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Radhe Maa: I am not obscene, I am ‘Maa’, I am pure and pious- VIDEO

August 10, 2015 by newshourindia Leave a Comment

Radhe Maa, who had gone in the hiding after a series of controversies erupted against her, has now come out and defended herself, rather funnily. Radhe Maa, the controversial spiritual leader and self-proclaimed Godwoman, told a reporter of Times Now channel that she was pure and pious.

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Radhe Maa did not agree with the reporter that there is a Fir against her. “There is no case against me. There are no allegations against me. I am not obscene, I am ‘Maa’,” Radhe Maa told the reporter.

Holding a rose in her hand and wearing sun glasses, Radhe Maa questioned: “Do you doubt a mother when she loves her children? Similarly, I love my children.”

She claimed her true disciples believed in her and therefore she did not care about anything.

Earlier, Radhe Maa had fainted when media persons tried to ask her questions about the controversies surrounding her.

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FRANCE: Man beheaded at suspected Islamist attack

June 26, 2015 by newshourindia Leave a Comment

A man was decapitated while several other people were injured at a suspected Islamist attack at a factory near Lyon in France. French President Francois Hollande has called the incident a terrorist attack. Hollande left the European Union Summit and headed straight to his country after news of the attack.

Two men drove into the gas factory near Lyon that belongs to Air Products, a US based firm, before several explosions were heard, French News Agency AFP quoted officials as saying.

AFP quoted from its legal source that Arabic writing on the severed head were pinned to the French factory gates and the attacker was carrying Islamist flag. The news agency also claimed that the suspected attacker has been arrested.

French President Francois Hollande held a press conference at Brussels and said that two attackers had targeted the chemicals factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, crashing into it in a car.

He termed the incident in southeastern France as a “pure terrorist attack” and informed that a body was found, along with a severed head with a message. The French President also confirmed that a suspect was arrested and identified.

BBC quoted Hollande as saying, “We have no doubt that the attack was to explode the building. The attack bears the hallmarks of a terrorist attack,” he said.

Referring to terror attacks in Paris in January, he said: “We all remember what happened before in our country.”

Delhi’s bureaucratic crisis points to a deeper rot

June 15, 2015 by ABID SHAH Leave a Comment

Contradicting the position taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party umpteen times since 1992, often with an eye upon votes, in favour of full Statehood for Delhi, the Central Government led by it has pushed Delhi to the brink. The BJP is relentlessly pursuing its bid to curtail powers of Delhi Government. The Union Home Ministry has moved the Supreme Court after Delhi High Court had come to the rescue of the City Government. The Home Ministry’s move goes totally against BJP’s stand in the past.

The core issue behind the present Constitutional crisis dogging the national Capital is truncated powers given to the State Government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Obviously, what BJP thought could well suit it is no longer so since a rival party has taken power in Delhi; and, thus, a volte face.

The bone of contention has been the control of services that includes transfers and postings of officials that Centre wants to keep via the Raj Niwas. Add this with public order and police and land or real estate to complete the list of crucial subjects under Central control. These are under the exclusive control of Union Government that exercises powers over them through the office of the Lieutenant Governor.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court termed a Ministry of Home Affairs’ notification giving absolute powers to the Lieutenant Governor vis-à-vis services as ‘suspect’, putting a question mark over the Constitutional validity of the notification. The row looked into by the High Court related to Anti-Corruption Branch or ACB where police have the main role. Kejriwal has been contending his Government’s right to refer cases to ACB and prosecute the culprits through the aegis of the ACB. He held a two-day long special session of Delhi Assembly which ended up on Wednesday with the rejection of the notification.

The Centre did not like Kejriwal’s move to take to task the Central Government employees and other higher ups like those from private power distributing companies through the ACB. The Union Government also issued the notification on May 21^st to further arm Lieutenant Governor vis-à-vis the subjects under the control of Ministry of Home Affairs through him.

