Dinesh Kamath completes 7 years in Daily Newspaper Newsband

The above photographs were clicked by Vishal Tonage

Hi Friends,

On 30 April 2014, I completed seven years in the Daily Newspaper Newsband. For your information, Newsband had come into existence on 1 May 2007.  

Thus I've completed more than 10 years in Kailashchandra Prakashan, 7 years in Newsband, more than two and a half years as Editor of Newsband and more than four years as Blogger.

I owe this success of mine to Pubisher of Newsband Kailash Gindodia, Editor of In New Bombay K R Bhat, my staff members, my family members and friends and my beloved READERS. 

Thanks a lot!!!! Bye!

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai’ (Kahin Hai Mera Pyar, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Purani Jeans, Kya Dilli Kya Lahore and Dusri Goshta) that was published in Newsband

New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

Kahin Hai Mera Pyar

Kahin Hai Mera Pyar is a Hindi romantic film, directed by Mahesh Vaijnath Doijode. The film stars Jackie Shroff, Sonia Mann, Sanjay Kapoor, Abhishek Sethiya in the lead roles. Lyrics and music are by Ravindra Jain. The filming locations include Mumbai, Latur, Goa and Lonavala.

Kahin Hai Mera Pyar, the film is about a young artist who paints the image of his dream girl. This dream girl exists only in his dreams or is she real?

As this movie is Musical love story, melodious music and lyrics is provided by one of legendary music director of Hindi Film Industry Ravindra Jain. it has six songs and vocals provided by top singers - Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal, Sukhwinder Singh, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Kailash Kher. Background score and one song is added by music director Nikhil Kamath and sung by Altamash Faridi. Om Puri provides his voice for voice over part.

The film has songs like Kahin Hai Mera Pyar sung by Shaan, Shamil Ye Ho Gaya Hai by Suresh Wadkar and Ram Shankar, Nach Baliye by Sukhwinder Singh and Kavita Krishnamurthy, Tu Hase Toh          by Shaan and Shreya Ghoshal, Dilwale Dilwale by Sunidhi Chauhan, Allah Tala by Kailash Kher, Searching for His Love – Theme by Siddharth Hazarika, Kahin Hai Mera Pyar – Theme by Shaan, Hai Junoon (Male) by Altamash Faridi, Hai Junoon (Female) by Tori Dattaroy, Adam and Eve Theme (Hindi Narration) by Om Puri and Adam And Eve Theme (English Narration)    by Om Puri.       

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is the second installment to Marc Webb's and Sony Studios new reboot Spider-Man film franchise.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (released as The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro in some markets) is a 2014 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, directed by Marc Webb and released by Columbia Pictures. It serves as a sequel to the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man and was announced in 2011. The studio hired James Vanderbilt to write the screenplay and Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to re-write it. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Colm Feore, Paul Giamatti and Sally Field star.

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can’t come quickly enough. Peter hasn’t forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen’s father to protect her by staying away – but that’s a promise he just can’t keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.

Purani Jeans

Purani Jeans is a 2014 Bollywood coming-of-age drama directed by Tanushri Chattrji Bassu. The film stars Tanuj Virwani, Aditya Seal and Izabelle Leite in lead roles. The film is based on the belief that – “friendship is like a pair of old jeans - the older it gets, the better it becomes”, and tells the story of young boy who returns to his hometown and reconnects with his old friends. Ram Sampath has scored the film’s music.

The movie has an interesting plot. The film unfolds as a coming of age drama about a summer where Sidharth, his best friend Sam & their gang of friends rediscover bonds of friendship and love. A summer when everything changes for the group, a summer when he, Sam & his friends experienced the agony and ecstasy of growing up, forming enviable bonds of friendship, trust, jealousy, joy, envy and love while also dealing with problems of distant parents, broken hearts and pressures of growing up gradually leading everyone to go their own way.

The film has Tanuj Virwani as Sidharth Ray "Sid", Aditya Seal as Samuel Joseph Lawrence "Sam", Izabelle Leite as Nayantara Sapru, Param Baidwaan as Balwinder Singh Shekawat "Bobby", Raghav Raj Kakker as Susheel Sharma "Suzy", Kashyap Kapoor as Tejinder Singh Kathuria "Tino", Sarika as Sherry Joseph (Sam's Mother), Rati Agnihotri as Siddarth's Mother, Manoj Pahwa, Rajit Kapur, Kamini Kaushal and Kashika Chopra.

