Page 1027 - Politics
By criticizing, PM giving me free publicity: Sharad Pawar
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's criticism of him, saying that the latter is giving him free publicity."When he was in Wardha he talked about me, when he was in Gondia he talked about me. People asked me why it is so, I replied that I am being advertised without paying for it," said Sharad Pawar."Till now he used to target Gandhi family, now he is targeting me. He has nothing to tell to the nation and is tired of abusing others and so he is now abusing me," he added.In Gondia, hitting out at the NCP chief, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "I would like to ask Sharad Pawar, who has been the Defence Minister of the country if he is satisfied with the Congress manifesto? Is he okay with a manifesto which weakens the morale of our forces?"While in Wardha, hitting out at Sharad Pawar for not contesting the elections, he said: "There was a time when Sharad Pawar thought that he too could become the Prime Minister. He first announced that he would ...
LV Subrahmanyam took charge as the chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh
LV Subrahmanyam took charge as the chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday morning.Yesterday, the Election Commission of India appointed senior IAS officer Subrahmanyam as chief secretary.Prior to taking charge of his responsibility, Subrahmanyam visited the temple of goddess "Kanakadurga" in Vijayawada to seek her blessings.While interacting with media, Subrahmanyam said he is "not under any pressure and that his appointment is merely an extension in his 36-year long service".ECI has shifted Chief Secretary Anil Chandra Punetha to a non-election post. The ECI move comes just days after it summoned Punetha to seek an explanation for defying its orders transferring Intelligence DG AB Venkateswara Rao on March 26 following complaints that he was acting in a biased manner favouring the ruling TDP.
Goa BJP furious over letter opposing 'family raj'
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa on Saturday filed a police complaint against a forged letter with a fabricated party letterhead protesting the entry of late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's sons into politics.
Cong grew with help of family, money but BJP on hard work: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday in a veiled attack on Congress said that while some parties are built with the help of family or money, BJP grew on the blood and sweat of its workers.Addressing a gathering here, Modi said, "There are parties (Congress) that built themselves on the basis of family or money, however, it is the BJP which built its foundation on the basis of the blood and sweat of its party workers. Our workers have not only tirelessly worked for the country but have also sacrificed their lives for it. Our workers have been brutally killed in Kerala and Bengal but that too has not deterred them to work for the welfare of the country."Hitting out at the Biju Janta Dal government in the state, Prime Minister Modi alleged that the intentions of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led party are not right."If the BJD had good intentions, the farmers would have got one and a half times the minimum support price for their crops as promised by your chowkidar. If their ...
Congress 'relying on turncoats' in LS polls in Uttar Pradesh
The Congress party is relying on turncoats in the Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, said a party leader requesting anonymity on Saturday.Talking to ANI, the party leader annoyed with ticket distribution said, "In Moradabad, many veterans were eyeing Congress ticket, but an Urdu poet Imran Pratapgarhi was chosen by the party. Congress has been unable to find candidates for the high-profile seats of Lucknow and Varanasi."The leader added, "Congress neglected its own party workers when it came to ticket distribution in Uttar Pradesh and relied on turncoats."The leader cited examples of Fatehpur, where a former Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Rakesh Sachan is contesting on a Congress ticket and Sitapur where a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, Kaiser Jahan, is the Congress candidate.In Shravasti, Dhirender Pratap Singh who was earlier a member of BSP and later the BJP is now contesting from Congress. The party has given preference to Singh denying tickets to former Member of ...
Third Parliamentary polls underway in Maldives
Voting for the 87-member Maldives Parliament is underway in the island nation, with a total of 386 candidates from 10 parties vying for a seat at the People's Majlis for the next five years.President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who came into power in 2018 after defeating Abdullah Yameen in the high-stakes Presidential elections last September, cast his ballot for the 19th Parliament on Saturday. He urged all eligible voters to participate in the third parliamentary elections.His Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) needs at least 44 seats in the ongoing elections to implement the promises made during last year's Presidential campaign. Former President Mohamed Nasheed, who was imprisoned by Yameen, is running for the elections from the MDP.Meanwhile, former strongman Yameen, who formed the People's National Congress (PNC) after his 2018 defeat, is not contesting the Parliamentary elections.However, the PNC, in alliance with Yameen's former party, the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), is ...
