Page 1034 - Politics
Congress leader caught distributing money ahead of polls
Congress Candidate from Saharanpur Imran Masood was allegedly seen distributing money while campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.In a video, Imran Masood could be seen addressing a gathering on Thursday. in between addressing, he took out a bundle of notes from his pockets and handed it to a person.Reportedly, the video was shot through a mobile phone by a person sitting in the audience.However, Masood called the accusation baseless and said, "It is merely bad propaganda by opposition parties. It is my nephew and as I was sick and I paid him to bring treatment."Masood drew headline, in 2014, after he made a controversial comment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He threatened to "chop" PM Modi.Despite this comment, he lost to Modi's wave. BJP's Raghav Lakhanpal Sharma, who has a strong hold over the seat, won the election. Other than BJP, the tough competitor for Massod is BSP's candidate Hazi Fazlur Rehman.Uttar Pradesh goes to polls in all seven phases from April 11 to ..
Modi, ED doing cheap election stunt: Congess
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of "cheap election stunts" to divert attention from "imminent defeat of Modi government" on Friday.According to Surjewala's statement, a single uncertified page of a purported charge sheet had allegedly been leaked by the ED to "divert attention from an imminent defeat of Modi government".The chargesheet filed by ED against Christian Michel in relation to the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal had reportedly been circulated in media."A single uncertified page leaked by ED of a purported chargesheet is a cheap election stunt to divert attention from imminent defeat of Modi Govt. E.D has become 'Election Dhakosla' of a govt manufacturing a lie a day," the statement read.The statement goes on to add that on 8th January 2018 an Italian Appeals Court had acquitted Mr Giuseppe Orsi, former chief executive and Mr Bruno Spagnolini, former head of helicopter unit from any wrongdoing in the sale of .
'PM Modi never talks about development, employment or farmers'
It is unfortunate that PM Modi never talks about the development, employment or farmers, said the Congress candidate from Saharanpur, Imran Masood, on Friday, in a reply to Narendra Modi's recent comment accusing Rahul Gandhi of being close to people who talk of "boti-boti".His comments came after Prime Minister Modi addressed an election rally here today, where launched a veiled attack on Gandhi and Masood stating that while they talk about boti-boti, BJP works towards "Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao".Masood told ANI, "PM Modi always talks about such things in order to divert the mind of the people. He should move forward and talk about the development of nation."Masood also alleged that since he has the support of all the castes in the region, PM Modi, by using such odd language, is "defaming" him.Masood had in 2014 reportedly said that Narendra Modi, who was then a PM candidate, should be cut into pieces.Reiterating his stand, he said that he still stands true to his words.Uttar Pradesh ..
Free yourself from the shackles of a missing MP: Smriti Irani tears into Rahul in Amethi
Textile Minister Smriti Irani, on Friday, addressed a public rally in Amethi. She lashed out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for being absent when the people of Amethi needed his help."The election of 2019 is the election which will decide the future of our children; it is the election of our village, the election of Indians who pride themselves on India. It is the election of Amethi's independence. Free yourself Amethi, from the shackles of a missing MP," said Irani."When Yogi Adityanath formed the government in Uttar Pradesh suddenly the Amethi MP (Rahul Gandhi) remembered Ram temple. I got to know that Rahul ji filed nomination from another constituency, somebody (jokingly) told me he has left Amethi," Smriti said.Irani also termed the Congress manifesto as one which helped anti-India forces.The Congress manifesto released on Tuesday promised significant changes in the laws, like quashing of the Sedition law and amendment to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA).The ...
Jaitley questions Rahul's silence on AgustaWestland case
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday hit out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for keeping silent over the charge sheet in AgustaWestland deal case.At a press conference here, Jaitley said, "Rahul Gandhi talks on several subjects. He makes wild and unsubstantiated allegations against all and sundry. Now, who are 'RG', 'AP' and 'FAM' mentioned in the chargesheet in the AgustaWestland case."Commenting on the diary recovered by Enforcement Directorate (ED) from the accused in the deal, Sushen Mohan Gupta, who is under arrest now, Jaitly said, "There is an erroneous belief among Indian politicians that a diary is never admissible as evidence. A diary constitutes an admission in writing and is admissible against the maker of that admission. It is admissible against the other co-conspirators as well."Are 'RG', 'AP' and 'FAM' fictional characters or were they in a position to influence the deal?", questioned Jaitley.Hitting out at the Congress President, Jaitley said, "How come every ...
