Page 1046 - Politics
Trump's Russia report victory turns sour
Donald Trump wanted a victory lap after the apparent flop of the Russia collusion probe, but on Thursday, 11 days later, the president instead found himself being chased in circles. Over and over the president has crowed that special counsel Robert Mueller's massive investigation into the Trump team's links to Moscow resulted in total "exoneration." But that claim is based on the conclusions of Trump's handpicked attorney general William Barr who released a four-page summary of the still secret report. The actual report, running hundreds of pages, has yet to be released publicly. And US media reports have now quoted sources from the previously almost totally leak-proof Mueller team saying that Barr's characterization glossed over potentially damaging findings. "Members of Mueller's team have complained to close associates that the evidence they gathered on obstruction was alarming and significant," The Washington Post said late Wednesday. The New York Times -- another mainstay of ...
Catalonia's president pressed to call fresh election
Catalonia's separatist president, who has lacked a majority in the regional parliament since October, was under pressure Thursday from opposition parties to call snap polls in the Spanish region. The 135-seat Catalan regional parliament approved a non-binding motion criticising Quim Torra's "ineffectiveness" and demanding that he "immediately face a no-confidence motion or call elections" by a slim margin of 62 votes in favour and 61 against. The motion was backed by parties that oppose independence for the wealthy northeastern region while radical separatist parties abstained from voting. Torra ruled out both options. "We continue to govern with all our republic ambition intact," he wrote on Twitter. His coalition government, made up of Catalonia's two main separatist parties, JxC (Together for Catalonia) and ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia), has been strained by difference over strategy, loss of support and an inability to pass a budget for 2019. The separatist block lost its ...
Advani's forehand gets PM Modi's crosscourt backhand
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday endorsed the views shared by BJP veteran LK Advani in his personal blog, saying that he is proud to be a "Karyakarta" of BJP which has been "strengthened by greats like Advani ji."Taking to Tweeter, 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."In a blog two days ahead of the BJP's foundation day celebration, Advani on Thursday said that his party has never regarded its critics either as 'enemies' or 'anti-nationals.'Batting for freedom of expression in a democracy, Advani writes: "The essence of Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression. Right from its inception, the BJP has never regarded those who disagree with us politically as our enemies, but only as our adversaries.""The guiding principle of my life has been 'Nation
TDP accuses YSRCP of indulging in violence, lodges plaint with CEO
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has lodged a complaint with Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gopal Krishna Dwivedi against the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for allegedly indulging in violent activities.TDP MP K Raveendra Kumar alleged that YSRCP is indulging in violent activities to disturb the peaceful atmosphere during the elections.Kumar alleged that Income Tax raids on TDP leaders in Andhra Pradesh were orchestrated by the YSRCP and the BJP. The Central government is misusing the I-T Department against the TDP, he said.Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will go to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 11. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Congress more worried about its vote bank, alleges Yogi Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday attacked Congress party for its manifesto and accused the party of being "more worried about its vote bank than terrorism and Naxalism.""The Congress party is putting the country in danger and the party's manifesto is a clear example of it. The Congress party is more worried about its vote bank than terrorism and Naxalism," he said.He also invoked the instance of Congress president Rahul Gandhi tearing up the government documents."A lot of development took place during the five-year tenure of Prime Minister Modi ji. Congress is not concerned about the problems of the poor. Their only focus is to provide resources to a particular section of the society," he said."Today Rahul Gandhi is filing his nomination from Waynad where the Muslim League is the alliance partner of the Congress. Congress is becoming a threat to the nation," he said.Yogi also called Congress' 55-page manifesto a document of failure of their 55 years long ...
Cong to conduct 543 press conferences to publicise its manifesto
The Congress party has decided to conduct 543 press conferences to publicise its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections. "Senior leaders will conduct press conferences in each of 543 Lok Sabha constituencies," said a party leader."The plan is to keep the focus on NYAY, the minimum cash guarantee scheme. The party does not want to get mired in other issues. If it gets down to the people, the peripheral issues and narrative of nationalism will fade away," said the leader, who did not wish to be identified.The party wants that the scheme gets due focus in the local press and trickles down to the masses, he added. The party conducted 22 press conferences on Thursday.On March 25, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had announced NYAY, the minimum cash guarantee scheme under which 20 per cent of the poorest families of the country will be entitled up to Rs 72,000 per year as financial help.The Lok Sabha election to 543 seats is scheduled to be held in seven phases beginning April 11 and ...
