On Twitter, Digvijaya confirms he is in relationship with journalist Amrita Rai

NEW DELHI: In a series of tweets, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and journalist Amrita Rai have accepted their relationship.

Rai, who is an anchor with the Rajya Sabha TV, tweeted that she has already filed for divorce with her husband and she plans to marry Digvijaya.

Singh's acknowledgement came a few days after his pictures with Rai were leaked on the internet.

A video featuring the two had also gone viral on Tuesday.

Confirming his relationship in the tweet, Digvijaya condemned encroachment upon their private lives.

Digvijaya, whose wife Asha died in February 2013, has a son and three daughters.

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Whichever man came to my life, abused me: Laxmi

"I am Laxmi. I look like one, do I?" That's what Laxmi, a 35-year-old transgender and one of the speakers at the Shift Series' Fearless Women conference in Delhi, asked as she was about to take the audience on a nostalgic trip through her growing up years and struggles, and talk about her comfortable present, a promising future, and what it means to be a woman.

I was sexually abused by somebody in the family
I belong to an orthodox family. Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi was the name given to me even before I was born. My grandfather, a respected pandit, said to my mother, who bore seven children, that only three of them would make it. I was the eldest son. I was a sick child and very feminine. People would laugh at me. I could never understand why they were doing that. I never understood the world. I was sexually abused by somebody who was a part of our family. It was difficult for me to even go to school and college. People used to call me chhakka, gur and what not. It was upsetting. Whichever man came to my life, abused me. At that time, I was a very different person from what I am today. I could hardly speak then. I was not confident.

ALSO READ: Laxmi Narayan Tripathi in Bigg Boss 5

I would have been Umrao Jaan... Main apna kotha kholti
One fine day, I got the guts to say 'no'. I told myself, 'You can't do it.' After that no, my whole life changed. I started learning dance and I opened my own dance school. I was done with my arangetram in Bharatnatyam when I was in sixth, and by seventh standard I had opened my own dance academy. I started model coordination. I had affairs. I took revenge on men. Later, I abused them (laughs). It's amazing when you are aware of your femininity, and you can make men crawl and come to you. That's the beauty of being a woman. I am 35 and dating a 22-year-old guy. Isn't that awesome? Had I been a woman, I would have been today's Umrao Jaan. Main apna kotha kholti.

You are absolutely normal. The world around you is abnormal
Since I started earning quite early, I had the money to go out and party. I remember, when I was in the sixth standard, once I went to meet Ashok Row Kavi, and told him that people find me abnormal. He said, 'Baby, you should study,' and I said, 'No, I don't want to study. People find me abnormal, and I like men.' That's when he gave me the gyaan of a lifetime. He said, 'Baby, you are absolutely normal. The world around you is abnormal.'

Tum yeh social work kar lo, mujhe toh mera makeup chahiye
I met Shabina Frances and became friends with her. She told me about the hijra culture. She promised to be my guru if I joined them. Shabina wanted to start an organisation for the betterment of their community. I gave her the money, but told her, 'Tum yeh social work kar lo, mujhe toh mera makeup chahiye.' Jab tak subah lipstick nahi lagayenge, din kaise shuru hoga?

During my college days, I was the only drag queen on campus. My professor used to tell me to get out of the class. He would say, 'Laxmi, you are not supposed to apply lipstick.' And I would say, 'Okay, bye bye.' At that time, I was very bad. I didn't respect anybody because people didn't respect me. But life taught me. I never thought I could be a social worker. But here I am today, fighting for our rights and the place we deserve in society. I am respected because of my work. And what I am, the Supreme Court has given its verdict on (the Supreme Court recently created the 'third gender' status for transgenders).

I loved my father
Since I was very open about my sexuality, there were conspiracies in the family to kill me. They said, 'Laxmi family par kalank hai.' But my parents were unbiased. My father and I never had a dialogue. Though he said I was free to do whatever I wanted to, he clarified that I had to do it from home. In an interview, my dad was asked, 'You are a brahmin and your son is a hijra, how do you feel about it?' The interviewer pataoed him to speak. But my dad surprised me. He said, 'Whether it's an educated or an uneducated family, in any sabhya society, parents don't go and see what their kids are doing in their bedrooms. Laxmi is as normal as anybody else. Laxmi is not handicapped and will always be my son, till my last breath.' I fell in love with him in that moment. I wasn't discriminated against at home. So I never knew how it would feel to sell your body for `20. My parents came to know about my abuse on Sach Ka Saamna. After learning everything, they never asked me any question. My sister then asked my dad why he didn't have any questions, and he said, 'Laxmi is over it. Why should I drag my child back into the same hole? Laxmi is fine now.'

Women need to love themselves to feel loved
In life, what we require the most is love, unconditional love. But the problem is, as women, we don't love ourselves enough. Women love their children, their husbands, their homes, their money, their makeup, but how much do they love themselves? How much time do they spend in front of the mirror? Women need to love themselves in order to feel loved.

Watch: Knowing Laxmi Narayan

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Actor Chiranjeevi tries to jump queue at polling booth, voter forces him back

HYDERABAD: Union minister Chiranjeevi had to suffer ignominy at a polling booth at Jubilee Hills on Wednesday as a voter questioned him on why he was jumping the queue to cast his vote.

The Congress leader, who is also spearheading the Congress campaign in Seemandhra, is a voter in Jubilee Hills constituency in Hyderabad.

He came to the polling booth to vote along with his family.

Dressed in white, as Chiranjeevi was walking straight into the polling booth, a voter who had been waiting to cast his vote, stopped Chiranjeevi.

"Don't' you think you should stand in the queue? Is it right?" the man demanded to know.

An embarrassed Chiranjeevi tried to argue, but the man stood his ground.

With no one at the polling booth showing any interest to come to Chiranjeevi's rescue, the Union minister grudgingly, but smiling, went back and stood in the queue.

He tried to show that he had not lost his cool and tried to look cheerful but the anger was evident on his and his family members face.

With Chiranjeevi forced to stand in the queue, the voter who confronted him became an instant hero for everyone at the polling booth.

Everyone joined their hands and applauded the man who smilingly but humbly acknowledged the appreciation.

Chiranjeevi and his family had to stand at the last in the queue and wait for their turn to cast their vote.

However, none of the other film stars who cast their vote tried to show their importance at the polling booths.

Junior NTR who came with his wife and mother waited patiently in the long queue waiting for his turn to cast his vote.

Actor Nagarjuna and wife Amala came early and stood along with the others and cast their vote only when their turn came. The couple mingled with the voters freely and even posed for photographs with families which wanted to get their picture clicked with them.

Jana Sena Party leader Pawan Kalyan also cast his vote in Jubilee Hills.

Other film personalities including Nandamuri Balakrishna, Daggubati Rama Naidu, D Suresh Babu and C Narayana Reddy also cast their votes.

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PICS: Sunny Leone bares all for a private strip party?

If the buzz is to be believed then adult film star turned Bollywood actress Sunny Leone shed her inhibitions and much more recently.

The 'Jism 2' actress apparently performed a strip dance for a private party near the Mumbai-Pune highway. According to a report in Mid-Day, Sunny Leone allegedly shed her clothes for a private party.

Not just that, the report also mentions that Sunny got Rs 40 lakhs for the alleged uncensored performance.

Now, we don't know how true these reports are or how old these alleged Sunny Leone pictures are, but they sure sent us in a tizzy. Are these images of the actress when she was still known as an adult film star or is this news piece going to go down in the history as another Sunny Leone controversy? Only time will tell...

WATCH: Sunny Leone's dirty secrets

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Centre discloses names of all 26 account holders in Liechtenstein Bank

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday has disclosed the names of all 26 account holders in Liechtenstein Bank to the Supreme Court.

It has also made public the names of 18 account holders against who proceedings have been launched and the names of the remaining 8 account holders have been given in a sealed cover.

The names were given to India by Germany in 2009.

Out of the 18 names made public, 5 are from Dhupelia family who are trustees of Ambrunova trust, 4 from Manichi trust, 4 from Ruvisha trust, KM Mammen of Webster Foundation and two others.

The government told the Supreme Court that income tax probe against all the 18 people is complete while prosecution procedures have been launched against 17. One person has died.

The court has said it will discuss the content of documents and hear the matter on Thursday.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Bookies stop offering bets on Rahul ​Gandhi

MUMBAI: As May 16 nears, leading bookies in Rajkot, Indore and Ahmedabad have stopped offering bets on Rahul Gandhi as the next prime minister of India, suggesting that the Congress VP does not stand much of a chance to move into 7 Race Course Road after the Lok Sabha poll results are out in mid-May. Even a month ago, some bookies were offering odds of about Rs 6-7 for Gandhi to be the PM, while the rate for Arvind Kejriwal, the founder of Aam Aadmi Party, was about Rs 500-525.

In contrast to Rahul Gandhi, the rate for Narendra Modi, the BJP candidate for the PM post, is 45 paise, nearly unchanged from what the rate was about a month ago. This means if one bets Rs 100 on Modi to assume the coveted office in Delhi's South Block, and he actually becomes the PM after May 16, one would get Rs 145.

"Rahul Gandhi is not a running item any more," said a person who is aware of the rates. According to the person, the rates in other parts of the country would differ by 1-2 paise, and not much.

In the Rajkot-Indore circles, the rates for the NDA coming to power is 44 paise. The rates for the BJP, which led the alliance that ruled the country from 1999-2004, getting 200 Lok Sabha seats is 46 paise and 58 paise for 250 seats. This rate has slightly changed what was offered about 10 days ago, — 50 paise to 75 paise for the BJP getting 250 seats — indicating the party has a lower chance of getting to that level.

Bookies are also betting heavily about the Congress getting less than 100 Lok Sabha seats, with the rates for it getting 85-90 seats at Rs 1.60-1.70, the person related to bookies said.

Rates in these betting hubs of the country nearly match what several opinion polls have been predicting. An opinion poll by Times Now — C Voter put 227 seats for the BJP-led NDA, while for the Congress-led UPA the number was 101 seats. The opinion poll also puts 215 seats for all non-NDA, non-UPA parties combined.

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EU bans Indian Alphonso mangoes, four vegetables from May 1

The author has posted comments on this articlePTI | Apr 28, 2014, 04.23PM IST

LONDON: The 28-member European Union has temporarily banned the import of Alphonso mangoes, the king of fruits, and four vegetables from India from May 1, sparking protests from the Indian community, lawmakers and traders.

