Page 1060 - Politics
Two Congress candidates quit party ahead of polls
In a major embarrassment for opposition Congress ahead of polls in Odisha, two party candidates for assembly elections Wednesday resigned from the primary membership alleging mismanagement in the grand old party. Yudhistir Samantray and Bibhu Tarai, candidates for Pipili and Tirtol assembly seats respectively, said they have sent their resignation letters to OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik. While Samantray claimed that the state leadership put party tickets on sale, Tarai alleged that Congress has fielded a candidate having criminal background. "The party has fielded a candidate who was arrested on the charge of murder. Is it not criminalisation of politics by Congress?" Tarai said. In a video that has gone viral, Samantray said the party sold tickets for money. He also alleged that though Congress has given him ticket to contest the assembly polls, the OPCC chief has been conspiring to defeat him in the elections. "I will return the party ticket and will not contest ...
Congress asks officials to do poll duty without fear
The Congress on Wednesday said the Gujarat High Court has sent notices to the Returning Officer (RO) and the general observer of Dholka constituency over an election petition filed by party candidate pertaining to 2017 Assembly election in the state and urged officials to work impartially and without fear during the Lok Sabha polls as their actions will be under judicial scrutiny.
No civilian traffic from Baramulla to Udhampur highway on 2 days in week till May 31: Govt order
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 government notification said Wednesday. The measure has been adopted to facilitate unhindered movement of security forces' convoys to eliminate the possibility of fidayeen terror attacks during the ongoing poll process, said an official. 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. In case of any emergency requiring passage of civilian vehicle, the police and administrative officials would take appropriate decisions in line with the provisions of movement of civilian traffic during curfews, the notification said. During his visit to Kashmir after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack targeting a CRPF convoy which had left 40 security personnel dead, Union Home ..
Mehbooba hits out at BJP with 'dog ate my homework' jibe
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday hit out at the BJP saying the way the party blames former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru for all the wrong decisions the NDA government has taken is equivalent to the 'dog ate my homework alibi in school.'Mufti tweeted, "BJP blaming Nehru for all the wrong decisions & policies NDA has undertaken is the equivalent of a child using the dog ate my homework alibi in school."Reacting to Nirmala Sitharaman's remark on Congress manifesto pertaining to AFSPA, she tweeted, "Allure of power gives people selective amnesia. PDPs agenda of alliance agreed upon by BJP clearly stipulated a review & gradual withdraw of AFSPA from disturbed areas in J & K. Congress demanding it is treason but BJP wanting it to grab power is OK?"Sitharaman earlier today had said, "Is this right? It is an effort to weaken the armed forces. They are trying to dilute the immunity of our security forces."Mufti, in a subsequent tweet, ...
Modi masks, T-shirts big hit in Kolkata rally
Modi masks, saffron caps and T-shirts with messages like "Aro Ekbar Modi Sarkar" (Modi government once again) and "NaMo Again" were big hits among the BJP supporters at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election rally in Kolkata's iconic Brigade Parade Ground on Wednesday.
Huge crowd greets Rahul, Priyanka at Kozhikode airport
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his sister and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who arrived here on Wednesday, were greeted by hundreds of UDF supporters, who had been waiting three hours to see them.
Gadkari says he is pained by Kawade's remarks against Irani
Union minister Nitin Gadkari said Wednesday that he was "pained" by the remarks made by People's Republican Party (PRP) leader Jaideep Kawade against BJP leader and Union minister Smriti Irani. Kawade is son of Maharashtra legislator Jogendra Kawade who heads PRP, a Congress ally. Speaking to a news channel, Gadkari, BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Nagpur, said, "It is very unfortunate, I have very good relations with Jogendra Kawade and his family. I felt very sad and pained that his son should make such a statement against a woman. "I am personally very hurt," said Gadkari. Jaideep allegedly made certain misogynistic remarks against Irani at an election rally here Monday. Election authorities lodged a complaint against him and he was arrested Wednesday under IPC sections 295 (A) (acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 500 (defamation) and 294 (obscene acts) before being released on bail.
