India

By Quaid Najmi
Mumbai, Sep 4 (IANS) Renowned industrialist Cyrus P. Mistry, of the multinational Shapoorji Pallonji Group and former Chairman of Tata Sons, was killed in a road accident on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai national highway in Maharashtra's Palghar on Sunday afternoon.


Mistry, 54 is survived by his wife Rohiqa, their two sons, an elder brother Shapoor Mistry and other family members.

Also killed in the accident was Jehangir D. Pundole, of the famed 'Dukes' soft drinks and foods company and the Pundole Art Gallery in Mumbai.

Another couple in the vehicle - Pundole's brother, Darius D. Pundole and wife Dr. Anahita Darius Pundole - were critically injured and rushed to Rainbow Hospital in Vapi in south Gujarat, said an official of Palghar police.

The young industrialist Mistry's abrupt death comes barely two months after his father, Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry, the Chairman Emeritus of the Group, passed away, aged 93, on June 28 in Mumbai.

Taking serious cognisance, the state government has ordered a probe into the incident that stunned the country's corporate world.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who handles the home portfolio, said he has spoken to the Director General of Police Rajnish Sheth and ordered a detailed investigation into the incident.

According to Palghar Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil, the accident took place on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai national highway, around 3.15 pm, barely a couple of hours' drive from Mumbai.

"Of the four persons in the Mercedes car, two - (Mistry and Jehangir Pundole) - were declared dead instantly and two others (Darius and his wife Dr. Anahita Pundole) who were injured critically, have been rushed to Rainbow Hospital in Vapi," he told media persons.

Palghar police officials said that the Mistry and the Pundoles apparently became victims of "over-speeding" as the car hit with full force a highway divider on the River Surya passing the national highway near Charoti, around 105 kms north of Mumbai.

The impact of the crash was so powerful that although the car's airbags popped open, they failed to save the occupants - killing two and injuring two others - and dark-grey Mercedes was left badly damaged.

The tragedy apparently proved to be a double loss for the Pundole brothers (Jehangir and Darius) whose father Dinshaw passed away last week, and they had gone to perform the post-funeral rites in Udwada, a coastal town in south Gujarat, though details are not available.

The police have provisionally termed it as an "overspeeding case" which may have resulted in the devastating accident, especially since Palghar and surrounding regions have been battered with heavy rains since Saturday.

The news sent shockwaves in Indian corporate and political circles and many reacted with initial disbelief this afternoon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari expressed grief and shock over the tragedy and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said Mistry's demise is a loss not only to his family but also the country's industrial world.

Nationalist Congress President Sharad Pawar, Congress state and central leaders, Shiv Sena leaders and other top politicians have condoled Mistry's demise.

NCP MP Supriya Sule expressed shock at the incident on Twitter. "Devastating News My Brother Cyrus Mistry passed away. Can't believe it. Rest in Peace Cyrus."

Other union and state ministers, senior leaders from Bharatiya Janata Party, the corporate world in India and abroad have condoled Mistry's death.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

--IANS
qn/vd

Dubai, Sep 4 (IANS) Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes talismanic batter Virat Kohli looks a lot calmer after returning from the one-and-a-half break to return for Asia Cup 2022. Shastri added that the break taken by Kohli after India's tour of England ended was a much-needed one.

Kohli, in a prolonged lean patch seen from him not scoring a century in international cricket since November 2019, began Asia Cup 2022 with a crucial 35 in the thrilling five-wicket win over Pakistan in India's first Group A match. He then scored an unbeaten 59 in India's second Group A win over Hong Kong.

"Virat Kohli looks a lot calmer, he needed that break. When you are mentally tired, you are fighting against yourself. Your body tells you something to do, your mind tells you something to do, but you can't take it. The break could have helped him. The fact that he spent some time on the field would also help him," said Shastri ahead of India's Super Four match against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan left-arm pacer Wasim Akram urged fans from both teams to not go overboard irrespective of what the result is at the end of the match. "And that's where we experts have to suggest to fans from both India and Pakistan. The teams will compete, and they will give their 100 percent, day in and day out. But in the end, it's a game of cricket. Somebody has to win, somebody has to lose.

"Any team loses, just say 'bad luck, well tried, better luck next time'. Whichever team wins, 'well played'. We (fans) just go overboard, we players, once the game is finished, we move on very quickly. We have to motivate ourselves again. So that's very important for cricket fans, both sides."

