STILL FEEL PAIN BUT I FORGIVE: RAHUL ON FATHER’S KILLERS
Nearly 30 years after his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was blown to pieces by an LTTE suicide bomber at an election rally in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he has forgiven those responsible for the barbaric crime. Interacting with the students of Bharathidasan Government College for Women in poll-bound Puducherry, Rahul still felt tremendous pain, though.
When a girl asked him what his feelings were towards the LTTE, he said, “I don’t have anger towards anybody. Of course, I lost my father and for me it was a very difficult time. It is like someone has cut your heart out. I felt tremendous pain. But I don’t feel angry. I don’t feel any hatred. I forgive.” He added, “if someone of you have lost your father, you will understand it.”
His remarks were significant as it comes against the backdrop of a growing political demand in Tamil Nadu to release the 7 life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Recently, Governor Banwarilal Purohit had informed the Supreme Court only the President could act on a Tamil Nadu Cabinet decision to release the convicts. While the Congress’ ally DMK has also been insisting on their release, State Congress leaders have been cautious,
saying it was for law to decide on it.
When a student asked him how he was into politics despite losing his father and grandmother Indira Gandhi (former PM) to assassins, Rahul responded saying violence cannot take away anything from you.
“Understand something... violence cannot take away anything from you. It does not have that power. You can give up something, but violence cannot take anything from you. A lot of things you
have heard today, they came to me from my father. So my father is talking through me. So, it’s not as if my father is not here today.”
Later, Rahul hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of destroying Puducherry’s development by appointing former IPS officer Kiran Bedi the Lieutenant Governor in May 2016. Bedi was recalled from her gubernatorial assignment on Tuesday night. He termed the move belated.
LONDON: UK's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, has been admitted to hospital as a precautionar y measure af ter feeling unwell, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday. "The Duke's admission is a precautionar y measure, on the advice of His Royal Highness's Doctor, af ter feeling unwell," the palace's statement said as quoted by CNN.
The stage is set for yet another action before the real actions begins, as the franchises will gather at the hotel in Chennai on Thursday in their attempts to make their respective teams better in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier league which is likely to be held in India.
Among the many who would be closely watched will be Australian Glenn Maxwell who is expected to be a hot favourite, along with England's spin bowling allrounder Moeen Ali during a condensed IPL players auction here.
A total of 292 players have been enlisted for the shortened auctions, 164 Indian and 125 overseas, besides three associate players who will come under the hammer.
With 61 slots across eight franchises up for grabs, Royal Challengers Bangalore has the maximum, 11 vacancies, to fill with a purse of Rs 35.4 crore while Sunrisers
Hyderabad has only three slots available with Rs 10.75 crore in its kitty.
The highest purse available is with Anil Kumble coached Punjab Kings, formerly Kings XI Punjab, which has Rs 53.20 crore available for spending on nine spots.
With the IPL back in India after being held in the UAE last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focus will be on big-hitters as well as slow bowlers, Maxwell and Moeen.
However, Maxwell averages 22 in the tournament, having played 82 matches for his 1505 runs. He last played for Punjab.
Moeen, on the other hand, was seen in action for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the previous season.
While Maxwell and his former skipper Steve Smith are both in the highest bidding category of Rs 2 crore, one name that will surely attract attention is world's No.1 ranked T20 batsman Dawid Malan from England.
A strike-rate of nearly 150 in 19 T20 Internationals has catapulted Malan into limelight and a few teams may like to raise their bids for the 33-year-old with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore.
ACROSS
1 Brazilian dance (5)
4 Definitely not heroes (7) 8 Spiteful hostility (7)
9 Untidy or dirty (5) 10 Flow back (3) 12 Lorre role (4) 15 Red, white and ..... (4)
16 South American countr y (6) 17 Abolished Indian custom (4) 19 Verve (4)
21 City in Maharashtra - "signal" broken ? (6) 22 Everyone (4) 23 Wolverine, Magneto, etc (1-3) 25 ___ Kapital : Karl Marx's magnum opus (3) 28 Muse of poetry (5) 29 Unit of electric charge (7) 30 Passage across (7) 31 Defiles (5)
DOWN
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3 In a while (4) 4 Remedy (4) 5 Uterus (4) 6 Cattle-lif ter (7) 7 "Gypsy" composer (5)
11 Card game (6) 13 Kimono sash (3) 14 Great desert (6)
18 Organ composition (7) 19 Jazzman Beiderbecke (3) 20 One-volume collection (7) 22 Make an effort (5) 24 New Zealand indigene (5) 25 Canines (4) 26 Move off hastily (4)
27 Tea holders (4)