The festival of colours, Holi, is round the corner. To serve your guests a refreshing drink after the Holi fun is a must. Besides thandai, try out Kanji Vada this time and add more joy to Holi festivities. It is prepared with rai water and moong dal vadas. Here is a simple recipe of traditional Holi drink. It takes three to four days to prepare the drink. So, prepare this sweet Kanji Vada it in advance and relish it on the festival day.

Serves: 20; Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Moong dal 350 grams

Water 5 litres

Salt 5 tsp

Red chilli powder 2 tsp

Rai 4 tbsp (Powdered)

Hing powder ¼ tsp

Oil To fry

Method:

Wash and soak moong dal overnight.

Make a thick fine paste draining all the water in a food processor.

Take it out in a big bowl and beat it for 15 minutes or till it gets fluffy with hand.

Add hing powder and 1/3 tsp salt in it and mix well.

Heat oil in a deep pan. Take small portion of the batter and fry making round balls like bhallas.

Take five litres of drinking water in a big vessel and give a boil.

Let it cool for five to ten minutes.

Add five tsp salt, powdered rai and red chilli powder in it.

Leave it aside to get cool at room temperature.

When it is little warm, put all the vadas in it.

Fill it in a big glass container.

Keep it in sun for four days for five to six hours daily.

It’s ready to drink now.

Kaanji Vada is a delicious traditional Holi drink. Very digestive and fun-filled – it will charge you up even more.

South Korea on Saturday announced it has set up a task force through its embassy in China to deal with the apparent boycott of its products in protest against Seoul's deployment of the Thaad anti-missile system.

The group held its first meeting on Friday with the aim of outlining strategies to protect its companies and citizens visiting or living in China, whom Seoul believes could potentially be under threat, Yonhap News Agency reported.

In response, the South Korean embassy in China has set up a task force to advise its companies and citizens in the country against visiting certain crowded areas and entertainment venues.

Beijing has on several occasions warned that bilateral relations will be affected if South Korea decides to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, whose powerful radars could possibly obtain intelligence data from Chinese military bases that fall within range.

South Korea, which in July 2016 agreed to install the US anti-missile system, has claimed it is a defence mechanism to protect itself from possible missile launches from North Korea.

The Thaad system is scheduled to be deployed this year, and comes as an apparent reaction to North Korea's nuclear tests last year.

In an apparent cultural boycott of South Korea, China did not allow any movie from the neighbouring country to be released on its soil last year. 

Moreover, K-Pop, a Korean brand of pop music, has disappeared from Chinese television since last year.

Hollywood star Hugh Jackman feels Shah Rukh Khan can take forward the baton to play his popular The Wolverine character. And the Bollywood superstar feels he first needs hair on the chest to look convincing.

Jackman has essayed the role of the superhero mutant with a heart of gold in The Wolverine film saga, which started 17 years ago. The actor has appeared as Wolverine in nine of the X-Men sagas.

He has reprised his role as The Wolverine for one final time in Logan. During the film promotion activity in Taiwan, Jackman had said that "maybe Shah Rukh Khan" can play him. 

Reacting to a post by a fan on Twitter which said why she wants Shah Rukh to play Wolverine, SRK posted: "Hair on the chest lady… Need hair on the chest!! Working on it though. Love Hugh and Wolverine."

Logan opened in theatres worldwide, including in India on March 3, and has been distributed by 20th century Fox.

Tripura would supply an additional 60 MW of electricity to Bangladesh, over the 100 MW of power the state is providing to that country, a minister said here on Saturday.

The 100 MW electricity being supplied to the neighbouring country since March 23, 2016, is in addition to the 500 MW Bangladesh is already receiving from West Bengal.

"Bangladesh has sought 100 MW electricity from India to solve its power crisis in the eastern part of the country. India's Power Ministry wanted to know whether the Tripura government is ready to provide additional 100 MW of power to Bangladesh," Tripura Power and Transport Minister Manik Dey said.

"Following the queries of the central government, we have at once informed the Union Power Ministry that the Tripura government was ready to supply 100 MW more electricity to Bangladesh."

"However, Bangladesh has no infrastructural ability as of now to take additional 100 MW of power. Therefore, they would now take 60 MW of electricity after developing transmission facilities on their side," he added.