Lok Sabha polls fight between two ideologies: BJP leader
Terming the Congress as "a party of liars", a Rajasthan BJP leader Friday said the upcoming general election was a battle between two ideologies. One ideology has patriots and the other has those who talk about abolishing the sedition law, state BJP general secretary Chandrashekhar said at a workshop of party workers. In its Lok Sabha poll manifesto released on Tuesday, the Congress has promised to abolish the provision of sedition in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP leader said that on the one side was a chowkidar (watchman) who talks about protecting the nation and on the other were those who defame the chowkidar. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Satish Poonia said it was the Congress party's profession to loot the country. "Modi government did remarkable work in five years and launched several schemes and programmes for the welfare of people," Poonia said.
Security of 919 persons withdrawn in J&K
Authorities have withdrawn personal security of 919 persons, including separatists, so far in Jammu and Kashmir since the Governor's rule was imposed, a Union Home Ministry statement said on Friday.
RLP will influence voters in favour of BJP in nearly 18 seats in Raj: Beniwal
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party leader Hanuman Beniwal has claimed that his party will influence voters in favour of his alliance partner BJP in nearly 18 seats in Rajasthan. The BJP and the RLP announced an alliance on Thursday under which Beniwal will contest the Lok Sabha elections on Nagaur seat as RLP candidate. Apart from Rajasthan, the BJP is hopeful of Beniwal's influence over several seats in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and other states in the general elections. "The RLP fielded candidates on 57 seats in the assembly elections held last year and three, including me, won. My party's vote share was 2.4 per cent in the assembly elections. RLP's supporters and Jat voters are in significant number in 18-19 Lok Sabha seats and they will be influenced in favour of the BJP," Beniwal said. "Besides, I will be campaigning in support of BJP candidates in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab where my party workers are active," he told PTI on Friday. Beniwal, a former BJP MLA, has been a critic of ...
Modi accuses oppn of being soft on terrorism, putting people's lives at risk
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday accused the opposition of being soft on terrorism, saying these parties are putting people's lives at risk. Addressing two back-to-back rallies in western Uttar Pradesh, Modi said the opposition parties' only agenda is 'Modi hatao' (remove Modi), and attacked them over the issue of combating terrorism. "Be it the Congress, the SP or the BSP, they have put your lives and the future in danger," the prime minister said. Saharanpur is among the western UP constituencies that go to the polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 11. Polling in Amroha will be held in the following round. The two constituencies have a sizeable presence of Jats, Gujjars and Muslim voters. "After the terrorist attack, should I have remained silent or attacked," he asked the gathering, referring to the February 14 terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama and the retaliatory strike in Pakistan by the Indian Air Force. "Terrorists are being given a reply in ...
'Beti Bachao' scheme a flop, has not provided any realistic help to people: Mamata
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee Friday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much-touted 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme is a flop and has not provided any realistic help to the people of the country. Describing Modi as "Expiry PM", Banerjee said he has given only Rs 100 crore in one year under the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme. "With a population of 130 crore that does not come to even one paisa per citizen of the country," she said, claiming that her government has spent thousands of crores of rupees for the 'Kanyashree' programme in the state. The 'Kanyashree' programme, a conditional cash transfer scheme, was awarded the United Nations Public Service Award for aiding the girl child in education and her well-being. Countering Modi's claim that she is a 'speed breaker' in the path of Bengal's development, Banerjee listed a number of welfare schemes and programmes started by her government in the state. She claimed that though the BJP-led NDA government at the ...
Resentment between grassroot level Congress and JDS workers
With less than a fortnight to go for the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, the resentment among grass root level workers of the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition only seems to be growing against their leadership's decision to fight the polls together. With no solution to the Mandya problem in sight, despite efforts by the Congress leadership to bring party workers on board to support JD(S) candidate and Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil, JDS workers in Mysore have now expressed their anger against the decision to support the grand old party's candidate, C H Vijayashankar. At a meeting of JD(S) leaders and workers inMysore on Friday, party workers openly opposed supporting the Congress candidate and demanded thatCongress Legislature Party (CLP) leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hold discussions with them, seeking support. According to sources, JD(S) workers pointed at Congress not supporting their candidate in Mandya and threatened to ..
Day after Advani's snub, Joshi meets party veteran
A day after BJP veteran L.K. Advani said that his party never regarded political foes as "anti-nationals", senior leader and former party President Murli Manohar Joshi met him on Friday.
No end to Dalelpur's woes: Requisitioned motor boat unavailable, another boat owner roped in
The Noida administration said Friday it has requisitioned another motor boat to ferry voters across the Yamuna from Dalelpur village to help them reach the polling station and back home after the owner of the first boat said it would be unavailable for service on April 11. Noida's Dalelpur is the only village in the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency which falls across the river towards Haryana but is a part of Uttar Pradesh. The villagers rue years of "ignorance" by the system for lack of proper connectivity to their village and have announced to boycott the Lok Sabha election. Khushaal Singh, who owns a motor boat, said he was contacted by the administration for his boat but had to convey its unavailability. "I told them that its engine is not working and also the boat would be in use because my crops are being cut and that need to be transported from my land on the Noida side on the river to the Haryana side. My labourers are working there and I cannot lend it on April 11," Singh, a ..