This row somehow coincided with a bureaucratic muddle that was already on in the wake of a ten-day leave taken by Delhi Government’s Chief Secretary KK Sharma. His replacement during the leave Shakuntala Gamlin was appointed directly at the behest of Najeeb Jung. Soon Kejriwal cried foul alleging that Gamlin has been having ‘close ties’ with Discoms entrusted with electricity distribution in the Capital and, thus, she was being hoisted to the top bureaucratic assignment through backdoor and can well favour the Discoms.

Such an allegation drew the ire of the IAS lobby against the Chief Minister though the Centre has been no less culpable in aggravating the row that followed the posting of Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary through the brief absence of her boss.

Indeed, the ‘Yes-Secretary-and-No-Minister’ approach of the Centre carried out through Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung in case of Delhi has pushed the city of babudom and control hub of the country to unprecedented depths.

Soon after Gamlin’s brief spell as Acting Chief Secretary got over the Chief Minister appointed his secretary Rajendra Kumar as Secretary Services. Among the transfers that Kumar has made is that of his predecessor Aninda Majumdar who had earlier inked the order that had brought Gamlin to replace Sharma during his leave. Majumdar has been moved to Delhi Finance Corporation as its Chairman and Managing Director. Three other officials were transferred on Wednesday along with him. And as many as nine, including two IAS officers, were transferred (See the facsimile of the order) on May 25 by Kumar as he has turned out to be the Man Friday of the Chief Minister through the current crisis.

Strangely, the Centre that often takes pride for having brought good governance and empowerment of States remained unmoved by the noises made by Kejriwal through the days much before these abrupt transfers. In this sorry state of affairs it would be worth looking at the way appointments of top bureaucrats have been made or unmade in Delhi not only by the city but also the Central Government through the past one year or so.

Earlier this year, Sujatha Singh had to quit about eight months before her retirement was scheduled. She made the way for the present Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. Similarly, Jaishankar’s counterpart in the Union Home Ministry LC Goyal came after the Anil Goswami was removed unceremoniously. This happened amid charges of unjustified interference by Goswami in the functioning of CBI.

Besides this, the Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi was brought in last year by transferring his predecessor Arvind Mayaram to a far less conspicuous and belittling post of Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism. Not only this, an ordinance has to be brought in soon after the swearing in of Narendra Modi Government to appoint Nripendra Misra as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. Later, this got the nod of Parliament and the Telecom Regulatory Authority Act was amended. Misra has been the top boss of the Telecom Authority and, thus, was not supposed to take any future Government position as per the old and original version of the Act.

Unlike these quick-fix postings, the PMO was equally prompt to forestall moves by some of the NDA ministers to appoint private secretaries of their choice. The reason for this being the incumbents have been private secretaries in the previous UPA regime to important ministers; and their appointments in crucial ministries again could mar the confidentiality their task warrants. Alok Singh could not come to Union Home Ministry despite being the choice of Rajnath Singh as the IPS officer has earlier been private secretary to Salman Khurshid. Similarly, Ministers of State Kiran Rijiju and VK Singh could not get Abhinav Kumar and Rajesh as the two have been private secretaries to Shashi Tharoor and Chandresh Kumari Katoch respectively in the previous UPA Government.

So everything has not been quite fine when the Kejriwal-Jung kerfuffle erupted, greatly rattling the Delhi and countrywide IAS associations. The ‘conducive atmosphere’ that former Chief Secretary of Delhi Omesh Sehgal called for the functioning of officers was indeed mauled but not by Kejriwal alone. The officials associations somehow ignored other players in this unsavoury game.

Come-and-gone Government secretaries and other officials as per the convenience of political bosses is indeed a serious issue. This is more so since the high-point of the present crisis turned out to be the locking of the office of the Principal Secretary (Services) Aninda Majumdar to bar his entry. This was reportedly resorted to at the orders of Kejriwal since Majumdar kowtowed Jung’s fiat to appoint Gamlin as officiating Chief Secretary.

