Page 1053 - Politics
Allegations that NC candidate raised pro-Pak slogans at rally incorrect: J&K CEO
Allegations that National Conference candidate Akbar Lone raised pro-Pakistan slogans are "incorrect", Jammu and Kashmir's chief electoral officer said on Thursday after an inquiry conducted by the poll panel. Senior BJP leaders and its allies had been claiming that Lone, NC candidate from North Kashmir, had raised pro-Pakistan slogans during a rally, and also asked the Congress to justify its alliance with the National Conference. Chief Electoral Officer Shailendra Kumar was also asked whether the statements of former chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah about the complete restoration of autonomy which includes the state having its own prime minister and that of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti's remarks on 'relation of JK with India to end' if Article 370 or 35-A are tampered with "qualify as a complaint". "If we get a specific complaint, we will look into it," the CEO said told PTI. On a question related to Lone, Kumar said an assistant returning officer had .
Congress names 12 more candidates in Madhya Pradesh
The Congress on Thursday released its second list of candidates for 12 seats in Madhya Pradesh, fielding Chief Minister Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath from Chhindwara.
Congress fields Kamal Nath's son from Chhindwara
The Congress on Thursday declared Nakul Nath, son of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, as the party candidate from Chhindwara.
I am not a "reluctant candidate", says Byre Gowda
Karnataka Minister for Rural Development Krishna Byre Gowda, who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Bengaluru-North as a Congress candidate slammed hiscritics for projecting him as a "reluctant candidate." "The BJP is expert in planting stories that I am a "reluctant candidate," who is not willing to win. I take such a statement as an insult because contesting elections for theatrics is a sign of self-deception. "There are leaders and workers in both the parties who trust me. There are people who have reposed faith in me. It will be unfair if I break their trust," Byre Gowda told PTI. The impression of "reluctant candidate" emerged as theBengaluru-North seat was initially allotted to JD(S) as partof the seat-sharing agreement between the coalition partners-Congress and JD(S). However, the JD(S) 'gifted' it to the Congress, which further delayed identifying a suitable candidate before zeroing in on Byre Gowda, a minister. Speculations were rife that some state ...
Trump kin Kushner was denied security permit in 2018
The senior White House official whose security clearance was rejected last year because of concerns about foreign influence, private business interests and personal conduct has been identified as President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, the media reported.
Pak govt removes Shehbaz Sharif's name from no-fly list
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Shehbaz Sharif's name was removed from the no-fly list Thursday, days after a court ordered the government to allow him to travel abroad. The 67-year-old leader's name was placed on the travel blacklist on February 22 for allegedly possessing assets beyond his declared sources of income. He had approached the Lahore High Court seeking declaration of the government's decision as null and void. A two-member Lahore High Court bench headed by Justice Malik Shahzad on March 26 ordered the government to remove Shehbaz's name from Exit Control List (ECL). The federal interior ministry authorised the move following the Lahore High Court's order, Express News reported. The ministry also issued a notification confirming that Shehbaz is now free to travel abroad, it said. Reports suggest Shehbaz would soon depart for London, where his granddaughter recently underwent a cardiac procedure necessitated by a complication at birth. Shehbaz is also expected to ...
Netanyahu thanks Putin for discovery of soldier's remains
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday thanked Russia for its assistance in finding the remains of an Israeli soldier missing in battle since 1982. Netanyahu is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow visit just five days before parliamentary elections at home. The vote is largely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has campaigned on his foreign policy prowess and relations with world leaders. On Wednesday, Israel announced the recovery of the remains of a soldier who went missing in a 1982 battle with Syrian forces in southern Lebanon. Putin acknowledged that Russia had worked to retrieve Zachary Baumel's remains from Syria. "Our military together with Syrian partners established the place of his burial," Putin said at the start of the meeting. "We are very pleased that at home they can give him the necessary military honours." Cases of missing soldiers have a powerful emotional and political resonance in Israel, where military service is compulsory .
