Modi govt does not want me to continue as Nalanda University chancellor: Amartya Sen

NEW DELHI: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has withdrawn his candidature for a second term as Nalanda University chancellor, saying the Narendra Modi government does not want him to continue in the chair.

Sen, who has long been a critic of Modi, in a letter to the Governing Board of the University blamed the absence of government's approval for delay in nod from the Visitor, President Pranab Mukherjee, to his name even though the recommendation was sent to him over a month back.

"Non-action (by government) is a time-wasting way of reversing a board decision, when the government has, in principle, the power to act or not act...It is hard for me not to conclude that the government wants me to cease being the chancellor of Nalanda University after July, and technically, it has the power to do so.

"This delay, as well as the uncertainty involved, is leading, in effect, to a decisional gap, which is not helpful to Nalanda University's governance and its academic progress.

"I have, therefore, decided that in the best interest of Nalanda University, I should exclude myself from being considered for continuing as chancellor beyond this July, despite the unanimous recommendation and urging of the governing board for me to continue," he has written.

It is clear that Mukherjee has been unable to provide his assent to the Board's unanimous choice in the absence of government's approval, he said.

The Visitor has always taken a "deep personal interest" in the speedy progress of the work of Nalanda University, and given that, they have to assume that something makes it difficult -- or impossible -- for him to act with speed in this matter, he said.

The Board had made the recommendation in its last meeting on January 13-14.

The Bharat Ratna also rued that academic governance in India remains "so deeply vulnerable to the opinions of the ruling government".

"Even though the Nalanda University Act, passed by Parliament, did not, I believe, envisage political interference in academic matters, it is formally the case -- given the legal provisions (some of them surviving from colonial days) -- that the government can turn an academic issue into a matter of political dispensation if it feels unrestrained about interfering," he said.

PTI

Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai refuses to give undertaking sought by govt

New Delhi: Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai, who was offloaded from a flight at the IGI Airport here last month, today said she has refused to give an undertaking as sought by the government as a pre-condition to allow her to travel abroad.

"The government today asked me to give an undertaking in writing that I would not speak about violation and, if I give such an undertaking, I would be allowed to leave this country and travel abroad. But I refused to give that undertaking," Pillai told a private TV channel on Thursday.

She said she had refused to give the undertaking as she was refusing "to take on a gag order only".

"As a citizen of this country, I have every right to peacefully protest, talk, clearly express opinion within the Constitution," she said.

The 37-year-old Pillai had sought permission to travel to London to make a presentation before British MPs on alleged human rights violation at Mahan in Madhya Pradesh which, she claimed, was the reason why she was offloaded from the flight

at IGI Airport here on January 11.

The Delhi High Court today termed inappropriate the government's decision to off-load Pillai and said that difference of opinion does not mean being anti-national. The court said that there can be a difference of opinion but it does not mean that a person's movement is curtailed.

The Look Out Circular (LOC) against Pillai will be withdrawn if she gives an undertaking that she will not depose before the UK parliamentary committee on alleged violations in the country, the government told Delhi High Court today.

PTI

Rs 1.81 crore bid for PM Narendra Modi's pinstripe suit

Surat: On the last day of the three-day auction on Friday, the bid for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pinstripe monogrammed bandhgala suit, which hogged limelight during President Barack Obama's visit last month, went up to Rs 1.81 crore.

The latest bid was made by Jayantibhai Itrela, a builder from Surat.

Earlier, Lavji Patel, a diamond merchant from Surat, builder Rajesh Jain and Hitesh Patel, a diamond trader, made a bid of Rs 1.71, Rs 1.65 and Rs 1.61 crore respectively.

On Thursday, Surat-based Mukesh Patel enhanced his bid to Rs 1.48 crore from Rs 1.39 crore he had offered earlier. Meanwhile, Bhavnagar-based Ship-breaker Komalkant Sharma, CMD of Leela Group of Companies made a bid of Rs 1.41 crore.

On the first day of auction, textile trader Rajesh Juneja and Global Modi Fan Club's Rajesh Maheshwari had made a bid of Rs 1.21 and Rs 1.25 crore respectively.

There were four other bids of less than Rs 1.21 crore for the suit which Modi had worn during his meeting with the US President Barack Obama.

As the monogrammed bandhgala, which according to some reports is worth Rs 10 lakh, hogged all the limelight at the auction, initially there were few takers for the humble Cricket Australia T-shirt gifted to Modi by bowling great Brett Lee which attracted bids ranging between Rs 1500 and Rs 2000.

However, towards the evening a BJP MLA from Surat and a city-based businessman made two separate bids of Rs 1.11 lakh each for the football world cup jersey and cricket Australia T-shirt gifted to Modi.

