Grammys leave out Zakir Hussain from 'In Memoriam' section
New Delhi (PTI): Four-time Grammy winner and Indian tabla maestro Zakir Hussain was excluded from the 'In Memoriam' segment of the 67th Grammy Awards, an apparent oversight by the organisers that left Indian fans furious.
The awards ceremony, organised by the Recording Academy, was held on Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Every year, the Grammys pay tribute to industry legends who passed away in the year gone by in its 'In Memoriam' montage.
Hussain, who became the first musician from India to receive three Grammys at last year's Grammys, died on December 15 from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in a San Francisco hospital. He was 73.
A section of social media users were not happy and wrote posts tagging the Recording Academy on microblogging site X about the omission.
"How come no mention of Zakir Hussain in Grammy obituary #Grammys2025 he was a winner last year (sic)" wrote one on X.
"Big miss. I didn't see @RecordingAcad mention Zakir Hussain in the memoriam section. #GRAMMYs," said another.
"Shame not to see 4 time winner and multiple times nominee Zakir Hussain in the Grammy tribute to artists lost recently. Real shame. SVP #GRAMMYs #Grammys2025 #ZakirHussain @RecordingAcad," read another post.
During the live event, the Grammys honoured musicians such as Liam Payne, Kris Kristofferson, Cissy Houston, Tito Jackson, Joe Chambers, Jack Jones, Mary Martin, Marianne Faithfull, Seiji Ozawa, and Ella Jenkins.
Singer Chris Martin, fresh from the India leg of his band Coldplay's world tour 'Music of the Spheres', performed the 'In Memoriam tribute' with guitarist Grace Bowers.
Comedian Trevor Noah hosted 2025 Grammys, marking his fifth consecutive stint as the emcee.
The 2025 Grammys are streaming live on Disney+ Hotstar in India.
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Prez nod for FIR against AAP's Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain in Rs 2,000-cr classroom 'scam'
New Delhi, Mar 13 (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu has given her approval for the registration of an FIR against AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in an alleged scam of Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools, sources said.
In 2022, the Delhi government's vigilance directorate recommended a probe into the alleged scam and submitted a report to the chief secretary.
The President has given her approval for registering the FIR against Sisodia and Jain in connection with the alleged scam during their tenures as ministers in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, the sources said.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in a report dated February 17, 2020, highlighted "glaring irregularities" in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools by the Public Works Department (PWD).
The President's approval came under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act that pertains to "enquiry or inquiry or investigation of offences relatable to recommendations made or decision taken by public servant in discharge of official functions or duties".
Reacting to the development, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP of carrying out a witch-hunt against its political rivals.
The BJP has no interest or intention to fulfil the promises it made to the people of Delhi. Its only agenda is to carry out a witch-hunt against its political rivals to stifle the voice of people, the former minister said in a statement.
The BJP-led central government has already decided to prosecute every political adversary of the party and grant approvals to move the case forward but it should wait for the judicial process to begin, he said.
In July 2019, BJP leader Harish Khurana and then AAP rebel MLA Kapil Mishra, now a minister in the Delhi government, lodged a police complaint about the alleged scam.
According to a report prepared by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Delhi government, the complainants alleged that there was a scam worth over Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms and school buildings in Delhi. The work was done at a highly inflated cost by the Delhi government.
The alleged scam involves the construction of around 12,748 classrooms.
The ACB report said the total expenditure incurred for constructing the classrooms and school buildings was around Rs 2,892.65 crore. They were allegedly constructed at the rate of Rs 8,800 per square feet, whereas it was common knowledge that the average construction cost (even for a builder of flats) was around Rs 1,500 per square feet.
The total cost for constructing a classroom and school building, according to the tender awarded, was allegedly around Rs 24.86 lakh per room, whereas such rooms are easily constructed in Delhi at around Rs 5 lakh per room, it said.
The prices were increased almost five times to defraud the taxpayer by siphoning off money from the public exchequer in the garb of construction cost, the report said.
Even for a 5-star hotel, top ultra-luxury quality construction is around Rs 5,000 to Rs 5,500 per square feet, it said.
The complainants submitted a copy of documents in which information received under the RTI Act in respect of the construction of 18 classrooms in the Govt Girls Senior Secondary School, Nathupura, Burari (school ID:-1207111) revealed that they were constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore, the ACB report said.