Dikshit calls party leaders to come on board for unified campaign for LS polls
Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit Friday asked party leaders to jointly campaign for the party instead of doing their separate bits for the Lok Sabha polls, a senior party leader said. Dixit held a meeting with all party leaders at Delhi Congress office where All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of the unit P C Chacko and co-incharge Kuljeet Singh Nagra were also present. "The Delhi Congress president asked for joining the common platform to run the party campaign instead of doing their separate bits," Delhi Congress spokesperson Jitendra Kochar said. A senior Delhi Congress leader present at the meeting said the issue of whether to form an alliance with AAP was also raised by party working president Rajesh Lilothia. Chacko, however, said Congress president Rahul Gandhi is yet to take a final decision on it. The district presidents of the Delhi Congress are in favour of an alliance with the AAP. Chacko handed over the letters of support to Gandhi at a meeting last ...
US revokes ICC prosecutor's visa over Afghan probe
The United States has revoked the visa for the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, her office said Friday, over a possible investigation of American soldiers' actions in Afghanistan. Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda would continue to pursue her duties for the Hague-based court "without fear or favour" despite the ban, her office said in a statement. The move against Bensouda, a Gambian national, comes weeks after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced restrictions on ICC staff who probe US or allied personnel. "What we can confirm is that the US authorities have revoked the prosecutor's visa for entry into the US," the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC said in a statement. Bensouda's office said that under the Rome statute governing the ICC - which Washington has declined to join since it was set up in 2002 - she had an "independent and impartial mandate". "The prosecutor and her office will continue to undertake that statutory duty with utmost commitment and ...
PM attacks Cong over ED charge sheet in Agusta scam, Congress says cheap poll stunt, Michel claims no name mentioned
The ED's supplementary charge sheet in the AgustaWestland chopper scam case raised the political temperature ahead of the Lok Sabha polls with Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday bringing it up to attack the Congress even as the alleged middleman Christian Michel claimed before a court he has not named anyone during investigation. The Congress said the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate(ED) before a Delhi court on Thursday was a 'cheap election stunt' to divert people's attention from the 'imminent defeat' of the Modi government in the polls while senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley insisted that the opposition party answer as to who were RG', AP' and FAM' in the documents cited by the probe agency. Michel, who alleged that the central government was using agencies for political agenda, filed an application before the court after reports appeared that the ED in its charge sheet named politicians of the previous UPA dispensation, defence personnel, bureaucrats and journalists
Meghalaya Congress leader Kharshiing resigns
The Congress in Meghalaya on Friday suffered a setback after its Vice President John Filmore Kharshiing resigned from the party ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
Lok Insaaf Party founder to contest from Ludhiana
Punjab's Lok Insaaf Party founder Simarjeet Singh Bains will contest the Lok Sabha election from Ludhiana, it was announced on Friday.
BJP accepts resignation of former minister Devi Singh Bhati
The BJP in Rajasthan Friday accepted the resignation of former minister and party rebel Devi Singh Bhati, who had quit over the fielding of Union Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal from the Bikaner parliamentary seat. Bhati had forwarded his resignation to the party's state president Madan Lal Saini on March 15. "The resignation has been accepted," Saini said here. Bhati had differences with Meghwal, the sitting MP from Bikaner, and had opposed the party's decision to give the latter the ticket from the constituency again. "I resigned from the party with a very heavy heart," Bhati said. The seven-time MLA had accused Meghwal of working as an "agent of the Congress".
Amit Shah asks Rahul to clear stand on Omar Abdullah's
BJP president Amit Shah Friday asked Rahul Gandhi to clear stand on National Conference Omar Abdullah's separate Prime Minister in Kashmir demand,and said though Modi will return to power,but in any case they were in opposition and they go ahead with Abdullah's proposal "we will put our lives at stake" and not allow it "at any cost." Attacking Congress for raising doubts over Balakot airstrikes,Shah said after Prime Minister directed Air Force to enter Pakistan and destroy terrorists camps to avenge Pulwama attack, "there was an atmosphere of mourning in two places--Pakistan, which is understanable and the other in Congress camp at a time when entire country was celebrating." The BJP president claimed that the NRC was a major step taken by Modi during the last five years to drive out illegal migrants from Assam and said "give Prime Minister Narendra Modi another five years, BJP will find out each illegal migrant and throw them out of the state". "Insaan bhi kya, parinde .