LIVE! We protect our animals like kids, cow protectors need not worry: Gujjars

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Sun, 23 April 2017

We protect our animals like kids, cow protectors need not worry: Gujjars

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21:52 We protect our animals like kids, cow protectors need not worry: Gujjars

The Gujjar community said that they protect their animals like kids so "the cow protectors need not worry", days after members of a nomadic family were beaten up as some people mistook them for cow smugglers in Reasi.

In a programme organised in Jammu to discuss 'tribal seasonal migration issue', Javaid Rahi, a noted tribal researcher said, "Since centuries together, we the Gujjars protect our animals like our kids so the cow protectors must need not to worry".

Members of the nomadic Gujjar-Bakerwal tribes issued a joint appeal to the people of Jammu and adjoining districts to uphold the age-old traditions and tolerance towards nomads and their animals.

The appeal was issued by community leaders after two members of a nomadic family were beaten up by a group of people who mistook them for cow smugglers in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Thursday.

"We appeal residents of Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Reasi and Udhampur districts to be soft with nomadic tribes who are under migration towards upper reaches along with animals," Rahi said.

20:29

Around 54% voting recorded in MCD elections, says State Election Commissioner SK Srivastava

20:29 India should recognise Balochistan as separate country: Swamy

India should recognise Balochistan as a separate country if Pakistan went ahead with the execution of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said today.

"Pakistan should be taught a lesson by recognising Balochistan if it executes Jadhav. Not only that, Pakistan should be divided into Balochistan, Pakhtunistan and Sindh to teach it a lesson for encouraging cross-border terrorism," he said.

Swamy was delivering a lecture on 'India and International Terrorism', organised by Bharat Vikas Parishad, an NGO, at the Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad Nagargruh in Akota locality in Vadodara.

"Merely declaring Pakistan as a state sponsoring terrorism will not serve any purpose. Only the disintegration of Pakistan will help tackle the issue of cross-border terrorism better," said the Rajya Sabha member.

He also said "attacks" should be carried out on the premises of the two most wanted terrorists -- Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim -- who have taken shelter in Pakistan.

He suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should seek support from the US to fight against terrorism originating from the Pakistani soil.

"India should not worry about Pakistan's threat of using the atom bomb in case of a troubled situation on the border as the button of this bomb is in the hands of the US, which has full control over the affairs of the neighbouring country," said Swamy.

He also requested Modi to improve the ties with China and seek its cooperation in fighting terrorism as terrorists were using the Chinese territory to enter Kashmir.

In a bid to clear confusion over Sharia laws, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has decided to tread the social media path and also explore the possibility of starting a TV news channel and newspaper.

The board has decided to constitute a special social media committee, which will provide clear information about various issues pertaining to divorce, marriage, halala, warisana haq (inhertiance rights) and women's rights among other issues. It will also convey the board's stand on these contentious issues.

"Senior office bearers along with a large section feel the medium through which Sharia laws are being criticised, the same medium should be utilised to register our presence and also to present the right picture of things," AIMPLB senior executive member Maulana Yasin Usmani told PTI.

He said that in the executive meeting of AIMPLB in Lucknow on April 15 and 16, this issue cropped up and it was decided to form a social media committee.

"For this, the board authorised its Chairman Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadwi and General Secretary Maulana Wali Rahmani," Usmani said.

"The committee is likely to be formed soon. It is quite possible that office bearers of the board, who are active on the social media and have in-depth knowledge about Sharia laws, may be included so that they can immediately respond to queries on the social media and give their reaction," he said.

Besides social media, the board had also discussed at its recent meeting the idea of starting a television news channel and newspaper, Usmani said.

"Most of the office bearers in principle had agreed to the idea. But, on the issue of non-availability of the required resources in the current scenario, no decision was taken," he said.

"Keeping in mind the present circumstances, the AIMPLB has to take some tangible steps in this direction," he said.

The BJP could be headed for a landslide victory in the Delhi municipal polls with two exit polls predicting the party finishing way ahead of the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress with over 200 of the 270 wards where polling was held today.

Going by the projected figures, the AAP could well be staring at a rout on its home turf, barely two years into its rise to power bagging a staggering 67 of the 70 Assembly seats, while the Congress' attempt to regain ground may come a cropper.

According to the India Today-Axis exit poll, the BJP may bag anything between 202 and 220 seats, while the AAP and the Congress will score something around 23-35 and 19-31 respectively.

