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Chandrababu Naidu meets Rahul Gandhi, says “Unity to save nation and defend democracy”
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party Chief today had a meeting with Congress President Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi today, a meeting, which the former termed it as a “Democratic Compulsion.” Apparently, Naidu had visited Gandhi at the latter’s residence in an attempt to garner opposition unity to take on the ruling BJP at the next year’s Lok Sabha polls, IE reported.
“We have to save the nation and defend democracy. It is a democratic compulsion and we have joined together to protect our country,” Naidu said while addressing the media. This was the TDP chief’s first meeting with Rahul Gandhi after getting out of the alliance with the NDA. The two had shared the dais at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in May.
Emphasising the need for opposition parties to unite against the saffron party, Gandhi said, “We had a very good meeting. The gist was that we have to defend the democracy and future of the country. So, we are coming together to work together; all opposition forces must unite. We are not going to get into the past. We are going to talk about the present and the future. Opposition forces need to come together to provide a vision to the country because of the current situation.”
Talking about unemployment and alleged corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal, Gandhi said, “It is very clear that corruption is taking place. Institutions that can investigate are being attacked. A proper inquiry on what all happened, where the money went and who did corruption, that is what I am pushing very aggressively. The nation wants to know this.”
Slew of meetings
Earlier in the day, Naidu had met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and held talks of building a nationwide alliance against the saffron party. After meeting Pawar and Abdullah in the afternoon, Naidu had told reporters, “We must protect the future generations. There is a need to chalk out a programme for the future. We must act in the interest of the nation.” Abdullah, on the other hand, said the country was going through “difficult times” and emphasised on the need to “save democracy”.
Expressing concern over “assault” on institutions like the CBI and the RBI, Pawar said the non-BJP parties will come out with a common minimum programme to take on the government. “If we collectively work to save democracy, we can definitely save the institutions. Chandrababu (Naidu) will talk to other state political leaders in this regard,” the NCP chief said. Naidu also met Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. However, TDP sources claimed that the duo met “coincidentally” at the airport.
Watershed
The meeting between Naidu and Gandhi could be a watershed in the history of TDP, established by Naidu’s father-in-law, late NT Rama Tao in the early 1980s with the sole purpose of defeating the Congress in undivided Andhra. He was successful within a year and became the first non-Congress CM of AP in 1983. Now the TDP, under Naidu, is already in talks with the Congress for an alliance in Telangana.
Naidu, who walked out of the NDA alliance this year over demand for special status for Andhra Pradesh, is now trying to bring all like-minded opposition parties together to form an alliance as an alternative to BJP. “I have taken the responsibility to save the country from this threat. It is the duty of all to save the country,” he said.
On his previous visit to the national capital, Naidu had met a cross-section of non-Congress and non-BJP leaders in an effort to bring them together against the NDA. During his visit, he met the likes of BSP chief Mayawati, AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, former BJP leader and government critique Yashwant Sinha, and Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav.
Credible Alternative
Naidu, who was the convenor of the United Front coalition, pointed out that the TDP and he himself had played a role in the formation of the coalition governments in 1989 and later in 1996. He said coalition and minority governments have “done well” to implement “clear policies”, and argued that political compulsions have always brought parties together. He said he will play the role of a “facilitator” in helping evolve a credible alternative and said that he is not interested in becoming the Prime Minister, added the report.
All 188 people on board Lion Air flight of Indonesia feared dead in a crash including Indian pilot Bhavye Suneja
The Lion Air flight, carrying at least 188 people on board crashed into the sea off Indonesia’s island of Java today. All of them including the Indian pilot, Bhavye Suneja, the captain of the ill-fated plane are feared to have dead.
The Delhi-based Suneja joined Lion Air in March 2011 and his last voyage was in a Boeing 737 Max that plunged into the sea. The Lion Air flight crashed shortly after takeoff from the capital city of Jakarta on its way to tin-mining hub, quoting officials, a Reuters report said.
Meanwhile, the Dubai-based Khaleej Times reported that the pilot, a resident of Mayur Vihar, Delhi studied at the Ahlcon Public School. Quoting the Times of India, the KT report said, “We spoke this July. He is a very sweet-sounding person. Being an experienced pilot of the B737 with an incident, accident-free record, we are keen to have him with us because of his good credentials. His only request was that he wanted a Delhi posting as he is from the city,” a senior official was quoted as saying.
#KeralaHighCourt: “Devotees of all religions have right to enter #Sabarimala”
Devotees of all religions have the right to enter Sabarimala temple, the Kerala High Court said today, as per ANI report. The HC also expressed dissatisfaction on the application filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader TG Mohandas who sought a ban on the entry of non-Hindus into the hill-top shrine.
