Month: August 2022

The fight for the next Lok Sabha elections seems to be gaining pace with over a year yet to go. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is looking to up the ante against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre, for which he will follow the same strategy that the Opposition had adopted in 2014 which had led to the downfall of the UPA government.

Rahul Gandhi will meet civil society people and organizations in Delhi on August 22 to listen to their issues and share their thoughts. Gandhi will also discuss his Bharat Jodo Yatra and its purpose with people from civil society.
Ahead of his Bharat Jodo Yatra starting from Kanyakumari on September 7, Rahul Gandhi will work with civil society to chalk out a strategy for the 2024 general elections. Gandhi is going to meet organizations and individuals working for different sections of society before his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Some Congress leaders have started discussing this along with civil society members. Yogendra Yadav, Megha Patekar and other individuals and organizations have been contacted. The rest of the people are also being contacted and invited to the August 22 meeting which is proposed in Delhi.

Notably, before 2014, many organizations under the banner of India Against Corruption created an atmosphere against the then Manmohan Singh government.

The then opposition BJP had raised the issues of corruption, and policy paralysis in the UPA government. It was that period when a pan-India movement was launched.

Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Kumar Vishwas, retired army officers and bureaucrats along with Baba Ramdev also created an atmosphere against the UPA government. It is said that RSS and many of its affiliated organizations were also working behind these movements.

On similar lines, Rahul Gandhi wants to meet the common people to build a narrative against the Modi government based on the work of the BJP government.

The Congress leader will bring up the issues in his speeches relating to the alleged misuse of constitutional institutions, unemployment, division in society, farmers’ issues and the state of the economy.

A separate logo, website and literature has also been prepared for the Bharat Jodo Yatra which will be launched on August 23.

Meanwhile, the BJP has also geared up for a fight in the 2024 polls as the party aims to win 35 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar after losing power in the state following Nitish Kumar’s exit from the NDA.

Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday exuded confidence in BJP’s record-breaking victory in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections and claimed that the party will touch the 350-seat mark.

“The way popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is increasing continuously in the country, it is evident that people want him to win again. In 2019, we increased to 314 from 282, I think this time this journey will end by going beyond 350. In Bihar, we have set a target of 35 seats. BJP will perform 100 per cent. History has been repeated before and this time it will be repeated again. It will be a new record this time,” said Shekhawat. (ANI)

With the country still reporting nearly 10,000 COVID cases daily, Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog on Wednesday said that the pandemic is still not over while also urging the citizens to increase the rate of vaccination of the precaution dose among the population.

Speaking on the slowness of vaccination rate for precaution dose, Dr Paul highlighted the slow rate of vaccination which has picked up lately, and said that there no dearth of vaccine availability and hence the eligible persons should get themselves vaccinated with the precaution doses.
“We need to protect ourselves and need to take precaution dose. Those who have taken a second dose and exceeded 6 months should take the precautionary dose soon. It was said there was slowness in the starting but in 75 days to Amrit Mahotsav, there has been an improvement in inoculation rate and it is satisfactory,” he said while speaking to ANI.

The official also presented the comparative data between the rate of inoculation earlier and in the last month.

“It was 8 per cent of precaution dose vaccination rate and now it has reached 17 per cent at present within a month but this speed needs to increase. There is no dearth of vaccines and eligible beneficiaries should go to the vaccination centre. COVID is still around and you are only covered when you take precaution dose,” he said.

Dr Paul also cited the availability of three vaccines as precaution dose which includes Covaxin, Covishield and recently inducted Corbevax.

Expressing his observation on the recent trajectory of COVID cases in the country, he said, “Cases are around 16,000 and testing norms are there and we are only testing close contact when they have symptoms. We are also reporting deaths and serious cases are also witnessed, although not as serious as they used to be in previous waves. Comorbidity patients could have a serious impact but the solution is precaution dose and when someone has taken precaution jab, then mortality and serious impact are reduced significantly.”