Purani Jeans’ music is composed by Ram Sampath. The film has songs like Yaari Yaari sung by Ram Sampath, Dil Aaj Kal by KK, Out of Control by Mika, Suzanne D'Mello and Deane Sequeira, Yeh Beetey Din by Ram Sampath and Munna Dhiman, Jind Meriye by Navraj Hans, Yeh Beetey Din (Acoustic Version) by Ram Sampath and Dil Aaj Kal (Acoustic Version) by Sona Mohapatra.

Kya Dilli Kya Lahore

Kya Dilli Kya Lahore is a 2014 Hindi film set in 1948, post-Independence period and deals with the subject of Indo-Pak partition. The movie stars Vijay Raaz, Manu Rishi, Raj Zutshi and Vishwajeet Pradhan in the lead roles, and credits Gulzar as the presenter of the movie. The movie is produced by Karan Arora and also marks the directorial debut of actor Vijay Raaz.

The film has an interesting plot. In 1948, a cross-fire erupts at an isolated stretch of Indo-Pak border, leaving only two soldiers alive. One is an Indian soldier of Pakistani origin while the other happens to be a Pakistani soldier of Indian origin. An ironic story of pride and survival begins when - in an attempt to evade danger, they bump into each other. And amidst continuous exchange of bullets, altercations and murkier situations, it evolves into a journey of human connection with an unforeseeable end..

Thus Kya Dilli Kya Lahore is a satire on Indo-Pak relationship and narrates a humorous yet emotional story of a bond formed between an Indian and a Pakistani soldier stationed at the Indo Pak border.

The film has Vijay Raaz as Rehmat Ali, Manu Rishi - Samarth Pratap Shastri, Raj Zutshi - Barfi Singh and Vishwajeet Pradhan - Pakistani Captain.

Dusri Goshta

Movie Dusri Goshta is directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni and the star cast consists of Vikram Gokhale, Siddharth Chandekar, Sandeep Mehta, Anand Ingale, Neha Pendse, Aditya Ganu, Bharati Patil, Smita Sarvade, Sunil Tawde, Girish Joshi and Mugdha Godbole, Pratiksha Lonkar and Renuka Shahane. Story, Screenplay and Dialogue are by Ajit and Prashant Dalvi. Music Directors are Ashok Patki and Mangesh Dhakde.

The story of the film revolves around a young boy from lower caste who had no option but to resort to petty thefts to make both ends meet after he lost his father at the early age. But the boy did not look back once he realized the importance of the education. He kept climbing the higher steps of life ladder with enormous hard work.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Improvements required to ensure maximum voting' that was published in Newsband

Improvements required to ensure maximum voting

Several lakh names of voters were missing from the electoral rolls in Maharashtra in the most recent phase of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. This was in spite of the introduction of latest information technology tools — like the one launched by the Election Commission of India. It was a national-level online ‘electoral roll search’ that could be used by voters even from their smartphones to search their names on the rolls.

Some people are of the opinion that the technology cannot be a substitute for care, verification and proper supervision of the process. Burgeoning urbanisation, with people frequently shifting residences, or large numbers of migrant workers moving to cities, calls for a great deal of care to ensure that all eligible voters are included.

Not only in Maharashtra, even in other states, this issue has come up. It feels odd that the citizen residing in the place for a long time is not there in the voters list of the largest democracy of the world. There are several people who couldn't exercise their legal right to vote and how can we consider the result of this election as a true opinion of the Indian Citizens??

The way ahead would be (a) Decentralisation - the information should be available from the villages to districts and (b) Centralisation - with the help of online technology for voters to verify and update their details. If we just do option (a), it would not serve the purpose for the urban and migrant voters and only option (b), would not help 600,000 villages of India. So we need the combination of both. And most importantly it must be EC's responsibility to ensure that all above 18 years are in the voter list - cross checking them periodically. They must be held accountable.

Voting should be made online in some cases so that the centralised database could be used to add the migrating people. The migrant should be removed from the previous constituency list and added to the new constituency.