"During my visit to Bangladesh in February last year, (Bangladesh Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina requested us to provide additional 100 MW of electricity and I instantly agreed on the issue. I had requested her to approach the Indian government on the matter," the minister said.

"Though currently we are supposed to supply 100 MW of power, some times Bangladesh taking 110 MW to 115 MW of power to fulfil their requirement."

A 47-km double circuit transmission line was erected, linking the power grid at Surjyamaninagar in western Tripura to the Comilla power grid in eastern Bangladesh, to supply electricity to the neighbouring country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina, along with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on March 23, 2016, launched through video-conferencing from their respective offices in New Delhi, Dhaka and Agartala, the supply of 100 MW of power.

Tripura Power Minister said that to supply the additional power to the neighbouring country, officials of India and Bangladesh would meet in Dhaka during March and sign an agreement.

Officials of Tripura State Electricity Corporation would also join the process.

The state-owned North East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), under the Union Power Ministry, commissioned the 101 MW capacity Monarchak project in western Tripura (just 10 km from the Bangladesh border).

The central government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has also commissioned its biggest 726 MW-capacity commercial power project in southern Tripura's Palatana, 60 km south of Agartala.

The Rs.10,000 crore gas-based Palatana plant, which supplies power to seven of the eight Northeastern states, is a hallmark of the cooperation between both countries, as Bangladesh ensures smooth passage of heavy project equipment and turbines to Palatana through its territory by road and waterways from Haldia port in West Bengal.

"With the commissioning of Palatana and Monarchak power projects (both gas-based), Tripura already become a power surplus state. If we supply additional power to Bangladesh we would be able to earn extra revenue," Dey added.

Meanwhile, NEEPCO Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) A.G. West Kharkongor arrived here on Friday to study the gas supply problem of the 101 MW capacity Monarchak project, commissioned by the NEEPCO, a mini-ratna company under the union power ministry.

"Due to insufficient supply of gas to Monarchak power plant by the ONGC, the project has been generating much less than the installed capacity," Kharkongor.

"However, the gas supply problem is expected to be resolved in a month or two," he said quoting ONGC officials.

The NEEPCO chief said that due to huge delay in generating full capacity power from the project, the company has already incurred a loss to the tune of Rs.218 crore so far.

ONGC's executive director S.C. Soni said there are "certain technical issues" to supply gas to Monarchak power plant.

"Though we are almost ready to supply required gas to NEEPCO power plant, there are some technical and other issues that are being resolved. However, all these matters would be settled soon," Soni said.

Meanwhile, a Bangladesh government official said here that his government has taken a determined road map to increase the generation of power to a large extent in the near future.

"Our government has undertaken an ambitious plan to generate 24,000 MW power by 2021; 40,000 MW power by 2031 and 60,000 MW by 2041," a Bangladesh government official said, requesting not to be named.

India and Bangladesh had formed a company – Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company limited – to set up a coal-fired 1,320 MW (660X2 MW) capacity power plant at Rampal in the country's southeastern coastal area.

However, some environmentalists and local people opposed against the commissioning of the Rampal project, near Sundarbans in Bangladesh.

During his visit to Dhaka on June 6-7 in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed power supply from Tripura with Hasina.

Modi had declared that India would eventually enhance the power supply to Bangladesh to 1,100 MW.

Brisk polling with a voter turnout of 69 per cent was recorded till 1 pm in the first phase of Manipur assembly election on Saturday.

Manipur Chief Electoral Officer Vivek Kumar Dewangan said 69 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the first five hours of voting.

State Nodal Officer (Elections) W Chandrakumar Singhsaid, "given the circumstances in the state and the nature of voting, turnout is likely to increase after 2 pm."

No report of violence has been reported from anywhere in the state.

"The rise in voter turnout reflected a sense of responsibility among the voters", Singh said.

Rights activists Irom Sharmila cast her vote at a polling booth of Khurai assembly constituency.

Elections are being held on Saturday in 38 assembly constituencies in the first phase.

In all, 168 candidates are in the fray in this phase.

An electorate of 19,02,562 comprising 9,28,573 male voters and 9,73,989 female voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. There are around 45,642 new voters.