Omesh Sehgal and his colleagues point to Kejriwal mainly because of this incident through their call for conducive atmosphere for officers’ proper and suitable functioning. Generally, brusque and brash behavior on the part of Delhi Chief Minister may well be making him unpopular among a section of Babus. Yet, the fact is self-righteous and hubristic ways of top brass of Governments and officials go beyond Delhi Government to the extent of getting rampant in so many secretariats that see daily bureaucratic tussles. This includes North and South blocks. The question that stares hard in the face of all is: who can stop elected executive heads from becoming virtual CEOs looking for henchmen only to carry out their task; and the kind of toll that their whims and tinkering may take upon bureaucracy?

Exclusive: PM Modi talks about his govt, Hindutva, Nitish Kumar at quiet dinner with journalists

June 13, 2015 by ABID SHAH Leave a Comment

PM Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Soon after his return from South Korea Prime Minister Narendra Modi met a group of select, below-editor-level journalists in New Delhi for informal, off- camera, and-off-the-record interaction over dinner. The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting as also for Finance Arun Jaitley had invited the journalists for the rare rendezvous.

Jaitley played the host through the exchange between the PM and journalists that turned out to be polite, frank and straight. About two dozen media persons, mainly bureau chiefs among them, not only broke the bread at the coveted dinner but also found enough ‘food’ to take care of their curiosity about Modi, his moves, plans and policies.

Modi called himself more spiritual than a religious person. He was also cool, collected, patient and spoke softly while answering questions. He denied that he and his PMO were overshadowing his team of ministers, saying that this was simply impossible in democracy and there should be no misgiving since the Government works as per the norms.

About strident Hindutva voices coming from ‘fringe elements’ of the Sangh Parivar like Sadhvi Prachi and others, the Prime Minister remarked, did anybody ever know her name before media took note of her. Stop highlighting this and there would be no problem.

He reaffirmed his plan to clean Ganga though the task had turned out to be huge than what he had initially thought as so many cities, towns and villages exist along its banks. The 40 percent of the economy of these places depends on Ganga. He mentioned Kanpur as contributing a lot in polluting Ganga.

About some of the MPs’ discomfiture with the functioning of the Government, Modi remarked that they always knew that neither he swindled a penny, nor would allow anybody to do so. This would remain so in future also under him, the Prime Minister assured.

On his preference among regional parties and national parties, including Congress, Modi opted for the latter since regional parties and their leaders needed to broaden their vision and approach so as not to lose sight of issues faced by the nation. About his relationship with Nitish Kumar, who is going to be the main challenge for the BJP in soon to be held Assembly polls in Bihar, Modi said that it was quite normal.

The Prime Minister reminded that Bihar Chief Minister was third person whom he rang up in the wake of last month’s earthquake in Nepal. After Prime Minister and President of Nepal he spoke to Nitish since the earthquake had affected parts of Bihar too.

Earlier also relations with Bihar Chief Minister were very good but somehow it took a different turn when in an interview to NDTV Nitish took a position that he kept on following, remarked Modi while indirectly referring to Nitish’s fierce opposition to Modi’s candidacy for the post of Prime Minister.

On the issue of corruption, Modi pointed out that his Government has been focused to stop big, wholesale corruption; and smaller cases of corruption like those in rail reservations might not have been stamped out completely so far. They would also be eradicated in due course, said the Prime Minister.

This little interaction with journalists made them to fawn over as has been media’s wont for over a year vis-à-vis Modi. Among others The Economist has also pointed out this in its cover story on Narendra Modi’s first year in office.

Video of NGO owner molesting tribal girl goes viral

May 30, 2015 by RAJ KIRAN Leave a Comment

A video of an NGO owner molesting a tribal girl has gone viral on social media and mobile messaging service Whatsapp. Ironically, the NGO called Navnirman Trust works for the uplift and education of tribal community in Vyara town of Tapi district in Gujarat.

The accused was arrested by the police late on Thursday night after he was trying to flee to Maharashtra. Earlier, members of Adivasi Kisan Sagathan, a local social organization, submitted a memorandum to the district superintendent of police (DSP) demanding immediate action against the accused.

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A report in the Times of India website said that the accused, Ajay, is also a local BJP leader in Vyara.