In their own interest and as a small courtesy extended to voters, political parties can themselves playing a huge role in ensuring that voter rolls are up to date and mischievous acts like deliberate or selective deletion of voters does not take place. They have the manpower and the resources and it serves them well to have every bonafide voter be able to vote.

Dinesh Kamath's news 'Labour Mela at Kharghar on 1 May' that was published in Newsband

Labour Mela at Kharghar on 1 May

By Dinesh Kamath

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action [YUVA] Urban has been working on the issues of urban poverty, environment and governance at the city, state and national levels for the last 30 years. They have strived to empower the urban poor by facilitating their organization and institution.

Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) is an initiative of YUVA Urban that was set up in August 2010. The centre runs a labour helpline for workers in distress and has received over a 170 cases since January 2013 on non payment of earned wages. They also provide other services such as health camps, counselling, assisting workers to procure identity cards as well as issue their own I.D. cards, legal aid, assistance in opening bank accounts, movie screening, empowerment by way of forming labour collectives, registration with the Construction Workers Welfare Board and Domestic Workers Welfare Board. 

There will be a Labour Mela organized on the first of May that will be held on account of Labour Day which recognizes the historic struggles of working people across the world in an attempt to empower them and make them aware of their rights.

The special features of the event are as follows:

•        Collaboration with different stakeholders such as government officials, hospitals, labour department, unions, corporate sector and other Ngo's working for the welfare of labourers in Navi Mumbai.

•        Stalls that offer information pertaining to migrant workers about the Construction Workers Welfare Board, Zero Balance Bank Accounts, Labour Helpline.

•        Assist workers in procuring identity documents such as Pan Cards, Ration Cards, Aadhar.

•        Specifically address health issues of construction workers like Tuberculosis, malaria, skin infections etc.

•        Physical examination and free distribution of medicines to workers.

•        Disseminate information regarding skill development opportunities in the construction industry as well as training on safety at their work place.

•        Film screenings and distribution of awareness material to develop concept on various issues.

•        They will also use this opportunity to recognize workers who have been associated with MRC for a long period of time.

The program will be held at YUVA CENTRE in Kharghar from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on 1 May 2014.

Anybody who would like to volunteer at the event may call Maitreya Hayling at 8108139211 or Shachi Sanghvi at 9870370376 at the earliest. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Baru was right in exposing the exploits of PM' that was published in Newsband

Baru was right in exposing the exploits of PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s former media adviser Sanjaya Baru had recently come up with a book which exposed the exploits of the PM. However, the PMO described Sanjaya Baru’s book ‘The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh’ as the “misuse of a privileged position and access to high office”.

The Prime Minister, his office and the Congress party are free to contest Mr. Baru’s contention that his former boss deferred to the wishes of Sonia Gandhi on all important issues. But it is clear that the author has not misused his position to reveal national secrets or endanger national security.

If Prime Minister Singh feels betrayed, as his daughter has now said, that is not a national problem. Dr. Singh’s best revenge would be to write his own book putting out his side of the story. The PMO, while rebutting, should try to give a picture about the rise of Mr. Baru that saw him occupy one of the most coveted media-relations post in the country from a relatively unknown journalist.

MMS's daughter's lament on the author's betrayal of trust is ironical in the context of the greater betrayal that MMS committed to the country, when he had all the opportunity to use his authority to take the right decisions to govern the country and much of the scams and looting of the Nation could have been avoided.

The talk by some folks questioning Sanjaya Baru's integrity and talks of back-stabbing are highly misplaced. There is nothing in the book which talks ill of MMS; rather it shows how he was not allowed to perform by the mother-son duo. Sanjaya Baru was the PM’s man and he is to be equally credited for the only achievement of MMS Govt - Nuclear deal. Maybe he wanted to rub salt in the Congress's wound by writing out the truth to embarrass people who have shown him the door and for not following the party line. Attributing motives to his moves is more out of heartburn rather than of any valid logic.

PM has no morale left to tell he has been betrayed, when he can easily lose the files related to coal mining to hide the coal scam from CBI and letting the many scams to spin out of control. It seems, in politics calling a spade, a spade is a big crime.