Polling will end at 3 pm.

The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, will continue exchanges with the US Congress this year to boost communication and understanding, a top official said on Saturday.

"There are a lot of exchanges between the NPC and the US Congress," NPC spokeswoman Fu Ying told a press conference a day ahead of the session.

Fu recalled her visit to the US late 2016 as an NPC delegation member, saying such exchanges are mutually beneficial and are conducted on an equal basis.

"We should deal with the trade deficit through expanding the trade volume," the spokesperson said, noting many US lawmakers were concerned about the issue.

Fu also stressed that adherence to the one-China principle is an important basis for the stable development of China-US relations.

The NPC's foreign exchanges serve China's overall diplomacy and are tasked with implementing the consensus reached by state leaders, Fu said, adding that the exchanges will help boost foreign lawmakers' understanding of China.

China's success of development path and its prosperity are assured by the Communist Party of China's leadership and the people's congress system, the spokesperson said.

Earlier this week, Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi visited the US, where he had a brief informal meeting with Trump after meeting with several senior officials at the White House, among them National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.

Tripura would supply an additional 60 MW of electricity to Bangladesh, over the 100 MW of power the state is providing to that country, a minister said here on Saturday.

The 100 MW electricity being supplied to the neighbouring country since March 23, 2016, is in addition to the 500 MW Bangladesh is already receiving from West Bengal.

"Bangladesh has sought 100 MW electricity from India to solve its power crisis in the eastern part of the country. India's Power Ministry wanted to know whether the Tripura government is ready to provide additional 100 MW of power to Bangladesh," Tripura Power and Transport Minister Manik Dey told IANS.

"Following the queries of the central government, we have at once informed the Union Power Ministry that the Tripura government was ready to supply 100 MW more electricity to Bangladesh."

"However, Bangladesh has no infrastructural ability as of now to take additional 100 MW of power. Therefore, they would now take 60 MW of electricity after developing transmission facilities on their side," he added.

"During my visit to Bangladesh in February last year, (Bangladesh Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina requested us to provide additional 100 MW of electricity and I instantly agreed on the issue. I had requested her to approach the Indian government on the matter," the minister said

"Though currently we are supposed to supply 100 MW of power, some times Bangladesh taking 110 MW to 115 MW of power to fulfil their requirement."

A 47-km double circuit transmission line was erected, linking the power grid at Surjyamaninagar in western Tripura to the Comilla power grid in eastern Bangladesh, to supply electricity to the neighbouring country.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina, along with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on March 23, 2016, launched through video-conferencing from their respective offices in New Delhi, Dhaka and Agartala, the supply of 100 MW of power.

Tripura Power Minister said that to supply the additional power to the neighbouring country, officials of India and Bangladesh would meet in Dhaka during March and sign an agreement. 

Officials of Tripura State Electricity Corporation would also join the process.

The state-owned North East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), under the Union Power Ministry, commissioned the 101 MW capacity Monarchak project in western Tripura (just 10 km from the Bangladesh border).

The central government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has also commissioned its biggest 726 MW-capacity commercial power project in southern Tripura's Palatana, 60 km south of Agartala.

The Rs 10,000 crore gas-based Palatana plant, which supplies power to seven of the eight northeastern states, is a hallmark of the cooperation between both countries, as Bangladesh ensures smooth passage of heavy project equipment and turbines to Palatana through its territory by road and waterways from Haldia port in West Bengal.

"With the commissioning of Palatana and Monarchak power projects (both gas-based), Tripura already become a power surplus state. If we supply additional power to Bangladesh we would be able to earn extra revenue," Dey added.

Meanwhile, NEEPCO Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) A.G. West Kharkongor arrived here on Friday to study the gas supply problem of the 101 MW capacity Monarchak project, commissioned by the NEEPCO, a mini-ratna company under the union power ministry.

"Due to insufficient supply of gas to Monarchak power plant by the ONGC, the project has been generating much less than the installed capacity," Kharkongor

"However, the gas supply problem is expected to be resolved in a month or two," he said quoting ONGC officials.

The NEEPCO chief said that due to huge delay in generating full capacity power from the project, the company has already incurred a loss to the tune of Rs 218 crore so far.

