Countering the protests by writers and artistes against “rising intolerance”, Bollywood actor Anupam Kher today led a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan alleging that the “award-wapsi” campaign was to defame the country by projecting a “wrong” picture of the situation.

“India is a very tolerant country. Some people have coined the term ‘growing intolerance’. They are very few. Not every Indian thinks like that. We are secular people. We do not believe in pseudo-secularism, selective outrage or selective patriotism,” Kher, who is the spouse of BJP MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher, told reporters.

“We had a meeting with a lot of writers, artistes, filmmakers and they also believe that there is no intolerance in the country… This march is a symbolic gesture on part of a lot of people over here who say India is one and free of intolerance,” the 60-year-old said.

Many filmmakers and artistes from the fraternity including Madhur Bhandarkar, Ashoke Pandit, Priyadarshan, Manoj Joshi, Abhijeet Bhattacharya and writer Madhu Kishwar joined the march to hand over a memorandum signed by more than 40 personalities including actress Raveena Tandon.

Bhandarkar, a National Award winner, alleged that those involved in the protest over intolerance had opposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi before he was elected, which raised questions about their intention.

“The projection that is happening for the past few days is very sad. The people who were against Modiji during elections are the same people who are coming out right now.

“The whole projection and narrative that is going abroad is wrong. It is a diverse country and of course there are incidents but we all condemn them. There is no two ways about it,” he said.

Kher asserted that they were not associated with any organisation or political party. “This march is led by Indians and for Indians.”

Film-maker Priyadarshan said the act of returning the awards is “childish”.

“People returning awards are doing a childish act. They should use the power of pen. Instances of intolerance have always been there. It is not something that happened yesterday. Shah Rukh Khan never said he is returning award,” Priyadarshan told PTI.

“They are respected people but behaving like school children,” Priyadarshan said.

He, however, disapproved of those critical of Khan who had said that there was extreme intolerance in the country.

At least 75 members of the intelligentsia have returned national or literary awards in an escalation of protests by writers, historians, filmmakers and scientists over “growing intolerance”, voicing fears that the country’s robust democracy might be “coming apart” in the current atmosphere.

The BJP-led government has dismissed the protest as “manufactured rebellion” and “politically” motivated.

Anupam Kher, while leading his ‘March for India’ campaign said that India is a “tolerant country” and nobody has the right to call it .

NEW DELHI: After being on the run for the past 27 years, underworld don Chhota Rajan was deported here early today from Indonesia by a joint team headed by CBI officials for facing trial in over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug smuggling against him in Delhi and Mumbai. One of India’s most wanted criminals, the 55-year-old gangster, whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, was whisked away soon after landing at the Palam Technical area and taken straight to the barricaded CBI headquarters where a team of officials started questioning him.

There was high drama as the CBI anticipating a large media presence used a decoy car to ward them off. Due to security concerns, Rajan is unlikely to be taken to a Delhi court and instead a magistrate will be brought to the CBI headquarters for his remand, agency sources said, adding that he will also be subjected to the mandatory medical check up. He is expected to the kept in the national capital where he will also be questioned by sleuths of various investigating agencies on his claims of having further evidence to nail India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and his links with Pakistan’s ISI. Rajan, who has reportedly tipped Indian security agencies about the movement of Dawood and his aides, was flown in an Indian Air Force Gulfstream-III aircraft from the Indonesian tourist town Bali. Official cars with flashing lights accompanied by heavy- armed escort vans were seen leaving the Palam Technical Area at around 5:30 AM, as anxious camerapersons and photographers made unsuccessful attempts to get a glimpse of the underworld don, who was in one of those vehicles with tinted glasses. Rajan had told media in Bali that he was happy to return to India and had rubbished reports that his arrest was orchestrated as he was facing threat from Dawood’s men. Ahead of his arrival in India, Maharashtra government made a surprise announcement of handing over all the cases related to the underworld don to the CBI as the agency had expertise in handling such cases. This move comes barely a few days after the state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had been making claims that Rajan will be brought only to Mumbai. The Maharashtra government’s sudden U-turn raised many eyebrows within the police establishment in the megalopolis as the Chief Minister himself had ordered setting up of a special cell inside Arthur Road prison with arrangement for dialysis. Rajan is on dialysis as his both kidneys have been affected. Rajan, after his arrest, had expressed reservation over plans to lodge him in a Mumbai jail, fearing that Dawood may target him there. Rajan had told reporters in Bali that “some in the Mumbai police” have links with Dawood. “The Mumbai police has done a lot of ‘atyachar’ (atrocities) on me,” he had alleged. Till the formalities of CBI to take over the

