Page 1015 - Politics
Mamata in Communist garb : BJP journo nominee (IANS Interview)
A renowned journalist, he once greatly admired Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and penned a large number of op-ed pieces and columns eulogising the leader for her relentless fight against the then firmly entrenched communist rulers in West Bengal.
Mumbai's Joint CP Bharti transferred on EC's order
Mumbai's Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Deven Bharti was transferred on Sunday after the Election Commission (EC) asked the Maharashtra government to shift him, an official said. Bharti became the city's joint commissioner of police (law and order) in April 2015 and was the longest serving officer on the post. The Maharashtra government had earlier sent a proposal to EC for continuing Bharti on the post, but it was rejected. The EC directed the state government on Saturday to shift Bharti following which he transferred, a senior official told PTI, adding that his new posting was yet to be decided. Meanwhile, a search for Bharti's successor was on, he said, adding that the post will be filled soon. The 1994-batch IPS officer conducted investigations in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and journalist J Dey's killing. He was also instrumental in breaking the backbone of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen in the state.
Protests against Jammu and Kashmir highway ban
National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) activists on Sunday protested against the ban on civilian traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on Sundays and Wednesday, with one leader saying it had become a "humanitarian disaster".
BJP candidate hopes to stop TMC's juggernaut in Cooch Behar
TMC is all geared up to repeat its victory run in Cooch Behar Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, which goes to the polls in the first phase on April 11, but a turncoat who defected to BJP may well be its nemesis in the seat. Eleven contestants, including those from the mainstream parties such as TMC, BJP, All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) and Congress are in the fray, but the main fight will be between TMC and BJP. The constituency has the distinction of housing 51 enclaves which became part of India in 2015 after the exchange with Bangladesh. The enclaves have 15,000 dwellers. The seat has a total of 18,09,598 voters out of which 9,40,948 are men and 8,68,632 are women. There are around 18 voters from the third gender. With the seat located on the Indo-Bangla border, infiltration, livelihood for the enclave dwellers and employment for the youth are the main poll issues. The seat is one of those parliamentary seats which will witness a pitched battle between turncoats. ..
BJP nominates SS Ahluwalia from Durgapur
The BJP Sunday announced SS Ahluwalia as its candidate from the Durgapur Lok Sabha seat of West Bengal. In the current Lok Sabha, the 67-year-old represents the Darjeeling seat in the same state. After his candidature was announced, Ahluwalia said he was grateful to the party leadership for nominating him from the seat where he "learnt most important lessons" of his life. "I spent my student days there. I was a student activist in the Burdwan university. And my candidature is an opportunity for me to serve the people of this place," he said. With this, the party has announced 408 candidates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls which will start on April 11 and continue till May 19. The counting of the votes will take place on May 23. The BJP has already renominated Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi and fielded Amit Shah from Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
Those involved in chitfund and mining scams will be put behind
Slamming the Naveen Patnaik- led BJD government in the state over mining and chitfund scams, BJP national president Amit Shah said on Sunday those involved in corrupt practices will be put behind bars if his party comes to power in Odisha. Shah, after releasing the party's manifesto here, said the BJP seeks to build a "New Odisha" by breaking the shackles of the Patnaik-led government, which ruled the state for 19 years. "While corruption was rampant in allocation of mines, chit fund scam flourished because of the protection provided to those involved in corrupt practices. "A large number of innocent and poor investors were taken for a ride. The BJP, after coming to power, will put them behind bars," he asserted. Shah also alleged that the powers of the elected representatives have been handed over to the bureaucrats, sidelining the senior leaders of the ruling BJD. "Bureaucrats are running show in Odisha, they have no understanding of people's aspirations," he ...
Telangana's KCR grooms son as his successor (Dynasty Politics)
Kalvakuntla Chandrashekhar Rao, who revived the Telangana movement and achieved the goal of statehood for the region, is not only firmly in the saddle but is also grooming his son as his successor.
Mamata aiding those who want two PMs in India: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for forging an opposition alliance with the likes of National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah, who recently advocated a separate premier for Jammu and Kashmir, and said Banerjee is aiding people who want two "Prime Ministers in India".