ONGC's executive director S.C. Soni said there are "certain technical issues" to supply gas to Monarchak power plant.

"Though we are almost ready to supply required gas to NEEPCO power plant, there are some technical and other issues that are being resolved. However, all these matters would be settled soon," Soni told IANS.

Meanwhile, a Bangladesh government official said here that his government has taken a determined road map to increase the generation of power to a large extent in the near future.

"Our government has undertaken an ambitious plan to generate 24,000 MW power by 2021; 40,000 MW power by 2031 and 60,000 MW by 2041," a Bangladesh government official told IANS in Agartala requesting not to be named.

India and Bangladesh had formed a company – Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company limited – to set up a coal-fired 1,320 MW (660X2 MW) capacity power plant at Rampal in the country's southeastern coastal area.

However, some environmentalists and local people opposed against the commissioning of the Rampal project, near Sundarbans in Bangladesh.

During his visit to Dhaka on June 6-7 in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed power supply from Tripura with Hasina.

Modi had declared that India would eventually enhance the power supply to Bangladesh to 1,100 MW.

Irom Sharmila's party- People’s Resurgence Justice Alliance (PRJA) convener Erendro Leichombam was on Saturday attacked by unknown persons in Imphal. Following the attack, Leichombam has been rushed to hospital, reports said.

Voting for the first phase of polling in Manipur is underway. The election covers 38 constituencies in 1,643 polling stations.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed electorates in the state to cast their votes in the 11th State Legislative Assembly Elections.

"Today (Saturday) is the first phase of the Manipur assembly polls. I appeal to voters in the seats polling today to turnout in record numbers and vote," Modi tweeted.

Director Ram Gopal Varma, who has often grabbed the headlines for making tongue-in-cheek remarks, shamed actor Tiger Shroff on Twitter by calling him a 'Bikni Babe'.

Varma tweeted a shirtless picture of Tiger Shroff on his birthday on Tuesday and mocked him in a series of Tweet.

"@iTIGERSHROFF U are great at martial arts but if BRUCE LEE ever posed like a bikini babe like u he wouldn't hav bcm BRUCE LEE..Please think" the director wrote on his Twitter page.

The Sarkar 3 director not only passed an obscene comment on the actor but also made a homophobic rant against him.

Varma tweeted, "Only gays pose like this and not men." The director, however, later deleted the tweet.

Varma's upcoming directorial Sarkar 3 is on its way to the theaters and Tiger's father Jackie Shroff, also stars in the film in a pivotal role.

With this intentional gaffe, one can only wonder how the actor-director duo would deal with the differences created by RGV, ahead of the release of his film. 

Hundreds of thousands of people from Kushinagar and Mau districts in Uttar Pradesh cast their votes in the first four hours of the penultimate sixth phase of the assembly elections, polling 30 and 27 per cent respectively, an Election Commission official said.

Till 11 am, 25 per cent voting was reported from Ballia, 23 per cent from Maharajganj and Deoria, and 22 per cent from Gorakhpur.

Azamgarh, the Lok Sabha constituency of Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav recorded the lowest turnout of 21 per cent. The SP patriarch did not campaign in this constituency.

Meanwhile the second highest turnout of voters were seen in Mau where mafia don turned politician Mukhtaar Ansari was fielded by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Over 1.72 crore voters from 49 constituencies will decide the fate of 635 candidates, of whom 175 are fighting independently.

There are several interesting contests in the phase as Swamy Prasad Maurya of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Surya Pratap Shahi, BJP, Shyam Bahadur Yadav, SP and others battle it out.

While Maurya is contesting from Padrauna, former state Bharatiya Janata Party chief Surya Pratap Shahi is fighting from Pathardeva.

Maximum number of candidates are in Gorakhpur city where 127 candidates are in fray for its nine seats, while the minimum number of candidates – seven – are in Mohammadabad Gohna seat in Mau.

The US has assured India that the H-1B visas issue was not a priority for it and would be part of the larger immigration reforms package that the new Trump administration is working on.

The assurance came amid an ongoing debate in the US and reported moves by the Trump Administration to bring out an executive order to curtail the use of H-1B visas.

