NEW DELHI: No political party in India can ever afford to restore Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Union minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said as he alleged that the bogey of autonomy or self-rule is raised by certain opposition leaders only when they are out of power.
Taking a strong exception to utterances by some of the leaders of “so-called” mainstream Kashmir-centric political parties like the PDP and the National Conference, he said unsubstantiated assertions made by these leaders are only motivated by a desperate attempt to hold back the ground which is fast slipping from under their feet.
“No political party in India can ever afford to restore back Article 370 and the unsubstantiated assertions made by these leaders are only motivated by a desperate attempt to hold back the ground which is fast slipping from under their feet,” Singh said.
He also dared the Congress to make its stand clear on the issue, saying if it has the courage and conviction, it should go for the ensuing District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir with the slogan that it will restore Article 370 if voted to power at the Centre.
Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, alleged that the bogey of autonomy or self-rule is raised by the leaders of National Conference and other Jammu and Kashmir-based political parties only when they are out of power.
He said the leadership of National Conference must explain to the people of Jammu and Kashmir why Farooq Abdullah did not find it appropriate to resign as chief minister when the autonomy resolution put forward by his government in the erstwhile state of J&K was summarily rejected by the then Vajpayee government at the Centre.
“Not only this, his son also continued as a junior minister in the Vajpayee government,” Singh said.
“Let us not forget that the decision to abrogate Article 370 was passed by the Parliament which also has members representing National Conference and PDP,” he said.
“If indeed, they are sincerely against the decision taken by the Parliament, why do they not, for the sake of minimum propriety, resign from their seats in Parliament so that the people may trust them for what they are saying,” he asked.
Accusing the political parties of Kashmir and their leaders of “having their cake and eating it too”, Singh said this craft of double-speak and change of stance overnight for political expediency is now meeting with the fate of diminishing returns.
He said three generations down the line, common masses are now wary of this jugglery and are not ready to be hoodwinked any longer. (Agency)
No political party can ever afford to restore Article 370 in J&K: Jitendra Singh
Will not die until rights of my people are restored: Farooq
JAMMU: Addressing his party workers in Jammu for the first time in over a year, a visibly emotional Farooq Abdullah on Friday said he won’t die until constitutional rights of the people of the erstwhile state are restored.
The National Conference (NC) president also assailed the BJP for “misleading the country” and making “false promises” to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as well as those in Ladakh.
“I will not die until the rights of my people are given back…. I am here to do something for the people and the day I will finish my work, I will leave this world,” Abdullah told NC workers who packed the Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan here ahead of a scheduled meeting of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) on Saturday. (AGENCIES)
Double standards: Twitter users on Poonam Pandey’s arrest and praise for Milind Soman’s naked run
MUMBAI: Actor Poonam Pandey’s arrest over shooting an “objectionable” video in Goa is being cited as an example of gender discrimination on social media, with many pointing out to the praise Milind Soman received for his naked run on a beach.
The Goa Police on Thursday arrested the actor-model and her husband for allegedly trespassing on Government property and shooting an “objectionable” video at a dam in Canacona town.
The shoot on the Government property had triggered a controversy with opposition parties demanding action against Pandey for shooting the video, which they termed as “obscene”.
On the other hand, Soman peacefully rang in his 55th birthday on Wednesday by posting a photo wherein he can be seen running naked on a beach in Goa.
While Pandey faced legal trouble, most of the comments appreciated Soman for his commitment to fitness.
Screenwriter Apurva Asrani took to Twitter and wondered why rules were different for men and women.
“PoonamPandey & #MilindSoman both stripped down to their birthday suits in #Goa recently. Pandey partly, Soman completely. Pandey is in legal trouble–for obscenity. Soman is being lauded for his fit body at age 55. I guess we are kinder to our nude men than to our nude women,” Asrani wrote.