Political pygmies to challenge stalwarts in UP (IANS Special)
Chandra Shekhar 'Azad and Amit Jani are relatively unknown entities in Uttar Pradesh politics.
Shatrughan Sinha joins Congress; terms BJP 'one-man show, two-men party'
Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha joined the Congress on the foundation day of the BJP Saturday, saying he has quit the party as it has turned into a "one-man show and two-men army". Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal welcomed Sinha into the party fold and termed him the "best politician who was earlier with the wrong party". Joining the Congress, Sinha said its president Rahul Gandhi is a "tried, tested and successful dynamic leader, who is the face of the nation and its future". He hit out at the BJP leadership, alleging there's no place left for dialogue in the BJP anymore and the party's top brass "doesn't value its own people and views opponents as their enemies". Party veterans are not being looked after in the BJP and are being sent to 'Margdarshak Mandal, he alleged. "In the BJP, democracy has slowly and surely turned into dictatorship. The party has become a one-man show and a two-men army," Sinha alleged. In an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he ...
IUML complaints to EC against Adityanath's "virus" remark
A delegation of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Saturday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his remark on the party.The IUML complained against Adityanath's tweet in which he called the political party a "virus" and Congress "infected" with it.The UP Chief Minister tweeted, "Muslim League is a virus. If somebody is infected with the virus he cannot be saved and today the principal Opposition party Congress is infected with it. Just think if they win then what will happen? The virus will spread across the nation."In a subsequent tweet, Adityanath said: "In the 1857 war of independence, the whole nation stood with Mangal Pandey and fought the British, then this Muslim League virus came and spread in such a manner that the nation was partitioned. Again the same fear is hovering, the green flags are again waving. The Congress is infested with Muslim League virus. Beware!"ECI has already issued a ...
Advani's blog post gave reality check on Modi govt's functioning, says Mayawati
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Saturday sided with the BJP patriarch LK Advani over his blog post, saying it gave "reality check" on the functioning of the "anti-people" Modi government."LK Advani's reality check admonition on the functioning of the Modi government on the party's foundation day is a serious no-confidence against them, besides a fervent appeal to the people that this despotic and anti-people Modi government is unworthy of returning back to power," Mayawati tweeted while taking a dig at the incumbent government.Mayawati's statement comes after Advani in a blog post on April 5 said that the BJP never regarded its adversaries as "enemies" or "anti-national".Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Modi wrote: "Advani Ji perfectly sums up the true essence of BJP, most notably the guiding Mantra of 'Nation First, Party Next, Self Last.' Proud to be a BJP Karyakarta and proud that greats like LK Advani Ji have strengthened it."BJP denied a ticket to Advani from ...
Caste lines favour BJP-Shiv Sena in Maharashtra's reserved lands (IANS Special)
The SC/ST voters will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of candidates in at least 17 out of 48 constituencies in Maharashtra where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- Shiv Sena combine are looking to repeat their 2014 performance when they won 42 seats and wiped out Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
BJP rebel Shatrughan Sinha joins Congress
Rebel BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday joined the Congress ending his decades-old association with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Pompeo 'confident' of 3rd North Korea summit
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he is "confident" that Washington will hold another summit with Pyongyang to further denuclearization talks, a follow-up to President Donald Trumps fruitless meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February.
Lotus will bloom in Odisha, says Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday exuded confidence that the lotus will bloom in Odisha as he targeted the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress for "territorial discrimination".