The recent decision by the grouping's standing committee on plant health came after 207 consignments of fruits and vegetables from India imported into the EU in 2013 were found to be contaminated by pests such as fruit flies and other quarantine pests.

The temporary ban, proposed by the European Commission, includes mangoes, eggplant, the taro plant, bitter gourd and snake gourd, and prohibits the import to tackle the "significant shortcomings in the phytosanitary certification system of such products exported to the EU".

Though the prohibited commodities represent less than 5 per cent of the total fresh fruits and vegetables imported into the EU from India, the potential introduction of new pests could pose a threat to EU agriculture and production, the committee noted.

UK's Defra (the department for environment, food and rural affairs) that is backing the ban said it was necessary due to pests which could threaten the country's £321 million salad crop industry of tomato and cucumber.

The UK imports nearly 16 million mangoes from India and the market for the fruit is worth nearly 6 million pounds a year.

A revision of the ban will take place before December 31, 2015.

Businesses claimed they will lose hundreds of thousands of pounds due to the ban.

Wholesalers and retailers in Indian-dominated regions of the UK have opposed the ban, which comes into effect on May 1, saying it will hit them hard.

"This is Euro-nonsense and bureaucracy gone mad. Indian mangoes have been imported to Britain for centuries. I am furious with the lack of consultation with those who will be affected by the ban," said Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz, who has written to the European Commission president after his constituents in the city of Leicester made a plea.

He has also written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ascertain if the Indian government was consulted on the matter.

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Modi magic may help BJP get toehold in Bengal

KOLKATA: By the time electioneering for the 16th Lok Sabha polls draws to a close on May 10, Narendra Modi would have finished his sixth tour of West Bengal. Even in the unlikeliest of places, BJP has sniffed blood. From Alipur Duar amid the lush green tea plantations of the Dooars in the north to the shores of the Bay of Bengal in the south, the Lotus blossoms unmistakably as the 'X' factor, surprising and shocking all other contenders in a state habitually polarized between various shades of the Left and the two avatars of Congress.

Hamstrung by a rickety organization and bereft of credible leadership, BJP in West Bengal has always had a marginal political existence, never enjoying more than 5-6 % of popular votes in any election. It won two parliamentary seats in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, a feat the party could not repeat in any of the succeeding elections. The party's vote share soared close to 12% in the 1991 elections when the excitement and frenzy of the Ayodhya movement and Advani's Rath Yatra swayed a sizeable number of voters in this partitioned state. But the party, despite an unprecedented windfall, drew a blank. Then, BJP hit its usual nadir every time it chose to go it alone.

This time round, too, it is not a case of 'ghar ghar Modi' in Bengal; no pollster has given the party more than one seat. Yet, all pollsters predict that BJP's popular vote share might reach an alltime high, shooting up to more than 15-16 %, giving the party a credible toehold in the state for the first time. This would also mean the emergence of BJP as the third largest political force in Bengal, relegating Congress almost to the oblivion. If BJP comes to power in the Centre and Modi becomes the Prime Minister, the party may legitimately hope to add to its ranks enough supporters to be able to play a critical role in the state assembly elections due exactly after two years. West Bengal politics seems poised for a paradigm shift, that would see new equations and alignments dovetailing a new, resurgent, yet an hitherto-unknown player.

None of BJP's three major contenders, TMC, the Left and Congress, took this possible scenario into account while preparing their electoral strategy in the state. Least of all Mamata Banerjee, who took the gamble of fielding her own party candidates in all the 42 constituencies in the state, breaking away from the old tradition of allying with either Congress or the NDA. The BJP's central leadership sent feelers and persistent overtures believing Mamata to be their old and natural ally as she was opposed to both Congress and the Left.

In his first election rally in the state, held audaciously but successfully at Kolkata's historic Brigade Parade Grounds, Modi offered Didi the proverbial 'Dilli ka laddu' while Rajnath Singh in an outrageously placatory note almost assured her that BJP would concede to her long pending demand of a moratorium on the state's accumulated loans.

Yet, Didi refused to bite the bullet keeping in mind the importance of minority votes and the disastrous impact an alliance with the BJP would have on her battle prospects for the state in 2016. She could hardly imagine , like all others in the state, that the shadow of Modi would continue to lengthen as days rolled by to upset her poll plans and calculations. Today, in every election meeting she launches a frontal attack against BJP, taking pot shots at Modi by calling him 'dangar mukh' , the face of a ghastly riot.

Modi too returns the fire shedding past inhibitions and hope. Mamata based her calculations on the party's stunning performance at the panchayat polls held less than a year ago when TMC garnered more than 43% of popular votes in rural areas. Even a minor erosion, she thought, would not create any major difference to her prospects of sweeping virtually every corner of the state barring the three districts of Murshidabad, Malda and North Dinajpore , counting for only six seats, where Congress still manages to hold its own. The spectre of Modi and his repeated sojourns to the state with successful and heavily attended rallies seem to haunt 'Didi' more than the effects of the Saradha scam.

Modi may or may not emerge as a spoilsport only for Mamata and her party. There are visible signs in many places of Left supporters leaning towards BJP, and buying the party's argument for the need of a stable and effective government at the Centre. A section of Bengali refugees and tribals, for long tried and tested supporters of the Left, may now find the new option more viable and acceptable. Many among them now want to give Modi a chance just for the fun of inviting change. Their new refrain: Ebar chupchap fule chhap, kintu chhotor badole baro ful (This time round too we will opt for the flower, but for the bigger one — or Lotus).

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Apologize or face defamation, Trinamool Congress to Narendra Modi

KOLKATA: A day after slamming Narendra Modi as "Butcher of Gujarat", the Trinamool Congress on Monday demanded that the Gujarat chief minister should apologize publicly or face a defamation case for questioning the sale of Mamata Banerjee's painting.

"Either he has to prove this (charges on sale of paintings) or apologize publicly for this. Otherwise we will file a defamation case against him," Trinamool Congress general secretary Mukul Roy told reporters.

Modi, at a rally in Srirampore yesterday, had said, "Your (Mamata) paintings used to be sold for Rs 4 lakh, Rs 8 lakh or Rs 15 lakh, but what is the reason that one of your paintings sold for Rs 1.80 crore. I respect art. But who was the person who bought the painting for Rs 1.80 crore".

"Who all have bought her paintings, for what price they bought it, suddenly how they found out your talent, this the people of Bengal want to know," he had said.

Roy said the party has written to the Election Commission complaining that such "unsubstantiated" allegations are a violation of the model code of conduct.

"Someone whose hands are blood-stained in Gujarat riots is doubting the integrity and sincerity of our leader and making personal attacks," he said.

State finance minister Amit Mitra said all money raised from the sale of paintings have either gone for charity purposes or funding the party's mouthpiece 'Jago Bangla'.

"Modi has made a very low level of personal attack on her. By going to the lowest denominator he has changed the political discourse in the country," he said.

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OMG: Alia Bhatt kisses Arjun Kapoor on National Television

News about 2 States co-stars Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt's romantic journey never seems to end, ever after the film's release as the rumoured couple is leaving no stone unturned in painting the town red with stories of their love affair.

READ: 6 funny moments from Sunil Gavaskar and Virendra Sehwag's episode of Comedy Nights with Kapil

And if their proximity during promotions was not enough to grab eyeballs, Alia has now gone ahead to kiss Arjun on National Television. Both Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor, who visited the sets of hit comic show Comedy Nights with Kapil, gave audiences a glimpse of their romance when Alia kissed Arjun on the show.

Yes, you read it right. Alia who came on Comedy Nights with Kapil sets with her co-star Arjun Kapoor to promote the recently released film 2 States, kissed Arjun on the show. Though Daadi aka Ali Asgar is known for giving shagun ki pappi to all the Bollywood heartthrobs on CNWK, this time Alia Bhatt seems have taken over Daadi's role. She gave a tight peck on Arjun's cheek and the actor also seemed to have enjoyed every bit of the kissing moment.

Well, it seems this is just Alia and Arjun's way to bring the audiences to the cinema halls who have not yet seen the film.

WATCH: Sneak Peek: Varun Dhawan on Comedy Nights With Kapil

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Eggs thrown at Chiranjeevi after his comments on Modi

MACHILIPATNAM, AP: Some BJP supporters allegedly hurled eggs at Union Minister and AP Congress election campaign committee chief K Chiranjeevi during a public meeting here on Friday after his remarks against Narendra Modi calling him a "Hitler" and "tyrant", police said.

Chiranjeevi, who was addressing a rally at Koneru Centre here, stopped his speech for some time after the incident. However, police managed to bring the situation under control and the minister continued his speech.

Police later said they nabbed two suspects in this connection.

During his speech earlier, Chiranjeevi said, "Modi is a tyrant. He is a Hitler. He had been deliberately sidelining a number of senior BJP leaders, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and party veteran L K Advani."

"BJP is a communal party and YSR Congress Party has roots in criminal ideology," the actor-turned-politician alleged.

Targeting BJP's prime ministerial candidate over his remark that "Congress-free India is need of the hour", Chiranjeevi said, "No one can root out the Congress from the country and many parties which tried to do so have perished. The people will never forget the work Congress has done for the country. BJP, TDP and YSR Congress party cannot harm the Congress."

People are well aware of who is responsible for the division of Andhra Pradesh and the BJP, TDP and YSR Congress parties should own up the responsibility for it, he added.

The Congress leader said that in Andhra Pradesh, although senior leaders left the party, the young and fresh leaders would work wonders in the Lok Sabha as well as assembly polls in the state.

He accused the TDP and YSR Congress Party of spending a lot of money to ensure victory in the elections.

Besides Modi, Chiranjeevi also criticized TDP President Chandrababu Naidu.

He also participated in road shows at Pedana in Krishna district.

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I left films that were shot abroad to sleep with Tiger every night: Jackie Shroff

Jackie Shroff, 57, may not have got the training and education that his son Tiger, 23, has. He may not have had the luxuries that his son grew up with. His son may be good-looking, a great dancer and gymnast, but no one can come close to the style and groundedness of Juggu dada. He speaks straight from his heart and charms you by just his few words preceded or succeeded by 'Bindaas' or 'Beedu'. Just ahead of the launch of his son's debut in friend Sajid Nadiadwala's 'Heropanti', he talks about the discipline of his son, how he was as a father and why Tiger is a better son than he himself was. Excerpts:

ALSO READ: Alia and Tiger to pair up?