What Baru wrote was the truth. The PM was never a political leader who had a real constituency; he was a bureaucrat who obeyed his political masters. The office of the Indian PM is designed for a political leader with mass appeal, not a bureaucrat and a paper pusher. India’s Geopolitical situation, its defense preparedness, its internal security can all have pragmatic policies if the PM is a leader with an ear to the ground and in touch with the masses. MMS was so loyal to Sonia Gandhi that he let her use him for her own ends. He will go down in history as a lackey not as a leader.

Sanjay Baru had every right to write books expressing his view points on matters to which he was privy.  Baru did not stab Manmohan in the back - the latter himself managed to do it by surrendering space to Sonia, by not taking control of his cabinet, by ignoring corruption on a vast scale right under his nose, by avoiding a fight at all costs. 

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Something drastic needs to be done about inflation' that was published in Newsband

Something drastic needs to be done about inflation

Price rise was one of the key issues in this election. The monster is rearing its head. The rising prices of vegetables and fruits is become a source of headache for a common man. The wholesale food prices have also risen.

This inflation only serves to underline the problem of rising prices half-way through the election season, and it spells trouble at the hustings for the UPA government. The current dispensation will be handing over a troubled legacy to the new government in the form of inflation. The coming monsoon will be critical in determining near-term inflationary trends.

The reasons for this inflation are hidden storage, mid agents, irregular distribution and also high-cost government planning. The main reason for uncontrollable inflation is the amount of unaccounted money that is in vogue. Inflation in India will not come down so long as constraints on production, productivity and supply are not removed.

The main problem in supply side constraint is the traders. There are too many of them and every one of them wants to become rich at the cost of common man. They may allow the goods to perish but will not sell at reduced price. The second major reason is the lack of water resource to grow more vegetables and fruits in more areas to cater to increasing living standard among more people. The first problem can be solved by opening more mega stores by either indigenous or foreign investors or both to create more competition. The idea is to reduce the number of traders as intermediates. No doubt this will reduce employment opportunity but this employment is unproductive and against the interest of the common man. The solution for the second problem of more water resource can be found by interconnecting rivers by number of small canals like roads connecting like a mesh, to reach water in every corner and store water in the canals themselves instead of in big dams.

What's needed is sustained investment in farmer education, seed and fertilizer distribution, transportation facilities and the removal of structural barriers that prevent produce from efficiently reaching the dining table.

Food price inflation is also due to bad weather, lack of warehouses, mismanagement and conspiracy of middle men. Whenever prices are increased middle men make the most of it and moreover increase the price violently on the already increased price. First of all, the new government must regulate the management of food in stringent manner and then regulate the middle men. Only good governance can cure this problem.

A number of steps to check inflationary tendencies need to be taken. What is also needed is a strict enforcement of these steps. Apart from accelerating growth and imposing curbs on money supply, we need an effective distribution system. We also need the support of the social workers and other public minded citizens to keep a watch on the unethical practices of shopkeepers. But nothing can mitigate the situation unless the growth of our population is checked.

Dinesh Kamath’s column ‘New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai’ (Son of God, Kanchi The Unbreakable, Revolver Rani, Brick Mansions, Samrat & Co., Tarzan in 2D and 3D and Finding Happiness) that was published in Newsband

New movie-releases in Navi Mumbai

By Dinesh Kamath

Son of God

Son of God is a 2014 American epic biblical drama feature, produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. The film was adapted from the ten-hour miniseries The Bible, which was aired in March 2013 on History channel.

The story is narrated by the disciple John and while it does not strictly adhere to Scripture, the film provides viewers with a realistic depiction of Jesus’ life - from his humble birth in Bethlehem tracking through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.

Son of God is an earnest story of heaven, miracles, and the salvation of the soul, The film talks about magic which takes place in pre-modern, mystical eras; God makes his presence known as floods sweep the earth, water becomes wine, and barren women give birth. Science doesn’t reign here—miracles do.

Kanchi - The Unbreakable

Kaanchi - The Unbreakable is a romantic 2014 Hindi-language Indian feature film produced and directed by Subhash Ghai, starring newcomer actress Mishti and Kartik Tiwari in lead roles supported by veteran actors Rishi Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty.

The movie has an interesting plot. Kaanchi is a story of the inner power of a woman who represents millions of suppressed youth against injustice in the country. It is also the story of an innocent rural beauty and her fight against power.

 Kaanchi is a girl from the mountains who travels to Mumbai for justice. She has the strength within and she takes on an uncrowned king of the country — without a revolver, without a knife. She destroys those corrupt rulers. It’s about youth and woman empowerment.

