Ashutosh Rana Backs Naseeruddin Shah: "We Should Listen To Him, Think"
NEW DELHI: Actor Ashutosh Rana has come out in support of Naseeruddin Shah, who is facing a backlash over his comments on mob violence in the country and also protests by right-wing groups. Ashutosh Rana said people should be able to speak their mind without fear or "social trial".
"Everyone should have a right to share their thoughts with their friends or other people without any fear. If our brothers or friends say something, we should not just listen to them but also think about it," Ashutosh Rana told reporters.
"If someone is speaking his mind and there is a debate, will it improve the country's economic situation," he added.
In an interview aired by a non-profit Karwan-e-Mohabbat last week, Naseeruddin Shah, 68, had said there were places in the country where the death of a cow is given more importance than that of a policeman. "There is complete impunity for those who take law into their own hands," he had said, apparently referring to the killing of a police officer in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandhsharh earlier this month in mob frenzy over the killing of cows.
"I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow if a mob surrounds them and asks, 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?' they will have no answer. It worries me that I don't see the situation improving anytime soon" he added.
Naseeruddin Shah was instantly targeted by right wing groups; some asked him to leave the country. The Navnirman Sena booked him a one-way ticket to Pakistan and Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey likened him to a character he had played in the 1999 movie "Sarfarosh".
The veteran actor's keynote address at the Ajmer LitFest on Friday evening was cancelledamid protests by right wing groups including the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.
The UP administration has been criticized over its response to the killing of police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh on December 3 by a mob that went wild over the discovery of cow carcasses. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in a meeting with senior officials just after the policeman's murder, ordered strict action against those behind the cow carcasses.
courtesy: ndtv.com
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Bridge portion collapses on Jammu outskirts; 3-4 labourers feared trapped, 1 rescued
Jammu (PTI): A portion of a small bridge collapsed in the Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Friday, trapping at least three to four labourers under the debris, while one injured worker was rescued, official sources said.
Authorities have closed the road link following the collapse of the portion of the bridge.
The incident occurred when labourers were carrying out repair work on a retaining wall near the bridge that was damaged in last year's flash floods, the sources said.
According to the sources, a section of the bridge suddenly gave way, burying workers engaged at the site under the rubble.
Police, Army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams launched rescue operations to extricate those buried under the debris. They pulled out one injured labourer and shifted him to a hospital, the sources said.
Family members of the labourers present at the site said around six workers engaged at the site at the time of the incident came under the debris when the structure collapsed. The family members said while two of the labourers managed to escape, four got trapped.
The sources said those trapped included the husband of a woman labourer, a mason, an unmarried labourer and a relative of the contractor.
There was no official confirmation on the exact number of persons trapped under the debris till the filing of this report.
The rescue operations are ongoing.
