Page 1028 - Politics

People have to choose between honest and corrupt govts: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said people have to decide whether they want to choose an honest and principled government committed to development of all, or a corrupt and unprincipled one. "This time lotus will bloom in Odisha. The BJP will taste victory. I can say with certainty that maximum number of lotuses will bloom in the state," Modi said at a rally in tribal-dominated Sundargarh. Similarly, the BJP will again come to power at the Centre as the country needs a strong and decisive government to ensure national security as well as speedy development, the prime minister said. Hitting out at the BJD government in Odisha, the prime minster said its intentions are not good and the 2019 polls are significant for the future of Odisha as well as country. On the 39th foundation day of the BJP, Modi said, "The party was born out of sweat of its workers, not dynasty or money. It came into being and grew manifold with the sweat and labour of its workers." Asserting that the BJP all .

Please maintain decorum while speaking: Sushma to Rahul

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj on Saturday asked Congress President Rahul Gandhi to maintain decorum in his speeches following his remarks on BJP veteran L.K. Advani.

Couple injured in Pakistani firing along LoC in J-K's Rajouri

A couple was injured Saturday in Pakistani firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, officials said. Sanjeev Kumar, 32, and his wife Rita Kumari, 28, were hit by bullets inside their house during unprovoked firing by Pakistan in the Kalal area of Nowshera sector around 2.30 am, they said. The officials said both the injured were immediately evacuated to a hospital and their condition was stated to be stable. Pakistani troops resorted to small arms firing which was retaliated by the Indian Army, they said, adding the cross-border firing lasted for a brief period. The officials said there was no report of ceasefire violation from any other sector along the LoC in Rajouri and the nearby Poonch district. Ten persons, including four security personnel, have been killed and nearly 45 others, mostly civilians, injured in the twin districts since India's preemptive air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Balakot on February 26 in response to the ..

No cakewalk for V.K. Singh in Ghaziabad (Constituency Profile)

It was once known as the badlands on the eastern fringes of the national where only the brave stirred after dark. Then came roads, industries, a railway junction, educational institutes, shopping complexes, Metro connectivity and even condominiums, so much so that it has become the preferred residential destination of Noida's young upwardly mobile brigade.

Maldives vote in crucial parliamentary polls

Maldives headed to the polls on Saturday to vote in a parliamentary election deemed crucial for the future of the island nation.

Couple injured in Pakistan firing on LoC

A couple was injured on Saturday in Pakistani firing on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, police said.

While Guterres tries to broker peace, conflict escalates in Libya

As Libya teetered on the brink of an all-out civil war, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met rival leaders in an effort to broker peace, but left the country with a "deep concern and a heavy heart", while a rebel offensive neared Tripoli.

Pompeo portrays Mar-a-Lago breach as Chinese 'threat'

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Friday said that the attempt by a Chinese citizen to enter the private Mar-a-Lago resort without authorisation is an example of the "threat that China poses" to the United States."I think this tells the American people the threat that China poses, the efforts they're making inside the United States, not only against government officials but more broadly," CNN quoted Trump as saying on a CBS morning show.A Chinese woman named Yujing Zhang was arrested after she tried to enter the resort last week. The resort was purchased by US President Donald Trump in the 1980s. She was carrying a thumb drive with malicious malware, two Chinese passports, four cell phones, a laptop and a hard drive when arrested from the private club.She reportedly made her way past a security checkpoint at the club shortly after noon last Saturday and told security officials she was there to go to the swimming pool."Zhang additionally did not give a definitive answer when ...

Shiv Sena slams Congress, says 'Individual freedom' prevails in India

The Shiv Sena on Saturday hit out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying the latter is 'roaming free' despite publicly making several statements against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Shiv Sena through its mouthpiece Saamna rubbished allegations leveled by the Congress and underlined that "individual freedom" prevails under NDA's rule."The opposition says whatever pleases them, this is not indicative of the death of democracy in the country. If our government came, we will put chowkidar in jail, saying such a thing publicly and yet roaming free, is certainly not the sign of the complete end of individual freedom in the country," read the editorial.Reacting to LK Aadvani's blog, the editorial opined, "Calling people, who question air strikes as 'anti-nationals' is equally wrong is questioning the proof of airstrike."It further took a swipe at Congress and said those who coined slogan 'Indira is India' are today saying 'Modi is not India'.

Shah takes out roadshow in Gandhinagar

BJP president Amit Shah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Gandhinagar seat, Saturday embarked on a roadshow in the city, on the 39th foundation day of his party. Before the roadshow, which started from Sarkhej area of Ahmedabad in the morning, Shah garlanded the pictures of Jan Sangh founders Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Shah asked the people present there to chant, "Jaha hue balidan Mukherjee, woh Kashmir hamara hai, sara ka sara hamara hai." (Where Mukhejee sacrificed his life, that Kashmir is ours, entire Kashmir is ours). PDP chief and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti had recently criticised Shah, saying he was "daydreaming" about abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution that provides special status to the state. Shah set out on the roadshow in an open vehicle with BJP state unit president Jitu Vaghani accompanying him. The roadshow will cover several areas of western parts of Ahmedabad city, which falls in the Gandhinagar .

