Page 105 - Politics
Cong, BJP critical of TRS govt's plan to build new Secretariat
Taking a critical view of the TRS government's move to construct new Secretariat and Assembly buildings, the opposition Congress and BJP in Telangana Monday said government should get its priorities right as there were more pressing issues. The TRS, however, said the new buildings would be constructed in a way that they are useful to the people and reflected the new state's pride after its formation. "Why new Secretariat for a Chief Minister who does not come to Secretariat? How many times you have come to Secretariat in five years. We are questioning why you need a new Secretariat with Rs 100 crore or Rs 400 crore," state BJP president K Laxman said, addressing a gathering at the party office here. The state has got excellent Secretariat and Assembly buildings and the TRS government can correct if there are "Vastu defects" but it should not demolish the existing buildings to build new ones at a cost of Rs 500 crore, he claimed. The TRS government would face the wrath of
J&K polls being politicised, people being disenfranchised: NC
The National Conference (NC) Monday alleged that the process of conducting assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir is being unduly politicised and people in the state are being denied the right to choose their government. Jammu and Kashmir does not have an elected dispensation since the PDP-BJP coalition government fell apart in June 2018. Early this month, the Election Commission said it will announce the schedule of assembly polls in the state after the Amarnath Yatra concludes. The pilgrimage, which will begin on July 1, will conclude on August 15. "The whole process of conducting assembly elections is being subjected to undue politicking which unfortunately is taking its toll on the development of the state. Having an elected government is the unassailable right of the people in a thriving democracy, but here the right to make a choice is being denied to the people," NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said. Addressing party workers in Pulwama, he claimed the growing public ...
France's Macron to discuss Iran tensions with Trump at G20
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he would discuss the current flare-up of tensions between Iran and the United States with President Donald Trump at this week's G20 summit in Japan, saying a solution was needed through dialogue to ensure regional security. The tensions with Iran are set to loom large over the G20 meeting in Osaka later this week after the United States accused Iran of sabotaging ships. "We have to find a constructive solution with the aim of ensuring collective regional security," Macron told reporters, urging diplomacy rather than an escalation of tensions. With the EU increasingly concerned over the risk of conflict, Macron pointed to a rare visit by his top diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne to Tehran last week for talks. "We have condemned very strongly all forms of escalation or aggression and what we will try to have is dialogue," he said. Iran-US tensions have increased sharply since Trump last year abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement with
Trump signs executive order imposing 'hard hitting' sanction on Iran
US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order, which he said, will impose a "hard-hitting" sanction on Iran and it will deny the Iranian Supreme Leader and other officials access to financial instruments within US jurisdiction. Trump's move to impose fresh set of sanctions on Iran comes days after Tehran said it shot down an American drone in the region on Thursday. President Trump called off a planned retaliatory military strike Friday, saying the response would not have been "proportionate". "We do not seek conflict with Iran or any other country," Trump said in a brief interaction with reporters at his Oval Office here. "I can only tell you we cannot ever let Iran have a nuclear weapon," he said. Trump said that the executive order signed by him will impose "hard hitting" sanction on Iran and it will deny the Iranian Supreme Leader and other officials access to financial instruments. He signed the order in presence of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. "I think a ...
NDA's massive win decimated politics of dynasty: Chouhan
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Monday said that the BJP-led NDA's massive victory in the recent Lok Sabha elections has decimated politics of dynasty. "The maha vijay (super victory) in the Lok Sabha has ended politics of family, dynasty and pseudo secularism," the BJP's national vice-president said while addressing a meeting on membership drive here. Chouhan said that the BJP's 'mantra is saab ka saath, saab ka vikas, saab ka viswas' (together with all, development for all and trust of all) and expanding the party across caste, faith, society and section and strengthen the party's grip at booth level. He claimed that the BJP is the biggest party with 11 crore members and said the people gave 303 seats to BJP and 353 seats to the NDA to serve them. "This has been possible due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, BJP president and Home Minister Amit Shah's skillful political strategy and hard work by lakhs of party workers," he ...
Saini's demise major loss for BJP: Modi
Expressing grief on the demise of BJP's Rajasthan unit president Madan Lal Saini, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said his passing away was a major loss for the BJP. In a tweet, Modi said he contributed to strengthening the party in Rajasthan. "He was widely respected for his congenial nature and community service efforts. My thoughts are with his family and supporters. Om Shanti," he added. Condoling the members of Saini's family, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he was a true public servant whose whole life was devoted to the party and society. BJP's working president JP Nadda said Saini dedicated his entire life for society and his passing away was an irreparable loss for the party. Echoing similar sentiments, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said Saini was closely associated with public welfare works and expressed his deep condolences to his family.
Junagadh municipal corporation election on July 21
The election to the Junagadh Municipal Corporation will be held on July 21 and results will be declared on July 23, the Gujarat State Election Commission said Monday. The notification for the election will be issued on July 1, and the last date to file nomination papers is July 6, the SEC said in a release. Polling will be held for 60 seats of the 15 wards of Junagadh town, having a total voter base of 2.38 lakh. On the same day, byelections will be held on 59 seats of various taluka and district panchayats and one seat of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, it said. Results of all these elections will be declared on July 23.