Shastri agreed with Akram's comments, conceding the India-Pakistan contest is totally "over-hyped" from the outside. "It's over-hyped from the outside. There is no love lost. The players will go at each other's throats on the field. That's how it should be."

"There's a great rivalry. It's the biggest box office when it comes to a game of cricket. You look at the first game of the Asia Cup, every time these two teams play, it's massive."

--IANS

nr/bsk

New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) Dheeraj Dhoopar, who received many accolades for playing Karan Luthra in the TV soap 'Kundali Bhagya', is now a part of the celebrity dance reality show 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10', which is altogether a new experience for him.

It is challenging, too, for along with it he is doing a fictional show 'Sherdill Shergill' opposite Surbhi Chandna.

On how he is juggling between the two, Dheeraj told IANS: "It is tough. But I have prepared myself mentally to put in all of my efforts towards the success of these shows.

"It is physically and mentally very demanding to be a part of two big shows but I feel that God put one in such a situation only because they know they can do it."

After doing several TV shows like 'Sasural Simar Ka', 'Kuch Toh Log Kahenge', 'Naagin 5' and many more, he finds 'Kundali Bhagya' closest to his heart.

He said: "Every show for me has been special. I cannot put a finger on that one show. But 'Kundali Bhagya' gave me a different identity and I will always remember it. 'Jhalak' too is special for me because it is my first ever reality show."

The actor furthermore shares about how he prepares himself for giving his best as a dancer in front of the judges like Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit, filmmaker Karan Johar and actress and dancer Nora Fatehi.

Dheeraj added: "More than physical preparation I feel preparing myself mentally is very important. And I believe that if I am mentally prepared then nothing is impossible. Also, despite my tough schedule I make it a point to go for my rehearsal no matter what."

Dheeraj recently embraced fatherhood and the couple posted pictures on social media. When asked about how he views fatherhood, he replied: "Nothing can be compared to the feeling of becoming a father. It is one of the purest feelings on this planet.

"Honestly speaking, it is difficult to be away but I would also like to say that seeing my baby after I come home makes me forget all my problems."

He is all praise for his dance partner on the show and choreographer Sneha Singh. "Sneha is an amazing choreographer and we have a gala time rehearsing," he said. "It is a perfect blend of hard work and fun that we as a team have. On the sets we are very focussed towards our performance."

Dheeraj at first was not interested in becoming an actor. "Initially I wanted to become a ramp model, but soon I realised that I was not tall enough," Dheeraj said. "This made me focus on prints modelling and shoot and through that I got my first ever show. I have had a smooth journey in the industry actually and there has been no struggle.

"After every show that I finished, I got my next show. Today I am happy that I am known for more than just my good looks. And with Jhalak I hope people see my journey as a dancer."

Talking about his future projects, he said: "I have been in talks for a few OTT and Bollywood projects but I don't want to do it for the sake of it. If I am doing an OTT project or a Bollywood film it will be something out of the box and something worth it."

--IANS
ila/shs

New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) Fintech major Paytm on Sunday said that the search operations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at six different locations in Bengaluru were carried out on merchants which were independent entities, and none of them were Paytm's group entities.

In a statement, One 97 Communications Ltd, which is the parent company of Paytm, clarified that none of the funds which have been instructed to be frozen belong to Paytm or any of its group companies.

The ED said on Saturday that it carried out search operations at six different locations in Bengaluru in connection with its probe into the Chinese loan apps fraud case.

The financial probe agency said it raided the premises associated with Paytm, Razorpay and Cashfree, all payment gateways which allegedly facilitated transactions on loan apps unauthorisedly run by Chinese-owned firms.

The company said that as a part of ongoing investigations on a specific set of merchants, "the ED has sought information regarding such merchants to whom we provide payment processing solutions".

"It is hereby clarified that these merchants are independent entities, and none of them are our group entities. We are, and will continue to, fully cooperate with the authorities, and all the directive actions are being duly complied with," said the company.

Paytm further said that that the "ED has instructed us to freeze certain amounts from the Merchant IDs (MIDs) of a specific set of merchant entities".

According to the ED, during the search operation, it was noticed that the said entities were generating proceeds of crime through various merchant IDs/accounts held with payment gateways/banks.

"They were also not operating from the addresses given on the MCA website/registered address. An amount of Rs 17 crore has been seized in merchant IDs and bank accounts of these Chinese-owned entities," said the agency.

A Cashfree spokesperson said that the company extended diligent co-operation to the ED operations, providing them the required and necessary information on the same day of enquiry.