Harsh Sanghvi, MLA from Surat's Majura assembly seat, said he will donate the FIFA World Cup T-shirt to a team of blind sportspersons if he won the bid.

Now You can watch World Cup Cricket in Doordarshan

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that national broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) can show World Cup 2015 cricket matches free of cost. The apex court dismissed the plea of Star Sports - the official broadcasters of the tournament in India - and said that Prasar Bharti can share the feed with cable operators. 

Prasar Bharati came to Supreme Court after Delhi High Court ruled that DD can't share the feed freely with cable operators. The top court had stayed the high court order so that viewers could watch the India vs Pakistan match.

Star Sports had argued that it had invested crores of money and it is objecting to DD sharing its feed with cable operators and Star sports is incurring huge loss.

It also said that DD can share the free feed terrestrially but that cable operators have to carry DD channels by law and the cricket matches are shown live on these channels.

Live: Jitan Ram Manjhi resigns as Bihar CM, recommends dissolution of Assembly

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Majhi on Friday resigned ahead of trust vote in Assembly. Here are the live updates from Bihar:

10:45 am: As per reports, Manjhi has recommended to the state Governor that the Assembly be dissolved and fresh polls conducted in the state.

10:40 am: Reports say Manjhi will address a press conference at 11:30 am.

10:35 am: In a sudden development, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Majhi has resigned ahead of trust vote in Assembly.

10:30 am: Ahead of the trust vote later today, CM Manjhi has just met state Governor KN Tripathi.

10:25 am: JD(U), RJD, Congress, CPI legislators and one Independent MLA supporting Nitish Kumar will boycott Governor's inaugural speech in the Assembly, says JD(U) chief whip Sharawan Kumar. He adds that these MLAs will enter the Assembly during the trust vote.

10:00 am: The Bihar Assembly session will start today at 11:00 am with Governor's address to the joint session. Manjhi will table the proposal to hold trust vote at 12 noon and voting is expected to be held on the same at 2:30 pm.

09:45 am: BJP has issued a whip to its Bihar MLAs asking them to vote for Manjhi during the trust vote.

09:30 am: D-day has arrived for Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. He, Friday, faces a trust vote on the floor of the Bihar Legislative Assembly to prove majority of his government.

In a good news for the embattled CM, BJP yesterday announced that it will support the 'Mahadalit' CM during the floor test.

"After a long meeting of the BJP legislators, the party has decided to support Manjhi during his confidence vote in the Assembly," said BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.

The BJP's offer of support came on a day when Bihar Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary notified JD-U leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary as the leader of opposition, replacing Nand Kishore Yadav of the BJP.

The Speaker also accepted former chief minister Nitish Kumar's demand that Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) be given the status of the main opposition party.

Following the Speaker's decision, BJP MLAs created a ruckus and protested in the Assembly complex .

"How could the Speaker take away the opposition party tag from the BJP," asked senior party leader Shahnawaz Hussain.

"We protest against this move as well as the way the JD-U is treating Manjhi, who is a Mahadalit," Hussain said at a press conference in New Delhi.

He also said that the BJP has nothing to with the charges of horse-trading being made by the Nitish Kumar's camp.

Manjhi, after being expelled from the JD-U on February 9, has been declared as an unattached member in the Assembly. He was expelled for allegedly "indulging in anti-party activities". But he has refused to resign and has to prove his majority in the house today.

Manjhi yesterday said he will offer Cabinet berths to legislators, who will support him during the confidence motion. "Aaiye mera samarthan kijiye, mantri pad lijiye (come to support me and become a minister)," he told reporters, attending a function here.

Also yesterday, the Patna High Court ordered that eight rebel JD-U legislators, considered close to Manjhi, would not vote during the confidence motion in the Assembly.

A bench of Justice Iqbal Ahmad barred the JD-U MLAs from voting after hearing their petition, seeking permission to vote during the floor test.

Manjhi was picked by Nitish Kumar as his replacement when he quit last year after JD-U's rout in the Lok Sabha polls.

In the 243-member Assembly, the JD-U has 115 legislators -- most of whom are with Nitish Kumar. The party has the support of 24 Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) legislators, five Congress MLAs, two Independents and a CPI MLA.

The BJP has 88 legislators and is supported by three Independents.

(With IANS inputs)

A 'bad girl' smokes, drinks and has breasts!

An image which has gone viral on social media could easily be something on the lines of what the various controversial sadhus think about women.

The image, supposed to be a poster from one of the many cut-and-paste books available for children, lists out nine qualities that define a girl as a bad girl.

So going to Goa is the characteristic of a 'Bad Girl'. So does going home make me a bad girl too? :S pic.twitter.com/s0YwlzHfNj
— Hasiba (@HasibaAmin) February 19, 2015

Titled "A Bad Girl" and in Hindi "Ek Buri Ladki" lists out the many things that make a girl a "bad girl".

