Kovind, Modi greet Lata Mangeshkar on 89th birthday
New Delhi, Sep 28: President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished legendary Indian playback singer and Bharat Ratna recipient Lata Mangeshkar on her 89th birthday, praying for her long life and good health.
"Birthday greetings and best wishes for a long and healthy life to Lata Mangeshkar, who has been honoured with the Bharat Ratna. May her melodious voice continue to mesmerise millions across the world for years to come," the President tweeted.
Calling Mangeshkar as "Lata Didi", the Prime Minister also expressed his best wishes on her birthday.
"Respected Lata Didi, best wishes to you on your birthday. Your exceptional work, spanning decades has endeared you to crores of Indians. You have always been passionate about our country's development. May you lead a long life filled with good health," Modi tweeted.
Born to a family of musicians on September 28, 1929, in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city, Mangeshkar is the second female vocalist after M.S. Subbulakshmi to receive the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2001.
She is also the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke award, three National Film awards and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement award besides many others.
A doyenne among playback singers, her career spans over seven decades.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