Dr Paul added that research on vaccines is still going on. He also informed that the intranasal vaccine is in advanced stage and work on the mRNA vaccine is also progressing.

“mRNA vaccine is also being worked on, intranasal vaccine is in advanced stage and people are also talking about Omicron specific vaccine should be made. These moves should be continued and we all have the capability. Research is going on,” he said. (ANI)

Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal talked about his wedding with Katrina Kaif on the latest episode of ‘Koffee With Karan Season 7’.

“My moment on this couch last season was my way of knowing that she (Katrina Kaif) even knew I existed,” the star revealed. He later also revealed how the duo met at Zoya Akhtar’s place for the first time in their life after manifesting on the couch.
In the previous season of ‘Koffee With Karan’, actor Katrina Kaif stated, that she might look good with Vicky Kaushal, in response to it, the ‘Bhoot: Part 1’ actor gave a surprising reaction when he arrived at the Koffee couch with actor Ayushmann Khurrana.

As they say, the rest is history. Vicky and Katrina after being in a secret relationship for quite a long time tied the knot on December 9, 2021, in Rajasthan.

Recalling events from the wedding, the star also shared how amidst the fanfare of their dream-like wedding, memes and funny tweets that were widely shared did not escape his attention. From drones being used for security to Vicky making a helicopter entry. The bizarreness of this random news and even that of ‘drones being shot down’ at the wedding only motivated the groom to say one thing.

“While all these random news were making the rounds, I was just there with the pandit ji saying, jaldi nipta dena please. Ek ghante se jyada nahi,” the ‘URI’ actor admitted.

“Every day during the wedding, these funny memes, tweets and messages would be shared on the internet and we were aware. We had my friends who read them out for us to have a good laugh. We used to have a blast finding them,” Vicky added.

Vicky is all set to get back on the coffee couch with actor Sidharth Malhotra in the seventh episode of ‘Koffee With Karan 7’.

‘Koffee With Karan Season 7’ premieres new episodes every Thursday at 12 am exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar. (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it cannot prevent political parties from making promises during the election campaigns but the question is what constitutes right promises and what is the right way of spending public money.

A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices JK Maheshwari, and Hima Kohli observed that it was essential to define what is a freebie as the issue pertaining to what constituted freebies and what doesn’t, has become increasingly complicated.
The bench observed, “We cannot prevent political parties from making promises. The question is what constitutes right promises. Can we describe the promise of free education as a freebie? Can free drinking water, minimum essential units of power etc. be described as freebies? Can consumer products and free electronics, be described as welfare?”

“The concern right now is what is the right way of spending public money. Some people say money is wasted, some say it is welfare. The issues are getting increasingly complicated. You give your opinions, ultimately, after debate and discussion, we will decide,” said the bench.

CJI Ramana said that even after making promises to the electorate, some parties were still not elected.

The bench cited an example of schemes such as MNREGA, which gave citizens “dignity of living”.

The apex court posted the matter for hearing on August 22 and asked parties in the case to file their suggestions by Saturday.

The top court was hearing the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking direction to seize election symbols and deregister political parties that promised to distribute irrational freebies from public funds.

Political parties like Aam Aadmi Party, Congress, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have sought to intervene in the matter and opposed the plea.

Senior advocate P Wilson, appearing for DMK, contended that the petitioner is trying to convert India from a “socialist country to a capitalist country”.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said, “If our understanding of social welfare is to distribute everything for free, then I am sorry to say but that is an immature understanding.”

Earlier, the Supreme Court had said that promising and distributing freebies by political parties during elections is a “serious issue” and an amount has to be spent on infrastructure etc. It had said that the economy losing money and the welfare of people, both have to be balanced.

The CJI also said that he is “strict orthodox” and doesn’t want to encroach on the areas meant by the legislature.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Aam Aadmi Party, had opposed the PIL saying there is confusion between giving freebies and welfare schemes, and the word freebies is used in the very wrong manner.

AAP had filed an application stating that electoral promises such as free water, free electricity, and free transport are not ‘freebies’ but these schemes are absolutely essential in an unequal society.