Talk about Tiger as a son?
Even a porcupine finds his child soft. Main kya bolu. It doesn't make sense to praise your own son, but I would say for sure that I have not seen a son like that. I have seen children of my friends and all are good, but this boy gives a lot of love to his parents, his work and to people around him. I have not seen such a humble boy like him. I am humble too, but everyone on the set talks about his humility. Someone says, 'Don't call me Ji', someone says, 'Don't call me Sir.' I mean I don't keep calling people 'Ji' and 'Sir'. But this guy is too polite. He has got his discipline from basketball and football that he used to play and he leads a very regimented life. I don't know how to talk about my son. I just feel that everyone should get a son like him, who respects his parents and everyone around him and for him they are in the same zone — mata, pita and log. He is too loving, caring and soft-hearted. He is more soft-hearted than me.

Listen to Heropanti songs on Gaana.com

How similar is he to you?
Well, he is as good a dancer as me He is absolutely in his regime. I am not in my regime. I have my chawal and ghee and all such things. He has a plan that he has for his looks and physique, which he sticks to. The first time I saw him on screen was at the trailer launch of Heropanti. That's not the way I speak. I never imagined him to be so confident. 'Sabko aati nahi, aur meri jaati nahi' — that pause that he had. For a young boy like that, it's commendable. He is a great block of a chip. I am just the chip, he is the real block. I feel like a chirkoot in front of him. He is a different league all together. He has more substance. He will be more caring towards his mother, his wife and his own self and that is because he respects his own self. So it's automatic. When you respect your own body, you respect everybody. I also loved my mother and every boy says that. But the kind of time he gives his mother, I wish I could have given to mine. He goes beyond and is obsessed. He is obsessed by his mother and obsessed by his father. I was not.

What kind of father were you?
When he was small, I used to shoot a lot in Delhi and Chennai, but even if I was shooting for six days in a week, every night I would fly back only to hug him and sleep with him. Once I was shooting with Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) in Pataudi. Sanju baba would drop me every night at the airport, so that I could come back to Tiger and hug him and sleep. I gave him a lot of love. I had a friend who got me a webcam and said, 'Jaggu you can see him and talk to him.' I had two cameras, one that I gave to my wife to talk to my son and one I had. If I went to Ooty, I would dial up and connect through Bangalore and make him hear my voice. I left so many films that were shot abroad till he was about five years, as I wanted to come back to him every night. I would make him do flips. I would hold him and he would take his flips in between my arms. My daughter is like me and he is like his mother. My daughter and I party hard, he doesn't party. My wife also doesn't party ever. It's rare when she makes an appearance and then she is glowing and outshines everybody. My daughter likes partying and sends me all the love messages and will send me a message saying, 'Dad, where are you? I am partying and will see you in the morning.' When she goes out, she stays out. How can I stop her when I did the same thing? I keep telling my boy, 'Come let's go to a nightclub. Let's party.' I tell him, 'Take a bigger car, it's safer on the road.' And he will say, 'I am nobody today, what will I do with a bigger car? Let me become something and then I will talk about it.' He is fantastic and rooted and so simple. I have never ever come across anybody like him. Only thing I feel is he should party hard. But I know he is disciplined and a sportsperson and is the new generation, who have respect for their seniors, juniors and themselves. And I am learning from him.

WATCH: Heropanti : Raat Bhar Video Song

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Sanjay Dutt's three-year-old son to make his acting debut

Actor Sanjay Dutt's three-year-old son Shahraan seems to share his father's passion for acting and will be making a debut in his father's home production 'Hasmukh Pigal Gaya'.

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Sanjay Dutt and wife's jadoo ki chummi

A Mid-Day report says the cute boy will be a part of the song Kisi Ki Muskuraton Par Ho Nisar. Though the song is originally from Raj Kapoor's film, Anari, it will be played twice in Hasmukh Pigal Gaya. The report adds that when the first time the song will be played it will feature Shahraan and debutant actor Armaan Ralhan, and the second time it will feature megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

ALSO READ: EXPOSED: Sanjay Dutt bitches about film fraternity?

Quoting choreographer Ahmed Khan, the report further adds that the song required a little boy and Maanyata was happy to let them shoot with Shahraan. The song reflects the changing moods of Mumbai.

The movie will see Amitabh Bachchan in a very important role and there are special appearances by Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Bose. The film also marks the debut of actor OP Ralhan's grandson, Armaan Ralhan. Directed by newbie Sejal Shah, the movie is a satire on the hottest day in Mumbai. The story is about how Hasmukh battles the heat to achieve a task.

Listen to Sanjay Dutt songs on Gaana.com

It has been learnt that Sanjay saw the film when he was out on parole and completely loved it.

ALSO WATCH: Sanjay's five-year jail term

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Actor Inder Kumar arrested in 'rape' case

The police have arrested actor Inder Kumar Sarraf alias Inder Kumar on Friday after his girlfriend alleged that he has sexually assaulted her and beaten her out of rage recently.

The girl is a model working in a private company. She befriend the actor, who lived in neighbourhood and requested him for help to get modeling-acting assignments.

On Thursday, Kumar has a fight with his wife. His wife then she approached the Versova police station and complaint them against her husband. She told the police that her husband has a relationship with another woman and she want a divorce from him.

ALSO READ: Bollywood actor Inder Kumar back on TV

The police called Kumar for the questioning. He came to the police station along with his girlfriend. The police questioned Kumar about his details and relationship. The police told Kumar and his wife that that they should approach a court to get divorce.

ALSO READ: ​Sex, lies and the directors of Bollywood

Kumar was upset with the development and he returned home along with his girlfriend. He allegedly assaulted her out of anger with a beer bottle and kicked her. The model left from his house and after discussing the issue with her sister she decided to file a police case.

The police booked Kumar under Indian Penal Code section 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 506-2 (criminal intimidation). Kumar told the police that he had consensual sex with his girlfriend.

Listen to Wanted songs on Gaana.com

ALSO WATCH: Wanted trailer

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Congress left red-faced as PM's brother joins BJP at Modi rally

AMRITSAR: In a move that has left the Congress red-faced, the BJP on Friday inducted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's youngest brother Daljit Singh Kohli into the party. This was done at BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's rally organized to give the party's Amritsar Lok Sabha candidate and key strategist Arun Jaitley a final push ahead of the April 30 elections in Punjab.

Daljit told TOI that he joined the BJP because he was upset at the manner in which his brother had been treated by the Congress and he said he was likely to contest elections on BJP's ticket soon. He has been a textile exporter in Amritsar for the past sixteen years.

Modi gave a big hug to Daljit in front of thousands of people and said "Kohli joining the BJP has doubled our strength. You should know we are not just a party of mere memberships; we are a party that believes in long lasting relationships. We now have blood relations with you".

Modi has been exceptionally harsh on the prime minister in his recent speeches calling him a dummy of the Gandhi family. The prime minister on the other hand has said on Thursday that there is no Modi wave in the country.

Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said the Singh family was surprised at this development. The family said they didn't know his (Daljit's) motivations for joining the BJP while adding that he was free to pursue his own political affiliations.

Speaking to TOI after joining the party, Daljit said he had decided to join the party because he liked Jaitley's vision. "I was very disappointed with the way my brother Dr saab had been sidelined and his policies were being ignored by his party". He was aware that the PM had called Modi a mass murderer but refused to comment on the issue.

He informed that DSGMC president Manjit Singh GK had introduced him to Jaitley five days ago and the second meeting with Jaitley took place on last Wednesday afternoon.

Showering praises on Modi, Daljit added that Modi had the capacity to take all communities and parties together besides he expressed hope that Jaitley would have an important role to play if NDA comes to power.

He said,"My brother Manmohan Singh is an honest man, he served his country with full dedication and honesty but Congress leaders never gave him a free hand and instead interfered in his and his government's functioning". He said his joining the BJP would be for the betterment of Punjab.

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal added that Kohli had joined the party after seeing the pitiable fate of his brother at the hands of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Reacting to the development, Manmohan's other younger brother Surjit Singh Kohli, who also lives in Amritsar, said he was heartbroken by what his sibling had done. "This is very unfortunate. Punjab deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia could be behind this move. We had vowed never to leave the Congress".

"Till Thursday morning there was no such inkling from him or his family. All of us brothers have had a cordial relationship for years," he added.

He said this was a very sad movement in his life.

Meanwhile, Manjit Singh GK said, "There couldn't have been a better representative of Sikh community than Daljit as he was an extremely humble man from a religious Sikh family".

Congress sources in Amritsar told TOI that the party leaders were reluctant to comment on the issue without first studying the exact relationship of Daljit Singh to the prime minister and what led him to join the BJP.

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Indian Mujahideen planned fidayeen attack on gathering of Bollywood stars

NEW DELHI: Indian Mujahideen leader Tehsin Akhtar alias Monu, who was allegedly handling its affairs since Yasin Bhatkal's arrest last year, has made a startling revelation during interrogation that the terror outfit had planned to launch a fidayeen attack on a gathering of Bollywood stars.

The outfit under the leadership of Yasin Bhatkal had planned suicide mission to target a huge gathering of Bollywood stars as they believed that the film industry was corrupting the youth by showing nudity and other things, sources said. The idea was to cause maximum damage to the entertainment industry by attacking a host of stars in one strike.

While Bollywood stars have in the past received individual threats from the underworld mafia and gangsters, it is for the first time that a terror outfit is said to have been planning a full-fledged attack. The revelation has shocked the investigators as IM's targets so far have been foreigners, tourist places, religious places, government establishments and crowded places like markets.

Without giving the exact dates, Tehsin told his interrogators, "One day, Yasin, Haddi (Assadullah Akhtar), Waqas (Zia-Ur-Rehman) and I discussed about the possibility of conducting fidayeen attacks. Yasin was interested in carrying out fidayeen attacks on film stars."

Tehsin said, "The logic given by Yasin was that the film industry was misguiding people by showing nudity and other things which was corrupting the youth. The idea was to target a possible gathering of stars so that maximum casualty could be inflicted."

"While Yasin very much wanted this kind of attack, he was also aware that it was premature for the outfit to carry out a fidayeen strike since it was yet equipped to do so. Yasin felt that idea of fidayeen attack was premature as IM's membership was too meagre (sic) to create any meaningful impact," Tehsin told his interrogators, as quoted by an intelligence officer.

