Page 1000 - Politics
AAP to fare better in LS polls this time, says Mann; dubs PDA as 'Personal Democratic Alliance
The Aam Aadmi Party's Lok Sabha poll performance in Punjab will be better this time compared to the 2014 elections, claimed party MP Bhagwant Mann, while dubbing the Punjab Democratic Alliance as 'Personal Democratic Alliance'. The Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) includes the Punjabi Ekta Party (PEP) and the Navan Punjab led by suspended AAP leaders Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Dharamvira Gandhi respectively, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Lok Insaaf Party, the CPI, and Revolutionary Marxist Party of India. The alliance has fielded candidates in nine of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. Alleging that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was facing public anger over the 2015 sacrilege incidents and subsequent police firings, and the Congress was reneging on its poll promises, Mann claimed that Punjab voters will support AAP, the state's principal opposition party, in the general elections. The 45-year-old MP from Sangrur said, "Our performance in the Lok Sabha polls will be better than the ..
'Ideology based reunification of Left to be discussed after LS
: Senior communist leader and Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam Monday rekindled the idea of "ideology based reunification" of the CPI and the CPI(M) to carry on its fight against the 'divisive agenda' of Sangh Parivar politics. His remarks come in the backdrop of the Left parties facing a tough fight in its former citadels West Bengal and Tripura and facing unprecedented challenges in its South Indian stronghold Kerala in the Lok Sabha polls. Viswam said leaders of both parties would discuss the issue of "ideological, organisational and political reunification" of CPI and CPI(M) after the General Elections. "We have faced setbacks in our history. But we have made comebacks too. A strong unified Communist force is required to counter the RSS and threat of fascism," Viswam, who is also the national executive committee member of the CPI, told a meet-the-press programme here. To a query on 'unprecendented situation' the Left parties face in the current situation in Indian ...
Shiv Sena welcomes BJP manifesto, NCP calls it gimmick
The Shiv Sena Monday welcomed the BJP poll manifesto, while the Sharad Pawar-led NCP labelled it a "gimmick". NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik also asked the BJP to first give an account of the implementation of poll promises made by it in 2014. Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said her party had been pitching for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and implementation of the Uniform Civil Code. "We welcome the manifesto. Efforts should be made now to construct the temple in the next tenure," said Kayande, whose party is an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra. The BJP has reiterated its commitment towards these issues in the manifesto. Malik said the BJP has been promising "for years" to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, scrap Article 35-A, which says no outsider can own property in that state, and construct the Ram temple but did not fulfil these promises. "Their (BJP) manifestos have been ...
BJP manifesto reiterates Kashmir stand, promises to repeal Articles 370 & 35A
The BJP on Monday reiterated its commitment to repeal Article 370, which given Jammu and Kashmir a special status, and Article 35A, which allows the state's legislature to define permanent residents, and pledged in its manifesto to work towards ensuring return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley. Stating that the party is committed to overcome all obstacles that come in the way of the state's development and to provide adequate financial resources to all its regions, the BJP said in its manifesto that its position since the erstwhile Jan Sangh days has been for abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India. The saffron party also said it is committed to annulling Article 35A, which it said was "discriminatory" against non-permanent residents and women of Jammu and Kashmir. "We believe that Article 35A is an obstacle in the development of the state," the BJP said in its manifesto titled 'Sankalp Patra', released here by top party leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi ...
Rahul, Priyanka's rallies in western UP cancelled due to bad weather
The programmes of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, scheduled to be held on Monday, have been cancelled at all three places due to bad weather, said Congress's candidate from Saharanpur, Imran Masood.Rahul and his sister Priyanka were expected to address three rallies jointly in Shamli, Bijnor and Saharanpur, along with Jyotiraditya Scindia who is in charge of Uttar Pradesh west. "For now the programme has been cancelled at all three places due to bad weather. We are planning Priyanka ji's roadshow tomorrow," Masood said while speaking to media persons.Polling in Shamli, Bijnor and Saharanpur is scheduled to be held in the first phase on April 11.Since campaigning will end on April 9, the party had planned a mega show on April 8 where its recently announced NYAY scheme, issues related to women's safety and sugarcane farmers were to be highlighted, party sources said.Seven-phase elections in the ...
Stage set for TDP-YSRCP battle in Andhra Pradesh (Curtain Raiser)
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is locked in a fierce battle for power with the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) as the stage is set for single-phase polling for simultaneous elections to 175-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly and for 25 Lok Sabha seats on April 11.
