New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) In the wake of the Maggi row, RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch today targeted MNCs, including those from China, charging them with doing “unethical” business in India and “disrespecting” its laws to make profit, and demanded stern action against them.

It also sought a thorough probe into all food products sold in India by Chinese companies.

The Manch said foreign multi-national corporations were “disrespecting the country’s laws and indulging in unethical practices with the sole objective of making profits” and demanded formulation of strict safety and quality standards for their food products.

It also accused Swiss multi-national Nestle, the makers of Maggi, of engaging in “inhumane” business practices and “playing with lives of people” after its instant noodles was found flouting food safety norms.

“Swadesh Jagran Manch demands that strict safety norms and standards be fixed for all foreign companies in the business of food products and drinks. We clearly feel that foreign companies are disrespecting the country’s standards and are indulging in unethical business practices,” Manch national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan told PTI.

He cited the example of Bhopal gas tragedy where owners and officials of the multi-national company responsible for the incident got away without being arrested.

“Running away from its responsibility after the Bhopal Gas tragedy, making a mockery of the law and leaving the victims at the mercy of God reflects the character of these MNCs.

“We congratulate the states which registered cases against the company (Nestle) and urge them that the guilty should not be allowed to go scot free this time,” he said.

The Manch, he said, wanted a thorough probe into the food products sold in India by Chinese companies which were aggressively marketing their wares.

Mahajan alleged that foreign MNCs were vying with each other to capture the nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore Indian food and drinks market while “playing” with the health of the people.

New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today met Rahul Gandhi at his residence here as the talks on alliance to take on BJP in Bihar polls gained momentum.

Kumar had reached Delhi yesterday. RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who arrived here today, said he will be meeting leaders on the alliance issue.

JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, who had on Thursday asserted that RJD, JD-U and Congress will fight the Bihar Assembly polls together, is already back in the national capital having rounds of negotiations with leaders of other parties in Bihar.

The top leaders of RJD and JD(U) are expected to hold back to back meetings in the national capital to thrash out differences soon.

The leaders are likely to hold a meeting at the residence of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav as well to resolve the Bihar alliance issue.

The SP chief was chosen by the six splinter groups of the Janta Parivar, including these parties, to work out their grand merger plan to take on a resurgent BJP, which has made deep inroads into their vote banks in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and even Haryana.

The issue of merger of the six parties is for the time being slowed down with the focus shifting on first firming up the alliance for Bihar, the cradle of social engineering.

Amid speculation over the alliance, JD(U) President Sharad Yadav had on Thursday asserted that his party will fight the Assembly polls together with RJD and Congress to challenge BJP.

Just days before, there was a bitter war of words between leaders of JD(U) and RJD amid speculation that the RJD chief was not keen to project Nitish Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance.

RJD Vice-President Raghubansh Prasad Singh, who had openly expressed his reservations against declaring Kumar as the chief minister candidate of the alliance outraging the JD(U), later appealed to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to hammer out a solution and give shape to the anti-BJP alliance in Bihar.

The leaders from the two parties are expected meet the Congress leadership here as well but time is yet to be finalised.

Under one of the seat-sharing formulae that is being discussed, both RJD and JD(U) could contest 100 seats each while 43 could be left for Congress, CPI-M, CPI and the NCP.

Bihar Assembly has 243 seats

Dhaka, Jun 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today offered prayers at the famous 12th century Dhakeshwari national temple, the most revered place for Hindu community in Bangladesh.

The Prime Minister spent around 15 minutes at the temple, which is considered an essential part of Dhaka’s cultural heritage and one of the major ‘Shaktipeeths’ of the region.

The name “Dhakeshwari” means “Goddess of Dhaka” and experts said the Bangladesh capital derived its name from Dhakeshwari.

Since the destruction of Ramna Kali Mandir in 1971 by the Pakistan army during the Bangla Liberation War, the Dhakeshwari temple has assumed status as the most important Hindu place of worship in Bangladesh.

Members of the temple authorities felt Modi’s visit to Dhakeshwari signified a message of solidarity to the Hindu community.

Modi was felicitated by the priests and authorities of the temple. He was given a replica of Goddess Dhakeshwari and a shawl besides other memorabilia.

A number of people here said Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visits the temple once every year.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had visited the temple when she came here in June last year.

The Dhakeshwari temple was built in the 12th century by Ballal Sen, a King of Sena dynasty.

The temple, which is thronged by thousands of people daily, was closed for around one hour for common public in the morning due to Modi’s visit.