While the usual suspects smoking and drinking are part of it, whoever created this came up with the bright idea of adding such things as "Pouts", "eats too much", "eats too "less" and "can't make round rotis" to the list.

This basically means that any girl who takes a selfie while making a duckface with the sole purpose of putting the photograph on social media is a bad girl.

At the same time, girls who eat too much and girls who eat too less are also bad girls. (We hope the creater of the poster can make up his mind as to whether he wants the girls to eat or not!)

Of course, watching pornography is an absolute sign that a girl is rotten to the core among other things such as letches at other boys, falls in love in a park and rides a motorbike.

A Bad Girl: 1) Has Breasts 2) Letches At Other Boys 3) Can't Make Round Rotis ... So, Most Indian Boys are Good Girls.
— Mihir Bijur (@MihirBijur) February 19, 2015

But what takes the cake is the fact that the poster lists out the fact that a girl "has breasts" that qualify her to be a bad girl. Just one question, aren't women, or girls for that matter, supposed to have breasts for them to qualify as girls?

We just hope that this was a sarcastic take on the definition of a "bad girl".

Speaker recognises JD(U) as main Opposition party in Assembly at Bihar

Patna: Ahead of Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's floor test, Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary on Thursday granted the status of principal opposition party to JD(U) in place of BJP, which slammed the move as "arbitrary".

The Speaker granted JD(U) leader Vijay Chaudhary the status of leader of opposition in place of BJP's Nand Kishore Yadav. "Assembly Secretariat has to act according to numerical strength and since JD(U) had sought the status of main opposition, we had no reason to deny them this considering their numbers," Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary said.

Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi after being expelled by party President Sharad Yadavhas been declared as unattached member in the Legislative Assembly. He has to prove his majority in the House tomorrow. JD(U) would also be given status of main opposition in the Legislative Council. On the basis of numerical strength, we have no option but to recognise JD(U) as main opposition party in the Legislative Council," Chairman of Council Awdesh Narayan Singh said.

Meanwhile, a furious BJP sat on dharna in front of Assembly entrance to protest the Speaker's "arbitrary" decision. "This is for the first time in the country that a party--JD(U)-- will sit in both treasury and opposition sides," Nan Kishore Yadav said. He contended that BJP was inclined to support Manjhi on issues but this did not mean it was joining Manjhi government.

"Even Nitish Kumar being in NDA had supported Pranab Mukherjee in the Presidential election while other constituents had voted for PA Sangma. So giving issue-based support does not mean a party joining a government," Yadav argued.

JD(U) Legislature Party leader Vijay Chaudhary had on Wednesday during an all party meeting urged the Speaker to allow it to sit in opposition gallery as it has decided to oppose trust vote to be sought by Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi tomorrow.

"Assembly is run by rules and laws and not anybody's whims...on the basis of 'sankhya bal' (numerical strength) there was no reason to deny JD(U) request to grant it status of principal opposition party," the Speaker said. Accordingly, JD(U) has been given status of principal Opposition party and its leader Vijay Chaudhary has been recognised as leader of opposition in the House, the Speaker said.

In the 243-member Bihar Assembly whose effective strength at present is 233, JD(U) has 110 MLAs including Speaker, one unattached member in Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, BJP 87, RJD 24, Congress 5, CPI 1, Independent 5 while 10 seats are vacant.

Asked about sitting arrangements for BJP in the House, the Speaker said it would be decided later on. The Speaker said that Manjhi will sit on the first seat as he is the chief minister.

His seven ministers, who have been suspended by JD(U), who are still member of the party and binded by whip, would be allocated seat in JD(U) gallery, he said. Asked if he has decided which option to use among lobby division and secret ballot for tomorrow's trust vote as instructed by Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, the Speaker said "it will be announced only at the time of voting".

In the Upper House of Bihar Legislature where Nitish Kumar is also a member at present, JD(U) would be recognised as principal Opposition party in place of BJP. In the 75-member Bihar Legislative Council, JD(U) has 41 members, BJP 16, RJD 5, Congress 4, CPI 2 and Independent 7.

Meanwhile, BJP whose leader Nand Kishore Yadav had on Wednesday walked out of all-party meeting sat on dharna in front of Assembly entrance. Some BJP members were seen locked in angry exchange of words with Assembly staff.

Nand Kishore Yadav told reporters the Speaker has acted in an "arbitrary" manner in recognising JD(U) as main opposition.

PM Modi Has An Epic Teleprompter Fail & Addresses SL President's Wife As 'M.R.S'

PM Modi is going all out to establish himself as a global spokesman which obviously means lots of visits by foreign presidents. 

The latest one to land in India was Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena who arrived here accompanied by his wife. The trip went off well, India and Sri Lanka reached some sort of understanding on the Nuclear deal. And then, while addressing Sri Lankan First Lady, he managed to read out the acronym 'M.R.S'. 

