast Delhi claimed at least 42 lives and left over 200 injured. The former Rajya Sabha member was heavily trolled for the tweet.

In a subsequent tweet, Akhtar who asserted that he is a non-believer and a rationalist, had clarified that he was not asking "why Tahir but why ONLY Tahir and not even an FIR against those who have openly threatened violence in the presence of the police".

The matter is likely to come up for hearing on March 25.

Chennai, Feb 5: The popular cine actor Rajinikanth has defended the Union Government on the Citizenship Amendment Act, saying it will not affect the Indian Muslims.

In a brief interaction with reporters this morning in Chennai, the matinee idol said if the Muslims are affected by the CAA, he would be at the forefront in their defence. He asked how will the legislation affect the Indian Muslims when they chose to stay back in the country to make it their motherland. Mr Rajinikanth also supported the National Population Register saying it has been in force even in the past.

On the NRC, Mr Rajinikanth said the Government has already made it clear that its nationwide rollout has not been even discussed so far. Mr Rajinikanth is nourishing political ambitions and has made it clear that he would plunge into politics ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections in the state which is due in 2021.

Jun 8: The Shiv Sena has sought to take a different stand on Bollywood actor Sonu Sood’s help in ferrying migrants back home in the midst of the nationwide lockdown induced by the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday evening, the actor met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at his residence ‘Matoshree’. The CM’s son and Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray and MLA Aslam Shaikh were also present during the meeting.

Sonu Sood’s visit to the Shiv Sena supremo’s residence came after Sanjay Raut, one of the most vocal leaders of the party, criticised the actor and sought to draw a BJP link to his help to migrants in order to show the ruling dispensation in poor light.

“Sood is an actor whose profession is to deliver dialogues scripted by someone else and make a living out of it. There are many people like Sood who would promote any political party if paid well,” Raut wrote in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna.

Referring to the actor’s help to migrants, Raut wondered if the sudden generosity of “Mahatma” Sood in Mumbai was at BJP’s behest and said that he would “soon meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and become the celebrity manager of Mumbai.”

As Raut’s remarks fuelled a controversy in political circles, Aaditya Thackeray tweeted in praise of Sood in an apparent attempt to distance the party and its leadership from the leader’s remarks.

“This evening Sonu Sood met up with Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray ji along with Minister Aslam Shaikh ji and me. Better Together, Stronger Together to assist as many people through as many people. Good to have met a good soul to work for the people together.”

“The CM was glad to meet Sonu Sood and discussed the work everyone is doing for the people during covid relief. Misunderstandings don’t exist but what does is a commitment to help people,” Aaditya tweeted.

Sonu Sood too sought to downplay Raut’s remarks and expressed gratitude to all political parties for having supported him. “They (Shiv Sena) are also supporting it and it’s not about any particular party. We have to support all the people who are suffering. Every party from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari has supported me,” the actor told reporters after his meeting with the Chief Minister.

Sonu Sood has earned immense praise for providing help to stranded migrant workers during the Covid-19 lockdown. He has launched a helpline for migrants and has helped hundreds of migrants return to their native places in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Karnataka.