"There was a sense that there is a recognition of the contribution of the Indian tech sector. Certainly this is not very much…not a priority of the government. They are concerned with the immigration issue…most of the issues are quite different," visiting Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia told reporters at a news conference here.

"Nevertheless when it is addressed, it would be part of the overall immigration package," Teotia said.

Teotia, along with Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, is currently in the US meeting top officials of the Trump administration and the Congressional leadership.

India has been trongly taking up the case of H-1B visas with the Trump administration.

During their meetings with the top administration officials, including Commerce Secretary William Ross, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and with the Congressional leadership, the visiting Indian officials conveyed that H-1B is a "category of trade and services" which actually helps American economy to be more competitive.

"If the Trump Administration's intention is to bring back American companies to America and attract more foreign investment in America and therefore have more growth in the near term, then it was important growing America remains competitive. So, there would actually be (a) growing need for this partnership," Jaishankar said.

H-1B, he noted, was a trade and business issue and not an economic issue, even though in the US context it was seen as part of the immigration basket.

"What I would remind you that the President himself in his address to the Congress preferred a merit-based approach to the subject. We heard across the board a lot of respect expressed for Indian skills in the United States," Jaishankar said.

"We have certainly made our point quite forcefully both in the Congress and the Administration. We believe it has been met with a degree of understanding," he said in response to a question.

The US has assured India that the H-1B visas issue was not a priority for it and would be part of the larger immigration reforms package that the new Trump administration is working on.

The assurance came amid an ongoing debate in the US and reported moves by the Trump Administration to bring out an executive order to curtail the use of H-1B visas.

"There was a sense that there is a recognition of the contribution of the Indian tech sector. Certainly this is not very much…not a priority of the government. They are concerned with the immigration issue…most of the issues are quite different," visiting Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia told reporters at a news conference here.

"Nevertheless when it is addressed, it would be part of the overall immigration package," Teotia said.

Teotia, along with Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, is currently in the US meeting top officials of the Trump administration and the Congressional leadership.

India has been trongly taking up the case of H-1B visas with the Trump administration.

During their meetings with the top administration officials, including Commerce Secretary William Ross, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and with the Congressional leadership, the visiting Indian officials conveyed that H-1B is a "category of trade and services" which actually helps American economy to be more competitive.

"If the Trump Administration's intention is to bring back American companies to America and attract more foreign investment in America and therefore have more growth in the near term, then it was important growing America remains competitive. So, there would actually be (a) growing need for this partnership," Jaishankar said.

H-1B, he noted, was a trade and business issue and not an economic issue, even though in the US context it was seen as part of the immigration basket.

"What I would remind you that the President himself in his address to the Congress preferred a merit-based approach to the subject. We heard across the board a lot of respect expressed for Indian skills in the United States," Jaishankar said.

"We have certainly made our point quite forcefully both in the Congress and the Administration. We believe it has been met with a degree of understanding," he said in response to a question.

Researchers have discovered a new way of developing painkillers that act only on inflamed tissues, while keeping healthy ones unaffected, suggesting that the severe side effects currently associated with these medicines might be avoided.

When used in an animal model, their prototype of a morphine-like molecule was able to produce substantial pain relief in inflamed tissues without severe side effects, according to a study published in the journal Science.

The team of researchers used computational simulation to analyse interactions at opioid receptors — the cell's docking sites for painkillers. 

"By analysing drug-opioid receptor interactions in damaged tissues, as opposed to healthy tissues, we were hoping to provide useful information for the design of new painkillers without harmful side effects," said Christoph Stein from Charite – Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany.

Opioids are a class of strong pain killers and are mainly used to treat pain associated with tissue damage and inflammation, such as that caused by surgery, nerve damage, arthritis or cancer. 

Common side effects associated with their use include drowsiness, nausea, constipation and dependency and, in some cases, respiratory arrest. 

In this study, the the researchers showed that they were able to analyse morphine-like molecules and their interactions with opioid receptors. 

They were able to successfully identify a new mechanism of action, which is capable of producing pain relief only in the desired target tissues — those affected by inflammation.

The new findings could lead to treating postoperative and chronic inflammatory pain without causing side effects. Doing so would substantially improve patient quality of life.