Solicitor General had told the bench that if we say distributing freebies is the only way to achieve welfare schemes then it is a road to economic disaster and suggested that till the legislature is doing anything on freebies, Supreme Court can lay down guidelines.

On petitioner’s request for de-registration of political parties promising freebies, CJI had said he doesn’t want to enter the area of de-registering political parties etc. as its an “undemocratic arena” and “we are a democracy after all”.

Election Commission in an affidavit had supported the top court’s decision to set up an expert committee to examine regulatory measures on freebies announced by political parties ahead of elections, however, declined to be part of the panel.

The apex court had said that there is a need consisting of Niti Aayog, Finance Commission, ruling and opposition parties, Reserve Bank of India, and other stakeholders to make suggestions on how to control freebies by political parties.

Declining to be part of the expert body, the poll panel took objection to the apex court’s oral observations during a hearing where it had said that if the Commission had taken steps, this problem would not have arisen. The Commission said the remarks caused “irreparable damage” to its reputation built over the years.

The Commission had pointed out that it was the Supreme Court in its 2013 judgment which had held that promises made by political parties and candidates in their manifestos could neither be construed as a corrupt practice under the Representation of the People Act nor the violation of level playing field (Article 14).

The top court had also asked the Central government to take a stand on the need to control the issue of political parties promising to distribute irrational freebies.

The CJI had also sought the opinion of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was present in court for some other matter, on freebies by political parties.

“It’s a serious issue but difficult to control politically. The Finance Commission when it does allocation to various states can take into account the debt of the state and the quantum of freebies. The Finance Commission is the appropriate authority to deal with it. Maybe we can invite the Commission to look into this aspect. The centre cannot be expected to issue directions,” Sibal had said.

The plea had claimed that political parties’ arbitrarily promises or irrational freebies for wrongful gain and to lure voters in their favor is analogous to bribery and undue influences.

It claimed that promise or distribution of irrational freebies from public funds before elections could unduly influence the voters, shake the roots of a free and fair election, and disturb the level playing field, besides vitiating the purity of the election process. (ANI)

A supplementary chargesheet was filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the Rs 200 crore extortion case against conman Sukesh Chandrashekar in a Delhi Court on Wednesday. The chargesheet is mentioning the name of Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez as an accused.

The chargesheet has been filed before Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh on Wednesday. Jacqueline Fernandez is named as an accused in the chargesheet first time in the case.
Jacqueline Fernandez has been summoned by ED several times in the matter for the purpose of investigation.

ED’s earlier chargesheet did not mention her name as an accused but mentioned the detail of the statement recorded by Bollywood actors Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi in the matter.

According to ED’s earlier Chargesheet, Bollywood actors Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi were examined and stated that the actors got top models of BMW cars, the most expensive gifts from the accused Sukesh.

ED chargesheet clearly stated that “during the investigation, statements of Jacqueline Fernandez were recorded on 30.08.2021 and 20.10.2021 Jacqueline Fernandez stated she received gifts viz. 3 designer bags from Gucci, Chanel, 2 Gucci outfits for gym wear. A pair of Louis Vuitton shoes. 2 pairs of diamond earrings and a bracelet of multi-colored stones. 2 Hermes bracelets. She also received a Mini Cooper which she returned.”

According to ED, Sukesh was confronted with Jacqueline on 20th Oct 2021. Jacqueline Fernandez stated that Sukesh Chandrasekhar had arranged private jet trips and her hotel stay on different occasions for herself.

Statements of Nora Fatehi were recorded under section 50 of PMLA, 2002 on 13.09.2021 & 14.10.2021 wherein she stated that she got a booking for a charity event and during the event, she was gifted a Gucci Bag and one iPhone by Leena Paulose (Wife of Chandrashekhar).

Nora further stated that Leena Paulose had called her husband and put the phone on the speaker where he thanked her and said that they were her fans. She then announced that they were going to gift her a Brand new BMW car as a token of love and generosity.