Mohandas, in his petition had sought a directive to enforce Rule 3 (a) under the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Act, 1965, that prohibits entry of non-Hindus into temples. What is more, Mohandas had also sought an independent investigation into the police action allowing non-Hindu women and non-idol worshippers into the temple following the Supreme Court’s recent verdict allowing the entry of women between the ages of ten and 50.
Disruption of Secularism
The Malayalam daily, Mathrubhumi also reported that while expressing dissatisfaction in Mohandas’ application, the HC had adjourned the matter for hearing for two weeks. Apparently, the HC told Mohandas that his application seemed to disrupt the secular nature of the state. Furthermore, the HC also asked the Government of Kerala and the Travancore Devasom Board to submit a report in connection with the matter. In fact, Mohandas, in his petition, had claimed that a scheme to regulate the entry of non-Hindus is in force in all major temples in the country, said a TOI report.
The HC also termed it as “Premature” a petition filed by four women seeking police protection to visit the Sabarimala temple, quoting LiveLaw, a scroll.in report said. The petitioners’ apprehensions that they might be subject to violence if they attempted to visit the temple is based on “conjectures and surmises”, quoting the HC observation, the report further said.
The petitioners said that various individuals and organisations had publicly declared that they would not let women enter the shrine. When the temple opened for rituals for five days earlier this month, protesters tried to prohibit women between the ages of 10 and 50 from entering the shrine.
No woman between these ages was able to enter the temple, which was in contravention of the Supreme Court order allowing women of all ages entry, the report added.
#AyodhyaCase postponed: SC to set the date of hearing in #RamjanambhoomiBabriMasjid title suit in January 2019
The Supreme Court of India has postponed the hearing on petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid site title dispute to January next year, as the apex court will fix the date for commencing hearing then. A batch of petitions are pending before the apex court challenging the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 judgement that split into three parts the disputed land on the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. It goes without saying that the ruling BJP dispensation is not happy with the adjournment of the hearing by the Supreme Court. The BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister of UP, Keshav Prasad Maurya was quoted as saying by the IE report, “I don’t want to comment since it is the deccision of the Supreme Court. However, the postponement of hearing doesn’t send a good message.”
Congress charge BJP of polarising views
Meanwhile, the Congress leader P Chidambaram accused the BJP of “polarising views” on Ayodhya issue before elections. “Congress party’s position is that the matter is before SC,everyone should wait until SC decides. I don’t think we should jump the gun,” he added. VHP working president Alok Kumar said the organisation will not wait “eternally” for the verdict and wants a law to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya, noted the report.
The petitioners had claimed that the earlier decisions in the Ayodhya case were influenced by this statement in the Ismail Faruqui verdict which came on a plea challenging the Constitutional validity of the Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya Act-1993, under which 67.703 acres were acquired in Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex, according to the report.
Turning down the plea, CJI Misra and Justice Ashok Bhushan in their majority verdict said that “we again make it clear that questionable observations made in Ismail Faruqui’s case were made in the context of land acquisition” and that “those observations were neither relevant for deciding the suits nor relevant for deciding these appeals”. The judges opined that “the observation need not be read broadly to hold that a mosque can never be an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam.”
On September 27 this year, another apex court bench, headed by then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had refused to send to a larger bench the 1994 observation that a mosque is not an integral part of Islam. The plea was raised by some appellants who wanted the court to reconsider its ruling in the M Ismail Faruqui Etc vs Union Of India And Others case, in which a Constitution Bench had observed that “a mosque is not an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam and namaz (prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open”.
#APCMChandrababuNaidu: “Frauds in the last four years have outnumbered the achievements of BJP Government”
“Frauds in the last four years have outnumbered the achievements of BJP Government. Vijay Mallya led a scam of about Rs.9,000 crore, Nirav Modi of Rs.11,500 crore, Jatin Mehta of Rs.7,000 crore, Nitin Sandesara of Rs.5,000 crore. How were they able to escape with people’s money so easily?”, AP Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu was quoted as saying by the Indian Express report.
“How many more fraud cases before the country sees the true face of BJP government? Behind the facade of false promises lies the truth about farmer debt crisis, rising cases of corruption, attacks on women, communal violence, growing unrest among people and serious threat to democracy,” Naidu was quoted as saying by the report.
Naidu, who met opposition leaders including Aam Aadmi Party chief, Arvind Kejriwal, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, urged political parties to come together to take the requisite steps to oust the present NDA Government, noted the report.
Nadu tweeted, “It is the need of the hour for all the leaders of the country to come forth, unite & take necessary steps to protect the country from a state of anarchy. Any kind of threat to our democratic values must face a strong opposition. People’s faith in the government must be restored.”
In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Naidu stressed the urgent need to unite against the ruling BJP at the Centre “to protect the country from a state of anarchy.”