Decision to dilute AFSPA will be in favour of terrorist: RK Singh
Union Minister RK Singh hit out at the Congress party for its manifesto on Wednesday and said that the decision to dilute AFSPA would be in favour of terrorist.Talking to ANI, he said: "Reviewing AFSPA is dangerous for the unity and integrity of the country. If you remove AFSPA, armed forces will be without any legal power. They want to reduce the protection of the armed forces.""This will weaken and jeopardise the fight against terrorism. This is against the interest of the country and should never happen. The decision to dilute AFSPA will be in favour of terrorist," he said.Accusing the party of preparing a manifesto which is apparently dominated by the views of 'Tukde-Tukde' gang, Singh said: "They want to remove sedition law. What will the government do if anyone calls for an armed rebellion against the country? This manifesto is prepared by 'Tukde-Tukde' gang. Congress should learn how to keep the interest of the country on top."The Congress party released its manifesto on ...
Cong manifesto a document of Pakistan's conspiracies: PM
Seeking to turn the heat on the Congress over its poll promise of reviewing the AFSPA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the assurance "toys with national security" and termed the opposition party's manifesto a "document of Pakistan's conspiracies". Addressing a rally here ahead of next week's polling, he accused the Congress of hatching a conspiracy to destabilise the country and "demoralise" its soldiers. Modi termed the coming together of opposition parties against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies "maha milavat" (grand adulteration) and said it would boost Naxal activities if they came to power as he blasted the Congress over its promise to scrap the sedition law. The prime minister also asked Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, a former defence minister, if he agreed with the Congress's manifesto, particularly on the issue of reviewing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which gives sweeping powers to security forces ..
Mamata to Modi: You're fascist, don't preach patriotism
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "fascist" after he criticised her for questioning the success of the IAF air strikes in Balakot.
BJP leader Krishna flays dynastic politics, hails Modi
Asserting that the grand old party Congress is not the property of a single family, Karnataka's senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader S.M. Krishna on Wednesday opposed dynastic politics in the country.
US approves to sell 24 multi-mission helicopters to India
The United States has approved the sale of 24 MH-60R multi-mission helicopters to India in order "to improve the security of a major defensive partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region.""The United States Department of State has approved the sale of 24 MH-60R multi-mission helicopters to India under its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The value of the potential is USD 2.6 billion," reads the statement released by the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the body that administers Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme."The proposed sale will provide India with the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions along with the ability to perform secondary missions, including vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay. India will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland ...
EC issues notice to Adityanath over his 'Modi ki Sena' remark
The Election Commission has issued a notice to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his 'Modi ki sena' remark.The Commission has asked him to file a reply by April 5.While addressing a public rally in Ghaziabad on April 1, Adityanath had referred to the Indian Army as "Modi ji ki sena" while drawing a comparison between the steps taken by the BJP-led central government against terrorism and the previous Congress government."Things which were impossible for SP-BSP, are now possible; it is possible since Modi is here. Congress used to feed biryani to terrorists but Modi ji ki sena (Prime Minister Narendra Modi's army) gives them only golis and golas (bullets and bombs). This is the difference," the Chief Minister had said.The comment of the Chief Minister had also drawn criticism from the opposition parties."It is shocking to hear the UP CM saying that the Indian Army is the 'Modi Sena'. Such blatant personalisation and usurping our beloved Indian Army is an insult and a ...
Naveen questions absence of national leaders during calamities
Ruling BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday said leaders of various national political parties visit Odisha during elections and disappear when people are in trouble. "Where were these leaders when natural calamities like cyclone, flood and drought hit Odisha? These leaders just shed crocodile tear for the people of the state," said Patnaik, also president of the ruling BJD. The chief minister said these leaders are now coming to Odisha for seeking votes as it is election time. "I am all along with you (people) and will remain so. These leaders will come only during elections, make promises to get votes and not be seen when you are in trouble," Patnaik said at an election rally at Gopalpur in Ganjam district. Patnaik sought to rekindle the memory of the people of the area who were victims of cyclones like Phailin (2013), Hudhud (2014) and Titli (2018) and subsequent floods and landslide. The BJD chief's statement came a day after Prime Minister ...
