Page 1041 - Politics
NYAY scheme to benefit 2 cr citizens of Gujarat: Rajiv Satav
Congress in-charge for Gujarat Rajiv Satav Friday said the NYAY scheme announced by his party, which promises minimum income guarantee for the poor, will benefit around two crore citizens of Gujarat living below the poverty line. Referring to the Congress's poll manifesto released by party president Rahul Gandhi recently, Satav said the party has consulted various sections of the society before finalising it. The Nyunatam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme is one of the key highlights of the manifesto. "Our NYAY scheme will benefit around two crore people living below the poverty line in Gujarat. Each of them would get Rs 72,000 per year. This is our commitment. Unlike the BJP, we will implement this scheme after coming to power," Satav told reporters here. He added that the scheme has been devised by none other than former Prime Minister and eminent economist Dr Manmohan Singh. Satav said if the Congress is voted to power, it would focus on improving the quality of education, ...
SAD fields former minister Parminder Dhindsa from Sangrur
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Friday decided to field former finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa from Sangrur for the Lok Sabha elections. An announcement in this regard was made by SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal in a party release here. Dhindsa is son of former union minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa who had resignedas SAD's secretary general and from its core committee,citing health reasons last year. Sangrur is currently represented in the Lok Sabha by Aam Aadmi Party Punjab chief Bhagwant Mann. The Congress is yet to announce its candidate for the seat. Akali Dal had already announced its candidates for five seats. It has fielded sitting MP Prem Singh Chandumajra from Anandpur Sahib, former minister Surjit Singh Rakhra from Patiala, former IAS officer Darbara Singh Guru from Fatehgarh Sahib (reserve), former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur from Khadoor Sahib and former deputy speaker of Lok Sabha Charanjit Singh Atwal from Jalandhar (reserve) seat. Out of the total 13 Lok Sabha seats .
Democracy, Constitution under threat in BJP rule: Gehlot
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Friday said the country's Constitution and democracy were under threat in BJP's rule. Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, Gehlot said the duo ruled the country for five years and people do not even know the names of most of the union ministers. "The Constitution and democracy is under threat and this is my duty to tell you this. BJP leaders talked about Congress-free India and those who criticise them are considered as anti-national," Gehlot said at a public meeting in Pali. "This is the situation prevailing in the country today. It is alarming and you should know this," he added. The chief minister said Modi was a good actor and should have been in the film industry. "Several promises like bringing back black money were made by Modi during the last elections but not a single rupee was brought back," he said. Gehlot also accused former chief minister Vasundhara Raje of stalling development projects and weakening ...
BJP committed to root out terrorism, insurgency: Amit Shah
Exuding confidence that the BJP will be re-elected at the Centre, party president Amit Shah said Friday it was the Modi government that brought peace and development to the northeast, where militant activities were rampant even five years ago. Addressing a rally here in Changlang district, he said the saffron party is committed to take action against cross-border terrorism and insurgency in the region. Shah also insisted that "political stability returned to the state after the BJP formed government in the state". Terming the people of Arunachal "patriots", he said that this Himalayan state withstood the Chinese onslaught in 1962 even when then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, in a statement, expressed helplessness for Assam. "Even five years ago, the northeast region was disturbed, there was hardly any development owing to militant activities among other roadblocks. The BJP has brought peace to the region and paved way for its development," he claimed. The BJP chief also pointed out .
UK asks EU for Brexit delay till June 30
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has written to European Council President Donald Tusk requesting another extension of Brexit till June 30, the media reported on Friday.
Sons turn backroom boys for contesting parents
They are children of political leaders and have now taken over the responsibility of serving as quintessential backroom boys while their fathers contest the elections.
In picturesque Theni, rail connectivity, water major issues
Tamil Nadu's picturesque Theni Lok Sabha constituency is set to witness an interesting poll battle with two experienced politicians and debutants fighting it out.
Ambedkar calls Modi a 'blackmailer'
A day after he was booked for his remarks against the Election Commission (EC), Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a blackmailer. Addressing a poll rally at Akola in Maharashtra, Ambedkar alleged that Modi blackmailed the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her party saying if she did not want her son-in-law Robert Vadra to be in jail, they should refrain from joining hands with any other party. "Can anyone tell me why Congress did not have an alliance with any other party across the country? Modi had put a condition that if Congress party wants Rabert Vadra not to be in jail, then it should refrain from forging an alliance with any other party," he claimed. "That is why Congress did not have an alliance with any party. Modi is a blackmailer. He is blackmailing Sonia Gandhi and everyone else. "This is Modi's style of functioning that Congress party did not have an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi and Mamata ...
