Page 1071 - Politics
BJP didn't do anything for nation's development: Tejashwi
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday launching hit out at the BJP for not working for development of the nation."Our party only works towards the development of the nation, unlike the BJP, which doesn't have anything to say about the nation's development," Yadav told media personnel here, adding that the motive of his party is to eradicate poverty from the nation.He, however, refused to comment on the election manifesto released by the Congress party on April 2.The RJD is contesting 20 out of the 40 parliamentary constituencies in the state as per a seat-sharing pact announced by the grand alliance on March 22.Bihar will go to polls in seven phases, from April 11 to May 19, and counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Congress accuses BJP of using cash for votes
The Congress on Wednesday accused the BJP of a 'Cash For Vote Scandal', sharing a video of officials seizing Rs 1.8 crore from the convoy of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and state BJP President Tapir Gao ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in the state.
Maduro loyalists strip Venezuela's Juan Guaido of immunity
Maduro loyalists stripped Venezuela's Juan Guaid of immunity Tuesday, paving the way for the opposition leader's prosecution and potential arrest for supposedly violating the constitution when he declared himself interim president. But whether the government of President Nicolas Maduro will take action against the 35-year-old lawmaker remains unclear. Guaid has embarked on an international campaign to topple the president's socialist administration amid deepening social unrest in the country plagued by nearly a month of power outages . He declared himself Venezuela's interim president in January, and vowed to overthrow Maduro. So far, however, Maduro has avoided jailing the man that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and roughly 50 other nations recognize as Venezuela's legitimate leader. The Trump administration has threatened the Maduro government with a strong response if Guaido is harmed and Florida Senator Marco Rubio who has Trump's ear on Venezuela policy said .
Palestinian attempts West Bank stabbing, shot dead by Israeli: officials
A Palestinian attempted to stab an Israeli in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday before being shot dead, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. The Israeli army said a Palestinian tried to carry out a stabbing attack near a military checkpoint close to Nablus in the northern West Bank, after which "a civilian fired and neutralised the assailant". The Palestinian health ministry later confirmed he had died, though his identity was not released. Palestinian official news agency Wafa said the man who fired the shot was a settler, though the army declined to confirm or deny this. Wafa quoted eyewitnesses as saying the Palestinian man was a truck driver. A series of Palestinian lone wolf attacks broke out in the West Bank in late 2015. The situation has since calmed, but sporadic attacks continue.
Only BJP can resolve Goa's mining ban issue: Naik
Only a BJP government at the Centre can and will resolve the mining ban issue in Goa, Union Minister of state for AYUSH and BJP's candidate for the North Goa Lok Sabha seat Shripad Naik said on Wednesday.
Rs 1.8 cr in cash seized from Arunachal CM's convoy, EC should file case against PM: Congress
The Congress on Wednesday alleged that a "cash for votes" scam was busted in Arunachal Pradesh with the recovery of Rs 1.8 crore in cash from Chief Minister Pema Khandu's convoy and asked the poll panel to register a case against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the chief minister and his deputy. Accusing the BJP of using "money power" to woo voters in the northeast, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Rs 1.8 crore was allegedly recovered from the chief minister's convoy in Pasighat around midnight, hours before Modi was to address a rally there on Wednesday morning. Khandu and his deputy Chowna Mein should be immediately sacked, he said and also sought the termination of the candidature of Tapir Gao, the BJP's Arunachal Pradesh president who has been fielded from the Arunachal West Lok Sabha constituency. Surjewala showed two videos purportedly showing the cash being recovered in the presence of officials of the Election Commission, the local administration and .
Mamata a speedbreaker in West Bengal's development: Modi
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is a "speedbreaker" in the path of West Bengal's development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday, insisting she has to go to make way for the betterment of the state. Modi also took on the Congress over its manifesto that talks about reviewing some clauses of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), saying it acts like a "shield" for the security forces in the fight against terrorists. "They (the Congress) want our defence forces to be helpless...their hands and feet tied," Modi said and accused the Congress and its allies of sympathising with Pakistan. "'Didi' (Mamata Banerjee) is a speedbreaker in the path of West Bengal's development," Modi said in his first public rally on Banerjee's turf after the general elections were announced. Claiming that Banerjee has put a spanner in several central schemes for the uplift of the poor, Modi said "speedbreaker Didi" has not allowed people of Bengal to benefit from Ayushman Bharat ...