NCP to shortlist potential contestants by second week of July
The NCP will shortlist potential candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra by the second week of July, state unit president Jayant Patil announced Monday. He said the ticket aspirants can send in their applications by July 1. The applications will be scrutinised by the party on July 3 before the list of potential contenders is prepared. "The applications can be submitted to the party's district chiefs concerned or on its website," Patil said in a statement. The NCP has sought applications from ticket aspirants after its chief Sharad Pawar held district-wise meetings with local leaders and functionaries earlier this month. Pawar has already talked about giving opportunity to young faces to a considerable extent in the Assembly polls, due in September-October this year. The NCP has already announced to fight the elections along with the Congress and other like-minded parties. In the 2014 polls, which it had contested independently, the NCP had fielded ...
BJP fields Jaishankar, JM Thakor as Rajya Sabha candidates from Gujarat
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday fielded External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and party leader JM Thakor as its nominees for the ensuing by-elections to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat."The Central Election Committee has decided the names of Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Jugalji Mathurji Thakor for the ensuing bye-elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) from Gujarat," the press release by BJP said.Earlier in the day, Jaishankar formally joined the BJP in the presence of the party's Working President JP Nadda at the Parliament House in Delhi.
Those who refuse to say Vande Mataram have no right to live in India: Sarangi
He went on to ask why opposition parties were so hesitant in accepting the good work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and suggested that Congress should apologise to him for targetting him during the Lok Sabha elections.Sarangi, a first-time MP from Balasore in Odisha, who initiated the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, said the country will never accept the mentality of "tukde-tukde" gang.In his marathon speech, delivered largely in Hindi but intermingled with Sanskrit, Bangla, Odiya, and English, Sarangi said the BJP-led NDA had won the confidence of all sections of people and the government was being run with their involvement.Sarangi, who is Union Minister of State Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, said the Lok Sabha election verdict was unprecedented and historic as a government returned to power on the basis of "pro-incumbency".He said the country had a responsibility towards ..
Villains of Emergency must be punished: Prasar Bharati chairman
The "villains" of the Emergency must be tracked down and punished in order to secure democracy in the country, Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash said on Monday. Speaking at a discussion on "Emergency: Darkest Hour in Indian Democracy", he said India came under a "fascist regime" for months during the Emergency. "The villains of the Emergency wrecked our Constitution and the democratic way of life. In my view, we must still track them down. The Nazi hunters are still at work (in the West) even after 60-70 years. We should not let them go," Prakash said. "We must track them down and punish them. Dr Manmohan Sigh must answer why a person described as a tyrant by the Shah Commission was made an election commissioner. On whose instruction did he do this," he said, referring to Navin Chawla. "If we wish to secure our democracy, the villains of the Emergency and their mentors must be made to pay," he added. Prakash also backed an idea mooted by a member of the audience that a memorial .
NaMo TV not on I&B's channels list, it was 'platform service' offered by DTH operators: Govt
NaMo TV is not on Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's list of channels as it was a "platform service" offered by DTH operators to its subscribers, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Monday. NaMo TV, a BJP-sponsored channel that publicised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies and other poll messages, had gone off air last month after the Lok Sabha polls. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, "The 'NaMo TV' is not listed in the list of channels of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as it was a 'Platform Service' offered by DTH operators to its subscribers." The channel was mired in controversy ever since it went on air. The chief electoral officer of Delhi had sent a notice to the BJP for "airing election-related content" on NaMo TV even after the silence period began, but the party had said they did not violate the Model Code of Conduct. In April, after the Election Commission had directed ..
US, Britain, UAE, Saudis urge 'diplomatic solutions' on Iran
The United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Monday jointly called for "diplomatic solutions" to ease soaring tensions with Iran. "We call on Iran to halt any further actions which threaten regional stability, and urge diplomatic solutions to de-escalate tensions," said the statement released by the US as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Saudi and Emirati leaders.
'Tax us more,' US billionaires say
"Tax us more!" was the message on Monday from about 20 super-wealthy Americans who urged presidential candidates to back higher taxes on the wealthiest to confront climate change and other priorities. "America has a moral, ethical and economic responsibility to tax our wealth more," said the group, which included George Soros, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, descendants of Walt Disney and the owners of the Hyatt hotel chain. "A wealth tax could help address the climate crisis, improve the economy, improve health outcomes, fairly create opportunity, and strengthen our democratic freedoms. Instituting a wealth tax is in the interest of our republic." Signers pointed out that fellow billionaire Warren Buffett has said he is taxed at a lower rate than his secretary. The letter alluded to support among Democratic presidential candidates for higher taxes on the super-wealthy, including Pete Buttigieg and Beto O'Rourke. But the letter noted broad bipartisan support for taxing the ...