Naidu also took to Twitter to list out the “fraud cases” of the Narendra Modi Government, asked how many such cases will the country have to witness “before it sees the true face of the BJP.”
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader also charged the Union Government with discrimination against the newly formed state and failure to grant it a special status, the report said. “Special Category Status was promosed to Andhra Pradesh in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 in order to help the State tackle the financial crisis after bifurcation of the united Andhra into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. We had an alliance with BJP, but on coming to power, PM Modi failed to fulfil the promises he made to the people of AP before elections”, Naidu charged and added, “The Union Government has shown discrimination against our newly-formed State. In spite of the devastation caused by cyclone Titli, Home Minister Rajnath Singh chose to inaugurate party office in Guntur instead of visiting cyclone-affected areas. People’s trust in BJP government has been shattered.”
Raking up demonetisation and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, Naidu said, “Every citizen of this country suffered because of demonetisation, the imposition of GST amplified the crisis. In four years, no honest attempts have been made against black money. Thanks to demonetisation, the country is not growing and even the investors are losing confidence.”
Raking up demonetisation and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, Naidu said, “Every citizen of this country suffered because of demonetisation, the imposition of GST amplified the crisis. In four years, no honest attempts have been made against black money. Thanks to demonetisation, the country is not growing and even the investors are losing confidence.”
Kerala Minister Thomas Isaac tweets: “Amit Shah, try to win few seats in the Assembly”
The act of BJP National President, Amit Shah, after landing at Kannur Airport yesterday and tossed ‘Congratulations’ to his partymen and his later challenge to the LDF Government has irked the Kerala Finance Minister, Thomas Isaac no bound, as per NDTV report. The Minister took to twitter, Amit Shah permitted to land in Kannur airport which is yet to be opened on November 9, 2018. That is our tradition of hospitality. But he is threatening to oust Kerala government. Such empty threats do not frighten us. Try to win few seats in Assembly. Your frustration is understandable”.
The brand new Kannur international airport is expected to be renovated next month. But Amit Shah’s plane landed there yesterday morning, when the BJP chief visited the politically sensitive town to open a new party office. To the airport officials and the partymen who gathered to welcome him, Mr Shah said, “Congratulations, your inauguration is done”.
The state BJP tweeted, “@AmitShah ji, The very first passenger at #Kannurairport during the auspicious occasion of the inaugural function of Mararji Bhavan, Kannur.”
Addressing a rally in the city later, Shah accused the Left Front government of “misusing” the row over entry to women at the Sabarimala hill shrine. “Today in Kerala a struggle is going on between religious beliefs and state government’s cruelty. The Left government in Kerala has misused the Sabarimala issue. They have used it to arrest workers and supporters of the BJP and other political parties,” he said.
“I warn Kerala’s communist Chief Minister, don’t oppress devotees in the name of implementing the Supreme Court judgement,” he added. Apparently, the Sabarimala row has turned into a political tussle after the state government arrested nearly 3000 people for the protests at temple and stopping women from entering. The government has accused the BJP and its ideological mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, of orchestrating the protests to polarise the state ahead of next year’s general elections, added the report.
#SabarimalaTempleIssue: Kerala Police arrests #ActivistRahulEaswar for making provocative statement
The Kerala police arrested activist Rahul Easwar for his alleged provocative remarks on the Sabarimala Temple issue. As per NDTV report, the Kerala police has registered a case against Rahul Easwar, who belongs to the Thazhamon family of Sabarimala priests, on the basis of a complaint filed by a person from Thiruvananthapuram.
The report further said the arrest of Rahul Easwar was due to the alleged statement he made at a press conference in Kochi that there were people ready to ‘Make wounds in their hand and spill blood in the temple” to force the closure of the Ayyappa Temple in case any woman of mensturating age managed to enter the temple. It may be recalled that Easwar was arrested earlier this month and later released on bail for allegedly blocking women at Sabarimala during violent protests.
Massive crackdown
Easwar’s arrest comes amid a massive crackdown on protesters who prevented women from entering the Sabarimala temple after it opened for five days this month during which violence and protests around the hill shrine were witnessed. Over 3,000 people from across the state have been arrested and 517 cases have been registered since October 26, 2018, noted the report.
BJP chief Amit Shah yesterday attacked the Pinarayi Vijayan government, saying that the Left government was misusing the Sabarimala issue to target BJP and RSS workers. Shah said the BJP stands behind the arrested people “like a rock”. The comments were slammed by Chief Minister Vijayan, who said that they go against the constitution, added the report.