The victim is an employee in the NGO and the video was purportedly shot by another woman in Rajput’s office. Police informed that they are recording statement of the victim and a case will be registered as per her account.

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EXCLUSIVE: Gujarat cops sleezy dance with ‘orchestra’ girls

May 22, 2015 by Dipu Shaw 2 Comments

VADODARA: A video showing two police constables shaking their legs with female orchestra dancers in Vadodara, Gujarat, has gone viral on social media. The two policemen are seen on a stage dancing to Bollywood numbers with girls and showering money while in uniform.

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According to News Hour India sources, the incident took place about a week ago during the wedding ceremony of a police constable’s daughter. The two cops seen in the video were invited for the wedding. An orchestra party was performing on stage when the two policemen reached the dance floor and started swirling to Bollywood numbers. They apparently forgot that they were in their uniforms and even started showering money on the dancing girls. The entire incident was captured on camera and is now doing the rounds of social media.

Vadodara police have been pushed on the backfoot ever since the video has emerged and are contemplating disciplinary action against the two erring constables.

WATCH: Subramanian Swamy almost ties mangalsutra on bride

May 22, 2015 by Dipu Shaw Leave a Comment

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy found himself in an uncomfortable situation during a wedding ceremony that he was invited to solemnize in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. Swamy was on the verge of tying the mangalsutra inadvertently around the young bride’s neck instead of handing it over to the groom.

Everyone was in a state of shock. But then thanks to the timely intervention of former IAS officer VS Chandraleka, who had accompanied the leader, that prevented Subramanian Swamy from getting re-married at the age of 75.

Swamy then realized his mistake and repentantly smiling, handed over the mangalsutra to the groom. The groom then tied it around the bride’s neck and the marriage rituals went on as usual.

The incident was captured on camera by a news channel and has gone viral on social media evoking a plethora of hilarious comments.

Swamy was invited at the wedding by the groom’s father Veni P Balasubramaniam, who is a Bharatiya Janata Party functionary.

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Doc whose blog “My child can be pole dancer but not doctor” went viral draws flak

May 20, 2015 by RAJ KIRAN Leave a Comment

The Kerala doctor, whose blog post about why he would not allow his son to follow his steps, had gone viral on social networking sites, is also earning criticism from some quarters. Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan, an anaesthesiologist in Kerala, had shot to instant fame for a blog post titled, “Why I will never allow my child to become a doctor in India”.

The medic offered plenty of reasons justifying his point and had gone on to say that his child could be a pole dancer but not a doctor. His blog post has been shared over 30, 000 times on Facebook and has been covered by prominent media houses like Huffington Post, Deccan Chronicle, Navbharat Times, Asianet, NDTV, Scroll and also Scoopwhoop, and Quartz.

It must be mentioned here that the doctor patient ratio in India is 0.7 doctors per 1000 Indians which is even below the WHO-prescribed limit of 1:1000

Reprimanding Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan, senior Indian journalist NB Nair has expressed his disappointment on Facebook.

Here’s what NB Nair has written:

Dear Dr Roshan Radhakrishnan,

Your blog must have gone viral on social networking sites, made news in media and your realisation about your profession could have shaken many. But I felt very disappointed (I know my disappointment doesn’t matter for you) because I consider, if there is any profession that has a godly touch, it is doctors’. I say this with full conviction and understanding, as I interact with some of the best medical professionals in the world.

Soldiers die to enemy bullets on the line of duty, they draw salary not proportional to the risks in life, but not one parent of our martyrs have said, they regret sending their son to armed forces. I have heard them saying, “If we had another son, we would have sent him also to army”.

For you Dr. Roshan, material comfort seems to be your priority in life, not saving the life of a fellow human being. You could have chosen a course correction. Who prevented you? Even now, I suggest, you should go for something that gives you happiness, but don’t take it upon yourselves to counsel the rest not to join the profession.

I would narrate an incident. In late 1970s, judges of subordinate courts in Delhi went on strike demanding better wages and facilities. When the Registrar of Delhi High Court called representatives of striking judges, they rued, banana-vendors outside the court premises earn more than judges. The Registrar shot back, ‘Why don’t you sell bananas instead?’ You choose a profession, with full understanding of its pros and cons. You can’t grudge if it turn out to be out of sync with your heart. I repeat, doctors are godly (there could be devils too) and you know very well my reason for saying so.