The CVoter-ABP exit poll claimed the BJP was likely to sweep Delhi with 218 seats, limiting the AAP and the Congress to 24 and 22 seats respectively.

Polling was held in 270 wards of the three municipal corporations. The election to two wards has been postponed due to the death of candidates.

The BJP has been ruling the MCD for past 10 years and is looking for third consecutive term.

Counting of votes will be held on April 26.

20:09 IPL update: KKR-RCB delayd due to rain

The Indian Premier League match betweeen Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore to be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata has been delayed due to rain.

The match is delayed by an hour.

19:44 Reach out to students from J&K: Modi to CMs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged all state governments to reach out to the students of Jammu and Kashmir in their respective states.

Modi's advice, which came after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti raised the point at a meeting of chief ministers in New Delhi, assumes significance as it comes against the backdrop of thrashing of some Kashmiri students in Mewar in Rajasthan and a hoarding in Meerut asking Kashmiris to leave Uttar Pradesh.

At the meeting of the NITI Aayog Governing Council, Modi "seconded" Mehbooba's suggestion that states should take interest in the students from Jammu and Kashmir who are studying in other states.

The prime minister "urged states to reach out to these students (of J&K) from time to time", said a statement by the PMO quoting Modi's concluding remarks.

Six Kashmiri students of Mewar University in Rajasthan were recently thrashed by some locals there.

Also, in Meerut, a hoarding had been put up, asking Kashmiris to leave Uttar Pradesh.

Modi also took note of the invitation extended by Mehbooba to various state governments to organise events in her state.

"The prime minister suggested that states could organize events there," the statement said.

19:11

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches BJP HQ in Delhi for meeting with chief ministers and deputy chief ministers of states ruled by BJP

Tamil Nadu farmers, protesting over drought relief funds and waiver of loans, have called off their strike till May 25 after an assurance by Chief Minister E Palaniswami.

Earlier in the day, Palaniswami met the farmers who have been protesting at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for the last 39 days. The chief minister assured the farmers that their demands will be met and urged them to call off their protest.

Palaniswami had promised the farmers that he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and submit a memorandum highlighting their plight. He has already discussed the issue with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The protesting farmers have been demanding a Rs. 40,000-crore drought relief package, farm loan waiver and setting up of the Cauvery Management Board by the centre.

Over the last 39 days, they have shaved their heads, halved their moustaches, held mice and snakes in their mouths, conducted mock funerals, flogged themselves and even carried skulls of other farmerswho had committed suicide due to debt pressure.

Also read: 'The farmer is dying and the country is rejoicing'

IMAGE: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami receiving a memorandum from the state farmers at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Sunday said service charge cannot be imposed mandatorily, adding that levying such charge is illegal under the latest guidelines issued by the government.

"There is no such thing as service charge. People already know that taxes are already added when they pay for a product," Paswan told ANI.

"Hence our government has issued guidelines which make service charge optional or voluntary," he added.

Paswan further said that restaurant or hotel owners should let the customer decide what amount they want to pay.

"Those who want to pay service charge, they can give in the form of tips or the resultant should let the customer decide what kind amount the customer wants to pay. But it is illegal to impose service charge on anyone," he added.

The Union Minister said that the customer has the right to approach consumer affairs department if they are forced to pay such charges.

Last week, the government had approved new guidelines giving consumers the right to decide whether they wish to pay service charge on hotel or restaurant bills.

Representative image

16:53 Injured Dwayne Bravo ruled out of IPL

Gujarat Lions today suffered a setback after West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was ruled out of the 10th edition of Indian Premier League.

Bravo is yet to fully recuperate from his left hamstring surgery after sustaining an injury in December during the Big Bash League.

Gujarat Lions Skipper Suresh Raina confirmed the development.

The Gujarat franchise was expecting him to get fit during the later part of the season as he was travelling with the team while undergoing rehabilitation.

"No Dwayne Bravo. He's been doing proper rehab and it might take three-four weeks, so he might be out of the tournament. So now we have to talk to the management and think about a replacement," Raina said.

West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party chief Dilip Ghosh has stoked a controversy by saying that anyone opposing the chants of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Jai Sri Ram" in the country will become history.

"A leader like Narendra Modi has the capacity to take such decisions in this platform. If anyone restricts he will be thrown out from here. From Gujarat to Guwahati and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari everyone has to utter Bharat Mata ki jai and Jai Sri Ram and the one who would oppose this has to be a part of history," Ghosh said.