“Our women are labelled sluts if they go nude. Men are not. Actresses who ‘bare’ are branded sex-sirens for life, rarely reaching respectable positions like Madhuri & Sridevi. Male actors though, get away with sex scenes & hairy-chest titillation. Face it. We are a sexist society,” the Goa-based writer added.
Actor Parul Yadav tweeted,”The #hypocrisy is astounding…Why is a man applauded and a woman arrested for doing the same thing? About time we move past this #inequality.” (AGENCIES)
I want to chronicle our times for future generations: Hansal Mehta
NEW DELHI: If Hansal Mehta ever makes a film on food it will be his most “expensive and pretty”, but for the moment the director of “Shahid”, “Aligarh” and the recent web series “Scam 1992” says he wants to chronicle the times for future generations through his stories.
The director seems to have overcome the debacle of his last two releases, Kangana Ranaut-starrer “Simran” in 2017 and “Omerta”, the 2018 crime drama on terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, and is enjoying the opportunities thrown up by OTT platforms .
While “Scam 1992” chronicles the rise and fall of stockbroker Harshad Mehta and is getting rave reviews on Sony Liv, “Chhalaang”, a small town comedy drama, is Mehta’s ode to PT teachers and will be seen on Amazon Prime Video next week.
Asked whether this is his best creative phase as a director, Mehta said, “I can’t say the best but I am enjoying this phase, trying new things, attempting something fresh, particularly with ‘Scam 92′ and ‘Chhalaang’. It is something I have not attempted or made before. That was exciting.”
He has learnt to fight back and survive over the years, Mehta said. The 52-year-old also said he is determined to keep working “until the last day” of his life.
“There is no other option but to bounce back. Adversities come and go. I know no other way of living. I am a survivor and a fighter. That’s what I do. I survive, I fight back and I just pick up the pieces and get on with my life. I have learnt never to accept defeat. It is a decision that I have made that I will keep working until the last day of my life,” Mehta said in a Zoom interview.
J&K records 581 new COVID-19 cases, 6 deaths
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir on Friday recorded 581 new COVID-19 cases and six fatalities, taking the number of cases to 97,805 and the death toll to 1,523, officials said.
Out of the fresh cases, 228 were from the Jammu division and 353 from the Kashmir Valley, they said.
The officials said Srinagar district recorded the highest of 169 cases, followed by 92 in Jammu.
There are 5,745 active cases as of now in the UT, while 90,537 patients have recovered, the officials said.
The UT reported four COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours — two from the Jammu division and four from the Kashmir valley, they said. (AGENCIES)
J&K Bank posts Rs 44 cr net profit in Q2
NEW DELHI: Jammu & Kashmir Bank on Friday reported a standalone net profit of Rs 44 crore in the second quarter ended September of the current fiscal year.
The state-owned lender had posted a net loss of Rs 916.81 crore during the same quarter a year ago.
Sequentially, net profit grew multi-fold from Rs 6.50 crore in April-June 2020 quarter.
Total income fell to Rs 2,194.47 crore in July-September from Rs 2,262.94 crore in the same quarter of 2019-20, J&K Bank said in a regulatory filing. (AGENCIES)
Tata Motors introduces Harrier CAMO edition of its flagship SUV
KOLKATA:Tata Motors, India’s leading automotive brand, today announced the launch of the CAMO, a special edition of Harrier- its flagship SUV, this festive season.
The Harrier CAMO edition is the ultimate personification of the SUV, unifying all product aspects into a single, high-presence design. The all new CAMO Green is created to stand out while blending in while the Steel Grey reflects the inner strength of the OMEGARC on which this indestructible product is based. The CAMO edition will be available in manual transmission from XT variant onwards, and in the automatic transmission from XZ variant onwards.
Further, to accentuate the dynamism and functionality of the CAMO edition, the company has also introduced a host of special accessories:These accessories will be available in two pack options- CAMO Stealth and CAMO Stealth +, prices starting at INR 26,999.