The music is composed by Ismail Darbar and music director is duo Salim-Sulaiman with lyrics by Irshad Kamil. The film  has songs like Kaanchi Re Kaanchi sung by Sukhwinder Singh, Tu Sab Kuch Re by Sonu Nigam, Anwesha Datta Gupta & Ismail Darbar, Main Mushtanda by Mika Singh & Aishwarya Majumdar, Koshampa by Aman Trikha, Sanchita, Anweshaa & Subhash Ghai, Kaisa Hai Dard Mera by Ankit Tiwari, Kambal Ke Neech by Neeti Mohan, Aishwarya Majmudar & Sanchita, Thumka by Sonu Nigam & Suzanne D'Mello, Hindustan Kahan Hai  by Sukhwinder Singh, Mohit Chauhan & Raj Pandit and Adiye Adiye by Sanchita & Avril Quadros.

Revolver Rani

Revolver Rani is a Bollywood comedy drama film written and directed by Sai Kabir. The film is presented by Wave Cinemas. It features Kangana Ranaut and Vir Das in lead roles and Piyush Mishra, Zakir Hussain and Pankaj Saraswat in supporting roles. The film is a satirical and unusual love story set against the backdrop of politics.

The film has an interesting plot. In the hostile territory of Chambal, the land of rebels, politicians, bullets and blood, you either live by the gun or die by the gun. Revolver Rani is set in this hostile world where there are no friends; only fragile alliances and deadly enemies that aim straight for the head. But sometimes you do not need to take lives to finish your enemies. Sometimes you just need to go for their heart. Revolver Rani is a satirical and unusual love story set against the backdrop of politics. It’s about Alka Singh (Kangana Ranaut), the leader of a political party, and her obsessive love for Rohan Mehra (Vir Das), a rising star of Bollywood.

The elections in Gwalior have just finished and Alka’s reign has come to an end. Her opposition, the Tomar party, have come into power and want to use their new position to take out Alka…but first they want to hurt her. The Tomars kidnap Rohan from Mumbai and take him back to Gwalior with the aim to kill him. They are about to pull the trigger when Revolver Rani turns up all guns blazing and saves his life.

This film shows the viewers as to what would happen if a political giant fell in love with a Bollywood star.

The soundtrack is composed by Sanjeev Srivastava. The soundtrack consists of 9 tracks with Asha Bhosle singing a number Kaafi Nahi Chand which reflected the style of R D Burman.

Brick Mansions

Brick Mansions is a 2014 French–American action film directed by Camille Delamarre and written by Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen and Bibi Naceri. It is the remake of 2004 French film District 13. This is one of Paul Walker's final film roles before his death on November 30, 2013.

The movie has an interesting plot. In a dystopian Detroit, abandoned brick mansions left from better times now house only the most dangerous criminals. Unable to control the crime, the police constructed a colossal containment wall around this area to protect the rest of the city. For undercover cop Damien Collier (Paul Walker) every day is a battle against corruption. For Lino (David Belle), every day is a fight to live an honest life. Their paths never should have crossed, but when drug kingpin, Tremaine (RZA) kidnaps Lino’s girlfriend, Damien, who looks to take down Tremaine to avenge his father's death, reluctantly accepts the help of the fearless ex-convict, and together they must stop a sinister plot to devastate the entire city.

Samrat & Co.

Samrat & Co. is a 2014 Hindi detective thriller film directed by Kaushik Ghatak and produced by Kavita K. Barjatya under the Rajshri Productions banner. It features Rajeev Khandelwal in the title role of Samrat.

The film has an interesting plot. A young, beautiful and rich girl, Dimpy Singh (Madalsa Sharma), approaches Samrat Tilakdhari (Rajeev Khandelwal), a private investigator, with a strange case. Their garden got ruined for reasons that appear natural but are not known; leading horticulturists have examined the fading plants but they have not been able to identify the probable reason. Further, her father's favorite horse died; once again the reason for the pre-mature death remains a mystery. That's not the end; Dimpy’s father Mahendra Pratap Singh (Girish Karnad), otherwise a very strong and balanced man, has been experiencing deteriorating health. All these aspects when combined makes the case sound weird and that grabs the attention of Samrat.