Maharashtra cases are completed, Rajan will be in the custody of Special Cell of Delhi Police which has six cases registered against him. Rajan was arrested on the basis of an Interpol Red Corner notice at Bali airport on October 25 on his arrival from Australia. His deportation was deferred by a day as the international airport in Bali was shut down due to spewing of volcanic ash from a nearby mountain. Immediately after his flight took off, Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Gurjit Singh tweeted: “#ChotaRajan deported successfully to India. Delay due to Bali airport closure ends. Thanks Indonesia for support.” Rajan is wanted in over 75 crimes ranging from murder, extortion to smuggling and drug trafficking. Mumbai Police has nearly 70 cases registered against Rajan, including 20 of murder, four cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, one under Prevention of Terrorism Act and over 20 cases under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. Delhi Police has six cases registered against Rajan, who was a close aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood at one point but parted ways before the 1993 Mumbai blasts were conspired. In 2000, there was an attempt on Rajan’s life when Dawood’s men tracked him down to a hotel in Bangkok but he managed a dramatic escape by jumping from the first floor of the hotel. Rajan had fled India in 1988 for Dubai

An FIR has been lodged against the constables of the Andheri Police station after a video went viral in which the men in uniform were seen abusing and beating a young couple. Ghulam Maqbool Sheikh, an eyewitness to the brutality, said the woman was slapped repeatedly by the cops until she was bleeding. “The couple was fighting outside the police station when a constable asked the girl if she was being harassed. She said it was a personal matter and did not want any interference by the cops, nevertheless they were taken inside the police station,” Sheikh told ANI. –

The boy and the girl were made to sit separately and after a while she got scared and started creating a commotion, which is when the cops started slapping her. “She asked her friend to help her and when he came forward the police did not spare him as well and beat him up badly. The woman kept screaming for mercy but to no avail,” the eyewitness added. Sheikh, who works for an NGO, filmed the entire incident on camera and demanded action against the cops. “We are going to file an FIR against the cops involved in the attack on my clients at the Andheri Police station at 12:30 am on November 2nd. The couple was thrashed by the cops, including the woman constable, and was also illegally detained in the lock-up. They were also taken to the hospital for an illegal medical examination and we have the certificate as proof,” Nitin Satpute, the lawyer of the complainant told ANI.

Satpute asserted that the video was used as leverage against the cops, who had vehemently refused to file the FIR saying it would lower the image of the Mumbai Police. This is the second instance in a month where the Mumbai cops have come under the scanner for their brutality. Earlier, two Muslim youth were allegedly told to go to Pakistan by a police constable inside the Bandra police station before being brutally assaulted in custody.

Kapil Mishra Delhi minister Kapil Mishra has become the next politicians to join the war against growing intolerance in the country with is recent tweet criticising BJP for comparing actor Shah Rukh Khan with Pakistan terrorist Hafiz Saeed. Also read | The Karawal Nagar AAP MLA slammed BJP leaders for the statement against Shah Rukh Khan. &; Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishraAAP) November 5, 2015 A massive controversy broke out on Tuesday after BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh Kailash Vijayvargiya said that Shah Rukh live in India but his heart was in Pakistan.

Vijayvargiya’s remark was followed by supportive reaction from his party colleague Yogi Adityanath and VHP leader Sadhvi Parchi. However, following huge criticism, Vijayvargiya withdrew his remarks and clarified his tweet a day after. Shah Rukh Khan was also supported by Shiv Sena which said the superstar should not be targeted only because he is a Muslim. The party, which is having a tough time with the BJP said that the minority community in India is “tolerant”. Also read |

“This country is tolerant and the Muslims are tolerant as well. Shah Rukh Khan should not be targeted only because he is a Muslim,” Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said. Actor Anupam Kher and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too extended their support to the actor saying that they are proud of him. Also read: BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya had on Tuesday in a series of tweet targeted Shah Rukh and had said his “soul” is in Pakistan though he lives in India. His remarks came a day after the 50-year-old actor said there is “extreme intolerance” in the country

(3 Nov) Kabul: The splinter faction of the Afghanistan Taliban which has challenged Mullah Akhtar Mansoor’s leadership as illegitimate has picked a new leader, the media reported on Tuesday. “Mullah Omar’s close aide Mullah Mohammad Rasoul, who refused to make allegiance to Mansoor, was chosen by his supporters as the supreme leader of Taliban fighters on Monday,”

Tolo television channel reported in its news bulletin. Neither the Taliban nor the Afghanistan government have commented on the report. In the wake of the confirmation in late July of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar, The Taliban militants divided into two factions of supporters and opponents of Mullah Akhatar Mansoor. The opponents close to Mullah Omar led by Mullah Yaqub, son of Mullah Omar, opposed Mullah Akhtar Mansoor’s legitimacy as Amirul Momin (the supreme leader), and the challenge practically divided the armed group. According to media reports, Mullah Manan Niazi has been appointed the spokesman and Mullah Mansoor Dadullah the deputy leader of the splinter group of the Taliban.

(3 Nov) Ghaziabad : Former IPS officer Y.P. Singh on Tuesday rejected Chhota Rajan’s claims linking some Mumbai cops with India’s most wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and said that the arrested underworld don was speaking half truth. “Chhota Rajan is just speaking the half truth. He is not speaking the full truth. Dawood Ibrahim indeed might be having connections with the Mumbai Police because no gangster can flourish till the time they get permission from the local police, but by the same reckoning Chhota Rajan and his gang members can have intimate connections with the Mumbai Police,” said Singh.