According to ED, during the investigation, searches were conducted at various places linked to Sukesh Chandrashekar and his associates. During the search, 16 high-end vehicles were seized under section 17 PMLA and these cars are either in the name of firms of Leena Paulose or in the name of third parties. It is further submitted that it has emerged that Sukesh knowingly created the structure for layering and transferring proceeds of crime and thus, actively participated in the process of money laundering. (ANI)

Actor Ananya Panday seeks blessings from her co-star Vijay Deverakonda’s mother at his residence in Hyderabad ahead of the release of her upcoming sports action film ‘Liger’.

Taking to Instagram, the ‘Khaali Peeli’ actor dropped a string of pictures which she captioned, “Blessings from Vijay’s amma @deverakonda and a pooja at his home in Hyderabad for #Liger #Thankful #Grateful #Blessed thank you auntyyyyy.”

In the first picture, the ‘Liger’ couple could be seen sitting on the sofa with joined hands, smiling faces and red shawls on their shoulders.

In the picture, a group of priests could be seen standing in front of Vijay and Ananya along with the ‘Arjun Reddy’ actor’s mother in a green saree.

In the second picture, the ‘Pati Patni aur Who’ actor can be seen in a happy mood, as Vijay’s mother ties a band to her hand as a sign of blessing.

In the last picture, Ananya shows the bands that Vijay’s mother tied to her and the ‘Dear Comerade’ actor’s hand.

Vijay also shared the post on his Instagram stories, which he captioned, “This whole month touring across India and receiving so much love already felt like god’s blessing! But mummy feels we needed his protection 🙂 as Pooja and sacred bands for all of us. Now she will sleep in peace while we continue our tour #Liger.”

Both Ananya and Vijay are currently busy promoting their upcoming sports action film ‘Liger’ which is all set to hit the theatres on August 25, 2022, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.

After multiple delays due to COVID-19, the makers are currently promoting the film in full swing.

Dharma Productions recently unveiled the trailer and three songs from the film, ‘Akdi Pakdi,’ ‘Waat Laga Denge,’ and ‘Aafat,’ which gathered positive feedback from the audience. The film marks Vijay’s debut in Hindi cinema and Ananya’s first multi-lingual film.

Apart from ‘Liger’, Ananya will be also seen in ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’ along with Siddhant Chaturvedi and Gourav Adarsh. Vijay, on the other hand, will be also seen in a multi-lingual film ‘Khushi’ alongside Samantha Ruth Prabhu, which is slated to release on December 23, 2022. (ANI)

Veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra, on Wednesday, shared a video featuring his son Bobby Deol, while urging the fans to “be humble and human to make the loving world peaceful.”

Taking to Instagram, the ‘Sholay’ actor dropped a video captioning it as “Love you all, Be humble Be human. Let’s make our Loving world most Peaceful.”
In the video, Bobby could be seen saying, “Ego is the worst thing. Papa kehte the ki agar apki ego hai, it’s more contagious than a cold. Jaise zukham hota hai waise ego hai. Jaise saamne waale ko ego hai waise hi teri bhi ego jag jayegi.”

Soon after the veteran actor dropped the video, fans flooded the comment section with red heart emoticons and positive messages.

“Soo greattt..u no..I followed u..only after I watched u soo humble in a video…I luv that about u…I think this is ur success that a celebrity son away from arrogance” a fan commented.

Another fan wrote, “So true Ego is evil be humble spread love and respect to all stay grounded like Dharmaji and sons pure heart the He man of Bollywood.”

Meanwhile, talking about the work front, Dharmendra will be next seen in Karan Johar’s upcoming romantic film ‘Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ alongside Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi.

The film is all set to hit the theatres on February 10, 2022.

Apart from this, he will be also seen in director Anil Sharma’s ‘Apne 2’ along with her sons Bobby Deol, Sunny Deol and also his grandson Karan Deol. The official release date of the film is still awaited. (ANI)

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday clarified that it had not given any directions to provide EWS flats to Rohingya illegal migrants at Bakkarwala in New Delhi.