Sources said Tehsin didn't remember the date of planning, but told the sleuths that it was sometime in 2011 around the time a crackdown was launched on IM members in Delhi and Bihar.

Tehsin, who was arrested near Indo-Nepal border last month, is presently in the custody of Delhi Police's Special Cell alongwith Waqas and other members of Rajasthan module. Cops plan to confront him with Yasin and Assadullah Akhtar alias Haddi in a few days. Both Haddi and Yasin, arrested on August 27 last year from Nepal, are lodged in Tihar jail.

A security expert said although all the important IM members have been arrested in the last few months including, including Haddi, Tehsin and Waqas, there are chances that Yasin may have discussed his plans with Riyaz Bhatkal and other absconding members. "Yasin was very secretive about his plans and actions with every module. During interrogation, Tehsin said he didn't know if anybody else also knew about these deadly plans," said the officer.

Tehsin is suspected to have revived IM's relations with SIMI and also helped the suspects in Patna serial blasts and Bodh Gaya blasts last year. He was said to be in regular touch with Riyaz Bhatkal through chats and planned a major strike in Delhi, Jodhpur, Agra and other places along with Waqas and Rajasthan module. He was arrested on March 24 from Indo-Nepal border.

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IITian who built Google+ announces resignation

NEW DELHI: Vic Gundotra, the high-profile Indian executive who headed the Google+ team at Google, is leaving the company. The announcement was made by Gundotra on his Google+ page.

"Today I'm announcing my departure from Google after almost 8 years," wrote Gundotra. "I am excited about what's next. But this isn't the day to talk about that. This is a day to celebrate the past 8 years."

Gundotra is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He earlier worked with Microsoft, handing the developers relations for the company. He joined Google in 2007 and along with Sundar Pichai, head of Android and Chrome division, Google Search boss Amit Singhal and Google business officer Nikesh Arora, formed a quartet of senior Indian executives who ran Google's day to day operations.

"Vic built Google+ from nothing. There are few people with the courage and ability to start something like that and I am very grateful for all his hard work and passion. We'd like to wish Vic good luck with his next project after Google," Google CEO Larry Page said in a statement.

Apart from being the man behind Google+, Gundotra was instrumental in making Google I/O, company's annual conference for developers a success. The first Google I/O was held in 2008.

While Google+ has managed to make a mark on the web, largely because Google has been very aggressive in pushing, the social networking site is a distant second to Facebook in terms of users and lags significantly behind Twitter and Facebook in terms of appeal.

From the statements issued by Page and Gundotra, the resignation of Google+ boss looks like a routine affair. But at the same time there were reports based on inputs left in Secret, an app that allows anonymous social networking, that Gundotra was looking for a new job.

In his statement Gundotra praised Page. "I'm overwhelmed when I think about the leadership of Larry Page and what he empowered me to do while at Google. From starting Google I/O, to being responsible for all mobile applications, to creating Google+, none of this would have happened without Larry's encouragement and support," he said.

According to reports at Recode.com and Marketingland.com, the new Google+ chief will be David Besbris, a Google engineer who is with Google+ team since 2008.

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Daughter of Indian-American billionaire allegedly blackmailed over nude pictures

WASHINGTON: A former boyfriend of Indian-American billionaire investor Vinod Khosla's daughter has been charged with threatening to publish her naked photos as part of an extortion plot.

FBI agents last week arrested Douglas Tarlow, 27, a Stanford University graduate, who dated Khosla's daughter Nina for about two years, in connection with the alleged extortion plot, according to The Smoking Gun, an investigative news site. Tarlow was subsequently released from custody and is scheduled for a US District Court preliminary hearing on Friday.

Khosla, the 59-year-old venture capitalist who co-founded Sun Microsystems, is worth $1.5 billion, according to a recent Forbes magazine estimate.

According to the Smoking Gun, Tarlow allegedly threatened to distribute the naked images online, warning in one e-mail that, "Everything is going to reddit. From there, it will be impossible to remove from the internet forever."

In a text message to Nina Khosla's mother Neeru, who was sent the nude photos, Tarlow stated, "it seems you're going to be the mother of the next Paris Hilton," investigators allege.

The FBI's investigation of Tarlow is detailed in a court affidavit sworn by Agent Glenn Solomon-Hill, who is assigned to the bureau's San Francisco's office.

While the FBI affidavit does not name Tarlow's alleged targets, The Smoking Gun said it has confirmed that the Khoslas are the victims referred to in the document.

Nina Khosla, 26, declined to answer questions from the news site about the case. "I'd prefer that you didn't write about that," Khosla was quoted as saying.

She added that her family contacted law enforcement authorities soon after receiving threatening communications.

Tarlow and Nina Khosla, who met in 2007, dated for about two years before breaking up in late-2010.

The couple, who studied in Stanford's Product Design programme, started Lokho, a design firm for which Ms Khosla registered a web site in mid-2009.

During their relationship, Khosla "voluntarily took nude photos and video," which she shared with Tarlow, according to Agent Solomon-Hill as cited by the Smoking Gun.

In September 2012, Nina and Neeru Khosla each received a series of texts from Tarlow's phone number. The messages included several naked photos of Nina Khosla taken during the period she dated Tarlow.

In subsequent communications, Tarlow allegedly sought $72,000, which he claimed the Khosla foundation owed him.

In the final e-mail cited by investigators, Tarlow allegedly wrote to Neeru Khosla on December 14.

He attached "a different nude picture" of her daughter, and asked, "Do you still want to buy these?'

The Smoking Gun said Tarlow did not respond to an e-mail sent to his Gmail account, nor to voicemail messages left on several phone numbers he has used.

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I've not physically abused Paridhi Sharma: Santram Verma

Of late, Santram Verma, the man behind the hit show Jodha Akbar has been surrounded with a number of controversies. From being a tough task master to being accused of harassing and sexually abusing his actors and technicians, Santram has always been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

However, denying all the accusations, Santram says that there is no truth to all these allegations and it 's done to malign his reputation in the industry.

READ: Paridhi Sharma sexually abused by director Santram Verma?

"All these are just rumors and there's is no truth to it. I've not physically abused Paridhi or anybody in my entire career. Paridhi and I are just professionals and we are here to just do our jobs. We don't even talk to each other, nor I've ever spoken to her on the phone so how can I molest? We have a team who co-ordinates with her for the shoots and all. In fact I don't even shoot her (Paridhi) scenes as Paridhi was close to the group who walked out of the show. They used to brain wash her as their only aim was to stop the shoot. So I always avoid shooting with her and have always maintained distance from Paridhi as I don't want any clash," cleared Santram.

He further adds, "I keep on reading various things about me and my behaviour that I make people work for 15 hours daily. But let me tell you, I've all the records that I can present to you which says that no one has worked for more than 12 hours. But people like spreading false news and I don't give importance to them nor do I react to it as I know that my work speaks for myself."
When asked about the various news of him being a tough task master and that he throws his weight around, the director says, "This is absolutely rubbish. I just do my work and that is what I am here for. All this has come from people who don't like working,"

So is the news about 90 people leaving the show because of him false, "Yes, it's false. It all happened because of one person who didn't want to work or rather say was not performing as expected so I had to ask him to better his job or he could lose it. This didn't go down well with him and he forced everyone to go for a mass walkout as those 90 people were brought by him. But I still get calls from these people asking for help to get them a job. So this itself proves that who is spreading all these rumors. I think as people are jobless and they don't have anything to do, they resort to such cheap tactics," says Santram.

WATCH: Jodha Akbar - Preview

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Jharkhand woman gives kidney to husband as dowry, kills self after six months

HAZARIBAGH: A woman set herself on fire allegedly due to harassment by her in-laws despite donating one of her kidneys to her husband as a part of a dowry deal about six months ago in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district.

Poonam Devi, a 28-year-old mother of two, died in a hospital here on Tuesday, a week after she set herself on fire.

According to an FIR filed by the victim's family, Devi's mother-in-law had been torturing her for dowry for years. Six months ago her husband Sudama Giri fell sick after his kidneys failed. His mother gave Devi a written undertaking that they would treat her well and stop asking for another Rs 25,000 as dowry from her father if she donated one of her kidneys to Giri.

Giri's family had taken Rs 1.31 lakh from Devi's father Barhan Bharati at the time of marriage in 2006.

In his FIR, Bharati who is from Koderma district alleged that Giri's family kept on pestering Devi for more money. Devi agreed to donate her kidney after her in-laws promised to not torture her for dowry anymore.

But they did not stop and she set herself on fire on April 16. She was admitted to a hospital in Ranchi with severe burns. Her body was brought to Hazaribagh on Wednesday.

Police are yet to arrest Devi's in-laws. Hazaribagh SP Manoj Kaushik said, "I have taken up the matter and action will be taken against the guilty after investigation."

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Election Commission officials seal four IT companies in Chennai as they function on polling day

CHENNAI: Election Commission officials sealed the offices of four IT companies in Chennai and sent their employees out on Thursday as the they functioned despite authorities declaring a general holiday for all offices, commercial establishments, IT companies, theatres, hotels and others.

According to reports, more than 3,000 workers in these well-known IT companies reported for duty in the morning and were in the office when EC officials swooped on them and sent them out.

The four companies have been sealed and a first information report has been filed against them.

Following orders from the Election Commission, the chief electoral officer had issued statements asking all establishments to declare a general holiday.

At another IT company in the city, employees were seen leaving the premises through front entrance while many were entering the building through the back entrance, apparently to work. Company officials justified keeping the office open stating that it carries out 24x7 operations and cannot be shutdown.

On Wednesday, the labour commissioner issued a press release ordering all the establishments in the state to close for a day to enable the employees to vote.

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Muslims are too ‘secular’, should be ‘communal’: Shazia in video

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party found itself in an embarrassing position when Shazia Ilmi, its senior member and party candidate from Ghaziabad, was seen in a video telling Muslims that they should stop being "secular" while casting their vote and be "communal" in these elections.

"Muslims are too secular. Muslims will have to be communal for the first time. Muslims are not communal, they do not vote for their own. Arvind Kejriwal is our own," Ilmi is heard telling a group of Muslims in a room. The 79-second clip was ostensibly shot when Shazia was in Mumbai recently.

Faced with a barrage of criticism over Shazia Ilmi's purported remarks, the Aam Aadmi Party refused to defend her, saying there was no place in the party for such sentiments.