You might however remember that not too long ago, a DD news anchor lost her job when she referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as 'Eleven' Jinping. Who's Mr Modi going to sack now?

Swine flu kills 600-plus in India, refuses to die

NEW DELHI: The mercury rising, yet the H1N1 influenza A virus seems to defy its survival limitations, worrying the health ministry and doctors.

This year, swine flu deaths have more than doubled compared to the previous year taking the toll to 624. A total of 9,311 people got infected, government data show. In February alone over 300 died across the country. In 2014, 218 swine flu deaths were reported from a total of 937 cases, pan-India.

"As it starts getting warmer, we expected cases to come down. This year the trend is different," says Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, internal medicine, at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.

Union health minister JP Nadda has held frequent review meetings. The ministry's directed pharma companies to expedite supply of antiviral medicines to state hospitals and licensed retail outlets. "We've asked companies to airlift stocks, if required. We'll monitor availability in the retail market," Union health secretary BP Sharma said. The government hopes cases will come down with awareness and precautionary measures, he said. The ministry has directed states to provide protective kits to health workers.

Although the cause is yet to be ascertained, doctors suspect a change in the strain behaviour — which generally happens in three to four years — resulting in the sudden spurt in cases. ICMR, though, has ruled out strain mutation, BP Sharma, secretary to the health ministry said.

Narendra Modi's Rs 10 lakh 'I me myself' bandhgala suit to be auctioned today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial pinstripe monogrammed bandhgala suit that he wore during US President Barack Obama's visit to India last month is up for auction starting today.

The suit that created waves and kicked up a political storm will be auctioned along with 455 items that Modi had received as gifts during his nearly nine-month long tenure to generate funds for the Prime Minister's ambitious 'Clean Ganga Mission'.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's suit, that he wore during his meeting with President Barack Obama last month, along with other 455 items that he received as gifts during his tenure as Prime Minister will be auctioned at a three-day event in Surat," Surat Municipal Commissioner Milind Toravane told PTI today.

The gift items belonging to Prime Minister Modi is a national treasure and the money generated from the auction will be utilised for the 'Clean Ganga Mission', he added.

Toravane said the event will be organised at SMC's Science Convention Centre at city-lights road in Surat as the Prime Minister's Office(PMO) had decided to hold the auction event in the city.

Modi during his chief ministerial tenure in Gujarat had initiated a trend to auction the gifts that he received in a year and it was donated to Kanya Kelavani Yojna for girl child education, he said.

Modi was photographed wearing the suit during his summit talks with Obama in Hyderabad House in Delhi on January 25 and at a joint media appearance that followed the meeting. Photographs of the suit on a closer inspection showed that the stripes were actually tiny letters spelling out his name in full-- Narendra Damodardas Modi--and embroidered on the fabric vertically down the stripe. The suit had triggered a debate in social media while the Prime Minister was slammed by his political opponents for wearing an expensive suit. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called Modi a "megalomaniac". Toravane said no base price has been fixed for any of the items to come under the hammer.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also had raked up Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi also had raked up the issue of Modi's expensive suit during the campaign for Delhi assembly polls in which BJP was routed. Some reports said the suit cost nearly Rs 10 lakh. Discussions on whether the suit, which from a distance appeared to be a classic navy blue pinstripe design, was fine style and good form or a thinly-disguised show of narcissism coursed through social media, even attracting global media attention.

Tweets flew thick and fast, including comparison with former Egypt President Hosni Mubarak who is known to have a similar outfit.

PTI

Twitter introduces #hastags in 11 Indian languages including Hindi

New Delhi: After introducing Hindi support way back in September 2011, Twitter has now launched Hindi hashtags on its social platform, and they’re already trending well in India.

Hindi is the most widely-spoken language of northern India, with over 200 million speakers. Twitter users have been able to tweet in Hindi for some time, but the company has only recently rolled out hashtag support for the language.

On Sunday, after India won their cricket World Cup match against Pakistan, #JaiHind (in Hindi) became the first Hindi hashtag to trend on Twitter.

While Twitter is yet to officially announce hashtag inclusion for more scripts, tweets can be hashtagged in the following Indian scripts/languages:

- Devanagari (Hindi, Nepali, Marathi, Sanskrit)

- Bengali

- Gujarati

- Punjabi

- Oriya

- Tamil

- Telugu

- Malayalam

- Kannada

Other languages/scripts that can now be hashtagged by Twitter users are:

- Greek

- Armenian

- Georgian

- Amharic

- Sinhala

- Tibetan

- Burmese

- Laotian

- Khmer

Yesterday on the eve of Mahashivratri, #HarHarMahadev(in hindi) was also trending, right behind #MahaShivratri itself.