Commenting on the launch of this latest edition, Vivek Srivatsa, Head, Marketing, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors, said, “Living up to our promise of New Forever, we are delighted to introduce an absolutely stunning rendition of our Flagship SUV- The Harrier CAMOEdition. The Harrier, in its CAMO avatar pays homage to the ultimate inspiration of this SUV i.ethe Great Indian Outdoors, and the spirt & grit of the armed forces who spend a majority of their time in these outdoor locations, keeping our borders safe and secure. We are confident our customers will appreciate the strong, unique form of the Harrier, rendered even more robustlyin the CAMO Edition, this festive season.” (AGENCIES)
India, Philippines vow to strengthen defence engagement, maritime cooperation
NEW DELHI: India and Philippines on Friday resolved to strengthen defence engagement and maritime cooperation, especially in military training, as well as in procurement of defence equipment.
The resolve by the two nations to deepen defence and maritime ties comes in the backdrop of China’s growing expansionist behaviour in eastern Ladakh, South China Sea and Indo-Pacific region.
The fourth meeting of the India-Philippines joint commission on bilateral cooperation, co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Philippines counterpart Teodoro Locsin Jr. L, was held online on Friday. (AGENCIES)
Vivo India to raise localisation level to 40 pc by 2021
Kolkata : Smartphone brand Vivo India on Friday said it was planning to raise the localisation level in the phones produced in India to 40 per cent by 2021, a senior company official said.
The government in the recent past increased import duty on accessories and components of mobile phones like motherboards, panels and touchpads by about 10 per cent to promote local manufacturing.
Currently, the localisation level for Vivo India is 15 per cent for all the handsets it sells in India and the company had committed to raise it to 40 per cent at its Noida manufacturing facility in continuation of Vivo’s commitment to ‘Make in India’, Vivo India director-brand strategy, Nipun Marya said at the launch of V20 SE in West Bengal.
Vivo claimed 28 per cent market share at the national level and was the top brand in terms of volume in the offline smartphones market in 2020.
In West Bengal the market share is 21 per cent, the company claimed. In the last quarter Vivo’s market had expanded while in West Bengal it shrank by one per cent.
West Bengal contributes over 5 per cent (by volume) to the overall smartphone market in India selling approximately 5 lakh smartphones per month, Marya said.
He did not elaborate on sales till now in the ongoing festive season and said the next 10 days remains to be crucial. (AGENCIES)
Bio-bubble affecting players mentally, says Kohli
Dubai : India skipper Virat Kohli has expressed his concern the way the bio-bubble is affecting the players mentally due to lengthy tours.
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Kohli, is currently part of the Indian Premier League bio-bubble, and he along with other Indian players will fly out to Australia soon after the tournament finishes.
The series against Australia only ends in February, which means a majority of the players would have been part of the bio-bubble culture for a lengthy period.
“It’s repetitive, it’s not as tough when the group of guys is amazing, which we have,” Kohli told RCB TV. “Everyone part of that bio-bubble is really nice, the vibe has been so good. That’s precisely why we’ve enjoyed playing together, just enjoyed our time in the bubble as well, but it does get difficult at times because it is repetitive.”
“These things will have to be considered,” he said. “Like what length of the tournament or series one is going to play and what impact it will have on players mentally to stay in a similar environment for 80 days and not do anything different.
“Or have space to just go and see family or small things like that. These things have to be thought about seriously. At the end of the day, you want the players to be in the best state mentally, based on how they’re feeling. Those conversations should take place regularly,” Kohli said.
Last week, England all-rounder Sam Curran, who was part of the Chennai Super Kings, felt players won’t hesitate from opting out of national selection “in the near future” due to the mental strain of going from one bio-bubble to another.
Curran’s England team-mate Jofra Archer, who has spent time in bio-bubbles since June, more than any other player currently, had admitted that he was counting down days to going home from the UAE, where he was part of the Rajasthan Royals.
(AGENCIES)