Ilmi's video went viral on Tuesday and the party promptly distanced itself from the comments. An official statement from AAP said that it "does not believe in this kind of politics nor do we endorse it. All our representatives should be careful in their choice of words so that there is no scope for misinterpretation".

Senior party leader Manish Sisodia tweeted, "I've seen Shazia's clip. She should have not said it. AAP does not believe in communal politics. Our politics is to unite all Indians."

In the video, Ilmi is heard saying, "So far we have been making Congress win. Don't be so secular. Think of your interests this time. Muslims are secular and vote for everyone. Other parties do not do this. They have a set vote bank. Our votes are constantly getting divided. Think of your self this time."

Individuals in the clip are seen to be nodding at Ilmi's remarks. One person adds that Muslims are often responsible for turning the tide in an election even though they are victimized. "Dare bhi hum aur jitaye bhi hum lekin malai khaye koi aur (We are used as a vote bank but also forced to live in fear. Meanwhile others reap benefits)," the clip shows him saying.

To this, Ilmi, says that this time they should change their strategy and 'fight and win'.

While Ilmi's remarks drew sharp and quick reaction on social media, a few said the AAP leader came through as "clueless". Tweeted social activist Kavita Krishnan: "Shazia Ilmi's 'Muslims shd b communal' remark isn't communal. Only shows she hasn't 1st clue what 'communal'/'secular' mean. #embarrassing (sic)."

Another tweet, attributed to @Vidyut, said: "Shazia Ilmi may not be the brightest bulb in AAP, but she is not malicious, or for that matter COMMUNAL." Others were not so charitable. @mojorojo tweeted: "Okay *if* that Shazia Ilmi video is real, it's inexcusable and she needs to not be allowed to participate." Composer Vishal Dadlani, an AAP supporter, addressed BJP supporters on the issue. "I don't know if this is the full clip or not. But I will not defend it. In my view, both Hindu and Muslim communalists and fundamentalists are anti-national ... However, unlike the RSS or the VHP, parent organizations of the BJP, this speech/instance is an aberration in AAP. Either she has a foolproof explanation, or she will be expelled, I'm sure of that. AAP is full of good, non-communal, non-corrupt people, striving for India. This incident, real or not, can't take away from that," he said.

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Dawood’s rival Chhota Rajan very ill in Malaysia

MUMBAI: Fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan (59), arch rival of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, is reportedly ill with kidney problems, say sources in intelligence agencies here. Police officers tried to confirm the news by asking one of Rajan's friends in Tilak Nagar to speak to the don. Sources said "things appeared to be normal'' in Rajan's den in Tilak Nagar.

Rajan reportedly told the hotelier friend that he would not die before killing Dawood, his sworn enemy since the 1993 blasts. Dawood orchestrated the serial bomb blasts to 'avenge' the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1991 and the bloody riots that followed in 1992.

On Tuesday, there were several stories regarding the health of Rajan, whose real name is Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje. Rajan— who grew up black-marketing cinema tickets in Chembur—has been admitted to a private hospital in Malaysia. Incidentally, he lost his mother, Laxmibai Nikhalje, two months ago.

Sources said that Rajan has a kidney problem due to the infection caused by the bullets fired by the Dawood gang in 2001. "He did not undergo proper treatment as he fled from hospital for fear of being deported to India by the Bangkok authorities and due to which he has a recurring kidney problem. Rajan's wife Sujata Nikhalje had recently taken the Bombay high court's permission to visit Europe where her elder daughter Anita is pursuing higher studies.

Rajan's aide Abu Sawant, who is also his manager, is taking care of his treatment as most of his men have been killed, either on his own orders or by rival members.

Sawant, a builder, fled India in 2006 after his name cropped up in extortion and money-laundering cases registered by the Mumbai crime branch, in which the police arrested six persons, including Sujata.

The case is pending before the special Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) court and Sawant is a wanted accused.

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Kiran Mazumdar apologizes after tweet about Rohan Murty's presentation at Infosys

BNAGLORE: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD of Biocon and board member in Infosys, has apologized for a tweet on Saturday where she praised Rohan Murty, son of Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy, for a presentation that Murty made at an Infosys board meeting.

"I apologize for this inadvertent and improper tweet on Rohan Murty — I agree it was incorrect to do so," she tweeted on Wednesday after several corporate governance experts slammed her for disclosing proceedings that were part of a board meeting.

The tweet on Saturday had said: "At a recent Infy board meeting, I was most impressed by Rohan Murty's brilliant tech-loaded presentation, which will enormously benefit Infy."

Corporate governance experts said that it was perfectly okay for a chairman's executive assistant to make a presentation to the board, but it was inappropriate on Shaw's part to say anything about this in public. On Wednesday, Shaw who was inducted into the Infosys board in December last year, explained the tweet saying: "I guess I just wanted to express my opinion on a matter that has been so strongly criticized."

Rohan Murty's entry into Infosys as chairman Narayana Murthy's executive assistant has been widely criticized. Murthy had previously said that children of the co-founders would stay out of Infosys, but Rohan's entry looked like Murthy was going back on his words.

For those who long saw Infosys as setting high governance standards in Indian industry, this came as an unpleasant development. Murthy and the company have consistently maintained that Rohan's term would be coterminous with that of Narayana Murthy, the suggestion being that Rohan would leave the company when Murthy's five-year term ends. But given his current deep involvement in Infosys, many still believe that Rohan is there for the longer term.

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Fleet of 3 aircraft ensures Modi is home every night after day's campaigning

AHMEDABAD: Ever since he kick-started his campaign, Narendra Modi has been criss-crossing the country. But, BJP's PM candidate has rarely felt homesick, thanks to a fleet of three aircraft — one jet and two choppers — which bring him home every night.

Modi has addressed over 150 rallies across the country, clocking 2.4 lakh km, or an average of about 1,100km a day. He has logged in the most flying hours, followed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, industry experts said.

Almost every day, Modi takes off from Ahmedabad airport in an EMB-135BJ, an Embraer aircraft, for his rallies. The jet is owned by Karnavati Aviation, a group company of the Adani Group. "We record two movements of Modi's aircraft daily. No matter where he goes to address rallies, he always comes back home," said an air traffic control official.

Recently, Modi's aircraft was denied permission to fly by DGCA in Delhi for over two hours, following which he lashed out at the central government for stalling his movement. Ever since, Modi has increased the use of choppers to cover smaller distances. "Mostly, politicians use chopper to reach places where bigger aircraft can't reach," said an ATC official.

Over the past few days, Modi flew in an Augusta AW-139 chopper, owned by the DLF Group, for his rallies in north India, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

According to ATC officials, Modi has also flown in a Bell 412 chopper owned by a private charter service. According to experts, the cost of flying in a single-engine chopper is around Rs 70,000 to Rs 75000 per hour while in the case of a twin-engine chopper, the cost goes up to Rs 1 to 1.2 lakh per hour. For jets, the flying cost per hour comes to Rs 3 lakh.

Around 130 air charter service operators across the country are profiting from the extensive use of helicopters and business jets by parties and politicians. Industry sources said they're spending Rs 350-400 crore on chartered planes for campaigns.

The secretary of Business Aircraft Operator's Association RK Bali said the sector was witnessing negative growth of 2 per cent in the past two years but there had been a spurt in business after campaigning started. "This is the only boom time in the air charter services industry," he said.

Capt GR Gopinath, pioneer of low-cost aviation in India, said elections were a good time for the air charter industry. "It is more visible because of the glamour, sound and fury that surround a chopper or a business jet," he said.

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TCS joins top 10 global IT services companies club

BANGALORE: This is a landmark for Indian IT. The country's largest IT services provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has broken into the league of top 10 global IT services companies, moving from the 13th position in 2012 to the 10th spot in 2013.

Twelve years ago, when TCS' revenues were about $1 billion, then CEO S Ramadorai had laid out a vision to be among the top 10 by 2010. It's taken a little longer, partly because of the global financial slump of 2008-09, but the company has now got there, and considering the pace at which it is growing compared to its global counterparts, the ranking could get better fairly quickly in the years to come.

"Talk to any incumbent western service provider today, and the one making them all tremble from the sub-continent is TCS," writes Jamie Snowdon, executive VP of research operations at HfS Research, the consultancy firm that compiled the ranking.

TCS is estimated to have IT services revenues of $10.1 billion (out of its total revenues of about $12.5 billion). IBM ($54.4 billion), Fujitsu ($32.1 billion), Hewlett-Packard ($29.2 billion) and Accenture ($25.4 billion) lead the list.

The research compares IT services, and excludes other areas such as BPO, R&D services and software/hardware products. And it uses figures for the four quarters of calendar year 2013. TCS rose to the 10th spot displacing Montreal-based IT services firm CGI.

India-based companies Cognizant, Infosys, Wipro and HCL are at the 15th, 18th, 20th and 25th positions, respectively, all of them rising by one to three spots compared to 2012. HfS Research believes that Cognizant could be in the top 10 in the next 2-3 years, may be at the expense of US IT company CSC. CSC's revenues last year had dropped compared to the year before.

On TCS, HfS says its aggressive targeting of renewals and new business, particularly in continental Europe, was an important factor in driving its assault on the leaders. TCS, it said, is frequently seen as being the most flexible service provider on pricing and terms, and has a developing reputation for winning any deal anywhere in the world at any price, if it really wants.

"The firm is increasingly being perceived by many today as an alternative provider to the Western Tier 1s, that can come in and fix messy contracts and implementations; it has shown an appetite and willingness pick up a lot of the low-margin, low-value work that seemingly every Western Tier 1 wants out of and make the deals profitable and leverageable across clients," said Phil Fersht, CEO of HfS. TCS also has an extraordinary profit margin, something that's normally difficult to achieve in conjunction with high revenue growth.

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FINALLY: Rani and Aditya Chopra tie the knot

Finally a good news for all those who were eagerly awaiting Aditya Chopra and Rani Mukerji's wedding. The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony in Italy on 21st April.

Film critic Taran Adarsh tweeted, "Aditya Chopra and Rani Mukerji got married last night on 21st April in Italy. The wedding was a very small intimate affair."

ALSO READ: Rani Mukerji's mum looks out for Pamela Chopra

Filmmaker Karan Johar who is close to both Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra was among the select few guests at the wedding a news report mentions. Karan later took to Twitter to congratulate the newly weds and said "​And finally....Mr and Mrs Chopra....Love you both....".