Stranded vehicles cleared as 2-day a week ban on civilian traffic begins on Jammu-Srinagar highway
Nearly 2,000 civilian vehicles, which were left stranded on Jammu-Srinagar national highway following a massive landslide, were cleared as the two-day per week ban on movement of civilian vehicles on the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with rest of the country came into effect on Sunday, officials said. The governor administration last week announced a ban on civilian traffic on the 270-km highway on Sundays and Wednesdays to facilitate safe passage of security convoys till May 31, a decision which was criticised as "anti-people" and "undemocratic" by almost all political parties and cross-section of the society including business community in the valley. The decision comes in the aftermath of the terror attack on a CRPF convoy on the highway in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on February 14, which left 40 CRPF personnel dead, besides another attempt to target a CRPF convoy with a car bomb on the highway near Banihal in Ramban district on March 30. A massive landslide blocked .
Cong removes lines in campaign song after ECI's objection
Ahead of the launch of Congress' campaign song for the Lok Sabha elections on Sunday, the party had to remove a couple of stanzas after the Election Commission of India (ECI) reportedly objected to the lines that explicitly referred to alleged "disturbed communal harmony" and asked Congress to vet the same.The song highlights the party's proposed minimum income guarantee"NYAY" scheme, according to Congress sources.They, however, said that the Commission objected to a few lines after which the party had to replace them. These lines had accused the NDA government at the Centre of spreading hatred and pitching communities against each other.The sources said that necessary changes have been made and both the song and the slogan would be released on Sunday afternoon.The campaign song also mentions the job situation, demonetisation, women's security, GST and farmers' suicide, among other issues.The slogan is -- "Ab hoga NYAY". Congress in its manifesto has promised to give Rs 72,000 per ...
Cong removes lines in campaign song after ECI's objection
Ahead of the launch of Congress' campaign song for the Lok Sabha elections on Sunday, the party had to remove a couple of stanzas.
Linked by blood, separated on political lines (Political Dynasty)
They are connected by family ties but separated politically.
Congress workers thrash photojournalists for clicking empty chairs at TN rally
Congress workers allegedly manhandled and thrashed photojournalists who were clicking pictures of empty chairs at a public rally by the party in Virudhunagar on Saturday.The Congress party had organised a public campaign to explain the party manifesto to the people. The incident took place when state Congress president KS Alagiri was leading the public meet while a few photojournalists allegedly attempted to click photos of empty chairs.Enraged with the lensmen, a few congress party workers misbehaved with photojournalists and began to thrash them.Lok Sabha elections and assembly bypolls would be held in Tamil Nadu on April 18 in the second phase of the seven-phased elections. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.
May warned of ouster if UK forced to fight Euro polls
British Prime Minister Theresa May is being warned by her rebel Cabinet MPs that they will move to oust her within weeks if the UK is forced to participate in the European elections next month and extend its European Union (EU) membership beyond June.
I-T searches 50 locations of people linked to MP CM Kamal Nath
The Income Tax Department Sunday launched pre-dawn searches on at least 50 locations in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh against people linked to state Chief Minister Kamal Nath on charges of alleged tax evasion, officials said. A team of about 200 I-T department and police officers swooped down on these premises around 3 am and some undisclosed cash was recovered, they said. The searches are linked to suspected movement of hawala money during the ongoing polls season and tax evasion, they said. Locations in Indore, Bhopal and Delhi (Green Park) were being raided and those being searched included Nath's former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Pravin Kakkad, former adviser Rajendra Miglani and executives linked to his brother-in-law's firm Moser Bayer and his nephew Ratul Puri's company, they said. Both Kakkar and Miglani resigned from their posts just before the Lok Sabha polls were declared. In Indore, the raids were conducted by a team of officials, who arrived from Delhi, at Kakkad's ...