“With respect to news reports in certain sections of media regarding Rohingya illegal foreigners, it is clarified that Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has not given any directions to provide EWS flats to Rohingya illegal migrants at Bakkarwala in New Delhi,” Home Minister’s Office tweeted.
In the series of tweets, the HMO said the “government of Delhi proposed to shift the Rohingyas to a new location”.

“MHA has directed the GNCTD to ensure that the Rohingya illegal foreigners will continue at the present location as MHA has already taken up the matter of their deportation with the concerned country through MEA,” said the HMO.

It further said that “illegal foreigners are to be kept in Detention Centre till their deportation as per law”.

“The Government of Delhi has not declared the present location as a Detention Centre. They have been directed to do the same immediately.”

The clarification came after reports that around 1,100 Rohingyas staying in tents will soon be shifted into flats equipped with basic facilities and round-the-clock security.

The report followed the decision taken after a high-level meeting over the accommodation of Rohingya in the national capital was held. The meeting was chaired by the Chief Secretary of Delhi.

In the meeting, that was held during the last week of July, it was emphasised that the Delhi government was bearing around Rs 7 lakh per month rent for the tents where Rohingyas were shifted in the Madanpur Khadar area after a fire incident happen in the camp where they were living. (ANI)

In a major organizational revamp, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have been dropped from the BJP’s reconstituted Parliamentary board, the party’s apex decision-making body.

BJP national president JP Nadda on Wednesday announced that the reconstituted Parliamentary Board filled in all the vacancies that were created after the demise of senior leaders Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, and also after Venkaiah Naidu took over as the Vice President of India.
Nitin Gadkari’s exclusion from the Parliamentary board, which takes important decisions on behalf of the national executive of the party, including on chief ministers and state chiefs, has come as a surprise as he is a former BJP chief and the party has so far not removed its ex-presidents from the decision making process.

The Union Road and Transport Minister has also been dropped from the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC).

Former Assam Chief Minister and present Ayush minister, Sarbananda Sonowal has made it to the list of the Parliamentary Board

After the last Assembly elections, Sonowal had vacated the post of Assam chief minister making way for Himanta Biswa Sarma while Sonowal was brought to the Centre as a Cabinet Minister.

The party has also included the veteran leader from Karnataka BS Yediyurappa who had only last year resigned as Chief Minister after Basavaraj Bommai was made Chief Minister in his place.

Top leaders of the party had even then assured that Yediyurappa will play an active role in the party and his services would be used extensively for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.

Yediyurappa is considered to be one of the tallest leaders of the Lingayat community, which is politically crucial in the Southern state.

K Laxman former president of the BJP from Telangana and presently serving as the party’s OBC Morcha chief was recently brought to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. His appointment to the Parliamentary board has been seen as a push in the Southern state of Telangana.

Others included in the Parliamentary board are Sudha Yadav Satyanarayan Jatiya and Lal Singh Rajpura.

The party also released a list of members of the BJP Central Election Committee (CEC), which includes Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. It is another feather in the cap for Fadnavis, who was recently appointed as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra and had helped return the BJP to power in the state.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who has also been a member of the Parliamentary board and CEC for the longest period was dropped from the CEC.

Former Bihar minister Shahnawaz Hussain and one of BJP’s longest serving members of Parliament Jual Oram was also been dropped from the party’s CEC.

The new Parliamentary Board constituted by the BJP indicates how the party rewards old workers BSY, Satya Narayan Jatia, K Laxman have given their lives to the party, building it brick by brick from the start and values the experience of its karyakartas.

There is evidently an emphasis on diversity. Sarbananda Sonowal is from the NorthEast, L Laxman and BS Yediyurappa hail from the South and Iqbal Singh Lalpura is a Sikh.

Sudha Yadav is a self-made political leader whose husband was killed in action at Kargil. Her inclusion shows the topmost respect to women and families of the armed forces.

Representation from the South and NorthEast is at an all time high of sorts. (ANI)