Samrat along with his assistant friend, Chakradhar Pandey (Gopal Datt), visits the huge estate of Mahendra Pratap Singh. As he starts investigating, he discovers lots of mysterious facts. The story progresses when a murder takes place in the house, which leads to a series of events, complicating things for Samrat. Every character around seems to be hiding something. How will Samrat unfold the mysteries? Will there be more mysteries while he is investigating? Will the case be solved?

Tarzan in 2D and 3D

Tarzan (also marketed as Tarzan 3D) is a German and French animated motion capture film directed by German producer Reinhard Klooss. The film stars Kellan Lutz, Spencer Locke, Anton Zetterholm and Jaime Ray Newman. The screenplay is written by Reinhard Klooss, Jessica Postigo and Yoni Brenner. The film is based on the classic book Tarzan of the Apes (1914) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and is one of many adaptations.

The film has an interesting plot. Tarzan and Jane Porter must face an army sent by the CEO of Greystoke Energies, the very man who took over the company after Tarzan's parents died in a plane crash.

The film has Kellan Lutz as Tarzan, a man who was raised by apes from infancy following his survival of a plane crash that killed his parents, Craig Garner as 4-year-old Tarzan, Anton Zetterholm as a teenage Tarzan, Spencer Locke as Jane Porter, the love interest of Tarzan, Jaime Ray Newman as Alice Greystoke, Tarzan's late mother who died in a plane crash along with her husband, Robert Capron as Derek, Mark Deklin as John Greystoke, the late father of Tarzan and former CEO of Greystoke Energies before his and his wife's death. Before their death, John was exploring the site of an ancient meteorite crash, and was on the brink of a discovery. The film also has Joe Cappelletti (voice) as William Clayton, the greedy CEO of Greystoke Energies who sends a mercenary army to eliminate Tarzan and Jane, Brian Huskey as Smith, Faton Millanaj as Miles and Maximilian Nepomuk Allgeier as Pilot 2.

Finding Happiness

The film Finding Happiness is directed by Ted Nicolaou, written by Swami Kriyananda and stars Elisabeth Röhm, Jyotish Novak, Romina Caruana and others.

Finding Happiness is a film that captures a joyful reality. With a unique story directly from the heart and soul of each person who has lived it. Told through the eyes of a New York investigative journalist, Finding Happiness takes us on a journey to see how people can live in harmony, collaboration, compassion, cooperation, peace and love together in a conscious community called Ananda - which means "joy".

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Law should be amended to prevent fractured mandate' that was published in Newsband

Law should be amended to prevent fractured mandate

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has to decide whether to recommend dissolution of the Delhi Assembly or not. Lt. Governor did not accept the outgoing regime’s recommendation to dissolve the House. The rule says that the legislature can be dissolved only after the Proclamation imposing President’s Rule receives the approval of both Houses of Parliament. Both the Houses have approved the Proclamation, but the Assembly continues to remain suspended. The AAP has approached the Supreme Court challenging the non-dissolution of the House and seeking fresh elections.

A fresh election is the obvious way out of the present impasse, but none can guarantee a decisive verdict with any one party winning a majority. The only option will be for parties to work together for a reasonable period of time so that repeated, frequent polls are avoided since fresh election would impose additional burden of expenditure on the electorate.

Having won 28 seats in the assembly, with 8 short of majority, the AAP should have played the role of constructive opposition, allowing the single largest party BJP to form the government. AAP did the mistake of taking the support of Congress, the very same party it opposed in the elections.

Arvind Kejriwal is being criticized for relinquishing his position as Chief Minister of Delhi. But these critics should understand that if AAP continued in government for some more time, Congress would have toppled the government anyway. Also BJP had refused to form government and AAP did not request Congress' support, they offered unconditional support. AAP was not in any tie-up with Congress. It was a wise move to form the government owing to which they got attention from all part of the country. It’s normal that the government which fails to pass such an important bill need to resign. There are many to criticize destructively a small party that formed an year ago, and sincerely trying to make a change, but support the most corrupt parties.

The truth is both Congress and BJP think the sins of each party can be washed away to some extent if AAP is aligned with either one of them. Congress wanted to do so by offering unconditional and uncalled for support for AAP in Delhi, and now some section of BJP thinks to root out corruption AAP should have joined hands with BJP. But AAP knows it clearly both are villains to its core policies namely achieving the true democracy through self rule and anti-corruption.