'Pakistan won't accept repeal of Indian Article 370'

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal has said that Islamabad will never accept India repealing Article 370 of its Constitution that gives autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Will BJP listen to Advani's advice? (Column: Political Circus)

It would have been better if L.K. Advani had given his excellent advice to his party men about their attitude towards other parties before being denied a Lok Sabha ticket.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among star campaigners of Congress

New Delhi [India], Apr 6 (ANI): Congress party's General Secretary for UP East, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, will be amongst the star campaigners for Lok Sabha elections.As per the Star Campaigners list submitted by the Congress Party to the Election Commission, Priyanka's name has been included along with party president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh among others."A request on behalf of the Chhattisgarh Unit has been sent to AICC headquarters, for a road show of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Durg and adjoining areas of Chhattisgarh. The program is currently under consideration, the party's Chhattisgarh in-charge PL Punia told ANI,"We have requested the party for a road show of Priyanka Gandhi in Dehradun and Rudrapur on Sunday. If her office okays the program, then it will be her first election campaign outside Uttar Pradesh," said a senior Congress leader from Uttarakhand.This is the first election in which Priyanka is ...

Dimple to file nomination from Kannauj LS seat

Samajwadi Party leader and parliamentarian Dimple Yadav will file her nomination on Saturday from here.

Modi says Odisha will reject both BJD and Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said the people of Odisha will defeat both the ruling BJD and the opposition Congress in the Lok Sabha and assembly elections to be held this month. "Odisha's election results will surprise the entire country. BJP will win the polls with record number of seats. People will reject both BJD and Congress," Modi said in a twitter post ahead of his election rallies in the state. Modi, who had visited Odisha's Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district Tuesday, will address two election meetings later in the day at Sundergarh and Sonepur in western region, considered as strong hold of the saffron party in Odisha. Assembly elections in Odisha is scheduled to be held along with the Lok Sabha polls in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. Modi's Saturday rallies will follow BJP president Amit Shah's visit to the state on Sunday. Shah will attend the party's 'Vijay Sankalp Samabesh' at Polsara and Bargarh. Shah, according to BJP sources, will again ..

CRPF gears up to ensure smooth Lok Sabha polls

Around 2000 CAPFs companies have been deployed for the ensuing general assembly election across the country to ensure smooth conduct of polls, said a CRPF official.He said, the CRPF has taken charge and is coordinating with State Armed Police Forces to manage and maintain the law-and-order situation during the elections.CRPF jawans were also given training before being sent to sensitive states like Kashmir and Chhattisgarh. These jawans are equipped with Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (B.D.D.S).CRPF is chief force coordinator for election. Companies are deployed as per the sensitivity of the area. Hypersensitive areas generally require one-to-two companies. All the deployments are done by the District electoral officer with the consultation of force.The force is also responsible for guarding of polling booths, escorting polling parties safely to remote areas and back to their designated areas, relocation of EVMs safely and maintain law-and-order in the areas to ensure smooth ...

Congress manifesto gives one signal, fighting Left another (Comment)

Rahul Gandhi's choice of Wayanad as his constituency in south India has set tongues wagging. Is this an insurance just in case there is a shock reversal in Amethi? Since he is fighting the BJP in the company of regional parties, is the Amethi-Wayanad arc designed to give him, and his party, an all India aura?

Tribal dominated Koraput LS seat to witness triangular fight

A Congress bastion for decades till 2009 when it slipped into BJD control, the tribal dominated Koraput Lok Sabha constituency in south Odisha is set to witness a keen triangular contest in the coming polls. An intense battle appears to be on the cards with BJP fielding tribal heavyweight Jayaram Pangi, who had snatched the seat from Congress in 2009 as a BJD nominee defeating veteran leader and nine-time MP Giridhar Gamang. While Pangi is in the BJP camp this time, BJD nominee Kaushalya Hikaka and Congress candidate Saptagiri Ulaka are set to fight their maiden electoral battle in Koraput, where voting is slated to be held in the first phase on April 11. What initially appeared to be a bipolar contest between the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD and Congress has now turned into a triangular fight with Pangi, an influential Kondh tribe leader, hitting the battle ground in his saffron avatar. While Biju Janata Dal (BJD) fielded the wife of its sitting MP Jhina Hikaka in its bid to ..

Praful Patel elected as FIFA Council member, first from India

All India Football Federation president Praful Patel was Saturday elected as a FIFA Council member, becoming the first Indian to enter the prestigious council in a landmark development. Patel got 38 out of 46 votes. The AIFF chief was one of the eight candidates vying for the spot in the election which was held during the 29th AFC (Asian Football Confederations) Congress in the Malaysian capital. Patel was accompanied by AIFF general secretary Kushal Das and senior vice-president Subrata Datta. "Mr. Patel's victory is a "landmark for Indian football". Congratulations to Mr. Patel. He fully deserves this honour. His leadership has taken Indian football to greater heights. Asian football will immensely benefit from his presence as a FIFA Council member," Datta told PTI. The AFC Electoral committee and the FIFA Review Committee conducted the eligibility review on all the candidates. A Al- Mohannadi (Qatar), Khalid Awad A. Althebity (Saudi Arabia), Mariano V. Araneta, Jr. (Philippines), ..

Popular Thai party leader answers junta sedition summons

The leader of a popular new Thai political party that ran a strong third in last month's elections met with police Saturday to hear criminal charges of sedition against him filed by the ruling military junta. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was greeted by a crowd of around 300-400 supporters chanting "Keep fighting, Thanathorn!" as he arrived at the Pathumwan police station in Bangkok to answer a police summons on a complaint of sedition and assisting criminals filed by a junta officer. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of up to nine years. He said earlier this week that the legal action against him is politically motivated and expected. He said he would comment after his meeting with police. Police Gen. Srivara Ransibrahmanakul, deputy chief of police, said on Wednesday that the charges against Thanathorn stem from his role in a student demonstration on June 24, 2015. He said the case had stalled because of several reshuffles in positions of the responsible officers. Thailand