Abrogating Article 370 will pave way for 'freedom' for people of J-K: Farooq Abdullah
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday said abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution will pave way for "freedom" for people of Jammu and Kashmir and asked the BJP try joining the hearts and not break them. Abdullah's remarks come on the day BJP released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls in which the party reiterated its commitment to scrap Article 370, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The party also resolved to annul Article 35A of the Constitution, which bars people from outside to own property in Jammu and Kashmir. "They talk of abrogating Article 370. If you do that, the accession will also not stand. I swear by Allah, I think this is the wish of Almighty, we will get freedom from them," Abdullah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Srinagar constituency, said at an election rally here. The former chief minister said there would not be anyone to hoist the national flag in Kashmir if Article 370 is abrogated. "Let them do it, we will ...
LS polls: TRS upbeat on retaining stronghold Karimnagar
The TRS is confident of retaining the Karimnagar Lok Sabha seat, a stronghold of the party since its formation in 2001, in the upcoming parliamentary polls, while the Congress and the BJP hope to breach the citadel of the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led party. It is a clash of the old rivals in the constituency as the sitting MP of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), B Vinod Kumar, had defeated Ponnam Prabhakar of the Congress in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Five years later, Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Bandi Sanjay Kumar is hoping to make a mark in the polls, making the Karimnagar contest a triangular one. Vinod Kumar, deputy leader of the TRS in the outgoing Lok Sabha, said the people of Telangana wanted his party to win not just the Karimnagar seat, but in the entire state in the upcoming polls. "The whole of Telangana is one unit. The people of Telangana want TRS MPs in Parliament for the growth of the state," he told PTI. The progress in connecting the constituency with the railway ..
IT raids continue against Kamal Nath's aides
Income Tax Department officials on Monday continued raids at the properties of people considered close to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
BJP reiterates commitment to core issues
The BJP on Monday reiterated its commitment on its core ideological issues - construction of a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and Uniform Civil Code - in its Lok Sabha election manifesto.
Rahul, Priyanka's UP rally cancelled over bad weather
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi's rally in Saharanpur on Monday was cancelled due to bad weather.
Sajad Lone stands by 'Greater Kashmir' after threats
Peoples Conference President Sajad Lone said on Monday that he stood by the English newspaper 'Greater Kashmir' whose staff has allegedly been threatened.
India's first indigenously built Dhanush howitzer inducted in Army
In a major boost to India's firepower, country's first indigenously designed and developed Dhanush artillery gun was inducted in the Indian Army during a ceremony held at Ordnance Factory here on Monday.Dhanush 155mm/45 calibre towed gun system can be deployed in all types of terrains.The Dhanush gun system is based on the designs of the Bofors howitzer which was inducted in the Army in the 1980s and would be the third type of artillery gun to be inducted into the force after the K-9 Vajra and the M-777 ultra-light howitzers.The Army had placed an order for more than 110 of these guns with the Ordnance Factory. The howitzer will help the force to modernise its artillery which had been awaiting induction for over three decades till sometime ago.The gun is equipped with an inertial navigation-based sighting system, auto-laying facility, onboard ballistic computation and an advanced day and night direct firing system. The self-propulsion unit allows the gun to negotiate and deploy itself
BJP manifesto a bunch of lies: Congress
The Congress Party termed the Bhartiya Janta Party's (BJP) manifesto as a "bunch of lies".Speaking at a press conference here, Congress leader Ahmed Patel said, "The BJP manifesto is a bunch of lies and it would have been better if they would have issued an apology letter instead."Patel further compared the cover page of BJP's manifesto with that of Congress'. He pointed out, "The difference between manifesto of BJP and Congress can be seen firstly from the cover page. Our manifesto has a crowd of people, while BJP's has a face of just one man i.e. Prime Minister Narendra Modi.""Instead of a manifesto, BJP should have come out with a 'maafinama' or apology letter," he added.The Congress leader also said, "BJP's manifesto is full of lies and it is up against Congress' NYAY (justice). BJP has been using gimmicks to fool the people and they never fulfil their manifesto.Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "The country cannot trust Prime Minister Modi government anymore." ..