2 JNU professors not invited to attend varsity's executive council meeting
The JNU Teachers' Association accused the varsity's administration of not inviting two executive council members to the emergent meeting of the decision-making body convened on Wednesday. However, sources in the administration said an inquiry was ordered in the last executive council meeting against the two professors and that is why they were not invited. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association or JNUTA said professors Sachidanand Sinha and DK Lobiyal were not invited to the executive council meeting. The JNUTA had written a letter in this regard to the administration on March 19. The decision to debar statutory members from meetings of these bodies is a gross violation of the statutory provisions, the JNUTA said. Sources in the administration said the two professors had participated in protest meetings of the JNUTA outside the administration building, which is a forbidden area for protests. Sources said an inquiry was ordered against them in the last meeting in ...
BJP can't win with Chowkidar drama, PM encashing Pulwama incident: Mayawati
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to "encash" the Pulwama terror attack, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Wednesday asserted that the 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign will not help the BJP win elections."BJP cannot win despite the Chowkidari drama. Modi lead NDA rule has achieved nothing. The Prime Minister is trying to encash the Pulwama incident. No real development took place in Modi rule. The reservations are not properly being implemented. The situation with Muslims and other minorities is also very bad. Reservation for EWS is half baked decision," Mayawati said while addressing a rally along with JSP chief Pawan Kalyan.She also accused the BJP and Congress of misusing central agencies for targeting opponents."BJP and Congress must be defeated nationally and in this state TDP and YSR Congress Party should be defeated. People are still suffering even today because of GST and Demonitisation. BJP, same as past Congress government, is misusing all institutions like ...
Congress prepares grand plan to take its manifesto to masses
Congress party is making grand plans to take its election manifesto to the common man, the party said on Wednesday.Reportedly, the grand old party is planning to hold 22 press conferences by its senior party leaders to convey the message in its manifesto to the masses. The program is scheduled on April 4.As per the official release by the party, Anand Sharma will be holding the press conference in Mumbai, Abhishek Manu Singhvi in Delhi and Priyanka Chaturvedi will be holding a press conference in Bhuneshwar.Apart from that, the party will be deploying its veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad in Jammu and Meem Afzal in Srinagar.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 manifesto proposed to decriminalise laws that are essentially directed against civil violations and can be subjected to civil penalties. The laws include the sedition law and defamation.The .
Its Akhilesh vs Bhojpuri star 'Nirahua' in Azamgarh
The stage is set for a direct contest between former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Bhojpuri star Dinesh Lal Yadav popularly known as "Nirahua" in Azamgarh, where Urdu poets and writers Kaifi Azmi, Majroorh Sultanpuri and Rahul Sankrityayan were born.
TMRPS extends support to PM Modi in Lok Sabha polls in Telangana
Telangana Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (TMRPS) has decided to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.Etike Raju Madiga, Founder-president of TMRPS while speaking to ANI, said, "As the president of TMRPS and on behalf of Scheduled Caste people, we have decided to support Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections."Madiga claimed that at present, no other candidate is as worthy as Prime Minister Narendra Modi."In the present scenario, there is no other candidate as worthy as Narendra Modi. We all know how much Narendra Modi developed our country through his schemes and initiatives," he said and requested all Telangana Scheduled Caste people to vote for Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha polls.All 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana will go to polls in a single phase on April 11, which is also the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.The dates for seven phases of polls are April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. The counting of votes will ..
Mamata flays Modi, calls him 'expiry babu'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi "expiry babu" after he called her a "speed breaker" in the path of the state's development.