Sanders unveils huge US student debt cancellation bill
Liberal US senator and 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Monday rolled out a proposal to erase all USD 1.6 trillion in student loan debt, cleaning the slate for 45 million Americans. "If we could bail out Wall Street, we sure as hell can #CancelStudentDebt," Sanders posted on Twitter shortly before announcing his major legislation in an event at the US Capitol. The proposal, which is co-sponsored by Democrats Pramila Jayapal and Ilhan Omar in the House of Representatives, would be paid for through a tax on Wall Street, according to the Sanders campaign. "This is truly a revolutionary proposal," tweeted Sanders, whose calls for tuition-free college and student debt forgiveness gained traction during his 2016 presidential run. "All Americans will get the college education or job training they need, while having all student debt forgiven." The measure would have difficulty passing the Republican-led Senate. But it would escalate the political duel between Sanders and liberal .
Turkish civil society leaders on trial over 2013 protests
Sixteen leading Turkish civil society leaders appeared in court Monday, accused of seeking to overthrow the government during the "Gezi Park" protests of 2013, in a trial dubbed an absurd sham by critics. The group includes renowned businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala, whose detention since November 2017 has made him a symbol of what his supporters say is a crackdown on civil society. Kavala rejected the "irrational claims which lack evidence" in his opening statement, shortly after the trial began under high security in the prison and court complex of Silivri on the outskirts of Istanbul. He is accused of orchestrating and financing the protests which began over government plans to build over Gezi Park, one of the few green spaces left in Istanbul. The rallies snowballed into a nationwide movement that marked the first serious challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's brand of Islamic conservatism and grandiose development projects. The 657-page indictment seeks to paint .
Macron urges Trump to 'clarify his position' on EU
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Donald Trump to "clarify his position" regarding the European Union, repeatedly the target of the US president's barbs. "What is certain is that we have some ambiguities, especially when you look at Trump's position regarding Brexit, and the fact that he promotes a hard Brexit," Macron told the New Yorker magazine in interview published Monday. "I think he has to clarify his position vis-a-vis Europe," he said. The interview was held against the backdrop of recent European elections in which Macron's centrist party, Republic on the Move, finished a close second to Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally. "What is new at the European scale is that the rise of extremism, especially coming from the far right, is everywhere," Macron said when asked about the outcome. "A few months ago, a lot of people thought that this new coalition of the far right could have a majority or could block any majority at the European Parliament, which didn't ...
What's wrong with Palestinian surrender, Israel's UN envoy asks
Israel's UN ambassador on Monday urged Palestinians to surrender their struggle for a homeland in exchange for economic benefits as the United States prepared to roll out part of a peace plan promising billions of dollars. Palestinian leaders have said the US plan will be tantamount to surrender and declared President Donald Trump's initiative as dead on arrival. "I ask: What's wrong with Palestinian surrender?" wrote Ambassador Danny Danon in a New York Times op-ed. "Surrender is the recognition that in a contest, staying the course will prove costlier than submission." Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is set to open the conference in Bahrain later Monday to unveil plans for raising USD 50 billion in investment for the Palestinians and their Arab neighbours. "The Palestinians have little to lose and everything to gain by putting down the sword and accepting the olive branch," wrote Danon. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat "misleadingly suggests that a 'surrender' will lead to .
BJP says will follow 'UP model' of encounters to wipe out criminals from Bengal, TMC hits back
Two senior state BJP leaders Monday courted controversy by saying the party would follow the "Uttar Pradesh model" of giving free hand to the police to wipe out criminals in encounters, when it comes to power in West Bengal. The ruling Trinamool Congress hit back asserting that it would never allow the saffron party to convert West Bengal into a police state. After we are voted to power, we will ensure that criminals and extortionists will be thrown behind the bars or they will flee. We would follow the Uttar Pradesh model. The police would be given free hand, where criminals will die in encounters if they do not surrender," BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu said. It is alleged by political rivals that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is relying on encounters to maintain law and order in the state. Basu's view were ecohed by another party general secretary Raju Banerjee. "We won't tolerate goonda raj and extortion in Bengal. The police would act against them and if needed ..
New JDS Karna unit prez will be appointed in 3 days:Deve Gowda
Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda Monday said the party's new state president would be appointed in three days. With Deve Gowda reportedly not accepting his resignation, the present incumbent A H Vishwanath had threatened that he would resign from the Karnataka assembly if he was not relieved from his responsibility. "We will appoint the new JD(S) state president in three days," Gowda told reporters in Bengaluru, days after Vishwanath resigned apparently peeved at the way the Congress and JD(S) coalition government was functioning in Karnataka. To a question whether he has accepted Vishwanaths resignation, Deve Gowda said, "I will get the new person appointed by him (A H Vishwanath) only. Why will I accept his resignation? He only has to hand over (charge) to the person." Asked about Vishwanath recommending chief minister H D Kumaraswamys name for the post of state president, Deve Gowda said "There is nothing wrong in it. However, we have a policy of .