Rahul, Priyanka turned Mahatma Gandhi's fear of dynasty politics into reality: Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday alleged that Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi are turning Mahatma Gandhi's fear of dynasty politics in a reality.He claimed that Mahatma Gandhi wanted Congress to be "dismantled" as he knew that the party would only be restricted to Nehru-Gandhi family.Addressing an election rally here, Adityanath said, "1947, Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) said that Congress should be destroyed or dismantled, he said Congress should be 'Visarjit' (immersed). He knew Congress, in future, will mean only one family.""To make it a reality, bhai-behen (Rahul and Priyanka) duo has jumped into the fray," he added.Adityanath claimed that in the ensuing Lok Sabha election Congress Bijnor candidate Nasimuddin Siddiqui will face defeat and will ensure Congress "ends at zero" in Uttar Pradesh."Congress has chosen a candidate for Bijnor. Who last time made sure that behen ji ( BSP chief Mayawati) ends at zero in Uttar Pradesh. Now, he ..
Congress not scared of IT raids, says Mallikarjun Kharge
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday attacked BJP after the Income Tax department raided various locations including the residence of Ashwin Sharma who is an associate of Praveen Kakkar, OSD to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath."Conducting raids at the residences of Chief Minister's private secretary, secretaries...Congress is not scared of these things. Congress is ready to face challenges but they (BJP) want to win by misusing their power. People will teach them a lesson," Kharge told ANI."Whatever is happening in Madhya Pradesh, it is being done out of vengeance. By threatening like this during elections, Centre is trying to create an environment of fear among our workers. Modi ji does this, so I said ED and IT department are being misused," he said.Earlier in the day, the Income Tax (IT) officials continued their raids at various locations in Madhya Pradesh.
BJD files police complaint against BJP for 'cheating' Odisha on special category status
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday lodged a complaint against BJP at Kharvela Nagar Police Station for allegedly cheating 4.5 crore people of Odisha on special category status.In its complaint, the BJD also said that it is disappointed with the fact that the BJP has not addressed the issue of special category status to the state in its manifesto, police said.After the BJP released its election manifesto for the state on Sunday, the BJD said: "The BJP released its election manifesto for 2019 Odisha elections. Just as the 2014 election manifesto was full of lies and falsehood, the 2019 election manifesto of BJP succeeds it with bigger lies and falsehood."BJD had posed 15 questions to BJP including "why is the promise of special category status for Odisha, which was present in 2014 manifesto, is missing in the 2019 manifesto of BJP?"Earlier in January, Patnaik had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accord the special category status to ...
US CENTCOM Commander calls on PM Imran Khan
Incoming commander of the United States Central Command (US CENTCOM) General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. called on Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday to discuss on matters related to mutual interests, geo-strategic and regional security in the region.Geo News reported that the talks held between Khan and McKenzie focused on Afghanistan peace process and the Pak-US relations.According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the delegation of the US officials, headed by McKenzie, called on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Sunday, ARY News reported.The meetings came amid reports where Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a statement on Sunday alleged that India was "hatching a new plot and may resort to military aggression" against the country between April 16 and 20.""Pakistan has reliable intelligence inputs that India is hatching a new plot and may resort to military aggression against Pakistan between April ...
Nationalism is our inspiration governance our mantra: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 'nationalism' is Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) inspiration and 'good governance' their mantra while releasing the party's manifesto for Lok Sabha elections on Monday and thanking the people for their support during 5 years of BJP rule at the centre.PM Modi said that five years of experience and success of the BJP government at the centre had helped create this manifesto. He was speaking at the launch of BJP's manifesto from party headquarters located at Deen Dayal Upadhaya Marg, New Delhi."Nationalism is our inspiration, uplifting the weak our vision and governance our mantra," said PM Modi."To develop India, development has to be made into a mass movement, and a successful result of that is 'swacchta', today 'swachhta' is a mass movement," he said."Our society is multi-cultural and there is no one shoe fits all kind of a solution. That's exactly why we have tried to include multi-layered routes to development in our manifesto," said PM Modi, "We ...
BJP manifesto seeks to fast-track development: Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party's election manifesto, 'Sankalp Patra', has been made with a focus to expedite India's development.Speaking at the launch of the manifesto here, he said: "The manifesto has not been prepared with the mindset of the "tukde tukde gang", instead it has been prepared with rationality and discussions with a committee headed by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh."The FM said that this manifesto has been made under conditions that are different from that of 2014. "There was corruption in 2014 and the government was paralysed. Today the environment is entirely different and this (new) government will be built on the good work done in the last five years," he said expressing confidence in his party coming back to power.Talking about India's new security doctrine, he said that terrorism will be dealt with using an iron hand. "We reject all ideas of Balakanisation of India," he said.Praising the upward trajectory of ..