AAP whose primary motto is to clean this corrupt system would never compromise on the fundamental principal on which it was formed. It can never be power hungry and do whatever it takes like Congress and BJP to stick to power.

People must use their votes judiciously to elect a party or a coalition that promises to meet their aspirations. But a fractured mandate is a reality and we should consider enactment of suitable amendments in the Representation of People’s Act and related election rules to take care of situations like the one in Delhi. Unfortunately our political parties are simply not concerned about such amendments as they are busy indulging in political games to fool the people and to somehow seize power and retain it.

Dinesh Kamath's news 'You Vote, You Win @ Inorbit Malls' that was published in Newsband

You Vote, You Win @ Inorbit Malls

By Dinesh Kamath

(Above) Picture of Inorbit Mall, Vashi

NAVI MUMBAI:  To encourage the belief of ‘Be right and vote for right’, Inorbit Malls take this opportunity to spread the importance of voting. The power of voting can be exercised only if it used.  With the motive to make this voting season more fruitful, Inorbit Malls under its initiative Inorbit connect organizes Vote & Win activity post election.

Inorbit Mall, Vashi will host raffle draw every half an hour for patrons who come to mall after casting their vote. They just need show their voting finger for registration and win exciting prizes.

Venue: Inorbit Mall, Vashi

Date:  24 April 2014

Time:  Post voting 5-9pm

Sonal Chauhan makes Dinesh Kamath feel 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'

Sonal Chauhan makes Dinesh Kamath feel 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Good news: Indian rupee appreciates' that was published in Newsband

Good news: Indian rupee appreciates

The rupee’s recent appreciation to below 60 a dollar is a great news. Indian economy is being viewed much more favourably today. Expectation of a “business-friendly” government taking office in May appears to have influenced foreign investors to flood the stock markets with relatively cheap money borrowed from abroad.

The rupee’s sharp appreciation poses to the Reserve Bank of India a different set of challenges. No doubt that RBI will try to defend the rupee by selling dollars and also by drawing down reserves. It is now reportedly mopping up surplus dollars. While that will increase the size of reserves and provide a kind of insurance against currency volatility, the surfeit of rupees released will enhance liquidity and could be inflationary.

Appreciation of the rupee will lead to contraction in gold imports and a fall in non-oil imports. Policy measures to suppress gold imports cannot last for long since it will lead to smuggling.

Rather than being afraid of appreciating rupee, we have to concentrate on reducing the production costs which will place us in a more advantageous position. The low cost of Chinese goods is mainly due to cheaper production environment. For producing a product, a person need not spend too much on electricity (i.e. hefty electricity bills) unlike India and at the same time need not worry about power cuts. Hence, a manufacturer in China is at a more advantageous position for exports with low production cost and good returns. We have to strive to maintain such a balance.

The real value will be one after elections are over and when new government will be formed. Rupee decline was the gift of United Progressive Alliance to the people of India. So when the UPA is decimated it will stabilize and seek its real value.

A strong rupee is always a deterrent to exports. India must use its soft power to convince other economies to sign more Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). South East Asia alone is a big market and any developments enabling closer ties through FTAs would go a long way in reducing India's trade deficit.

Dinesh Kamath's cartoons based on 'Alooramji' that were published in Newsband

Dinesh Kamath's news 'I will not let You go unless You bless me' that was published in Newsband

I will not let You go unless You bless me

By Dr Jayakar Ellis as shared with Dinesh Kamath

(Above) Picture of Jayakar Ellis

I have read and heard a lot of messages with regard to EASTER but I heard a message on Easter day which though not related to Easter itself still spoke to my heart and I am sure there are lessons to be learnt for everyone from this beautiful message. The message that I am referring to was delivered by Joyce Meyer and it is titled “Interrupting Satan's Plan” and the message spoke about Jacob wrestling with God and winning and the scripture is taken from Genesis 32:22-30.