"Our operations and on-boarding processes adhere to the PMLA and KYC directions, and we will continue to do so," said the spokesperson.

A Razorpay spokesperson said that some of its merchants were being investigated by the law enforcement about a year and a half back.

"As part of the ongoing investigation, the authorities requested additional information to help with the investigation. We have fully cooperated and shared KYC and other details. The authorities were satisfied by our due diligence process," said the company.

--IANS
na/vd

New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) Protesting against the price hike at the 'Mehngai Par Halla Bol rally' at Ramlila Maidan here, the youth Congress workers organised a unique stall 'Degree Holder Shoes polish, Pakoda stall' outside the venue.

The Congress has organised the rally to raise the issue of price rise, unemployment and economic slowdown which has hurled the people of the country.

The stall has been symbolically opened to protest against the rising prices and the GST rate hike on edible oil and other daily use commodities, said the youth Congress workers.

"Through this symbolic protest, we want to convey the message to our prime minister who once said 'fry the pakodas' on the issue of employment. But even this is not possible under this draconian price hike for the youths of the country," said a member of Rajasthan youth Congress.

Even, GST has been implemented on every domestic commodities. The price of edible oil has historically reached to Rs 200 per kg, which is an impossible situation for the poor, he said.

"This is our halla bol against the price rise and unemployment that has landed the country into economic despair," youth Congress worker said.

The Mehangai Par Halla Rally will be addressed by former party chief Rahul Gandhi and several other senior leaders at the Ramlila Maidan in Central Delhi. The party workers have been gathering at the maidan for the rally since morning.

As per the Congress leaders, about a lakh people will attend the rally.

--IANS
avr/dpb

By Deepika Bhan
New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) The yet-to-be-announced Assembly elections in J&K have a lot at stake for the political parties in the Union Territory. While the BJP may be preparing for the so far elusive Kashmir apple, others like the Abdullahs, Muftis and the rest are also keen to seize power again.


The BJP went into the 2014 Assembly polls in erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state with the 'Mission 44-plus', marking its intention to get a majority in the then 87-member House. It did well by winning 25 seats and occupying the position of a king-maker then.

The rise of the BJP did happen in J&K, but it could not secure anything in Kashmir. The wins were in Hindu-majority Jammu while Muslim-majority Kashmir said a big no. The party not only drew a blank in the valley, all its 34 candidates lost their deposits.

Today, when talk of Assembly elections is doing the rounds, the BJP is readying for the poll battle -- to retain and improve on the 25 seats in Jammu and to make a good showing in Kashmir.

In the first-ever DDC elections in 2020, which were like a mini Assembly polls, the BJP was the biggest gainer while the PDP and the Congress were the major losers. The BJP made an entry in the valley by winning three of the 140 seats.

This gave the BJP a glimmer of hope, but the Muslim dominated valley will prove to be a tough call. For the BJP, making inroads into the valley's political space is a stupendous task.

The UT has a large majority of Muslims - around 69 per cent as per the 2011 Census -- but there is a regional divide in the religious segments of population. Kashmir has an over 96 per cent Muslim population and only 2.5 per cent Hindus while Jammu has over 62 per cent Hindus and 33.5 per cent Muslims.

It is this religious divide that was reflected in the results then. The Modi wave, which had swept the country in 2014, also overtook the Hindu-dominated areas of J&K, giving the BJP 25 of the 37 seats in the then state.

Will a similar situation emerge if elections are held today in the UT?

For Jammu, things have changed after the emergence of the Modi-led government at the Centre. Before the abrogation of Article 370 and changing the status of J&K, Jammu and Ladakh have consistently nursed the feeling of being subjugated by a Kashmir-centric political narrative of both the Centre and the state.

After the breaking of the state, Ladakh has its independent identity now, Jammu has given wide space to the BJP.

The number of Assembly seats has increased by six in Jammu and one in Kashmir. Jammu has got its share of development which in the previous regimes was lop-sided towards Kashmir.

With Jammu also getting an AIIMS, IIT, industrial zones, and other such benefits, the summer capital for the first time in 75 years is seeing itself being considered as an equal to the valley.

What happened in 2014 was repeated in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. The BJP won two LS seats in Jammu and also improved its vote share in the sensitive border state -- from 34.40 per cent in 2014 to 46.4 per cent in 2019.

With the party strongly entrenched in Jammu, the BJP knows that it is here to stay. In fact, Jammu was the first place where Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit and addressed a mammoth gathering on April 27 after the scrapping of Article 370, thereby giving due importance to his support base.