Rahul Gandhi turns Good Samaritan, helps three injured scribes to ambulance
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday turned into a good Samaritan helping three journalists, including a reporter from the Asian News International (ANI), to an ambulance after they got injured due to breaking of a barricade during his roadshow here.The incident took place when the journalists were covering the roadshow, where Rahul, his sister and Congress's general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh East, Priyanka Gandhi, and other leaders were waving to the crowd from a tempo.Amid the rush, the vehicle hit a barricade that was fixed along the road, causing it to break. The three journalists sustained minor injuries due to the incident.Amid the huge crowd that had gathered for the roadshow, Rahul was seen accompanying the injured scribes to an ambulance for immediate medical attention.This is not the first time that the 48-year-old Congress president has extended help to injured journalists.On March 27, when Rahul saw a journalist injured in a road accident in New Delhi, he
Modi has diminished status of PM's office: Kapil Sibal
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having "diminished" the status of his office with his statements and of speaking only about Pakistan and not India and its people. Sibal also mocked Modi's repeated talk about the surgical strike, saying that it should have been carried out on poverty and unemployment. "Nobody has diminished the status of the office of the Prime Minister more than Narendra Modi," the Congress leader said at a press conference here. Sibal said the kind of dialogue the prime minister was indulging in was something he had never witnessed before in his life. "Actually this prime minister only talks about Pakistan; he is not talking about Hindustan. He is the Prime Minister of Hindustan, our prime minister, but it looks like his vision is only directed at Pakistan," he said. "Speak about your people also. Talk about your own people -- what you are doing for them. If he wanted to conduct a surgical strike, he should have ...
SP MP joins BJP; Akhilesh terms it 'ghaatey ka sauda'
Hours after the Samajwadi Party MP from Gorakhpur Praveen Kumar Nishad joined the BJP on Thursday, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav termed it as a 'ghaatey ka sauda' (loss-making deal) for the saffron party and also alleged that money changed hands. Akhilesh Yadav said that in the by-poll held last year, the people of Gorakhpur parliamentary constituency had voted for the SP-BSP alliance and not for Praveen Nishad. "This is BJP's loss making deal as people had voted for the grand alliance (SP-BSP) and not the parliamentarian (Praveen Nishad)," Akhilesh Yadav tweeted in Hindi. The SP chief insinuated that Nishad switched over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in return for a bag of 'prasad' (cash) from the 'mathadheesh' (head priest) of Gorakhnath temple, referring to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He, however, did not substantiate the charge. "Will the Gorakhpur MP who got a bag full of 'prasad' from the mathadheesh distribute it among others or devour it alone?," asked ...
Rahul Gandhi files nomination from Wayanad; hits out at Modi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is fighting the Lok Sabha elections from his traditional bastion Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Thursday filed nomination from Wayanad--a Congress stronghold in South India. Gandhi, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi and senior Congress leaders K C Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik, submitted the papers before district collector A R Ajayakumar at Wayanad district headquarters here. Hundreds of workers of the Congress-led UDF assembled outside the district collectorate in Wayanad, a scenic hill area in the Western Ghats of Kerala, as Gandhi filed the nomination. Braving the scorching heat, thousands of party workers, including men, women and youth gathered in Kalpetta town and its suburbs to see the Congress' prime ministerial candidate, who landed here to file his nomination from the constituency which has the presence of various ethnic tribal groups. After completing the nomination procedures at the collectorate here, Rahul Gandhi along with ...
J-K highway open even during Kargil, rights of people being tampered with: Farooq Abdullah
The Jammu-Kashmir highway was not closed even during the Kargil war when intelligence reports suggested suicide attackers were at large, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah said on Thursday, a day after the government decided to block the road lifeline for two days a week. "What is happening for god's sake. Are you trying to make Kashmir a colony of the British?" an anguished Abdullah asked and termed the Governor Satya Pal Malik led administration's decision interference with a citizen's fundamental rights. According to the order issued on Wednesday by state Home Secretary Shaleen Kabra, no civilian traffic will be allowed to move from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Udhampur in Jammu region on Sundays and Wednesdays till May 31. The restrictions on civilian traffic on the 271-km highway will remain in force from 4 am to 5 pm, said the order, which follows the suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama. The highway passes through important towns such as Anantnag, ...