Thailand: Youth-backed leader charged with sedition
Forty-year-old Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the founder of the youth-backed Future Forward Party (FFP), has been charged with sedition by the military junta here on Saturday (local time).A part of the pro-democracy alliance, the party presents itself as an anti-junta party, according to CNN. Thanathorn is "convinced" that the complaint is "politically motivated," seeing how it comes just a few days after elections were held in the country."The regime creates fear for the society to silence us," Thanathorn said after appearing at a police station here."I urge all Thais and the international community to call for civil rights to stand for human rights for the betterment of our society," he added.It is still unclear which party will be able to form the coalition government following the elections, which were held for the first time this year following 2014's military coup.The police allege that Thanathorn attended a demonstration against the military coup in 2015. He helped a protest ..
India evacuates peacekeeping CRPF contingent as situation worsens in Libya
India evacuated its entire contingent of peacekeeping forces comprising of 15 CRPF personnel from Tripoli after the situation there "suddenly worsened", according to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj."The situation in Libya has suddenly worsened. There is fighting in Tripoli. Indian Embassy in Tunisia @IndiainTunisia has evacuated the entire contingent of 15 CRPF personnel yesterday itself. I appreciate the excellent work by the Indian Embassy in Tunisia. #Libya," Swaraj tweeted.The Indian Ambassador in Tunisia has the concurrent charge of Libya. The CRPF contingent is deployed as the Peacekeeping force in Tripoli, Swaraj outlined.This comes after Eastern Libyan army commander Khalifa Hafter on Thursday ordered his forces, the Libyan National Army (LNA) to take over Tripoli, the capital of the UN-backed government, amid reports of escalating political tension in Libya.Haftar has since been accused of violating political agreements concluded under the United Nations by Fayez ...
Cong releases list of 9 more candidates for Assembly, LS polls in Odisha
The Congress party on Sunday released a list of nine candidates for the ensuing general elections and assembly polls in the state.Niranjan Patnaik has been fielded from Bhandaripokhari, Nalinikant Mohanty will be contesting from Bhadrak, Sitakant Mohapatra will fight for Barachana seat and Kisan Panda will contest from Dharmasala.Rabindranath Kar will be the party's candidate from Salipur, Blbhransu Sekhar Lenka will fight from Mahakalpada constituency, Debi Prasad Mallick will be the candidate from Tirtol, the candidate from Balikuda Ersama will be Laletendu Mohapatra and Satyabrat Patra will be fielded from Nimapara.The party has replaced Smruti Rekha Pahi with Kisan Panda for Dharamshala seat, while Bibhu Tarai has been replaced by Debi Prasad Mallick for Tirtol seatOdisha will vote in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. The state will be voting simultaneously for 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
EU members extremely unlikely to veto Brexit extension proposal: Irish PM
It's "extremely unlikely" that European Union's member-states will veto a proposal seeking another extension for Brexit, said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.Varadkar's comments come just a few days before the EU is slated to meet to decide on the United Kingdom's proposal to extend the country's exit from the bloc to June 30, reports Xinhua.Speaking to a local media channel RTE, Varadkar called for solidarity, patience and understanding between EU members while dealing with the UK on Brexit.He added that if an EU member was to veto Britain's proposal, "they wouldn't be forgiven for it" as that would cause hardships on Ireland, along with Netherlands, Belgium and France.Efforts are on in the United Kingdom to break the deadlock on Brexit, with British Prime Minister Theresa May holding talks with Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to make headway on an agreement which is unanimously accepted by the British Parliament.The House of Commons has rejected the previously negotiated ...
Israel readies to vote with Netanyahu's future at risk
Israelis vote Tuesday in a high-stakes election on whether to extend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long tenure in power despite corruption allegations against him and a strong challenge by an ex-military chief. Bolstered by his reputation as guarantor of Israel's security and economic growth, Netanyahu has spent more than 13 years as premier and opinion polls show that he could well win again. He would be on track to surpass founding father David Ben-Gurion as Israel's longest-serving prime minister if he wins. In a last-minute appeal to right-wing voters, Netanyahu said Saturday he was planning on annexing Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins. The deeply controversial move could end hopes for a two-state solution with the Palestinians if done on a large scale. Netanyahu is fighting for his political life while facing a dual threat in this year's election. The possibility of indictment hangs over him while a centrist alliance headed by political novice Benny .