These restaurants should be on your bucket list this winter!
Sooner or later, India will have to address the issue of regional disparity. Unfortunately the solution lies in social and political reforms in the BIMARU states. Presently there seems no sign of it.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Wednesday said that he was seeking legal opinion before taking action against Shiv Sena Supremo Bal Thackeray, in the wake of his comments against Biharis and North Indian Members of Parliament. "If any editorial hurts the sentiments of other people, it can affect the law and order situation," Deshmukh said after meeting Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. He said a legal opinion needed to be taken.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday moved a court afresh seeking quashing of the extension of the police order prohibiting him from holding rallies, public meetings and addressing the media.
Opposition National Democratic Alliance and Third Front disrupted proceedings in both Houses of Parliament for the second consecutive day on Wednesday over the plight of farmers in the country and demanded waiver of loans and a fiscal package for the community.
The gag order was issued on February 14 following Raj's statements against north Indian migrants that had led to violence in the metropolis and parts of Maharashtra.
The Supreme Court on Friday expressed displeasure over Raj Thackeray's remarks on people coming to Mumbai from other states.
Thackeray, in an editorial published in party mouthpiece Saamana, said, "The Karunanidhi government has issued an ordinance making Tamil compulsory in all schools in the state." "Lalu, who has turned Bihar into hell, should hold a mela of Biharis in Tamil Nadu, ruled by his ally at the Centre, to champion the cause of North Indians there."
An autorickshaw driver received bullet injury after passengers allegedly fired at him from their country-made pistols following an altercation, the police said on Sunday.
'Kamal Haasan always appeared to be quick to strike, but afraid to wound.' 'What he is offering the people of Tamil Nadu is not clear, but whatever it is, it will be a fresh element in the state's politics,' says Aditi Phadnis.
The industries in Nashik, which bore the brunt of violence after MNS chief Raj Thackeray's arrest in Mumbai, have suffered losses to the tune of Rs 400 crore. The incidents of stone-pelting, arson and exodus of North Indian workers from the region have hit the local industries hard, Prashant Sathe, general secretary of Nashik Industries Manufacturers' Association (NIMA) said.
What if Raj does not move for bail: If he declines to move for bail, he will be first sent to judicial remand for 14 days, which will be extended till the charge sheet is filed
Dozens of people took to the streets to celebrate the news of Thackeray's likely arrest. "We are playing with colours to celebrate the likely police action against Raj Thackeray, who made a mockery of the Chhath festival and made remarks against Biharis," said student leader Manoranjan Singh, while playing with dry colours at the busy Dak Bungalow square in Patna.
Raj said," If the Prime Minister can rake up the issue of ban on turbans for the Sikhs in France when the French President came to India, if Karunanidhi could take up the issue of problems of Tamils in Malaysia with the Malaysian government, if the Hindi channels in Mumbai spew venom against Maharashtra while supporting the people from UP and Bihar, then how come I am dubbed as a goonda when I speak about the self-respect of the state ?".
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant urgent hearing to a petition seeking direction to the Election Commission, to derecognise Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navanirman Sena, for his controversial remarks against north Indians. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said that the petition would be heard on February 22, as fixed by the registry. The petition had been filed by advocate Arvind Shukla.
Expressing anguish over incidents targeting north Indians in Mumbai, Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday said he had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.
In a veiled threat to splinter Sena group leader Raj Thackeray, blamed for the recent trouble in Mumbai, the police on Tuesday said it was mulling action against political leaders promoting enmity on grounds of region and language.
A day after he likened Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray to saitan (devil), Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday demanded stern action against him for his remarks against north Indians and the Chhath festival.
Due to hectic engagements with Telangana issue, Gandhi was unable to have an interaction with party MPs as there was no valedictory dinner meeting of the parliamentary party during the just-concluded winter session of Parliament, the last of the 15th Lok Sabha.
One police officer's initiative has led to reuniting 92 people with their families.
"He (Raj) was very careful this time and it seems he has consulted some legal experts before making the speech. For taking action, the offence needs to have been complete. And it is difficult to find an explicit threat or provocation in the speech text," a senior police officer said amidst widespread demand for action against MNS chief.