ALSO READ: Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra's love story!

While rumours of the couple having zeroed in on a date has been making the rounds for a while now, the duo has pleasantly surprised everyone with their secret wedding. Not only their fans but even Bollywood brigade was curious of their wedding plans. Rani Mukerji's cousin Kajol too expressed her desire to know their final wedding date. ​During the rapid fire round on Koffee With Karan season 4, K Jo asked Kajol , "If you were to ask the following people one thing what would you ask?"

In Pics: Rani Mukerji and her alleged love affairs

When K Jo took Rani's name, Kajol instantly asked ​"When are you getting married, even I would like to know."

Taran Adarsh also tweeted Rani Mukerji's statement, "I would like to share the happiest day of my life with all my fans all over the world whose love and blessings have been part of my journey all these years. I know that all my well-wishers who have waited for this day will be really happy for me. It was a beautiful wedding in the Italian countryside with just a few of our close family and friends with us. The one person I missed terribly was Yash Uncle, but I know he was there with us in spirit and his love and blessings will always be with Adi and me. I have always believed in fairy-tales and with God's grace my life has been exactly like one, and now as I enter the most important chapter of my life - the fairy-tale continues."

Listen to Rani Mukerji songs on Gaana.com

We wish the couple a very happy married life ahead!

Watch: Rani and Aditya Chopra married

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Row over clinical trial as 254 Indian women die

NEW DELHI: The death of 254 Indian women from modest backgrounds in the course of a 15-year US-funded clinical trial has triggered a raging debate about its ethicality. The trial was for a cervical cancer screening method and the women who died were part of a control group kept without screening to study death rates in unscreened populations.

It is a well established fact that any kind of cervical screening reduces the incidence of the cancer. Yet, almost 140,000 women in the control arm of the trial were not screened. After a complaint made to it, the United States Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) determined that the women were not given adequate information to give informed consent.

Those arguing that the trial was unethical also say it violated the international ethical guidelines on medical research, the Helsinki Declaration's guidelines, which clearly state that "the benefits, risks, burdens and effectiveness of a new intervention must be tested against those of the best current proven intervention".

Even Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines stipulate that a placebo can be used only if the disease is self-limiting or when no proven preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic method exists.

"Clearly these trials violated both international and national guidelines," said Sandhya Srinivasan of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics (IJME), who in her editorial on the subject in April last year pointed out that "these studies would not have been permitted in the country of the funding organizations (US National Cancer Institute and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)."

An article in the latest issue of the IJME by Dr Eric Suba, a San Francisco-based pathologist, who had filed a complaint in the US in May 2011 against the trial, has demanded compensation for the families of the women who died and immediate screening and treatment, where necessary, of the women in the unscreened group.

The three-cluster randomized controlled trials looked for a cheap screening treatment for cervical cancer for introduction into the public health programme. The screening treatments being examined were Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) screening, Pap smear — which is the standard of care in the west — and HPV screening.

The trials were conducted among Indian women of the lowest socioeconomic status in Mumbai slums, villages in Osmanabad in Maharashtra and in Dindigul in Tamil Nadu. These studies compared the cervical cancer death rate among 224,929 women who were offered the different types of cervical screening to that among 138,624 women who were offered no screening at all.

In the IJME article, Dr Suba asked what purpose was to be served by keeping 140,000 women without screening when the effectiveness of cervical screening is well accepted. "...people should not be used to demonstrate exactly how much death results from lack of medical care," stated Dr Suba.

Trial researchers claimed that having unscreened control groups is ethically justified in India because no-screening is considered "standard care". So all that the unscreened women got were health education information on cervical cancer, the importance of screening and where it was available.

Since at the time of the trial there were no doubts about the benefits of cervical screening, the creation and maintenance of unscreened control groups in the US-funded studies in India required inadequate informed consent, pointed out Dr Suba's article, something that the OHRP also had determined.

If, at any time during the past 15 years, the women in the unscreened control groups had been told the simple truth that cervical screening would lower their risk of death from cancer, they would have left the control groups and sought screening on their own, thereby nullifying a scientifically defective experimental design, Dr Suba argued. The OHRP determined that it was thus difficult to presume that the BMGF-funded studies are not compromised by the inadequate informed consent, wrote Dr Suba.

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Is Salman's sister Arpita Khan getting engaged?

Salman Khan's sister Arpita Khan, who was in a relationship with actor Arjun Kapoor and model Nihar Pandya, is allegedly seeing an aspiring actor from Delhi. Reports suggest that Arpita is seeing Aayush Sharma, who has made the relationship public by posting a picture of him with her and posted, "Not even one dull moment when Arpita Khan is around."

ALSO READ: Arpita Khan's alleged boyfriends

Quoting a source, a Mid-Day report says the couple met through common friends and are very close to each other. They have also met each other's families and Arpita's family has liked Aayush and treat him like a family member. In fact the source says that Aayush's mother also adores Salman's younger sister and approves her for his son.

ALSO READ: Salman Khan takes sister Arpita shopping in Abu Dhabi

Not only are two very close and spend lot of time with each other, rumours suggest that they might soon get engaged.

Listen to Salman Khan songs on Ganna.com

The report further adds that the couple recently went on a holiday to Shimla where their families were also present. Were they discussing about a wedding? We sure have our fingers crossed.

ALSO WATCH: Salman Khan's sister Arpita parties with friends

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A Modi regime may trouble three state govts

NEW DELHI: The ascension to power of an NDA government at the Centre next month, an event widely predicted by opinion polls, may spell trouble for governments in three states where non-BJP parties have precarious majorities.

Well-placed sources in BJP said though the party would not like to act in a vindictive manner, there is intense pressure from the state units of Bihar, Delhi, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand to install governments led by the saffron party in these states.

Delhi is currently under President's rule. A change of guard at the Centre could prove a tipping point for fencesitting legislators from other parties, leading to either a BJP-led government taking power or fresh assembly elections, these BJP leaders said. In case of the latter, the principal Opposition party hopes to cash in on what is being claimed to be a "Narendra Modi wave" which they hope might linger on for some time after the Lok Sabha polls. "Operation Lotus" is a possible template for these states, said the people cited earlier.

Rajnath Singh also cited possibility

This was a plan successfully executed by former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa in 2008 in which MLAs from the Congress and other parties resigned and then contested on the BJP symbol to get the party an absolute majority. BJP's state and central leaders have been speaking of an imminent change of government in these states in the past few months, at times openly at public meetings.

Asked about the fallout of a BJP victory on state governments, the party's chief Rajnath Singh had told ET last week that he could not rule out the possibility of some state governments "dissolving on their own." "We are saying we will not destabilise democratically elected state governments unless due to internal strife, they fall on their own. Our ideology is not to break any political party except if some of its members want to come on their own. I cannot rule out the possibility of state governments dissolving on their own out of their own frustration," Singh had said.

The Bihar unit of BJP, for instance, is certainly raring to take revenge on the ruling JD(U), which was a part of the NDA for 17 years before chief minister Nitish Kumar walked out last year in protest against BJP naming Narendra Modi its prime ministerial candidate. Virtually all the top-rung BJP leaders from Bihar, whether active in the Centre or in the state, have said the JD(U) government will have to go once NDA is in power at the Centre. Kumar, for his part, has often referred to the impact of the on-going Lok Sabha elections on the state government.

"Don't be swayed by the claim that this (Lok Sabha) election is only to decide who should rule Delhi. If there is a setback for JD(U) in Bihar, they will not allow your government to stay in power," he has repeatedly said in his public meetings during the ongoing campaign. BJP and JD(U) had contested the 2010 Bihar assembly elections together under the NDA umbrella and romped home to victory with an astounding majority.

In the 243-member assembly, JD(U) won 115 while BJP got 91 seats. Lalu Yadav's RJD came a distant third with 22 seats; Congress won four while LJP got three seats. LJP is now a part of the NDA. "It remains to be seen if the JD(U) government will survive after the Lok Sabha elections.

The opinion polls show the party getting only five-six seats. Its MLAs are in touch with us and are willing to desert Nitish after the general elections," a senior BJP leader from the state told ET. However, crossing the half-way mark of 122 seats may prove to be an uphill task for the BJP and would require considerable back-channel machinations.

In Delhi, where the Aam Aadmi Party sprung a surprise on both BJP and the Congress in the assembly elections held in December, the two parties requested the Supreme Court to dismiss AAP's petition asking the court to direct dissolution of the Vidhan Sabha and holding fresh polls. "AAP wanted to have assembly polls in Delhi along with the Lok Sabha polls as it feels the wave in its favour in December is still there at least in the national capital. If BJP-led NDA forms a government at the Centre and then polls are held for Delhi Assembly, our prospects of winning will be very high," a senior Delhi BJP leader and MLA told ET.

BJP was the largest party in the 70-member Delhi assembly in the December polls with 31 seats while AAP won 28. BJP ally Akali Dal had won a seat while the ruling Congress was routed with only eight seats. The hung Assembly in Jharkhand has also been a source of much heartburn for the central BJP leadership since the 2009 Vidhan Sabha elections.

A coalition government with JMM — formed after much haggling between the two parties — fell apart when BJP withdrew support in April 2010. JMM chief Shibu Soren's decision to vote with the UPA government in Parliament on a cut-motion moved by the BJP was the trigger for the latter withdrawing support. Both BJP and JMM have 18 MLAs each while Congress has 14 legislators. Babulal Marandi's JVM-P has 11 seats and RJD five in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly.

The JMM-Congress government needs the support of 11 more MLAs and hence may prove vulnerable if political dynamics change at the Centre. BJP has been smarting at JMM and Congress joining hands in July 2013 to form a government in the eastern state. A section within the BJP is of the view that the Assembly polls due in Jharkhand later this year should be brought forward. "An NDA government at the Centre can facilitate this (bringing forward the assembly elections) and the impact of the "Modi wave" in the tribal state will help us get the majority this time," a BJP leader said.

Toppling the Congress government in the hill state of Uttarakhand is also said to be on BJP's agenda. Congress has 33 MLAs, a thin lead of three over the BJP, which won 30 seats in the 2012 assembly polls. UKD, which supports the BJP, has one MLA in the 70-member Vidhan Sabha while BSP has three. "We may ask some of the MLAs from other parties to resign and contest on a BJP ticket to get us a clear majority in these four states," a BJP leader said.