'Janmat' to contest from 13 seats in Jharkhand
An alliance recently launched by Jharkhand-based political parties Thursday announced that it will field candidates in 13 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats of the state and will support the CPI (ML-Liberation) candidate from Koderma constituency. The fledgling front 'Janmat' comprises the Jharkhand People's Party (JPP), the JMM (Ulgulan), the Rashtriya Sengel Party, the Bahujan Mukti Party and the Adivasi-Moolvasi Janadhikar Manch. Surya Singh Besra of the JPP is the chief convener of the Janmat. Addressing a press conference here, Besra said JPP and JMM (Ulgulan) will contest from four seats each, the Rashtriya Sengel Party and the Bahujan Mukti Party will field candidates from two each while the Adivasi-Moolvasi Janadhikar Manch will contest from one constituency. Besra, also the JPP president, announced names of five candidates of Janmat.
British MPs offered counselling for Brexit pressure
Battles over Brexit have worn down British MPs, who are now being offered counselling to cope with the "extraordinary pressure" they have been under. The Daily Telegraph reported that House of Commons Deputy Speaker Lindsay Hoyle had written to all MPs to inform them about a 24-hour counselling phone line. "It is vital that in times of heightened stress in the workplace we can access the necessary health and wellbeing support," Hoyle wrote, a day after a particularly intense parliamentary session that ended after midnight. Despite enormous pressure, British MPs have voted down Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal three times this year but have failed to agree on any alternatives. The two main parties, the ruling Conservatives and the Labour opposition, are now locked in talks to attempt to find a compromise that could pass through parliament. Security measures have in any case been stepped up around parliament because of angry heckling -- mainly from hardline Brexit supporters ...
Will visit schools, mohalla clinics to expose tall claims of AAP: Vijay Goel
Union minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Goel said Thursday that he would visit Delhi government-run schools and mohalla clinics to "expose" the AAP dispensation's "tall claims". In an official statement, Goel alleged that "tall claims" of achievements which are being made by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his public meetings are "far from reality". Goel, a former Delhi BJP chief, said he will visit some schools, mohalla clinics and also JJ clusters to find out whether people in reality are getting cheap electricity and water supply or not. "Biggest proof is that both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have conceded defeat and accepted that they cannot contest against the BJP unilaterally," the statement, quoting the minister said.
EC orders legal action against Prakash Ambedkar
The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday said that it has asked the Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer to register a case against Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) chief Prakash Ambedkar for threatening to "throw the EC into jail" for banning any reference to the Pulwama terror attack during the Lok Sabha elections.
From Mandal Commission to Sonia to Nitish, Lalu tells all in upcoming memoir
With election fever mounting across the country, RJD boss Lalu Prasad will be spilling the beans on many inflection points in the country's political history in his upcoming memoir, the book's publishers said Thursday. Prasad, a former union minister and Bihar chief minister, has penned the memoir with journalist-turned-teacher Nalin Verma and the memoir will release on April 6, a Rupa Publications statement said. Titled "Gopalganj to Raisina", the book is a recollection of the journey of India's "most colourful" political leader and navigates his humble origins in Phulwaria village to his remarkable rise as the Railway Minister, it said. The book relives the twists and turns as well as the highs and lows of his life. "In doing so, it reveals little-known facets of many inflection points in the nation's history: the Emergency, how he got V P Singh to implement the explosive Mandal Commission recommendations, the arrest of BJP leader L K Advani during the latter's Rath Yatra, Sonia ...
Raju Shetti accused of making casteist remark
A complaint was filed Thursday against Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana leader Raju Shetti, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Hatkanangale in Western Maharashtra, for alleged remark against the Brahmin community. Speaking at a rally Wednesday, Shetti purportedly said that while farmers' children join the Army and fight for the country, those of "Deshpandes and Kulkarnis" (denoting Brahmins) shun the Army but preach others patriotism. Shetti, sitting MP from Hatkanangale, is being supported by the Congress and NCP. His main rival in the election will be Shiv Sena's Dhairyasheel Mane. Ankit Kane of the Brahmin Jagruti Seva Sangh said he submitted a letter to the Election Commission against Shetti's casteist statement. A video of Shetti's speech was available on social media. He could not be reached for comments.
Decision to close Jammu-Srinagar highway must be revoked: Omar Abdullah
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Thursday termed the order banning civilian traffic on the Jammu-Kashmir highway for two days a week as "unprecedented" and demanded its "immediate revocation". Addressing an election campaign rally at Rafiabadin in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, Abdullah said closing the highway was a glaring admission of failure by the government in managing the state's internal security and a direct consequence of the PDP's tie-up with the BJP. He also accused the Peoples Democratic Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of practising "opportunistic politics". "The embrace of PDP with BJP wreaked havoc on the security situation in the state. It is for the first time in history that highways are being closed for civilian traffic for two days," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said. "This is an unprecedented situation and has never happened in the last three decades," he added. Abdullah was reacting to a government order banning the movement
Mamata welcomes Advani's statement
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday welcomed the statement of veteran BJP leader L K Advani and said opposition parties who raise their voices are indeed not "anti-national". Advani said his party has never regarded those who disagreed with it politically as "anti-national" or "enemies" but only as adversaries. "As the senior most politician, fmr Dy PM and founding father of BJP, the views AdvaniJi has expressed about extending democratic courtesies, is significant. Of course, all Opposition who raise their voices are not anti national. We welcome his statement & convey our humble regards," Banerjee said in a tweet. Advani's views assume significance at a time when the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah have made the issue of national security a key plank for the general elections and have often accused its political rivals of speaking the language of India's enemies like Pakistan.