Smriti Irani meets BJP workers in Amethi
BJP leader Smriti Irani Friday met several party workers in different assembly segments of the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, including Tiloi and Jagdishpur, and discussed issues related to the polls. The Union minister, who will take on sitting MP and Congress President Rahul Gandhi, started her door-to door contact programme from Tiloi. She was accompanied by BJP's district president Durgesh Tripathi. Friday was the second and last day of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's two-day visit to Amethi after the Lok Sabha elections were announced. On the first day on Thursday, Irani had attacked the Congress chief, saying his decision to contest from Wayanad in Kerala was an "insult" to Amethi. Calling herself 'didi' (elder sister), Irani had told a gathering in Parshedpur, "This is a coincidence, a sign from God that didi arrived here and the missing MP reached Kerala. I have come to seek (people's) blessings and he rejected the blessings." "While the BJP workers are working with .
Some people lose their sleep when India hits back at
Some people lose their sleep when India hits back at terrorists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Friday while launching a broadside against opposition parties who he claimed were putting the lives and future of the people in danger. Addressing a rally in this Uttar Pradesh town ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections beginning April 11, the prime minister said "some people" did not like the fact that terrorists were being given a reply in their own language. "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. "Terrorists are being given a reply in their own language... this is not liked by some people who lose their sleep when India hits back," he said. When Pakistan is exposed in front of the world, "these people" start speaking in its favour and there is "competition among them to become its (Pakistan's) hero", Modi said. "Be it the Congress, the SP or the ...
Sri Lanka says 90 per cent of military-acquired land of Tamils released
The Sri Lankan government has released about 90 per cent of the military-acquired land belonging to the minority Tamil community held during the brutal civil war with the LTTE, President Maithripala Sirisena said as he seeks re-election. At the end of the military conflict 10 years ago, some 84,675 acres of Tamil civilian land were under the military control and by the end of March 2019, some 71,178 acres of land have been released, Sirisena's office said in a statement on Thursday. Accordingly, 13,497 acres of land is in the custody of the security forces, of which 11,039 acres of land are state-owned, it said. Another 475 acres of land will be released in the near future, his office said, adding that the de-mining process to clear the land of mines was accelerated after President Sirisena assumed office in January, 2015. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had launched a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the country for .
Sense of 'deep sorrow' prevailed on Rahul Gandhi's face after IAF strikes: Amit Shah
BJP president Amit Shah on Friday claimed that a sense of "deep sorrow" prevailed on the face of Congress president Rahul Gandhi after the air strikes were conducted on a terrorist camp in Pakistan.Gandhi was "upset" with the Indian Air Force strikes on terrorists in Pakistan, he said, addressing a rally here."After the air strikes, there was a wave of jubilation all over the country, crackers were burst, sweets were distributed, photos of the martyred security personnel were garlanded, but there was deep sorrow at two places only. Obviously, one was in Pakistan while another was on the face of Congress president Rahul Gandhi," Shah said."Rahul Gandhi's guru Sam Pitroda asked why we dropped bombs on terrorists. He (Pitroda) said we should have talked to them. You tell whether we should talk to those who kill our soldiers or we should destroy them. If they fire one bullet, we will hurl a bomb," he said.The BJP chief also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government uprooted ...
Babulal Gaur endorses Advani's blog post
Endorsing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran LK Advani's blog post, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Babulal Gaur, said the BJP has never indulged in branding anyone as anti-national and that the Opposition in India has always been respected."Mr Advani has said the right thing. We were in Opposition once, nobody called us anti-national then, neither have we done something like this. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji even called Indira Gandhi 'Durga'. We need to think. There will always be an Opposition in a democracy. Even people who speak against the country cannot be called anti-national. We can only call such people deluded," Gaur told reporters.LK Advani, who broke his silence yesterday and came out in support of his party through a blog, has made quite a buzz on micro-blogging site Twitter. Advani's take on nationalism is ever since trending on the social media site.Advani in his blog, titled "Nation First, Party Next, Self Last", on Thursday asserted that the BJP had "never ...