Asking the Trinamool Congress supporters to change their "bad habits, Ghosh warned that the BJP activists in the state could not be messed with.

"The BJP is present all over the nation. I request you not to compel us. The BJP is very good but if you compel then the party would be the worst of all," he added.

Coming out in defence of Ghosh, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said we all are Indians, adding that everyone should praise the country they live in.

16:01 MCD polls: 35 % vote turnout till 2 pm

Around 35 per cent votes were polled in the municipal elections in the national capital till 2 pm, with the electorates in north Delhi leading the tally.

"Around 43,82,359 votes have been polled since 8 am. As many as 16,40,304 people have cast their vote in areas under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation," according to the State Election Commission.

Polling began for the high-stakes MCD polls at 8 am and will go on till 5:30 pm.

The elections to two wards have been postponed due to death of candidates, so voting is being held in only 270 wards.

"Around 35 per cent of the total votes have been polled. In South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) area 16,40,304 votes have been while in East Delhi, the figure stands at 11,05,365," a senior official of the commission said.

Uttar Pradesh Navnirman Sena chief Amit Jani has been arrested in connection with the anti-Kashmiri hoardings that were put up in the city.

Partapur police station in-charge Dinesh Sharma said Jani was arrested from the Delhi-Doon highway near Partapur bypass when he was on his way to Dehradun from the capital on Saturday night.

Banners calling for boycott of Kashmiris and asking them to leave Uttar Pradesh had been put up by the organisation on NH-58 outside the colleges where students from the Valley study.

The outfit had said it was only the first step and it would launch a "halla bol" campaign from April 30 to "banish" the Kashmiris who do not leave the state on their own. A case had been lodged against Jani following which he had gone missing.

On Saturday, through his advocate, the organisation's chief submitted a surrender application before the special CJM court.

Upon being questioned, he told police that he had got the hoardings put up because soldiers were being martyred in Kashmir.

Jani had first shot into the limelight in 2012 when he damaged a statue of former chief minister Mayawati. Last year, he had been arrested for threatening to kill JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid.

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has questioned the relevance of award functions, including the National Film Awards, by citing Aamir Khan's example.

The 55-year-old director took to Twitter, where he called the actor "the greatest filmmaker" in the country and said his consistent absence from such events only reflects their importance today.

"Fact that Aamir Khan, the greatest filmmaker of India does not attend any award events, including national award speaks, about those events," wrote Varma.

The "Sarkaar" director further lauded Khan for continuing to deliver good content and not care about receiving awards.

"Highest quality films are made by Aamir and that he doesn't care to be measured by any Indian award committee, including National (Awards) speaks loud," he added.

Recently, actor Akshay Kumar winning the National Award for Best Actor for his role in crime drama Rustom was questioned by many people.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ousted leader TTV Dinakaran is being questioned for the second consecutive day over an alleged attempt to bribe an Election Commission official for retaining the two leaves party symbol and the related money trail.

Yesterday, Dinakaran was questioned for seven hours on Saturday by an ACP-rank investigating officer at the Chanakyapuri Inter State Cell office. He was given a set of questions by the police.

The questionnaire includes queries about the money trail, his association with Sukesh Chandrashekhar, the middleman alleged to have struck deal for Rs. 50 crore to help Dinakaran's AIADMK faction keep the 'two leaves' poll symbol, how many times he met Sukesh and whether any meeting with the Election Commission officials took place, or not, etc.

According to sources, there was a possibility of cross questioning Sukesh and also both of them together.

13:49 PM Modi @ NITI Aayog meet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for combined efforts of all states and chief ministers for vision of 'New India'.

"Vision of New India can be realised only through combined efforts of all states and chief ministers," Modi said at the third meeting of NITI Aayog's Governing Council.

Talking on good and service tax, he said, "Consensus on GST will go down in history as a great illustration of cooperative federalism."

"GST reflects the spirit of one nation, one aspiration, one determination," he added.

The PM also said that the debate and discussion on simultaneous elections of Lok Sabha and states should be continued.

PM Modi also asked states to speed up capital expenditure and infrastructure creation.

After stirring up a controversy by posting about "forced religiousness" and speaking against the use of loudspeakers atop mosques, temples and gurudwaras for religious purposes, singer Sonu Nigam on Sunday took to social media to share a video of azaan.