In 1996, Dhakeshwari temple was given the status of national temple following a major campaign by Hindu groups who had been demanding official recognition for the most revered Hindu place of worship.

Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen said Wednesday she had left her home in India for the United States after receiving death threats from Islamists behind the recent murders of atheist bloggers in her home country.

Ms. Nasreen, who fled to Europe in 1994 after protests against her work by Muslim extremists and who now lives in New Delhi, tweeted that she did not feel safe in the Indian capital.

“Was threatened by Islamists who killed atheist bloggers in B’desh. Worried,” she tweeted. “Will be back when feel safe.”

Ms. Nasreen, 52, said she had asked for a meeting with India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh after receiving death threats but had received no response.

The move came weeks after masked attackers hacked secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das to death in Bangladesh, the third such deadly attack by suspected Islamist since February.

Mr. Das had written a poem eulogizing Ms. Nasreen, who left the Muslim-majority country after she was accused of blasphemy over her novel Lajja (Shame), which depicts the persecution of a Hindu family.

Bangladesh is an officially secular country but more than 90 per cent of its 160 million population are Muslims.

The country has seen a rise in attacks by religious extremists in recent years.

Since 2013, at least five bloggers have been attacked by Islamist after a hardliner group, Hefazat-e-Islam, publicly sought the execution of atheists who organized mass protests against the rise of political Islam.

After leaving Bangladesh, Ms. Nasreen spent a decade in Europe and the United States before India granted her a temporary residential permit in 2004.

The gynecologist-turned-author holds Swedish citizenship, but she has long been seeking permanent residence in India, which she describes as her “cultural home”.

A women who was attacked by her brother in law and three friends relates her horrific story. Reshma’s sister was in the process of a divorce with her husband. One day Reshma was walking along the railway station with her sister.
Suddenly they saw her brother in law with his three friends with acid on their hands. Reshma’s sister shouted at her to run but before she could do that she was pushed to the ground by the three man and acid was poured all over her face. Reshma at that time was at a tender age of 17.

She received no medical help or compensation from the Government. An NGO by the name of “Make Love not Scars” gave her moral support and Reshma credits her mentor from the NGO called Ria. Reshma says she changed her life and taught her to be a fighter. She wanted to educated herself. She says she wants other victims like her to fight it out.

New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) When biologist Seema Bhatt picked up a “cute and innovative” frog shaped cane pot holder from Kenya, little did she know that it marked the start of a lifetime of collecting frog shaped mementoes.

“As I travelled both within and outside India, I found myself picking up a frog or two almost everywhere I went. It was the perfect souvenir, and added to what was to become ‘my frog collection’,” says Bhatt.

Over a span of 30 years the biologist, a Fullbright scholar who has worked with the WWF and USAID, says her collection now totals over 400.

Ranging from solid, stolid, metallic frogs to delicate, fragile ones made from glass and crystal and others made of ceramic and clay, stone and wood, Bhatt’s collection contains all possible renditions of the amphibian from over 30 countries.

Her initial liking towards frogs, says Bhatt, turned into a passion when she understood the animal’s significance in the ecosystem.

“Frogs contribute to the diversity of life and serve as indicators of biodiversity loss,” she says.

Bhatt says her resolve towards expanding her collection strengthened after a shopkeeper who sold her a frog memento in Costa Rica, told her that a percentage of the sale would go to the protection of the country’s forests.

While amphibians are among the most threatened group of animals, frogs in particular need very specific places to live and breed in both on land and water.

Mumbai, Jun 4 (PTI) Volatility ruled as key benchmark indices struggled to recover from the day’s low in morning trade.

The Sensex failed to maintain initial gains and was trading lower by 8 points in late morning trade as it came marginally under pressure due to selling at FMCG, healthcare, auto and consumer durable counters.

However, renewed buying was seen in realty, capital goods, IT, banking, technology and power stocks.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market remained strong.

The 30-share index Sensex resumed higher at 26,940.64 and hovered in a range of 26,948.84 and 26,742.15 before quoting at 26,829.42 at 1100 hours, a marginal fall of 7.77 points, or 0.03 per cent, from its last close.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also quoted lower by 2.35 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 8,137.45 at 1100 hours.

The major losers are ICICI Bank (1.91 per cent), Tata Motors (1.79 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (1.25 per cent) and Sun Pharma (1.18 per cent).

However, Infosys gained 1.19 per cent, followed by Wipro (1.15 per cent), SBI (0.91 per cent) and Axis Bank (0.86 per cent).

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth Rs 727.61 cr yesterday, according to provisional data.

Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 412.66 cr yesterday.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading mostly lower. Key indices in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia were down by 0.10 per cent to 1.78 per cent. Indices in Japan, Singapore and South Korea moved up by up to 0.24 per cent.

In the New York market, US stocks yesterday ended with modest gains as the main indexes remained stuck in tight trading ranges ahead of the jobs report due on Friday.

Kolkata, June 4 (PTI) Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar feels that India makes best advertisements in the world and cited the example of Google India Reunion on Partition to buttress his view.

“Take the Google India Reunion ad which is based on Partition. Whenever I see it it brings a lump in my throat. It talks about Partition which Indians and Pakistanis can understand, but it (also) talks about stories,” Kakkar told PTI on sidelines of a discussion on “Brand as a person: Humanizing a Brand” during the Edutainment Show held at the weekend.

Affirming that an ad is all about telling a story – mostly in 30 seconds in the most engaging way possible – the famous ad personality said, “Stories are based on facts.

Because you take away the stories when you leave and not the imageries”.

Kakkar, who had made the epochal Pepsi TV commercial with Sachin Tendulkar, said he had found it very refreshing to work with children in ads.

“If you have to learn from anybody, you have to learn from children, to make them feel comfortable. My best ads are all with children but if you again ask me to pick from one of them (ads with children) it’s like which of the illegitimate children is closer to you,” he said with a wink.

Kakkar, who insists that technique is important than story, says what makes ad people different from others is the sheer capacity to dream.

“Communication is paramount in advertising,” Kakkar, one of the few globally-known directors from India for commercials of Uni Levers and Pepsico in different countries, said.

Coming to West Bengal, Kakkar said the state had the best minds in the advertisement world.

“Even in Mumbai many creative people are Bengalis and I don’t know why they run away from Bengal,” he expressed surprise.

At last, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had her 94 minutes of fame. Her press conference, on Sunday May 31, on the ministry’s achievements in the first year under Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew a full house brimming with questions and thick with (suppressed) curiosity. The live video streaming of the event had quite an audience.

What attracted attention and attendance was the fact of Swaraj meeting the media. Her holding a press conference itself was bigger news than anything she said during her 94-minute interaction with journalists.

That Modi would visit Israel (dates to be worked out) was known the day he became PM. India’s terms for talking to Pakistan, sharing Teesta waters not being on PM’s agenda when in Dhaka and the many countries Modi would be visiting in his second year are not “news” that call for a briefing by the minister.

A visible, active and articulate politician as Leader of the Opposition and, earlier, as a minister in Vajpayee’s Cabinet, Swaraj has been little seen and even less heard in the last one year as minister in Modi sarkar. The enviable public profile that had kept her in the limelight during the 15 years before Modi is gone. Which, predictably, is what provokes a question like whether there’s a gag order on her.

Swaraj said that the Prime Minister has not imposed any restrictions on her. “This is what goes with my profile. I decided that (given) the profile I have got, I should not speak. I follow that”. There were no sniggers, no knowing exchange of smiles or looks. This indicates the respect and sympathy she commands in the ministry as well as media, where it is known that she is stifled by Modi, who is his own flamboyant foreign minister.

Talks with MEA officials reveal that although Modi has diminished her and kept her down, she is well liked in South Block. She has a clear grasp of issues and is rarely known to ask officials for “support”. Once she is briefed, she has shown herself capable and competent of taking international interactions to the desired conclusion. She is said to know most MEA officials by name and asks for them by name instead of their (abbreviated) designations.

Unlike some other ministers, it is said that she never berates bureaucrats in her ministry; nor does she put them down or lose her cool even in times of stress. At her press conference, she appeared somewhat tense to begin with. In the latter half, she slowly warmed up to a point where she adopted even a bantering tone in replying to one or two questions. Her tone, posture, language and choice of words left no one in doubt that the press conference was about the Ministry’s achievements; and, digressions about her personal equation with Modi and her profile in his sarkar were not questions she would engage with here.

It is no secret that Swaraj, to put it mildly, is not Modi’s favourite minister. She can expect to keep her job as long as she does not presume that the MEA is hers to run as she thinks best.

Sections in her ministry and the media refer to Swaraj as ‘Modi’s Bali’ – sacrificial victim in Modi’s scheme of things. The word ‘Bali’ here is also a reference to Bali Ram Bhagat, who was Minister of External Affairs for a year, 1985-86, under Rajiv Gandhi. He is remembered for being the most ineffective Foreign Minister in recent memory.

Swaraj ’s press conference was news because it was a public reminder of how little she is utilised, seen or heard in the present dispensation.