He asserted that Rajan’s claim that only people linked to Dawood have connections with the Mumbai Police and not his men was not the correct preposition. He also said it was not legally right for the Delhi Police to take up Rajan’s case as it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mumbai Police. “When an FIR has been registered, it has to be investigated by the local police. He has to be By freepressjournal, 03 Nov 2015 03:32 PM
sent to remand to the local magistrate. The trial of the case shall be conducted by the local session court which is having jurisdiction over that specific area,” he added. Singh pointed out that it was legally necessary to seek permission from the Supreme Court in case this matter has to be shifted to Delhi. Rajan in an explosive claim earlier alleged that some officials in the Mumbai Police have links with Dawood. “Mumbai Police has committed a lot of atrocities on me and I don’t trust them. There are some in the Mumbai Police who are working with Dawood.

The Delhi government should do justice with me keeping that in mind. I am not scared of Dawood and I will continue fighting against him and terrorism,” said Rajan. The deportation process has already begun and the Rajan will be taken to Delhi first. The six-member joint team from the Mumbai crime branch, Delhi Police special cell and the CBI were at the Bali Police Headquarters yesterday here to meet Rajan and continue the deportation process. The joint team is carrying all the relevant documents needed for Rajan’s deportation, including his crime history and a court warrant against him. Rajan, one of India’s most wanted criminals and a leading figure in the Mumbai underworld, was arrested on October 24. He is wanted for at least 68 cases in Mumbai alone, including over 20 murder cases and other serious offences under MCOCA, POTA and the Arms Act.

Jantar Mantar here today demanding One Rank One Pension (OROP) benefits and other privileges under the ex-servicemen category. “Our major demands to the government are the granting of OROP to paramilitary veterans like military personnel, exemption of serving troops from contributory pension scheme and extending full benefits to these forces under the ex-servicemen category,” said Ex-servicemen Welfare Association national general secretary P.S. Nair. “The association has already sent a memorandum to the government in this regard and failing to get any reply we have decided to begin the protest here,” he added. Nair said that they have been waiting for over a decade for implementation of their demands.The association claims to have the support of a maximum number of state chapters in this regard and has even met senior government leadership for the same.

(2 Nov) Gonda (UP): Rangilal, a Panchayat election candidate who died three days before polling day, has been elected as a member of Ksetra Panchayat after defeating his “alive” opponents in Dharmai village here. Rangilal who was one among the four candidates in fray for the Panchayat seat in Mujehna development block died three days before the October 13 polling, District Magistrate and Returning Officer Ajay Kumar Upadhaya said today. But since there is no provision of cancellation of voting in the event of death of a candidate in Panchayat elections, polling was held as per the schedule, Upadhaya said.

(28 Oct) The Central government is going very slow over deporting underworld don Chhota Rajan back to the country. In fact, the Centre is yet to make a decision on Rajan’s deportation and could delay the procedure for the time being. Mr K.P. Bakshi, additional chief secretary for home, also admitted that they have not received any official confirmation from the Centre about the arrest of the fugitive don so far. Meanwhile, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said his government would provide all the documental evidences to the Centre for making the deportation of Chhota Rajan possible.

The chief minister also emphasised on the arrest of Dawood Ibrahim, India’s most wanted fugitive don, after Rajan. Ending a 28-year-old global manhunt, one of the country’s most wanted gangsters Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje alias Chhota Rajan was arrested in the Indonesian resort island of Bali on a tip-off from the Australian Federal Police on Monday. The Central government has said that Rajan would be deported to India soon. He had been hiding in Australia for over a year, and got in touch with Indian authorities four-five months ago. However, according to highly placed sources in the Maharashtra government, the Central government is going very slow on the issue of deporting Chhota Rajan. “The government and its agencies – Intelligence Bureau and Central Bureau of Investigation is yet to take a call whether to deport the underworld don immediately or not,” revealed a senior Mantralaya official. The sources added that the government could also delay the procedure for deporting Rajan for the time being as it might want to make a full-proof case against him.

“It seems that the objective of the government is not only to bring Rajan back for the sake of putting him behind the bars. They must want to make a strong case against him and thus are yet to start the process for his deportation,” the senior official said. Mr Bakshi admitted that the Maharashtra government has not received any official confirmation from the Centre on Rajan’s arrest. “As of now, we have not received any confirmation or information from the Centre over Rajan’s arrest. Once the directives are received, action will be taken accordingly,” he said. Earlier in the day, chief minister Fadnavis in Sangli said the Centre is after Dawood Ibrahim now. “Rajan has been arrested and Maharashtra government would provide all the documental evidences to the Centre as the red corner notice was basically issued by us. Now, the state government also wants Dawood to be arrested and the Centre is after him,” Mr Fadnavis said.

(28 Oct) New Delhi: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg today said his firm is working on an open framework and continues to ‘lobby’ for net neutrality even as its plan to provide free Internet access to people under Free Basics programme faces criticism. “We do a lot to support (net neutrality) in terms of regulations, we are working on building an open framework.” Zucerkerbg said, while speaking at Townhall at IIT- Delhi.