16 July, 2013

Supreme Court clears way for running of dance bars in Maharashtra

Seven years after they were banned, dance bars can again run in Maharashtra with the Supreme Court today upholding a Bombay high court verdict quashing the state government's order.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S S Nijjar also vacated its stay order on implementation of the high court judgement.On the other hand, various organisations representing dance bars, restaurants and bar girls had argued that the preamble of the Bombay Police (Amendment) Act, 2005, which had been struck down by the high court as unconstitutional, holds that dance performances for public amusement were permissible.These organisations had also submitted that there were over 70,000 women engaged in dance bars and several of them had already committed suicide due to unemployment and financial crunch.

Modi has credibility, BJP needs to change: Ramdev

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has "credibility" while the BJP needed to "bring a lot of change" in its character, Yoga guru Ramdev .Expressing support to Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Ramdev told reporters here, "Modi is a secular leader...he developed Gujarat a lot, including areas belonging to minorities."

Did sages predict Uttarakhand calamity?

The floods that ravaged the Himalayan dhams of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri last month may have surprised many, but ancient sages seem to have forseen the possibility of these shrines becoming inaccessible in the future. They also made provisions for the shrines - at least two of them - to be replicated elsewhere when that happens. Tucked away in the Garhwal Himalayas near Joshimath are the shrines of Bhavishya (future) Badri and, what some people claim, the Bhavishya Kedar. According to local belief, these are the places which have been prophesised as the future Badrinath and Kedarnath once the original shrines become inaccessible. The recent rains and cloudburst have almost brought about such a situation. Is the time then ripe for the prophecies to come true?

India needs fundamental change in politics: Amartya Sen

Calling for reforms, Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has said that India needs a fundamental change in politics to usher in an inclusive and equitable growth.

"We do want many, many changes that include reforms, which has made a contribution to India and could make more but it requires not just policy changes, it also requires quite a fundamental change in politics and the political economy of the country," Sen said on Monday night. At the launch of his new book 'An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions' published by Penguin, he said, "We believe that India is in a very difficult situation now and the glitter of the achievement might well hide that".

Congress attacks BJP over registration fee for Modi meeting

In a bid to cash in on Modi's popularity, BJP's Andhra Pradesh unit is collecting a registration fee of Rs 5 per person to attend the public meeting. Modi, the newly appointed election campaign committee chief, will address the meeting on August 11.The party has said that it would contribute the collected amount towards Uttarakhand flood relief.