The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission on Wednesday warned Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, 'not to cross his limits', during the rally he plans to address on Saturday. Raj, who had initiated a violent anti-north Indian campaign in February and was arrested on charges of inciting his cadres, plans to hold a rally at the historic Shivaji Park on Saturday, in which he plans to chart out the future course of action for his two-year-old outfit.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan has rubbished reports that incidents of bottle throwing on his house, during the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena campaign against North Indians, were manipulated."If some feel that this was manipulated they are so wrong. You attribute far too much to my devious acumen. I am afraid I do not possess such attributes." he said. Bachchan said his wife Jaya's recent walk out from Parliament was her right as a Member of Parliament.
"Two women from Uttar Pradesh were raped and no complaint has been lodged so far. Local people know the culprits but they are frightened to name them," Abu Azmi said. Azmi alleged that the Congress, heading the coalition government in Maharashtra, is supporting Raj to secure its vote bank and ignoring his activities.Raj should be charged for murder and robbery as the MNS campaign claimed two lives and many north Indians were looted while fleeing Maharashtra, he said.
Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan led a walk out by party MPs in Rajya Sabha after she was refused permission to raise the issue of anti-north Indians campaign in Maharashtra of which her husband Amitabh Bachchan was the most visible target. Jaya strongly objected to Shiv Sena MP Manohar Joshi's comment that there was 'no anti-migrant drive' in Maharashtra.
"Shiv Sena is no different from Khalistan and Jammu and Kashmir militant groups, which are trying to create a rift between people along regional lines. The main aim of these forces is to split our country," Shiv Sena's North India chief Jai Bhagwan Goyal told media persons in New Delhi on Wednesday. "Bal Thackeray's role has been reduced to a mere puppet and he is acting according to his son's wishes," he said.
Chatterjee hit out at MPs for speaking out of turn and refusing to do their job. He also criticised MPs for not respecting the authority of the Chair. The Speaker was particularly dismayed at the comments of Shiv Sena MP Anant Gite, which Chatterjee felt were 'intended to divide the country'.
Anand Venkatramakrishnan tells us how he met Vandana Chaudhary.
Although there is no indication of a genuine change of heart, what is probably happening is that the BJP is slowly undergoing a process of becoming acclimatised, as it were, to India's diversity.
The best recipes will be featured on Rediff.com
'The airline business is very dynamic. If you are unable to keep up and lead, you end up last.' 'This is what has happened to Jet.'
Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi on Tuesday met top police officials in Mumbai and offered to court arrest and join any inquiry relating to offences registered against him on the issue of North Indians in Maharashtra. He, however, was not taken into custody.
The recent attacks on north Indians by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena are a shrewd ploy of party chief Raj Thackeray to embarrass the Shiv Sena and usurp its core Marathi constituency, political observers in Mumbai say.
The vehicles were set afire while they were parked at the BMC Colony in Anand Nagar of suburban Oshiwara at around 3 am on Wednesday causing minor damage to the vehicles. The police, however, refused to associate the incident with the recent clashes targeting north Indians in the city.
Congress Member of Parliament and spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam and 20 of his supporters were detained on Tuesday, ahead of a protest march planned by them, to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's residence in central Mumbai. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's spokesperson Shishir Shinde was also detained by the police on Tuesday, party sources said. The police, however, refused to confirm the report.
Cyclonic storm Ashobaa is expected to intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm and then move northwestwards during next 24 hours.
'He is 47 years old and not married. Since his son or daughter can contest for Parliament only 25 years after being born, the earliest, if he marries in December, would be 2043.' 'So this, pretty much, is the end of the road for dynastic rule in the party,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
"The Mumbai scene cannot be repeated in Delhi because this is a cosmopolitan city where people from all parts of India live. Besides Punjabis, we have Muslims, Christians, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. You name a state and you will find a sizeable population from that state in Delhi. I am from Jamshedpur, which is now in Jharkhand, but I do not feel threatened," said journalist Rajiv Ranjan Nag.
"Those who seek to divide on the basis of religion, on the basis of caste or on the basis of the place one belongs to, I think they do not serve the cause of national unity or national progress," he said without naming anybody or a political party.
"Since Raj is fighting for the Marathi Manoos, we are ready to face any consequence..... but there is tension in the house," Raj's mother-in-law Padma Wagh told PTI. She voiced concern about Raj's son Amit, who is going to appear for his tenth standard examination next month. "I am worried about Amit because of Raj's likely arrest, as he has to appear for SSC exams next month," she said.
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