The role of the governor in these states would also be crucial as imposition of President's rule is possible only if the governor sends an adverse report on the stability of the government. It is, however, de rigueur for a new government at the Centre to appoint its nominees as governors and lieutenant governors in states and Union territories and BJP may take this route too to get rid of the present dispensations in Bihar, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. BJP is also likely to ask for fresh assembly polls in Delhi if NDA forms a government at the Centre.

The President's power to dismiss state governments inconvenient for the Centre have been constrained by the Supreme Court's 1994 Bommai Judgment - in which a constitution bench said the act of dismissing a state government is subject to judicial review — so an outright dismissal is almost out of the question. Further the anti-defection law - legislators cannot defect unless two thirds of the party's MLAs change sides in which a party is deemed to have split — has also made toppling state governments harder than earlier.

Legislators can, however, resign and contest on the nominee of another party, as was the case in Karnataka. Nonetheless, with even Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav expressing apprehensions that the Uttar Pradesh government led by his son Akhilesh may be in trouble if NDA comes to power at the Centre - even though the Samajwadi Party has as many as 224 MLAs in a 403-seat assembly — other dispensations with fragile majorities may soon feel the heat.

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BJP leaders shoot off mouths on temple and Modi-baiters, leave party red-faced

BOKARO: BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday raked up the Ram temple agenda, saying the party will pursue the demand if voted to office in remarks that run contrary to BJP's attempts so far to play down the issue.

Asserting that BJP will take up the temple demand, Naqvi told the media that "We want a Ram Mandir to be built and will find ways to solve the issue within the constitutional framework after forming the government."

Naqvi's comments are likely to embarrass BJP that had kept the temple demand on the back-burner, barely reiterating it in a line at the end of its manifesto document released on April 7.

Even before the start of the campaign, BJP chief Rajnath Singh and state in charge Amit Shah had said that the demand for a Ram temple at Ayodhya is not an "electoral issue" and should be seen as a matter of faith.

The decision to focus on issues like development and decisive governance, even while tapping the polarization due to Muzaffarnagar riots, is deliberate as the Ram temple demand is not seen to resonate with voters.

Naqvi's comments do not have much traction in the party and seem to fly against BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's conscious effort to avoid any references to Hindutva issues in his poll speeches.

Earlier in the day, Naqvi hit out at Congress at an election meeting, saying the party has destroyed the country in the last 10 years. Condemning Congress for "dynastic politics", he said, "In the coming years, Congress will be reduced to a party belonging to just Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Robert Vadra, Priyanka and their sons and daughters."

Taking a dig at Congress's "obsession" with Modi, Naqvi said: "We have a positive attitude in politics, while Congress is full of negativity. We work to eradicate corruption, whereas Congress just wants to remove Modi. We say remove inflation, they say remove BJP. As a result, this party is growing weaker by the day."

He said, "Modi dar ka nahin, development ka naam hai (Modi stands for development, not fear). Even the minorities have started believing in him and they realize that they have been cheated by Congress. Some terrorist groups have named Modi as their enemy number one. It is sad similar statements are being made by our political rivals."

Accusing Congress of misusing national institutions, Naqvi said, "Congress always misused CBI. They recently targeted Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan in the Bokaro Steel Plant recruitment scam in just because he linked up with BJP."

Former chief minister Arjun Munda, who was also present at the rally, said: "NDA will win more than 350 seats in Parliament. People are showing immense faith in our party. If you want to save the country, your state, your village and family, then you too must vote for BJP," he said.

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Facebook date turns bloody: Man shoots woman, then kills self

JABALPUR: A 22-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar shot dead his virtual girlfriend here who he met on Facebook after finding out she was actually a married middle-aged woman and attempted to commit suicide. He later died in hospital.

Vineet Singh shot dead Jyoti Kori next to a picturesque setting of a waterfall on Friday after he found out that his virtual 21-year-old girlfriend was actually a 45-year-old mother of three from Jabalpur.

The situation came to light a blood soaked Singh asked for help from people picnicking on the site.

SP Jabalpur Harinarayanachari Mishra said the two were in touch for little less than three years. Singh was jobless and Jyoti Kori was apparently the bored housewife who regularly chatted on facebook. Jyoti's husband, a clerk in irrigation department, was too trusting and all three children including her 21-year-old eldest daughter had no clue what their mother was upto.

It seemed like murder prompted by extreme hurt, frustration and anger, said Mishra. According to sources, Singh kept repeating that he was cheated by a married woman when he was brought to hospital. "She kept me in dark all along," he said.

Jyoti had put up a picture of a cine actress as her profile picture so Singh had no means of knowing the truth. They finally fixed a date at marble rocks on Friday. Jyoti told her family she was off for two days to her mother's home and the boy told his parents he was going to Delhi in search of a job. The woman left home on Thursday went to her parental home but left early in the morning.

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Kolkata boy achieves perfect score in SAT, gets calls from 7 top US varsities

KOLKATA: A 19-year-old boy from the city has received admission offers from seven top US varsities, most of them Ivy League, after achieving a perfect score in SAT, the standardized examination for admission to American colleges. Arunavha Chanda, who appeared for this year's class XII board examination from Delhi Public School Ruby Park, is so baffled that he can't make up his mind with just nine days to go before the deadline.

Torn between Harvard, Stanford and Columbia University, Arunavha wishes he could study at all three. "Time is ticking but I haven't been able to decide yet because it may turn out to be the most crucial decision of my life," he told TOI.

Arunavha had applied to eight US universities and got through seven — Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Cornelle, Georgia Institute of Technology and Dartmouth College. He has got prestigious scholarships from Columbia and Duke and financial aid from the rest as they do not offer scholarships at under-graduate level.

In fact, the only college he did not get invited to is MIT and that too because he could not submit a project on time because of his board exams.

Arunavha and his mother Bani, a doctor and hospital administrator who gave up her job to take care of him when he was in class V, are now researching on the universities to check which has the best to offer. His father Amitabha is a consultant neurosurgeon.

The mother-son duo has discovered that Harvard has produced the largest number of billionaires; Stanford has been a breeding ground of entrepreneurs; and Columbia has Nobel laureates swarming the campus. "We are now studying the work being done by the professors and alumni and what opportunity I may get there," Arunavha said.

At Columbia, Arunavha has been offered the prestigious C. Prescott Davis scholarship, awarded to the best engineering/applied sciences students across the world. As a CP Davis scholar, he has the opportunity to enter the university as an elite student and work on projects alongside 102 Nobel Laureate alumni and faculty. Duke has offered him the Karsh International Scholarship, the first to an Indian.

Getting scholarships as international students in undergraduate courses in US universities is very difficult with institutions looking for high SAT scores, a brilliant academic record through high school, exceptional academic and extra-curricular achievements and performance in interviews.

Arunavha sailed through with a perfect 2400/2400 in SAT, scoring full 800 in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics Level II. Having topped every year from class II to XII, scoring over 90% in all subjects, his academic record was exceptional. In addition, he has won gold medals at Olympiads and achieved international ranks of 4 and 7 in Cyber Olympiads and has figured among the top 10 in Science and Math Olympiads. Arunavha is also a three-time national champion in quizzing (he won the Limca Book of Records Quiz 2011 at the national level), was the school head boy, president of the Interact Club and a stage actor.

"I think I will do my undergraduation from one university and postgraduation from another. While Stanford is where I would want to do my postgraduation since it has a culture of spawning entrepreneurs, something that I want to be, it is a toss-up between Harvard and Columbia," he said. Arunavha wants to study Computer Science and Engineering, do a second major in Mathematics and a degree course in Theatre,

A football buff and diehard Chelsea fan, one factor playing on his mind is the trip to New York that the Boys in Blues make each year. "Since Columbia is located in New York, it offers an opportunity to catch my favourite team in action, Live!" he said.

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Is Padmanabhaswamy temple gold getting pilfered? Fears of fake replacements

NEW DELHI: The untold riches of Thiruvananthapuram's Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, which was discovered three years ago and was estimated at Rs 1 lakh crore, may be getting pilfered, an explosive report on the state of affairs in the temple submitted to the Supreme Court said.

Amicus curiae Gopal Subramaniam, after a 35-day inspection of the temple, told the court in his report about recent discovery of a gold plating machine in the temple premises and expressed apprehension that some original temple gold and ornaments may have been pilfered and replaced with fakes.

Subramaniam, tasked to report on the state of affairs of the temple as well as the wealth, said there appeared to be a deep-rooted conspiracy in the apparent mismanagement of the temple wealth and suggested a detailed audit by former comptroller and auditor general Vinod Rai.

Importantly, he urged the court to open Kallara (vaults) 'B' and assess the wealth in it. Till now, Kallara A to F had been opened and valuables listed, except 'B'. There was opposition to the opening of vault 'B' on various counts, which ranged from religious to dogmatic.

Interestingly, Subramaniam found two more vaults and named them Kallara 'G' and 'H'. He urged the court to order authorities to open these two new vaults and inventorize the valuables.

He also found discrepancies in the general account kept by the temple management and suggested an audit of it. Subramaniam said for the last 30 years, the receipts from devotees had not been accounted for properly and said this was an additional reason for a detailed audit of temple accounts.

Rare jewels, stone-studded crowns, heaps of gold and silver coins, idols and gold, silver and brass platters and lamps, whose value is estimated at nearly Rs 1 lakh crore, were found in the temple in July 2011, catapulting it overnight to one of the richest in the country.

Mounds of precious gems, lakhs of gold coins, long gold chains, gold rings and bars, gold barrels etc were discovered when the metal doors of the secret cellar were opened.

Several bags of coins from the erstwhile Travancore royal family rule, coins from the Napoleonic era and the East India Company period were also discovered from the secret cellars.

The SC had ordered preparation of an inventory of the articles owned by the temple. It had stayed a Kerala high court order directing the state government to take over the temple from the trust controlled by the erstwhile rulers of Travancore.

The deity of the Padmanabhaswamy temple is the family deity of the Travancore royal family. Members of the erstwhile royal family had dedicated their kingdom to the Padmanabhaswamy deity and pledged that they will live as servants of Padmanabha.

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Kejriwal, his parents forced to leave temple complex

VARANASI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and his parents moved out from the Sankat Mochan temple complex, where they had been staying since April 15, on Friday morning.

Sources said that there were objections from the devout coming to the temple about the spurt of "political activity" there.