Amit Shah’s statements in Kannur are against the constitution and the law of the land: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
“BJP president Amit Shah’s statements in Kannur are against the constitution and the law of the land. It is a clear intention of their agenda of not to guarantee the fundamental rights. This shows the agenda of the RSS and Sangh Parivar”, Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayai Vijayan was quoted as saying by the NDTV report.
Shah’s threat
As the number of protesters who were arrested had crossed 2,800 across Kerala in a crackdown on those who prevented women from entering the Sabarimala shrine, BJP chief Amit Shaw accussed the Left government in Kerala was misusing the issue to target BJP and RSS workers. Stating that the party was standing “like a rock” behind them, Shah said the Communist government in Kerala would be brought down by BJP workers.
Fitting response
The response was quick from the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who said it revealed the BJP’s agenda on the Sabarimala standoff. Shah said in Kannur, “Today in Kerala a struggle is going on between religious beliefs and state government’s cruelty. The Left government in Kerala has misused the Sabarimala issue. They have used it to arrest workers and supporters of the BJP and other political parties.”
Subtle Threat
While addressing a rally at Kannur in Kerala after inaugurating a party office in the city, Shah said, “I warn Kerala’s communist chief minister, don’t oppress devotees in the name of implementing the Supreme Court judgement,” he said, terming the protests as “aastha ke liye sangharsh (struggle to save tradition)”.
Shah also alleged that the crackdown by the police is part of “a communist plot against temples. We want to assure the people of Kerala that the BJP will stand like a rock in support of your sentiment. We will always be there for the people of Kerala and the devotees of Lord Ayyappa,” Shah asserted.
Counter Attack
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan responded to Mr Shah’s comments, saying that they go against the constitution. “Amit Shah’s statements in Kannur are against the constitution and the law of the land. It’s a clear intention of their agenda of not to guarantee the fundamental rights. This shows the agenda of the RSS and Sangh Parivar,” he said.
Responding to Mr Shah’s statement that BJP workers will “bring down the Kerala government” if it “continues to oppress Ayyappa devotees”, Vijayan said, “Amit Shah who threatened to topple our government should remember that this government came to power, not at the mercy of BJP, but the people’s mandate. His message is to sabotage the people’s mandate”.
Sabarimala Imbroglio
Kerala had witnessed massive protests from devotees at various places, including Sabarimala, Nilakkal and Pamba, against permitting women of all ages to enter the shrine, where the deity is ‘Naishtika Brahmachari’ (perennial celibate), when the temple was opened for monthly poojas from October 17-22. At least 12 women in the ‘barred’ age group of 10 to 50 had tried to trek the hills to offer prayers but had to retreat following widespread protests.
Across the state, 2,825 people have been arrested after the chief minister on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting with police officials and ordered a crackdown on those defying the Supreme Court order on the entry of women in the Sabarimala temple. A total of 495 cases have been registered. “Most of the people arrested are Hindutva activists, affiliated to various organisations, including BJP and RSS,” a top police source told NDTV.
“Arrests and lookout notices are based on video evidence that the police had recorded during the violence. Even the mobile location of suspects based on the Nilakkal and Pamba mobile towers have been tracked as evidence,” the source told the television channel.
#ArtistHeerinaMisra exhibits solo resin paintings called #UnparalleledForms in New Delhi
Unparalleled Forms – A solo exhibition of resin paintings by Artist Heerina Misra and represented by Payal Kapoor. The medium gives a three-dimensional feel to the paintings, which are inspired by the nature and formations of the earth.
Some of the guests who attended the Preview were Radhika Kapoor, Suryaveer Kohli, Payal Kapoor, Prerna Singh, Mini Burman, Leena Musafir, Ajay Madan, Reshma Madan, Mini Burman, Leena Musafir, Dhruv Chandra, Inder Musaifir, Ashish Saraf & Robby Mohan, Shobha Arora, Nishi Singh, Tanisha Mohan, Radhika Kapoor, Ajay Kapoor, Ankrita and Shamsher Singh. The show continued till November 15, 2018 at Arushi Arts W – 23 Greater Kailash II, New Delhi 110048.
Born in 1976 in New Delhi, Heerina Misra studied Psychology from Delhi University. The artist has been painting in various forms for over 20 years.
Heerina has trained in Graphics, Architecture, Mysore, Tanjore, acrylic and oil paintings. Heerina learnt portraits from the University of the Arts London. She enjoys exploring different types of art and over the years has attended many courses.
Heerina is inspired by the natural world and draws on this appreciation of flora, fauna, the sea and natural mineral geode formations when creating her own unique designs.
Heerina enjoys working on large scale luxury pieces using various pigments, mica powders, metals, structure mediums and sometimes shells, Corals and fresh water pearls to add depth and texture to her artwork.
Heerina is drawn to the abstract nature of resin, relishing the unpredictability of this method, and rising to the challenge.