In this story it is interesting to note that in Verse 24 it says that a Man wrestled with Jacob until the breaking of the day, but by the time we come to Verse 28 we learn it was God and He says “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Now to the interesting part. How many of us ever wrestle with God? How many of us are still struggling with that sickness because we are the ones not doing anything about it? How many of us are still facing financial difficulty and lack because we are the ones not doing anything about it? How many of us have ever gotten alone with God and said like Jacob in Verse 26 “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” Are we that hungry or desperate for God to bless us that we tell God that unless You bless me I am not going to let go.

I have found in my life that persistent asking prayer works when nothing else works. There are situations when nothing seems to be going right and even heaven seems to be silent. In such situations I have found that its works best when I get stubborn and start praying for a breakthrough or a solution to the problem. I will keep this up as long as I can and then take a break for a while and after that break I will get back to praying for the problem again in tongues. Obviously, I will again take a break when I am tired or need a break only to come back to praying for the same thing in tongues and this is something I will keep up till I have breakthrough in my Spirit i.e. an assurance of God’s answer in my Spirit and then I go ahead and stop praying about it and sure enough the manifestation of what I have been praying for comes along very quickly. It is a very good lesson I have learnt about prayer that the breakthrough needs to come in the Spiritual realm and with God first before it is manifested in the physical realm. The other lesson well learnt is that for breakthrough to come you will need to get aggressive and persistent and pray with an attitude of I am not letting go God till I get what I want. I hope today that I am able to pass on the importance of these two lessons to you.

Dearly Beloved, Once you can add wrestling with God to your prayer life then there is no turning back whatsoever. Every mountain will have to move and be cast into the sea and you will have breakthrough into the supernatural with God and even heaven will say yes to all that you desire. Come on in and begin to wrestle with God like Jacob and even God will crown you Prince and Victor over every situation in your life.

Let this Easter enable us to have the privilege of God crowning us Prince & giving us victory over every situation in our lives…

Dr Jayakar Ellis is the founder Editor of a privately run Christian Newspaper called The Christian Observer and also the General Secretary – India for National Christian Council.

Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'There is nothing wrong in being pro-Hinduism' that was published in Newsband

There is nothing wrong in being pro-Hinduism

Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto speaks its political will to be both modern and traditional at the same time. BJP was criticized by many for taking such a stand. But what is the problem in being modern and yet traditional at the same time? The world over communities and countries tend to be so. Don't we see traditional celebrations in countries as diverse as the UK, Italy, Brazil, China, Japan and Thailand while they all constantly embrace modernity as well? Don't we see the Church accept modern thoughts while continuing to be utterly traditional? Don't we know that Change is the only Constant factor in life?

It is wrong to view everything from BJP as communal approach. BJP is being criticized for being too pro-Hinduism. So what if it supports Hinduism. India is basically a Hindu country. Hinduism is in general a very tolerant religion, practices are varied; some people are vegetarian and some non vegetarian. Some pray every day, some don’t pray at all; some visit temple every week, some don’t. That is the beauty and simplicity of this religion.

It is true that the religion has lost some of its unique aspect when events like Babri Masjid, Gujarat riots happened. It showed that there were people in this religion too who would make it extreme. These people should be told to let other religions be what they are but let us show our tolerant side.

Hinduism has been affected by evil empire in the past. Dire poverty and a thousand years of alien rule had much to do with it. Knowing Hinduism is about understanding the core secular values of Hinduism. It is the practice of those core values of respecting all equally and living in harmony that elected Christian-leadership-driven party to power, elected a Muslim popular president. Which country in the world with loud microphones is practicing this equality?

India does not have conflict created by Hindutwa but it has conflict created by modern myths and lack of knowledge of Hinduism among those who profess. Sonia Gandhi meets and calls Bukhari of Jama Masjid and makes an appeal to vote for Congress, it is not communal, however, mention of Ram Mandir Temple and its construction within the constitutional limit makes BJP communal. It has become fashion for intellectuals to criticize everything and everyone who talks of welfare of majority of people of India who are Hindu. With the help of media they try to imbibe their preconceived notions on people's mind.

However, now people are understanding and capable of taking their own decisions. If BJP is moving away from majority appeasement policies like Reservation then it is a very welcome move by the party and should be supported for taking bold decision. Reservation is short cut measure and was meant only for limited years since it has carcinogenic effects on society.

The Congress and the Left are still clinging on to the oft-repeated mantra of secularism. These pseudo-secularists cannot deny that this time BJP has catered to the needs of all the citizens while making its manifesto.