LK Advani trends on twitter following blog post
BJP veteran leader L K Advani who broke his silence yesterday through a blog, has made quite a buzz on micro-blogging site Twitter. Advani's take on nationalism is ever since trending on the social media site.Advani in his blog titled "Nation First, Party Next, Self Last" on Thursday asserted that the BJP had "never regarded those who disagree with us politically as enemies, but only as our adversaries" and that the BJP's conception of Indian nationalism never regarded those who disagreed with it politically as "anti-national".Prime Minister Modi also endorsed Advani's post by saying he summed up the true essence of the BJP and also tweeted the 91-year-old leader's blog.Soon Advani was among the top five Twitter trending in the country according to trends24.in with the hashtag L K Advani figuring among the top three trending items.Advani, who has won the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat six times since 1991 has been replaced by BJP chief Amit Shah for the ensuing general elections.In his ...
LK Advani trends on twitter following blog post
Prime Minister Modi also endorsed Advani's post by saying he summed up the true essence of the BJP and also tweeted the 91-year-old leader's blog
TN CM slams Stalin for 'negative' campaign
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and top AIADMK leader K Palaniswami Friday hit out at DMK President M K Stalin for his "negative campaign" targeting him and other NDA leaders, saying no welfare activities were taken up by the opposition party while in power. AIADMK is leading the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state with its other constituents being BJP, DMDK and PMK among others, while DMK is heading the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) whose constituents include Congress and the Left parties. Canvassing for alliance party candidate, DMDK's R Azhagarsamy here, Palaniswami repeated his charge that Stalin was trying to "break" the AIADMK and "topple" the government. He reiterated his stand that the country required the "strong and determined" Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead it for a successive term. "Stalin is not seeking votes by speaking about public projects but is only targeting me and leaders of our alliance parties. This is because they did not implement
150 candidates file nominations for 7 LS seats in Chhattisgarh
As many as 150 candidates have filed their nominations for the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Chhattisgarh that will vote in the third phase on April 23. Elections to the 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held in three phases - on April 11, April 18 and April 23. A total of 150 candidates, including those from main rivals Congress and the BJP, have filed their nominations for the third phase, Chief Electoral Officer Subrat Sahoo said in a statement here Friday. Thursday was the last day for filing nominations for the seats going to the polls on April 23. Of these, the maximum - 32 - nominations were filed for the Raipur Lok Sabha seat followed by Bilaspur (28), Durg (27), Korba (20), Janjgir-Champa (SC-18), Raigarh (ST-14) and Kanker (ST-11), he said. On the last day of filing nominations, 70 contestants submitted their papers, Sahoo added. The nominations will be scrutinised Friday and the contestants can withdraw their names till April 8. In the high-profile ...
EC struggling to enforce model code, say experts
Even before voting has taken place for the first phase in the seven-phase general elections, the Election Commission (EC) is struggling with a series of poll-code violations, with more piling up every day.
Manipur became blockade-free under BJP-led govt: Amit Shah
Hitting out at the Congress, BJP national president Amit Shah Friday said prices of essential items had sky-rocketed under the Congress rule due to repeated bandhs and strikes, but the BJP-led government has made the state "blockade-free". Heaping praise on the party government in Manipur for its development work, Shah said Chief Minister Biren Singh can be termed "a true chowkidaar" (watchman) as he has served in the Border Security Force. "During the Congress rule, there were frequent bandhs, one of which lasted for 160 days. It led to escalation in the price of essential commodities. However, under Birenji, Manipur has become blockade-free," he said while addressing a rally here. Highlighting the achievements of the NDA government in Manipur, he said five helipads have been constructed under the Udan scheme, and highway spanning 300 km has been built in the state over the past five years. "If you compare the 13th Finance Commission, under the UPA, and 14th Finance Commission, under
UK seeks further Brexit extension until June 30
Prime Minister Theresa May Friday wrote to European Council President Donald Tusk seeking a further extension to the UK's Brexit deadline until June 30 to try and find a solution in Parliament to the current impasse over the terms of Britain's exit from the 28-member economic bloc. Under the current terms agreed with the European Union, the UK is due to leave the bloc by May 22 if the British Prime Minister's repeatedly-rejected divorce bill clears the House of Commons or crash out without any deal in place by April 12. In her letter, which comes ahead of an EU summit next Wednesday, May told Tusk that while it is "frustrating" that there has been no "orderly" conclusion after her withdrawal agreement was rejected three times by the House of Commons over the controversial Irish backstop clause, the UK remains "strongly committed" to finding a Brexit resolution as soon as possible. "This impasse cannot be allowed to continue Therefore having reluctantly sought an extension to the ...