Congress ends US support for Yemen war, Trump likely to veto
US lawmakers voted Thursday to end military support for the bloody Saudi-led war in Yemen, dealing a harsh bipartisan rebuke to Donald Trump and taking the historic step of curtailing a president's war-making powers. The House of Representatives voted 247 to 175, with one congressman voting present, to approve a resolution that directs the president "to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting the Republic of Yemen" within 30 days. The text cleared the Senate last month and now heads to Trump, who is expected to veto the legislation. The White House has called the measure "flawed" and warned it would harm bilateral relations in the region, including with Saudi Arabia. But the passage through Congress marked a historic milestone, as it was the first time in history that a measure invoking the 1973 War Powers Resolution will reach the president's desk. Several Democrats have argued that the US involvement in the Saudi-led coalition fighting Huthi rebels -- ...
US-China trade negotiations progressing 'very nicely': Trump
President Donald Trump said Thursday that US-China trade talks are progressing "very nicely" but that he insists on all US concerns being resolved or will not sign a deal. "It looks like the deal is moving along very nicely," he told reporters at the White House, where he was due to meet Chinese trade envoy Liu He later in the day. "Everything is covered, there's nothing that's not covered," Trump said, referring to the scope of US demands. "It's got to be a great deal," he said. "If it's not a great deal, we're not doing it.
It's Hindus vs Hindutva in this LS poll: Ashutosh
Since 2014, the political landscape of India has changed and now it's important to know not just the politics but also the ideology behind it, said journalist and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashutosh, here on Thursday.
Kejriwal didn't make any appeal to me to stop sealing drive: Union minister Puri
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri Thursday took a swipe at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his remarks that "hundreds of appeals" were made to the Centre to stop the sealing drive in Delhi, saying he perhaps made these pleas at the Congress office for an alliance with his AAP for the Lok Sabha election. Puri said the Aam Aadmi Party chief did not make an appeal to him to stop the sealing drive and that he might be a bit "confused". "You perhaps made those hundreds of appeals at the office of Congress for an alliance (with his Aam Aadmi Party). Was there any response (from Congress)?" Puri tweeted in Hindi. The speculation of a tie-up between both the parties got a boost after AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh met All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Delhi P C Chacko Wednesday evening. The ruling AAP has proposed to give two seats to the Congress, which has instead demanded three - New Delhi, Chandni Chowk and North East Delhi, sources in both the parties claimed. Taking
NATO ministers celebrate 70th anniversary amid rifts
NATO foreign ministers met Thursday to celebrate the alliance's 70th anniversary amid rifts between members over security and trade issues. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo opened the meeting with an appeal for unity to confront "great power" challenges from Russia, China and Iran. He hailed NATO's deterrence of the Soviet Union during the Cold War and said the alliance was well positioned to move forward as it confronts new and evolving challenges. But a deepening dispute with Turkey over its planned purchase of a Russian air defense system and U.S. demands for allies, particularly Germany, to boost their defense spending threatened to overshadow the proceedings even as the ministers agreed on action to confront Russia's increasing assertiveness. The ministers agreed on a package of measures to assist alliance aspirants Georgia and Ukraine, notably in the Black Sea with increased maritime cooperation, patrols and port visits, according to NATO chief Jens Stoltenburg. And, they renewed .
16 candidates file nominations for two LS seats in Goa
A total of 16 candidates have filed nominations for two Lok Sabha constituencies in Goa. Also, 27 candidates have filed nominations for by-elections to Shiroda, Mandrem and Mapusa Assembly seats, election authorities said Thursday, the last day for filing nominations. Eight candidates each have filed nominations from North Goa and South Goa constituencies. The nominations will be scrutinised Friday. Congress, BJP, AAP and Goa Suraksha Manch have fielded candidates for the assembly bypolls. Largest number of candidates -- 11 -- have filed nomination for Mapusa Assembly constituency. The election in Mapusa was necessitated due to the death of BJP MLA Francis D'Souza. His son, Joshua D'Souza, is the BJP candidate, while the Congress has fielded Sudhir Kandolkar. Nine candidates have filed nominations for Shiroda seat, including Subhash Shirodkar of the BJP, Mahadev Naik of Congress and Deepak Dhavalikar of MGP. The election became necessary after Shirodkar left the Congress .