In the clip, which was presumably recorded at dawn, the loud call to prayer can be heard all around.

The post was captioned 'Goodmorning India.'

However, the 43-year-old singer didn't say in his tweet where he recorded this particular 'azaan' from and on what day.

You can see the recording HERE

Last week, the singer posted several tweets talking unfavourably about, in general, religion-related material being broadcast over microphones and "forced religiousness."

There was a huge uproar with many saying he was insulting religion or Muslims or both, and many talking about his hypocrisy as he, too, has performed devotional songs, on microphones, at all-night Hindu religious events.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing the third meeting of NITI Aayog's Governing Council which will deliberate on the 15-year vision document to accelerate the country's economic development.

Cabinet ministers, chief ministers, officials, members of NITI Aayog and special invitees are attending the meeting.

Some non-BJP Chief Ministers like Mamata Banerjee and Mukul Sangma have skipped the meet and sent their ministers instead.

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra is attending the meeting on behalf of Banerjee.

However, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Congress' Punjab CM Amarinder Singh and Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh are present for the meeting. Chief Ministers of Left-ruled states, Manik Sarkar of Tripura and Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala are also present there along with Tamil Nadu's E Palaniswamy.

The Modi government has already made it clear that it was dumping the Soviet-era relic, the five-year-plans, since it was too short a period to plan, and too narrow an approach. All previous schemes under this format ended this year.

Unlike the five year plan, the vision document will not only have broad targets for the economic and social sector but also map the objectives in internal security and defence.

11:28 Now apply for passports in Hindi

The ministry of external affairs has made a provision enabling people to apply online for passports in Hindi. The move comes after President Pranab Mukherjee recently accepted recommendations made in this regard by the Committee of Parliament on Official Language via its ninth report.

The report was submitted in 2011.

People can download the application form available in Hindi, fill it in and upload it while applying for the passport.

11:15 'Avatar' sequel release dates confirmed

Filmmaker James Cameron and Fox have set the release dates for the four "Avatar" sequels, with "Avatar 2" arriving on December 18, 2020.

"Avatar 3" will open December 17, 2021, followed by a three-year break for "Avatar 4, set for December 20, 2024.

"Avatar 5" will then open on December 19, 2025. The news was announced on the movie's official Facebook page.

Cameron had announced a year ago at CinemaCon that he would make four "Avatar" sequels, promising that the films would start hitting theaters in 2018.

11:05

JUST IN: Delhi records 1.16 per cent voting so far

11:00 3 men thrashed for transporting buffaloes in Delhi

Three men were roughed up last night in posh South Delhi, allegedly by activists of an animal rights group. The police are questioning the men, who were transporting buffaloes from Gurgaon to Ghazipur mandi for slaughter.

A case has been filed against the men for inhumane treatment of the animals.

"The buffaloes were in bad shape," an officer said.Admitting that the men sustained minor injuries, a police officer said they got treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. But no complaint has been filed against the attackers, said a senior police officer, Ramil Baniya.

The rights group involved, the officer said, was People for Animals. "The NGO PFA has been working against animal cruelty in Delhi for a long time. they are not 'gau rakshaks'," he said.

The office of Union Minister Maneka Gandhi -- a well-known animal rights activist who is also the chairman of the PFA -- however, denied that the men are connected to the organisation.

In a sudden move, Uttar Pradesh government took away or downgraded security cover of several opposition leaders, including former chief ministers Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati and Samajwadi Party MPs Dimple Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav and SP leaders like Shivpal Yadav and Azam Khan.

However, some have had their security cover upgraded, including senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar, who will now get Z category security.

The decision was taken following a meeting of security committee comprising principal secretary (home), ADG Intelligence and ADG (security) with newly-appointed DGP Sulkhan Singh.

The order came into effect from Saturday night.

So far, as many as 151 VIPs were enjoying graded security and while the cover has been totally withdrawn from 105 of them, it has been downgraded in the case of 46 VIPs.

The stage is set for a battle of sorts over the distribution of revenue from cricket, considered one of the most marketable sports in the world. At the centre of the conflict is the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which is the country's apex cricketing body, and the International Cricket Council, the global governing body for cricket.

On April 24, a meeting of the chief executives committee of the ICC member boards will be held. Coming after the February 4 board meeting of the ICC, this meeting will in many respects, say sources, determine whether the BCCI will be at the receiving end of the new revenue model proposed by the ICC.

