L A T E S T      N E W S

Legal notice slapped on Kejriwal for 'defaming' Sheila Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Activist Arvind Kejriwal was on Monday served with a legal notice by Delhi Chief Minister’s political advisor Pawan Khera for allegedly defaming Sheila Dikshit. 

Kejriwal has been asked to tender an “unconditional public apology” for levelling “baseless allegations and aspersions” using “foul and filthy” language. 

The notice, which accused Kejriwal of making “derogatory” remarks about the Chief Minister, was sent to the activist by Dikshit’s political advisor Pawan Khera. 

“Immediately withdraw all the allegations and aspersions made by you against Sheila Dikshit, the Chief Minister of Delhi which has thus defamed my client and the office of Chief Minister of Delhi, in talk shows in at least on three prominent channels and newspapers in equal if not more prominence than the original defamatory content. 

“Tender an unconditional public apology to my client to her satisfaction through print and electronic media with regard to the said baseless allegations and aspersions and using foul and filthy language,” the notice said. 

Kejriwal has been organising protests against power tariff hike in the capital and levelling allegations that the government was in collusion with power discoms. 

The notice said the word “dalal” (broker) was used for the Chief Minister in a talk show. 

It also asked him to refrain from using any such filthy language unbecoming of civil-public discourse in future. 

“In case of failure to comply with this notice within a period of two days of receipt of this legal notice, you shall render yourself jointly and severally liable to face appropriate civil as well as criminal proceedings under the relevant provisions of the law at your risk as to cost and consequences,” the notice filed by lawyer Mehmood Pracha said. 

Reacting to the legal notice, Kejriwal told a protest here that he will continue doing this till “corrupt practices” are done away with. 

“We will continue to defame you till injustice and corruption are done away with,” he said. — PTI

Terror suspect Fasih Mohammed arrested

NEW DELHI: Fasih Mohammed, a suspected Indian Mujahideen operator and a key accused in the Delhi and Bangalore blasts, was today arrested after he was deported from Saudi Arabia. 

28-year-old Fasih, after being in detention for five months in Saudi Arabia, was taken into custody from Delhi airport on his arrival from the Gulf, official sources said. 

India had sought deportation of Fasih from Saudi Arabia and also got an Interpol Red Corner notice issued against him. 

An engineer and believed to be a member of the banned outfit Indian Mujahideen, Bihar-born Fasih is alleged to have been involved in the Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore and the shooting near Jama Masjid (Delhi), both in 2010, and is wanted by Delhi and Karnataka police. 

His name cropped up during the interrogation of suspected IM terrorists arrested during the last nine months. 

While the Saudi authorities confirmed his detention there, they conveyed that they were closely examining his role and stay in that country. 

Fasih’s wife Nikhat Parveen had approached the Supreme Court claiming that her husband was in the custody of Central security agencies, a charge denied by the Government. — PTI

Bollywood bids farewell to Yash Chopra

MUMBAI: With moist eyes and prayers on their lips, family and friends bid farewell to Indian cinema's 'King of Romance' Yash Chopra at a crematorium in Mumbai this afternoon.

Bedecked with flowers, Chopra's body was brought to the Pawan Hans crematorium in Juhu in an ambulance, with only family members and close friends inside, including his sons Aditya and Uday, and actors Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.

The mortal remains of the 80-year-old filmmaker were consigned to flames amid the presence of his family members, relatives and a number of Bollywood celebrities.

The body was kept at the Yash Raj Films studio since last night for people to pay their respects.

Several Bollywood celebrities including Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Prasoon Joshi, Mukesh Bhatt, Raj Kundra, Suresh Oberoi, Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Kiran Rao, Rohit Shetty, Bharat Shah, Adnan Sami, Rajpal Yadav and Homi Adjania were present at the crematorium.

There was chaos outside the Yash Raj Films studio as hundreds of people turned up to catch a glimpse of the filmmaker.

Chopra passed away at the Lilavati hospital at 5.30 PM yesterday due to dengue and multiple organ failure.

Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Dilip Kumar with wife Sairo Banu, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Jaya, Madhur Bhandarkar, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Boney Kapoor, Kajol, Dimple Kapadia, Rinkie Khanna and others started coming since yesterday at Lilavati hospital, his residence in Juhu and YRF studio in Andheri to pay their last respects.

Chopra, who celebrated his 80th birthday on September 27, had announced his retirement from direction after a career spanning five deacades.

Jab Tak Hai Jaan, his 22nd and last film, starring SRK, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, is slated to release on November 13.

A song from the film was to be shot in Switzerland on a grand level but the trip had to be cancelled after Chopra was admitted to Lilavati hospital on October 13.

Born on September 27, 1932 in Lahore, now in Pakistan, Chopra was the youngest of eight children, one of whom was elder brother B R Chopra, who was already an established name in the film industry.

Chopra came to Mumbai with Rs 200 in his pocket and dreams of becoming a filmmaker though his family wanted him to take up the profession of engineering.

He started his journey in the film industry as an assistant to I S Johar and later worked under his elder brother, making his directorial debut in 1959 with Dhool Ka Phool.

A trendsetter, Chopra directed Dharamputra, Ittefaq and Indian cinema's first multi-starrer Waqt.

He set up his own production company Yash Raj Films in 1970 and made his first movie Daag under the new banner.

Chopra then helmed Deewar, which gave Amitabh Bachchan the image of Angry young man. He directed other intense films like Trishul, Kaala Patthar, Mashaal, Vijay before shifting to romance genre with Silsila and Kabhie Kabhie, again with Bachchan.