Researchers have discovered a new way of developing painkillers that act only on inflamed tissues, while keeping healthy ones unaffected, suggesting that the severe side effects currently associated with these medicines might be avoided.

When used in an animal model, their prototype of a morphine-like molecule was able to produce substantial pain relief in inflamed tissues without severe side effects, according to a study published in the journal Science.

The team of researchers used computational simulation to analyse interactions at opioid receptors — the cell's docking sites for painkillers. 

"By analysing drug-opioid receptor interactions in damaged tissues, as opposed to healthy tissues, we were hoping to provide useful information for the design of new painkillers without harmful side effects," said Christoph Stein from Charite – Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany.

Opioids are a class of strong pain killers and are mainly used to treat pain associated with tissue damage and inflammation, such as that caused by surgery, nerve damage, arthritis or cancer. 

Common side effects associated with their use include drowsiness, nausea, constipation and dependency and, in some cases, respiratory arrest. 

In this study, the the researchers showed that they were able to analyse morphine-like molecules and their interactions with opioid receptors. 

They were able to successfully identify a new mechanism of action, which is capable of producing pain relief only in the desired target tissues — those affected by inflammation.

The new findings could lead to treating postoperative and chronic inflammatory pain without causing side effects. Doing so would substantially improve patient quality of life.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming film Padmavati will not get a release in Rajasthan till it is shown to the Rajput community leaders, a state minister has said.

The film had courted controversy in the state with members of a Rajput group, Karni Sena, holding protests against the film starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, alleging distortion of historical facts by the filmmaker.

Addressing a protest organised by Savarna Adhikar Aarakshan Manch near the assembly building here yesterday, Energy Minister Pushpendra Singh had assured a section of the Rajput community that the film will not be released in the state.

"We will not allow the release of the film in Rajasthan till it is screened to our community members," the minister had told the gathering.

A complete ban on the upcoming film in Rajasthan, quota for economically backward upper castes, including Rajputs, Brahmans and others, formation of a board for upper castes, a CBI probe into the murder of a Rajput community member — Chatur Singh Sodha in Jaisalmer — were the demands of the protesters who were led by national president of Shree Rastriya Rajput Karni Sena Sukhdev Singh.

Shree Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena is an offshoot of Karni Sena which had hit headlines sometime back for staging protest against Bhansali's film.

In January, Bhansali and his crew had cancelled the shooting of Padmavati here in the wake of assault on him and vandalism on the sets of the movie by a Rajput group that has triggered outrage in the film industry.

Bhansali was roughed up by members of a Rajput community group, who had also stopped the shooting of the film by damaging the set at Jaigarh Fort, alleging that the director was "distorting facts" in the movie which is about Alauddin Khilji's obsession with Rani Padmavati.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming film Padmavati will not get a release in Rajasthan till it is shown to the Rajput community leaders, a state minister has said.

The film had courted controversy in the state with members of a Rajput group, Karni Sena, holding protests against the film starring Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, alleging distortion of historical facts by the filmmaker.

Addressing a protest organised by Savarna Adhikar Aarakshan Manch near the assembly building here yesterday, Energy Minister Pushpendra Singh had assured a section of the Rajput community that the film will not be released in the state.

"We will not allow the release of the film in Rajasthan till it is screened to our community members," the minister had told the gathering.

A complete ban on the upcoming film in Rajasthan, quota for economically backward upper castes, including Rajputs, Brahmans and others, formation of a board for upper castes, a CBI probe into the murder of a Rajput community member — Chatur Singh Sodha in Jaisalmer — were the demands of the protesters who were led by national president of Shree Rastriya Rajput Karni Sena Sukhdev Singh.

Shree Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena is an offshoot of Karni Sena which had hit headlines sometime back for staging protest against Bhansali's film.

In January, Bhansali and his crew had cancelled the shooting of Padmavati here in the wake of assault on him and vandalism on the sets of the movie by a Rajput group that has triggered outrage in the film industry.

Bhansali was roughed up by members of a Rajput community group, who had also stopped the shooting of the film by damaging the set at Jaigarh Fort, alleging that the director was "distorting facts" in the movie which is about Alauddin Khilji's obsession with Rani Padmavati.