-- Viveat Susan Pinto/Business Standard

French voters head to the polls on Sunday in the first step of a nail-biting two-round process to elect France's next president.

The election, which will choose a leader with some of the greatest executive powers among western democracies, has turned into a four-way cliffhanger after months of campaigning marked by embezzlement scandals, terror attacks, the collapse of old mainstream parties and the rise of candidates from the extreme right and left.

On Sunday evening, when polling stations close, France will discover the two front-runners who will face each other in a runoff on May 7. The names will provide an indication as to whether the eurozone's second-largest economy will succumb to the populist tide shaking the postwar liberal order in Europe.

On Friday, the last day of campaigning, polls showed that Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old former economy minister running with a new centrist party, and Marine Le Pen, the far-right National Front party leader, would qualify for the second round, with about 24 per cent and 22 per cent of the votes respectively.

Also please read: France has the Blues

Nearly 30 chief ministers are likely to get a broad preview of Modi Government's 15-year vision document for the country that has been in the works for months at today's meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the think-tank's third meeting that is slated to start around 10 am. The governing council is meeting after a gap of 21 months and is expected to focus on the big changes in the way India is going to plan for the future for over six hours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet chief ministers of BJP-ruled states later on Sunday evening.

Some non-BJP CM are expected to skip the meeting and depute their ministers instead. Sources said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was, as in the past, expected to give the meeting a miss. The state would be represented by Finance Minister Amit Mitra. It is not clear if Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will find the time for the meet either since it clashes with polls to the three municipal corporations in the city.

Regional Rapid Transit System, on the lines of suburban train networks in Europe and North America, is being planned by the central government, starting with Delhi-Alwar (Rajasthan) corridor, at an investment of Rs 37,539 crore.

A stakeholder's workshop was organised on Saturday by NCR Transport Corporation and NCR Planning Board to discuss various aspects of the Delhi-Alwar RRTS corridor.

The distance between Alwar and Delhi has been planned to be covered in just 104 minutes, Delhi-Mahipalpur (Aero City) in 12 minutes, Delhi-Manesar in 30 minutes and Delhi-Rewari in 57 minutes, an official statement said.

-- Megha Manchanda/Business Standard

From triple talaq to Islamophobia, from the insecurity that he sees in the 'amplification of the azaan' to the now factious subject of nationalism and minorities, there was no subject that actor Saif Ali Khan shied away from during an interview, a day after he was the guest at Express Adda in Mumbai.

"Nationalism is amazing and important for development, but is that the same as Hinduism? I don't think so. In a country that has been secular, there are minorities, it will make them uncomfortable. This doesn't apply to me because my world is more privileged, insular," he said, adding, "So I don't mind living in a Hindu State either, just make the law same for everyone.'

Read full story HERE

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami today met farmers from the state who have been protesting at Jantar Mantar for the last 39 days.

The chief minister assured the farmers that their demands will be met and advised them to call off their protest. He told them he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and submit a memorandum highlighting their plight.

Palaniswami has already discussed the issue with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Palaniswami, who arrived in the national capital yesterday, will attend the NITI Aayog meeting along with chief ministers of other states. The protesting farmers have been demanding a Rs 40,000-crore drought relief package, farm loan waiver and setting up of the Cauvery Management Board by the Centre.

With 60 per cent deficit in rainfall, Tamil Nadu witnessed its worst drought in 140 years.

08:17

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal casts vote in polling station in GK-3

07:57 Voting for high-stakes Delhi municipal bodies today

The voting for three Delhi municipal bodies will take place today, the verdict of which will reshape the political equations in the country's capital.

The erstwhile unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi was trifurcated in 2012 into North, South and East Municipal Corporations. While NDMC and SDMC have 104 wards each, EDMC has 64.

There are 1,004 candidates vying in the NDMC area, 985 in SDMC's and 548 in EDMC.

The campaigning involving the three main players -- the AAP, the BJP and the Congress -- was intense, marked by rancour.

Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party --which had stunned all by bagging 67 seats out of 70 in the 2015 assembly polls -- faces the first test of popularity in the capital post the elections. It had recently lost the by-polls to the Rajouri Garden seat which it blamed was due to hostile constituency dynamics.

The BJP, which is seeking to retain the turf it has held for the last 10 years, has fielded all fresh faces in the contest -- 267 wards.

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