Romance became the main element in Chopra's later films like Chandni, Lamhe, Dil Toh Pagal Hai and Veer-Zaara.

Chopra is also remembered for making the careers of many Bollywood actors, including Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.

Later, the family of the veteran filmmaker, including his sons Aditya and Uday, took the body in an ambulance to Pawan Hans crematorium in Juhu for the last rites.

A bus was arranged for staff members of the YRF studio who want to go to the crematorium ground while the celebrities drove in their own vehicles.

In the morning, a number of celebrities came to pay their last respects to Chopra at the Yash Raj Films studio, where his body was kept from last night. — PTI

Trinamool mulls moving adjournment motion under rule 184

KOLKATA: After bitter separation with the Congress, the Trinamool Congress is mulling moving an adjournment motion under rule 184 that entails voting in the Winter Session of Parliament against the “anti-people” policies of the UPA government. 

“We are keeping all options open including tabling an adjournment motion under rule 184 that entails voting and also moving a motion under rule 193,” Leader of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay told PTI. 

“Many political parties of both sides (in the ruling UPA alliance and the Opposition parties) will support us,” he said. 

He declined to name the parties, saying “It will be politically unwise to disclose the names of the parties right now”. 

He said that TMC with 19 Lok Sabha MPs and nine Rajya Sabha members would try for floor co-ordination with the Janata Dal (United), Biju Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party which were opposed to the decisions of the Centre. 

“We will consult these parties for floor co-ordination before the start of the Winter Session of Parliament in the third week of next month,” he said. 

To a question, he ruled out the possibility of talking with the CPI(M) for floor co-ordination. “CPI(M)’s opposition is not genuine. On the contrary, it wants to isolate the TMC politically”. 

Asked about TMC chief Mamata Banerjee’s earlier statement that the party planned to move a no-confidence motion against the government, ,Bandyopadhay replied, “An appropriate decision will be taken at an appropriate time”. 

He said his party would also grill the government on the CAG report on coal block allocation. 

Maintaining that the TMC was totally opposed to disruption of the House, he said, “In the last monsoon session about 80 per cent of the time was wasted because of disruption of Parliament. 

“We want a vibrant House devoted to discuss issues affecting the common people,” he said. 

Asked whether he would blame the BJP for the disruption in Parliament, he said “During NDA rule Congress also sometimes adopted a similar tactic. So, both major parties are to be blamed for this”. 

He claimed that the Trinamool Congress has proved that it did not care for ministerial positions when the interests of the common people were jeopardised due to the Centre’s policies. 

He was referring to the resignation of the six party ministers including himself following TMC’s withdrawal of support to the UPA government in protest against FDI in retail, cap on subsidised cooking gas cylinders and hike in diesel price. — PTI

British envoy meets Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of poll-bound state Gujarat, is due to meet British High Commissioner to India, James Bevan, in Ahmedabad on Monday.

Today’s meeting between Modi and the British diplomat is significant as it marks the resumption of Britain’s diplomatic ties with Gujarat, which were strained after the 2002 communal riots in the southern state.

Two weeks ahead of the meeting, the UK government had claimed that it was willing to normalize relations with Gujarat.

Modi, who is BJP’s firebrand leader and Hindutva poster boy, on Sunday met RSS top brass including its chief Mohan Bhagwat but brushed aside suggestions that the issue of projecting him as prime ministerial candidate for 2014 General Elections was discussed.

"RSS does not get involved in such things," Modi was quoted as telling reporters after the meeting at RSS headquarters in Nagpur.

He also dimissed speculations about the possibility of his being projected as the prime ministerial candidate.

BSP leader: Women don't need mobiles

Muzaffarnagar: Bahujan Samaj Party MP Rajpal Singh Saini has said that children, especially girls, should not be given mobile phones. Mr Saini went on to say that he once advised a father, already traumatised by the kidnapping of his daughter, that giving mobile phones to girls only invites trouble.

"I say this in every speech. Do not give mobile phones to children, especially girls. What work of theirs will stop if they do not have mobile phones. Our mothers and sisters did not have mobile phones; did they die because of it," Mr Saini said in a meeting in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

However, Saini, while speaking to the media later, said what he meant was that students of a certain age should not be given mobile phones.

"What I am saying is that students should not be given mobile phones. It is the age to study, and mobile phones are a distraction. Due to mobile phones, they lose their way and do not focus on their studies," he said.

Kingfisher shares hit lower circuit after licence suspension

Mumbai: Kingfisher Airlines stock fell nearly 5 per cent today to touch the lower circuit limit after its flying licence was suspended by the DGCA late last week.

The scrip of the financially-troubled company was down 4.8 per cent and hit the lower circuit limit of Rs 10.90 soon after the opening trade on the BSE.

Similar was the trend at the NSE, where the stock plunged 4.82 per cent to Rs 10.85.

Kingfisher Airlines on Friday lost its license to fly with aviation regulator DGCA suspending it with immediate effect.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the Scheduled Operator Permit (SOP) of Kingfisher Airlines following its failure to come up with a viable plan of financial and operational revival.

Meanwhile, selling pressure was also seen in other UB group stocks. United Breweries was trading 0.90 per cent lower, while United Breweries Holdings Ltd fell by 2.86 per cent, UB Engineering (1.03 pc), McDowell Holdings Ltd (3.03 pc) and United Spirits (2.81 pc).

In the broader market, the BSE benchmark Sensex was trading at 18,670.32, down 11.99 points at 1034 hrs.