After the delimitation and the updation of the electoral rolls, the prospects of the BJP will improve more in Jammu. Apart from the new electors, 54,945 refugee families who came from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) would also get the right to vote in the Assembly elections for the first time in 75 years.

So would the thousands of Valmikis, who were brought into the J&K by earlier rulers to work as safai karamcharis and scavengers from Punjab. By giving them the domicile certificates and the right to vote in the local polls, the BJP can be assured of the number.

While Jammu continues to be the favourite with the BJP, it is Kashmir where the challenge is. In the 47 seats in the Kashmir Valley, the BJP may not find it easy to open its account. Largely seen as a pro-Hindu party, Kashmir's Muslim majority is likely to favour the traditional parties - the National Conference, the PDP or others.

With terrorism still not curbed, the fear of the gun has not diminished. The valley has witnessed targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits, non-locals, policemen, and BJP workers and leaders. The Pakistan-backed separatist lobby has been checked to a large extent that has helped end the stone pelting and every day bandh calls. But the growing radicalisation and waning of the age-old Sufism, is not helping the BJP enter the valley on a large-scale.

The Kashmir arithmetic does not favour the BJP, due to which it will not be able to get the magic figure to form the government. Hence, it will have to go for alliances in Kashmir. And perhaps, Ghulam Nabi Azad's entry in the political arena could benefit both. There is also the Apni Party and Sajjad Lone's party which are generally seen as Centre-pipped parties.

For the BJP the J&K Assembly elections may be a mission needed to be accomplished for showcasing to the country and the world.

(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)

--IANS
dpb/bg

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 4 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged the southern states to explore joint solutions to issues related to sharing of river water. He was speaking while chairing the 30th Southern Zonal Council meeting of southern states and Union Territories in Kerala's state capital on Saturday.

Shah also appealed the southern Chief Ministers to tackle the drug menace that is plaguing the country in a joint manner. He urged the states to hold regular meetings of the Narco Coordination Centre (NCORD) for tackling the problem of narcotics. He said that the Union Home Ministry had tried to crack down on the issue of narcotics trade with full focus.

During the 30th meeting of Southern Zonal Council, 26 issues were discussed, nine issues resolved and 17 issues reserved for further consideration. Of these, 17 issues reserved for consideration, nine were related to reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh.

The Union Home Minister urged Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to mutually resolve pending issues related to the bifurcation of the state. He said that there was huge potential for trade and export of marine products in the region and added that of 3,461 fishing villages in the country, 1,763 were in south India.

He said that QR-enabled PVC Aadhaar cards have been issued to more than 12 lakh fishermen. The Union Home Minister added that this would help their identification and also increase the country's maritime security.

Shah said that states should provide banking facilities within five kilometre of every village. He also urged the state Chief Ministers to persuade cooperative banks to open branches.

He added that if banks are opened in villages with good frequency, it would enable the direct transfer of government schemes directly to the beneficiaries.


--IANS
aal/khz/

Patna, Sep 3 (IANS) A day after five of the six Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MLAs in Manipur merged with the ruling BJP, Bihar Chief Minister and senior JD-U leader Nitish Kumar on Saturday slammed the BJP, saying that this is the reason why he snapped ties with the saffron party.

"Till Thursday, the JD-U MLAs in Manipur were ready to come to Patna for the national executive committee meeting. They were happy about coming to Patna. But the BJP snatched them from us. They do not believe in democracy," Nitish Kumar said after the national executive committee meeting on Saturday.

"The game begins here, and you would see what happens in the future," Kumar added.

"I am going to Delhi to meet the opposition leaders. The opposition parties are getting united to challenge the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. We will defeat the saffron party in the 2024 polls," the Chief Minister said.

JD-U has 6 MLAs in Manipur and BJP snatched 5 of them on Friday.

The five JD-U legislators in Manipur who joined the BJP are Khumukcham Joykisan Singh (Thangmeiband), Ngursanglur Sanate (Tipaimukh), Md. Achab Uddin (Jiribam), Thangjam Arunkumar (Wangkhei) and L.M. Khaute (Churachandpur).

BJP MP from Buxar, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, said: "The Manipur incident was just a tailor, you will see several JD-U MLAs in Bihar joining the BJP soon."

Vijay Kumar Sinha, the leader of opposition in Bihar Assembly, said: "Nitish Kumar forgot morality. He acted against the people's mandate and formed the government in Bihar with the Mahagathbandhan. People will teach him a lesson. Manipur was a small incident, many JD-U MLAs will soon join the BJP in Bihar."