At ground zero of Sabarimala agitation, BJP trying to loosen grip of Left, Cong
The traditionally bipolar election to the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency, ground zero of the Sabarimala agitation, has gone triangular this time with the BJP hoping to win over voters who are opposed to implementation of the apex court order on entry of women in the hill shrine. The BJP has fielded its state General Secretary K Surendran, who led the Sabarimala protests against changing temple traditions, while the ruling Left Democratic Front has nominated Veena George, its Aranmula MLA, to take on two-time Congress-led UDF MP Anto Antony. The opposition to the Left government's decision to implement the September 28 Supreme Court order on allowing entry of women of all ages in the shrine of Lord Ayyappa here snowballed into a huge agitation that grabbed national headlines. The protests, one of the most violent religious agitations in the state, was led by a section of devotees, right wing outfits and the BJP-RSS. During the protests, Surendran was arrested and jailed on ...
EC appoints 36 observers for four parliamentary constituencies in J-K
For smooth conduct of the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission has appointed 36 observers for four parliamentary constituencies, officials said Thursday. The observers, including 28 general, six expenditure and two police, have been appointed for Baramulla, Jammu, Srinagar and Udhampur Lok Sabha constituencies, they said. The state has six Lok Sabha seats. The observers for Ladakh and Anantnag constituencies will be appointed later. These parliamentary constituencies are scheduled to go for polling on April 11 and April 18, respectively, the officials said. According to a communication from the office of Chief Electoral Officer, J-K, these observers have reached at their places of service and are available for the general public and political parties. Their contact numbers are given here under along with their areas and places of services. The state will go to polls in five phases on April 11, 18, 23, 29 and May 6.
Rahul won't let you down, Priyanka to Wayanad voters
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday urged the voters in Wayanad to elect her brother Rahul Gandhi from there in the coming Lok Sabha elections, saying that he will not let them down.
Priyanka asks people of Wayanad to vote for brother Rahul
Congress General Secretary (UP-East) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who accompanied her brother and party president Rahul Gandhi while he filed his nomination papers for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat on Thursday, took to Twitter and urged people of the constituency to vote in favour of Rahul Gandhi.Calling Rahul the most "courageous man" she ever knew, Priyanka tweeted: "My brother, my truest friend, and by far the most courageous man I know. Take care of him Wayanad, he won't let you down".Apart from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi will also be contesting from the Congress stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh where he will face BJP nominee and Union Minister Smriti Irani.Congress is contesting on 16 out of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala leaving four seats for its allies - two for Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and one each for Kerala Congress (Mani) and Socialist Party (RSP).
Priyanka carries shoes of journalist who fainted
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday carried the shoes of a journalist who collapsed when her brother and party President Rahul Gandhi visited Kerala to file his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections.
South Korea considering sending special envoy to North Korea
South Korea said Thursday it is considering dispatching a special envoy to North Korea as part of its efforts to get stalled nuclear talks back on track. Negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program have remained stalemated since a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam last month ended without agreement. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who facilitated US-North Korean talks last year, is to travel to Washington next week to discuss the nuclear diplomacy with Trump. Moon's national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told lawmakers on Thursday that his government is also considering sending a special envoy to North Korea. He didn't elaborate. In March 2018, Moon sent a delegation led by Chung to Pyongyang, North Korea's capital. Chung's delegation met Kim and quoted him as saying he was willing to deal away his advancing nuclear arsenal. Moon met Kim three times later in 2018. Kim's first summit with Trump in Singapore last May ended ..
Banning movement of civilian traffic on J-K NH 'anti-people, dictatorial'
Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Thursday said the administration's decision to ban movement of civilian vehicles on Jammu and Kashmir national highway for two days a week was "anti-people and dictatorial". The national highway from Baramulla to Udhampur has been put out of bounds for the civilian traffics on Sundays and Wednesdays till May 31, a notification issued by the J-K adminstration said Wednesday. "Another anti-people dictatorial move of the government to close the national highway for two days which will cause great distress to people. "The government should withdraw this diktat and stop punishing people of Kashmir," the Mirwaiz wrote on Twitter. The ban on civilian traffic would be effective from Baramulla to Udhampur through Srinagar, Qazigund, Jawahar-Tunnel, Banihal and Ramban, the notification said. The ban would be in force on the two days from 4 am to 5 pm, it added.
Fired by Modi, Vidarbha campaign hots up
With the fiery speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his maiden poll rally in Wardha on Monday, the poll campaign has hotted up for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in eastern Maharashtra's crucial Vidarbha region.