Thai party leader says he faces military trial over sedition
The leader of a popular new Thai political party that ran a strong third in last month's elections on Saturday denied the criminal charges of sedition filed against him by the ruling military junta and expressed concern that he will be tried in a military court. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was greeted by hundreds of supporters chanting "Keep fighting, Thanathorn!" as he arrived at the Pathumwan police station in Bangkok to answer a police summons on complaints of sedition, assisting criminals and illegal assembly filed by a junta officer. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of up to nine years. "I'm concerned because this case is under the military court instead of the criminal court," he said in a statement to reporters. "That is quite unsettling." He said he was treated fairly by police and added: "There are many citizens in Thailand that have been charged with (sedition under Article) 116 including those that have not received any public attention. The regime creates fear
Top Army commanders to review security challenges at key conference beginning Monday
Top Army commanders will deliberate extensively on security challenges facing the country and ways to enhance its combat edge over potential adversaries at a week-long conference beginning Monday. Sources said the commanders will particularly review India's security preparedness along the border with Pakistan in the wake of changing security scenario following India's air strike on a terrorist training camp in Pakistan's Balakot and subsequent developments. "Important issues that are likely to be discussed are management of the extant security dynamics, mitigation of future security threats and enhancement of combat edge over potential adversaries," the Army said in a statement. It said the conference, to be chaired by Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat, will deliberate on specific issues relating to Army formations and the Army as a whole. The commanders will also deliberate on infrastructure development along India's border with China, laying of strategic railway lines and ways
Maldives ex-leader makes comeback in landmark vote
The Maldives on Saturday held its first parliamentary election since former strongman leader Abdulla Yameen was forced to stand down, with his arch-rival expected to make a big comeback in the vote. Mohamed Nasheed, another former president, is the highest profile candidate up for election for the 87-member People's Majlis, or parliament. He returned from an enforced exile abroad after Yameen lost an election in September to Nasheed's deputy, Mohamed Ibrahim Solih. Solih said he expected Saturday's poll to return a strong legislature led by his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). "I want to stress that I would like the next parliament to be made up of members who are familiar with our policies, and fully support it," Solih told a campaign rally on Thursday night. Nasheed is widely expected to play a key role in the new legislature. He was jailed for 13 years on a controversial terrorism charge when Yameen was in power. However, the conviction was overturned last year after the ...
Venezuela's Guaido calls demo to maintain pressure on Maduro
Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido urged his supporters to demonstrate in the streets Saturday to maintain pressure on his rival President Nicolas Maduro, amid rising anger over the collapse of public services. Thousands of opposition supporters are expected to march through the capital Caracas from 11:00 am on Saturday as Venezuela's power struggle is exacerbated by massive blackouts and the collapse of water supplies. Guaido, recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries, said in a Twitter message on Friday: "Let's remain firm in the streets, this fight is for the lives of all Venezuelans." Maduro, who blames US-backed sabotage on recent blackouts that deprived millions of power, has also called a pro-government march in Caracas, urging his supporters onto the streets for a "March in defence of peace." Guaido said earlier this week he feared abduction by government agents after pro-Maduro lawmakers stripped him of his parliamentary immunity on Tuesday and ...
Guj LS polls: All BJP, Cong candidates except 5 are crorepatis
All the BJP and Congress candidates, except five, who are in the fray for the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, are'crorepatis', revealed the affidavits submitted by them with their nomination papers. Four of the five candidates, whose total assets are less than one crore rupees, belong to the tribal community. Some of the richest candidates from these two major parties include Congress's Mehsana nominee, Ambalal Patel, who has declared assets worth Rs 69.9 crore. BJP candidate and sitting MP from Navsari, Chandrakant Patel, has declared assets worth Rs 44.6 crore. Poonam Maadam, BJP MP from Jamnagar, who is seeking her re-election from the same seat, has declared assets worth Rs 42.7 crore. BJP's Shardaben Patel, who is pitted against Ambalal Patel in Mehsana, has shown assets worth Rs 44 crore. Ramesh Dhaduk, the BJP candidate who replaced sitting MP Vitthal Radadiya on Porbandar seat, has declared assets worth Rs 35.75 crore. Three candidates of the Congress and two BJP ...
Shatrughan Sinha ends suspense, joins Congress
Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha on Saturday ended the suspense over his political future and joined the Congress here with the hope it will provide him with the opportunity to serve people, society, and the nation.