--IANS
ajk/arm

By Kumar Vikram
New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Have you ever thought of flying from Mumbai to Ahmedabad for just Rs 1,400, or between Mumbai and Bengaluru for around Rs 2,000 or even less?


This has now become possible as cut-throat competition in the aviation sector has led to a price war among the airlines to attract fliers.

A close look at air fare disclosed that a ticket from Mumbai to Ahmedabad is costing Rs 1,399 on Go First and Rs 1,497 on new entrant Akasa Air for a journey on September 9. IndiGo, the largest domestic airline, is offering ticket on the same route for Rs 1,609.

Similar is the case on the Mumbai-Bengaluru route with tickets available in the range of Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,200. While Akasa Air is offering a ticket for Rs 1,997 for a journey on September 9, a ticket on IndiGo is available for Rs 2,208.

The price war among the Indian airlines was expected following the removal of air fare cap by the Ministry of Civil Aviation from August 31 onwards.

Industry experts said that high competition among the airlines may lead to benefits for the fliers and many airlines may offer discounts as per demand.

Interestingly, the prices have slipped mostly on the routes on which the newly-launched Akasa Air has started its operations.

An expert said the Aviation Ministry's move has given flexibility to the airlines in deciding air fares as they can now charge as per their policies.

The entry of Akasa Air has increased competition in the aviation sector. To attract fliers, some airlines have already started offering tickets at lower rates.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Ministry had said that after a review of the current status of scheduled domestic operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travel, it has been decided to remove the fare bands notified from time to time regarding air fares with effect from August 31.

The ministry had imposed lower and upper limits on air fares after the resumption of services in May, 2020 following the initial two-month nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19. Thereafter, the limits were relaxed in a phased manner according to the improvement in air traffic in the country.

--IANS
kvm/arm

New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Over 9,000 Congress members would vote to elect the next party President, election for which would be held after a long gap 22 years on October 17.

In the last such election that was held in 2000, current interim President Sonia Gandhi had defeated Jitendra Prasada, who managed just 94 out of 7,542 votes.

Prior to that, Sitaram Kesri had defeated Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot by securing 6,224 votes. Pawar had secured 882 votes, while Pilot got 354 votes.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has, however, declined to run for the party chief's post this time even as efforts are on to persuade him.

Senior leaders such as Mallikarjun Kharge and Salman Khurshid have said that they will try to convince Rahul Gandhi on the matter.

Ahead of the notification on the election, some Congress leaders have raised the issue of electoral rolls, saying it should be made public.

Party leaders such as Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Karti Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor have already expressed their opinion on the issue of electoral rolls.

They have urged the party's Central Election Authority (CEA), headed by senior Congress leader Madhusudan Mistry, to make the electoral rolls public by making them available on the Congress website.

However, the CEA has said that these rolls would be made available only to the candidates contesting the poll.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation), K.C. Venugopal, said that it (the list) is an internal matter and hence, it cannot be made public.

"The schedule for the party chief's election has already been announced, and those who want to contest for the post should file the nomination before September 30," he said.

Underlining the need of a well-defined electoral college, Karti Chidambaram said any ad hoc electoral college is meaningless.

He said: "Every election needs a well defined and clear electoral college. The process of forming the electoral college must also be clear, well defined and transparent. An ad hoc electoral college is no electoral college."

Leaders of the Congress' G-23 camp are also planning to contest the presidential polls slated for October 17 with former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan being considered as "key candidates", sources said.

However, there was no clarity on the situation while the G-23, which had sought wide-ranging reforms in the party that has lately been hit by the departure of senior leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal and others.

Tharoor had apparently dropped hints on contesting for the top party post in an article on Monday but has not clearly indicated if he would be jumping into the fray.

According to party sources, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has emerged front-runner for the post of the Congress President -- being seen as choice of interim chief Sonia Gandhi even as some want the return of Rahul Gandhi.

Interestingly, Gehlot has also proposed the Gandhi scion's name. Keeping that in mind, the G-23 was understood to had decided to filed a candidate if no Gandhi stands in the poll for Congress president.

However, it remains to be seen if the G-23 camp would do so as Sonia Gandhi's choice is unlikely to be challenged.

According to poll schedule, the date of issuance of notification is September 22, while nominations can be filed between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from September 24 to 30. The scrutiny will be done on October 1. The last date of withdrawal is October 8.

The polling would be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 17 at all Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters.

The counting of votes will be held on October 19.

--IANS
miz/pgh