Senior ips officer takes pledge for early construction of ram mandir
LUCKNOW: A senior IPS officer in Uttar Pradesh on Friday sparkd a controversy after a video clip of him taking pledge for the early construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya went viral on social media.
Surya Kumar Shukla, along with six other people, is seen taking a vow to build the temple in the video. “We Ram bhakts, as part of this programme, take the pledge that a grand Ram Mandir be constructed at the earliest... Jai Sri Ram,” the video showed them saying with one arm raised.
Mr. Shukla is currently serving as Director-General, Home Guards, and the second senior-most IPS in the State, according to the U.P. Police website.
The controversial incident took place during a private function organised in a room of the Public Administration department of Lucknow University on January 28 by the Akhil Bharatiya Samagra Vichar Manch, which claims to be a social organisation.
Though it was a closed-door affair, the title of the seminar indicated that it was held to chalk out a solution to the Ayodhya dispute: Ram Mandir Nirman Samasya Evam Samadhan.
Apart from Mr. Shukla, some Hindutva activists and members of the Muslim wing of the RSS were also present on stage. So was Advocate Hari Shankar Jain, who was in 2014 felicitated by Amit Shah, then U.P. in-charge of BJP, for taking on the Samajwadi Party government for its move to withdraw terror cases. Mr. Jain, a counsel for the Hindu Mahasabha in the Ayodhya dispute, also helps Hindus fight legal cases through his organisation, Hindu Front for Justice.
While the government has sought an explanation from Mr. Shukla, he clarified that his presence at the event was being misinterpreted and the short clip was selectively made to go viral without considering what he said prior to it.
“As a responsible officer, we cannot say or do anything like this. It is being shown as though we are going for a forcible construction of a mandir. This is misinterpretation,” Mr. Shukla told reporters.
Talking about the pledge, Mr. Shukla said the vow was being taken to create an atmosphere of communal harmony and not for the construction of the Ram Mandir.
He said he attended the seminar as it was being held for an intellectual discussion on how to resolve the “Ram Mandir issue peacefully”.
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'I am calling it off': Arijit Singh retires from playback singing
New Delhi (PTI): "I am calling it off, it was a wonderful journey," said Arijit Singh on Tuesday, announcing that he will not be taking up any new assignments as a playback singer, a decision that sent shockwaves across his fan base.
In a message shared on his social media pages, Singh said he has decided to step away from playback singing, a move that comes at the peak of his career as one of the most popular and in-demand voices in Hindi cinema.
“Hello, Happy New Year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not going to be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey,” he wrote.
The 38-year-old, however, clarified that he would continue to make music independently and complete existing commitments.
“God has been really kind to me. I am a fan of good music and in future will be learning more and do more on my own as a small little artist. Thanks again for all your support. I still have to finish some pending commitments, will finish them. So you might get some releases this year. Just to be clear that I won’t stop making music,” he added.
While Singh did not elaborate on the reasons behind his decision, the announcement was met with disbelief with many fans expressing their dismay in the comments section.
"Too soon sir, can’t be real," wrote one user.
Another person said, "This cannot be true."
"Arreey but whyyyyyy ??????? Why are you doing this to us ??? Please don’t go man. We need you for atleast 20 more years," read a comment.
Singh's rise in the Indian music industry has been nothing short of meteoric.
He started out as a contestant on reality show “Fame Gurukul” in 2005 and made his playback debut in 2011 with “Phir Mohabbat” from the Emraan Hashmi-starrer "Murder 2".
He broke into the big league with the soulful hit “Tum Hi Ho” from “Aashiqui 2” in 2013. The success of the song made him a household name.
After that, Singh quickly became the voice of many moods, be it love, heartbreak or happiness. He went on to deliver a string of chartbusters such as “Channa Mereya”, “Agar Tum Saath Ho”, “Raabta”, “Kesariya”, “Gerua”, “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” and "Chaleya".
Over the years, he has lent his voice to nearly all of Hindi cinema’s leading stars -- from superstars Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan to actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.
Singh recorded songs in multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi, and collaborated with leading composers and filmmakers.
His work earned him numerous Filmfare Awards, including multiple Best Male Playback Singer honours.
In July last year, Singh edged past global pop stars Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran to emerge the most followed artist on music streaming platform Spotify with 151 million followers.
