Exclusive: Watch Dolkun Isa’s FB Live on India’s Visa U-Turn
The cancellation of my visa does not reflect well on India’s image as the largest democracy, says Dolkun Isa, a leader of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), who lives in Germany, and had been invited to a conference being organised in Dharamshala by US-based ‘Initiatives for China’.
Watch The Quint’s exclusive Facebook Live with him.
On the Ganga, It’s Mamata vs Mamata, Development vs Dabangai
The ferry from Babughat in Kolkata to Howrah is filled with people who are on their way to cast their votes. For them, the election is not about the CPI(M), but choosing between Mamata Banerjee’s politics of fear and intimidation on the one hand, and her development record on the other.
Before noon, BJP candidate Rupa Ganguly (of Draupadi fame) was allegedly attacked near a polling booth in Howrah and footage of “unknown persons” stopping people from casting their votes became public. Tanmoy Bhattacharya, the CPI(M) candidate from North Dum Dum was also attacked by TMC workers. Will these incidents of violence and intimidation hurt Mamata?
Read the full story here.
Sitaram Yechury Talks Elections, Parliament and Morphed Images
Between elections in two key states for the CPIM and the Parliament about to begin, Sitaram Yechury is a busy man. But, we managed to catch up with him at Alimuddin Street, his party’s headquarters in Kolkata.
Uttarakhand Crisis Dominates Second Half of Budget Session
Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, drew the attention of the House towards the “series of unconstitutional events” in the country, accusing the Centre of destabilising states where the BJP is not in power. Replying to Kharge’s allegations, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that Uttarakhand crisis is a result of an internal clash in the Congress and the Centre has no role to play in it. He welcomed the Speaker’s decision to not discuss the sub-judice issue.
Read the full story here.
Amid Uproar, Olympic Association Firm on Salman as Rio Ambassador
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s appointment as the Indian Olympic contingent’s goodwill ambassador kicked up a storm with star wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and sprint legend Milkha Singh questioning the move even as the IOA and some other athletes backed the decision.
Read the full story here.
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Nine Accused in 2006 Malegaon Blast Case Released by Special Court
A special court on Monday discharged all eight Muslim men, including one deceased, who were chargesheeted in the 2006 Malegaon serial blasts case, a defence lawyer said. Of the nine accused, Shabbir Ahmed died in an accident a few months back, Advocate Shahid Nadeem Ansari said.
Read the full story here.
Public Prosecutor Hints at Pratyusha’s Death Being a Murder
Advocate Nilesh Pawaskaras, the special public prosecutor in the Pratyusha Banerjee case, said at Rahul Raj Singh’s anticipatory bail hearing, that early leads in the investigation point to the possibility of the 24-year-old actress having been murdered. According to an India Today report, the questions raised by the prosecution hint at the possibility of Pratyusha’s death not being a suicide.
Read the full story here.
The Kapil Sharma Show Plays It Safe and Disappoints
Kapil Sharma’s monologues and pranks were as funny as ever, his digs were cheered and his team welcomed with huge fanfare. However, the content was no different than what Sharma has been serving us on Colors since June 2013. His jokes traversed from personal to political, filmi to sexist, sarcasm to one-liners.
Read the full story here.
IPL Commentary and the Art Of Selling Yourself Short
Bollywood owners were brought in to appeal to cricket widows, music was blasted at stadiums because everybody loves to have their eardrums irreparably damaged, and cheerleaders in short skirts were brought in to appeal to, well, um, why were they brought in again?
In an effort to appeal to a wider demographic, Lalit Modi made some astute marketing decisions for the IPL. Inevitably, these decisions clashed with the purists’ virginal view of cricket.
Read the full story here.
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