I may be a bit crude…but such thoughts are bound to germinate, when people pay 40-60 lakhs or more for medical admission and they find the remuneration they get after passing out is not equivalent to even the interest on investment.

A fellow medical practitioner, Dr. Natarajan Ganesan too criticises Radhakrishnan.

Convenient parable to begin with. Nowhere do I see you addressing the root (rather – roots) of the malaise.

BTW what exactly did you mean by the statement you made – “just to watch her lose her sense of right and wrong”. I guess that is where I like you to begin.

Am I to guess that after entering the profession, there is prevailing order for the medics to just become that? i.e. lose your sense of right and wrong. If so what are the reasons that lead a medic into this. Is it the thing to ‘specialize’ in an area where there is a ‘demand’ OR is it to join the herd i.e. big hospitals where they ‘pay well’, and then get sucked into the dictats of the ‘management’ OR is it the heady/complacent feeling of becoming unaccountable for all the mistakes (even unavoidable or otherwise) OR ‘break even’ ASAP for all the investment into getting the degree … There are so many ORs I can start to pen that might it very uneasy. I thought you would have boldly penned those.

Sure! I cannot and won’t deny the numbers (which I haven’t checked BTW) of crazy doctor-to-patient ratio OR the pressure from unwanted quarters to get that ‘odd certificate’ or ‘result’ and many more (which you have also covered). But I feel a topic as touchy as this needs to be deeply self-introspective as well on the way the profession itself has become.

Congrats to your 15 min of fame (in getting this post viral) and I do really hope and pray you do well in your profession. Thanks for the clarification that you dont have kids ‘cos if you did you wouldn’t have penned the article so boldly.

AIB Honest Indian Weddings viral on Youtube

May 18, 2015 by Dipu Shaw 1 Comment

All India Bakchod’s latest video is a hilarious yet honest take on arranged marriages in India. The video has been released in two parts on the official AIB Youtube channel and has garnered over 2 million views each on the social networking site in the last few days.

Even Bollywood celebrities have taken to micro blogging site Twitter to appreciate the latest AIB show. Bollywood director Ram Gopal Verma is so enamoured by the comic take on arranged marriages that he even hoped Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands the aphorism. He even urged AIB to use its power of social observation to wake of governments and families to ground realities.

It's a tragedy AIB intellectuals chose to just make people laugh.if they use their intellect seriously they can uproot hypocrisy of india

— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) May 18, 2015

Honest Indian Weddings is AIB’s first full show after the infamous AIB knockout – the roast comedy show involving Bollywood actors Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.

If "Honest weddings"is made as a film it will break records of"Hum Aapke hai kaun" nd make people requestion thrmselves why they loved HAHK

— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) May 18, 2015

AIB Honest Indian Weddings Part-1 VIDEO here:

AIB Honest Indian Weddings Part-2 video

Baby born with ‘trunk’ worshiped as Lord Ganesha in India

April 1, 2015 by newshourindia Leave a Comment

This child born with a protuberance in the middle of he face is being worshiped as a Goddess in Indian town of Aligarh, some 140 kilometers from New Delhi. The baby girl has a trunk and resembles elephant-headed Hindu God Ganesha, is what people in her family and the surrounding area say.

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People from nearby places are flocking to her house to have a glimpse and worship the baby who they believe is an incarnation of Lord Ganesha.

As news spread of her birth, visitors swarmed the house of Om Prakash and Sarvesh in Kothi Lankram in the city and made offerings to the child.

Some of the visitors have even nicknamed her ‘Lord Ganpatni’ meaning ‘Ganesha’s wife’. She is the fourth child in the family and her father believes she will bring him luck.

Doctors however said the protrusion is a result of gene mutation that can be caused by malnutrition and increased pollution levels. If the family chooses, they can go for a corrective surgery at a later stage, doctors said.