Kejriwal and his parents, Gita Devi and Gobind Kejriwal, were guests of the head priest of the renowned Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi, Bishambhar Mishra.

This is only one in a series of hostile moves the party is facing here after Kejriwal took on Narendra Modi in an electoral contest. The AAP leader's meetings have been disrupted twice in the past 12 hours.

The move to shift out could prove symbolically damaging since it displays the lukewarm support in the city. AAP sources said that Kejriwal and his parents had moved to the Durga Kund area near BHU.

Mishra is the head priest of the temple but, more significantly, his father, the late Veer Bhadra Mishra, was acclaimed not only as the head priest but also as a hydraulics engineer who was categorized by Time magazine as one of the "Heroes of the Planet" in 1999 for his campaign to clean the Ganga.

The party, however, chose to see the hostility as a reflection of "frustration" in the Modi camp. "The party which was claiming a wave is now resorting to muscle power to browbeat its rivals, but BJP has forgotten that AAP cannot be cowed down by its strong-arm tactics," the party said in a statement.

In less than 12 hours, BJP workers have twice attempted to disrupt Kejriwal's campaign in Varanasi. AAP said its leaders have been pushed and abused by BJP workers.

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Amul Girl in trouble for ‘Besahara Parivar’ pun

VADODARA: The iconic Amul Girl, clad in red and white polka-dotted dress with a matching bow in her hair has found herself in trouble for her wit.

Sahara Group has served a legal notice to the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)—the marketers of brand Amul—on an Amul topical earlier this month.

Titled 'Besahara Parivar?' — which Sahara finds objectionable — the toon takes pot shots at the idea for collection of Rs 1 lakh each from Sahara employees to garner at least Rs 5,000 crore for Sahara group chief Subrata Roy's bail. The ad shows Sahara employees begging for the collection.

Sahara has sent a notice to Amul saying the topical is defamatory. But sources suggest that it does not claim any damages.

"We have received the notice a few days back and have asked our legal advisors and advertising agency (da Cunha) to reply to it," said GCMMF's managing director RS Sodhi.

Sodhi, however, added that Amul has no malicious intentions and that the Amul Girl has always been known for her witty comments on all news-makers.

In 2012, Amul had celebrated the utterly butterly deliciously witty girl's 50 years journey through a special coffee-table book featuring some of her best spoofs.

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Doctors find 12 gold biscuits in man’s gut

NEW DELHI: You could call him the man with a golden gut. Doctors operating on this 63-year-old businessman literally hit a goldmine, finding as many as 12 gold biscuits weighing a total of 396 grams inside his abdomen.

The Chandni Chowk businessman had come to the private city hospital seeking surgery to remove a "foreign metal". His family claimed he had swallowed a water bottle cap in anger.

The truth turned out to be a little more bizarre. The man had swallowed the gold biscuits, each weighing 33g, to smuggle them into the country from Singapore 10 days ago. This would be worth Rs 12 lakh in all. He even managed to elude security checks at airports.

The plan, however, got 'stuck' as the man could not pass the bullion through his stool. He tried everything from drinking lots of fluid to using laxatives but the biscuits stayed in the small intestine, causing pain.

Doctors who operated on the businessman said he did not eat anything for 10 days hoping the gold would come out. "When it did not, he came to us for surgery claiming that he had accidentally swallowed a water bottle cap," a doctor said.

"I have been treating this patient since 1989, when he came for gall bladder removal. He is a wealthy man with a good business in Chandni Chowk and both his sons are settled abroad. It is both surprising and shocking to know that he could do something like this," said Dr C S Ramachandran, senior consulting surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram hospital.

The businessman was admitted in the hospital on April 9. "It was a high-risk surgery because the patient had undergone operation four times in the past. We counselled him and finally got together a team of surgeons to get through the abdominal cavity to remove the foreign metal," said Dr Dhawal Sharma, another surgeon.

He said two hours into the surgery, what they found left everyone in the operation theatre shell-shocked. "It was like digging into a gold mine. The biscuits were coming out one after the other," the doctor said.

According to the doctors, they had to use handheld metal detectors to ascertain the exact position of the biscuits. "The body has a natural tendency to push them forward and it is important to know the position to take them out safely. Normally, we use repeat x-ray for the purpose but that is too tedious," said Dr Ramachandran. He said that the police and custom authorities were immediately informed about the incident and they seized the gold. The patient, he added, was discharged on April 15.

A custom official, who did not want to identified, said usually the smugglers hide gold biscuits in the rectum area. "In the last six months, the smuggling of gold has gone up significantly," the official said.

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Resident non-immigrants in US: 1 in 4 is from India

WASHINGTON: Christopher Columbus set out to discover India in the 15th century and ended up in America. Indians, of Asian stock, are heading out in droves - more than from any other country - to study and work in America of the 21st century.

A snapshot of resident non-immigrant population in the US released by the Department of Homeland Security in February this year shows that Indians, more than Mexicans or Chinese or any other nationality, constituted the largest resident non-immigrants in the US - a category that excludes tourists, business travelers, and permanent residents, but includes temporary guest workers (such as those on H1B visas) and students.

The report reveals that the resident nonimmigrant population in the US averaged 1.9 million during July 1, 2011--June 30, 2012. Temporary workers and their families accounted for approximately 45% (840,000) of the population, and students and their families accounted for another 40% (720,000). Of the temporary worker and family category, a whopping 38% (430,000) were from India, compared to only 210,000 from China, and 140,000 from South Korea, the next highest worker-flow countries. Mexico, which accounts for a large number of illegal migratory workers coming into US, had only 100,000 resident non-immigrants.

Of the 720,000 foreign students recorded by the Department of Homeland Security in 2012, China accounted for 150,000 (22%), India 100,000 (14%) and South Korea 100,000 (13%), the report said. Overall, about half the resident non-immigrants (980,000) were citizens of Asian countries, including India 23%, China 11%, and South Korea 8%.

In other words, despite the occasional doubts that India is being discriminated against in the US visa regime, one out of every four resident non-immigrants (who eventually may or may not become immigrants) recorded in the US in 2012 was from India. Typically, they come to the US under guest worker visa programs such as H1B and H4 (for spouses and children), L1/L2 (intracompany transferees), F1/F2 (students and their spouses), and J1/J2 (exchange students).

The report also showed that California was the leading destination state, with 270,000 (15%) of the total 1.9 million non-immigrants choosing to reside in that state. The next leading destination states were New York (210,000), Texas (140,000), Florida (100,000), and Massachusetts (90,000). About 720,000 resident non-immigrants (38% of 1.9 million) were under the age of 25, and another 710,000 were in the 25-34 age group, pointing to an education and economic imperative of the coming to America story.

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Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road thrown open to motorists

MUMBAI: The 3.45km long Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) was finally thrown open to motorists on Friday morning.

The Rs 450 crore SCLR project offers faster connectivity between Western Express Highway and Eastern Express Highway (EEH). The SCLR comprises 1.8km long double-decker flyover above the Central Railway's main line and Harbour line tracks. It has access to Kurla (W), Kurla (E), Tilak Nagar, Amar Mahal and Eastern Express Highway.

Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road at night

The flyover had a soft opening as official function is not allowed due to code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections.

BKC commuter Shyam Pandya said, "It took me hardly 10 minutes to travel from Ghatkopar to CST road in Kurla (W)."

The traffic on the SCLR was skeletal as most of them are unaware about its opening.

Cletus D'souza, a resident of Kurla, said, "I came to know about its opening only today morning after I read about it in newspaper."

Though the flyover is fit to use, commuters complained of dust.

Santosh Chavan, a biker said, "The road has not been properly swept because of which there is too much dust, affecting visibility near Tilak Nagar-end of SCLR."

The SCLR missed 12 deadlines, the last on March 31, since construction began in 2006 (the project was planned in 2002). The delays were due to reasons like not getting permission from the railways to build the double-decker flyover, and the rehabilitation of more than 3,500 families in Gazi Nagar, Buddha Colony, Sable Nagar, Rahul Nagar and Indira Colony, and of commercial units in Kurla and Chembur. The delays resulted in the cost of the project to escalate from Rs 115 crore to Rs 450 crore.

An MMRDA official said, "The SCLR was part of the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport-I project aimed at improving rail and road infrastructure in Mumbai. Mumbai has always had an excellent rail transport network, which offers linear connectivity between the suburbs and the island city. But east-west connectivity has always been poor."

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Photos of iPhone 6’s front panel, iOS 8 leaked

NEW DELHI: Two photos of the upcoming iPhone 6's front panel have leaked online, suggesting that the design will remain same even as screen size increases in the next iPhone model.

The images have been posted on Chinese microblogging website Weibo by two different users and are said to be taken at one of Apple's contract manufacturers in China. Both photos show the front panel of the rumoured 4.7-inch iPhone 6, compared with the older iPhone 5, which has a 4-inch screen. The Home button also appears to be slightly bigger in the next-generation iPhone, as per the photos.

The difference between the screen sizes of iPhone 6 and iPhone 5 as well as 5S is apparent. In fact, just the screen panel of iPhone 6 in the leaked photos is nearly as big as the whole body of the current iPhones.

Apple is also expected to launch a 5.5-inch iPhone this year, but it is likely to be unveiled by the end of fourth quarter. On the other hand, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 model is expected to be showcased in September this year.

The smartphones are likely to run on iOS 8, the next version of Apple's mobile operating system. Expected to be announced at Worldwide Developer Conference 2014 in June this year, the next iOS version is expected to focus on health and fitness.

A leaked screenshot of iOS 8, also posted on Weibo, shows that the upgrade will bring new apps like Healthbook, CarPlay and Watch Utility to Apple gadgets. The leaked screenshot also suggests that iTunes Radio, the music streaming service launched last year, may become a standalone app with iOS 8; at present iTunes Radio is part of Music app.

In order to utilize the bigger screens of upcoming iPhones, iOS 8 will show a total of seven rows of apps in iPhone 6. In iPhone 4 and 4S, only five rows of apps is present, while six rows of apps appear in iPhone 5, 5C and 5S.

iPhone 6 is said to have a 64-bit A8 processor, 1GB RAM, LTPS LCD display panels, optical image stabilization, Touch ID fingerprint sensor, metal casings and NFC. The upcoming iPhones are expected to be 6.5-7mm thick and have 10-20% narrower bezels around the screen. Only the 64GB version of the 5.5-inch iPhone will have sapphire glass, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Images courtesy: Weibo.com

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