Arjun Sarja files Rs 5 cr defamation suit against Sruthi
Bengaluru, Oct 25: Days after actress Sruthi Hariharan accused him of behaving in an "unprofessional" manner, South Indian actor Arjun Sarja Thursday filed a Rs five crore defamation suit against her.
The actor's manager Shivarjun also lodged a complaint against the actress at the Cyber Crime police station.
Attempts by the Karnataka Film Chambers of Commerce to bring about a rapprochement between the two failed as they stuck to their respective stands.
Kicking up a storm in the Kannada film industry, the actress had accused Sarja of behaving with her in "lewd and complete unprofessional" manner during the shooting of a movie two years ago.
Senior filmmakers such as Ambarish, Sa Ra Govindu, Congress MLA and film maker Munirathna and Karnataka Film Chambers of Commerce president Chinne Gowda were present at the KFCC office as attempts were made to bring the two artistes to the negotiation table.
Sruthi Hariharan and Sarja came there but they remained adamant on their stand and the KFCC could not arrive at any compromise.
"There is no question of compromise because the pain is intense. Not only me, but my family, friends and above all, my fans in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are deeply hurt. I don't want others to be sacrificed like this.
Hence, we have gone to court. You will come to know in the coming days who are behind this campaign against me," Sarja told reporters after the meeting.
Sarja said he has already approached the court and it would be improper on his part to speak on a sub-judice matter.
Sarja's friend Prashanth Sambaragi said a defamation suit of Rs five crore has been filed against the actress.
Unfazed by the police complaint and court cases against her, Sruthi Hariharan too was adamant.
"Our society has stooped so low that if something wrong happens to the girl she is victimised. Why should I seek apologies when I had faced the problem?" she said.
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Delhi LG 'praises' CM Atishi, calls her 'thousand times better than her predecessor' Kejriwal
New Delhi, Nov 22: In a left-handed compliment to Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Friday said she is "a thousand times better" than her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal.
At the seventh convocation ceremony of the Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women here, Saxena said, "I am happy today that Delhi's CM is a woman, and I can confidently say that she is a thousand times better than her predecessor."
While making the comment, he took a glance at Atishi who also addressed the students.
The AAP and BJP have been at loggerheads over a range of issues, including governance and control of bureaucracy. Kejriwal tendered his resignation in September and said he would seek a "certificate of honesty" from the public in light of the corruption charges he faced. Atishi succeeded him as the chief minister.
Last year, Saxena ignored the AAP government's request to allow Atishi, who was then the education minister to hoist the national flag at the state-level Independence Day event.
A row brewed over the issue with the Aam Aadmi Party lashing out at Saxena after the General Administration Department refused to implement Minister Gopal Rai's direction to let Atishi hoist the tricolour in place of former then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who was in the jail in the excise policy scam.
In his speech, Saxena told the students, "As you move ahead, you have four guiding stars. First is your responsibility towards yourself, the second is your responsibility towards your parents and family while the third responsibility is towards the society and nation-building."
"The fourth responsibility is to prove yourself as women who have broken the glass ceiling of gender and stand on par with others in all fields," he said.
Kejriwal had proposed Atishi's name as the chief minister at a meeting of the legislature party and it was unanimously accepted.
When she took charge of the office, Atishi kept an empty chair besides hers for Kejriwal.
Addressing at the event, Atishi reflected on the progress made in the education sector under the AAP government.
"Education is the key to development. Take the example of the US, Canada, or the UK. They provided free education and schooling, and that is why they are developed countries today."
"Ten years ago, when we formed the government here, we saw the same dream. Since then, we have been spending 25 percent of our education budget on improving the sector," she said.