Chidambaram asks why BJP-led govt "sitting on" NCTC, NATGRID, making India vulnerable
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram Wednesday accused the ruling BJP of making India vulnerable to terrorist attacks by "sitting on" two key initiatives of the previous UPA government -- the anti-terror hub National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID). In a series of tweets, the former home and finance minister wondered whether the Narendra Modi government has not moved forward on the NCTC and the NATGRID because the two initiatives were conceived and started by the Manmohan Singh government. "It is the BJP that has made India vulnerable to terrorist attacks by sitting on two vital initiatives for 5 years. Why has NATGRID not been operationalised in 5 years? Why has the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) been put on the back burner for 5 years?," he asked. The idea behind setting up of the NCTC, as a single, unified counter-terrorism agency, was conceived by Chidambaram as the then Home minister soon after the Mumbai terror attack in ...
Jitendra Awhad made general secretary of NCP
NCP's aggressive face and MLA Jitendra Awhad has been appointed as general secretary of the party in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections which his party is fighting in alliance with the Congress against the BJP-Shiv Sena combine. The appointment comes into effect immediately, the NCP said in a statement Wednesday. Awhad, who represents Mumbra-Kalwa assembly constituency in Thane district, is considered close to party chief Sharad Pawar. As per the seat-sharing agreement for all the 48 seats in Maharashtra, the NCP is contesting from 19 constituencies and the Congress 25. Voting for the first out of total four phases in Maharashtra will be held on April 11.
Congress fields JB Patnaik's son from Begunia Assembly seat
Congress has fielded former Odisha minister Panchanan Kanungo from the Cuttack Lok Sabha seat and Prithvi Ballabh Patnaik, son of three-time chief minister J B Patnaik, in Begunia Assembly segment. Their names figure in the list of candidates for two Lok Sabha and nine Assembly seats in Odisha released by the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) late on Tuesday night. Kanungo, ex-finance Minister, is set to take on BJP candidate Prakash Mishra, a retired IPS officer and BJDs five-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab in Cuttack. Congress has nominated Manas Jena from Jajpur (SC) Lok Sabha seat where the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has fielded Sarmistha Sethi. This apart, the party also announced candidates for nine Assembly constituencies fielding late Janaki Ballabh Patnaiks son Prithvi Ballabh Patnaik from Begunia Assembly constituency. This is his maiden poll battle. Congress has re-nominated four candidates who had been fielded by it in ..
UK Brexit chief says May not offering a blank check in talks
Britain's Brexit secretary denied Wednesday that he was offering a "blank check" to the opposition Labour Party after Prime Minister Theresa May offered to meet with the party leader in hopes of ending the impasse over the U.K.'s departure from the European Union. Steve Barclay told the BBC that some Labour proposals, such as a customs union, would be "very difficult" for the government to accept, but both sides need to sit down and work out an agreement to avoid a damaging no-deal Brexit. But he added that the "remorseless logic" of Parliament's failure to back the prime minister's withdrawal agreement with the EU is that Britain must move toward a softer form of Brexit "We're not setting pre-conditions, but nor is it a blank check," Barclay said. With Britain dashing toward a disorderly exit from the EU within days, May pivoted away from the cliff edge Tuesday, saying she would seek another Brexit delay and hold talks with the opposition to seek a compromise. After failing ...
Congress election manifesto is show-off: Mayawati
A day after the Congress released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, BSP chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday called the document a "show-off" and an "illusion".
JNU sedition case: Delhi govt seeks one month to decide on sanction
The Delhi government on Wednesday informed a Delhi court that it would take one month to decide on whether to grant sanction to prosecute former JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others accused in the 2016 JNU sedition case.Home department of the Delhi government filed a reply in the Patiala House Court stating that the matter was under consideration and it can take around a month's time to take a decision on granting the sanction.Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat directed public prosecutor Vikas Singh to get the 'proper reply' from the Aam Aadmi Party government within a definite time frame.The Delhi Police had earlier told the court that it has already sent a request to the Delhi government seeking sanction after the court summoned DCP of Delhi Police (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwaha for filing a charge sheet without the state government's sanction.Kushwaha had told the court that sanction was an administrative action and the charge sheet can be filed without
Congress manifesto full of lies, hypocrisy: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday tore into the Congress, terming its manifesto as a "hypocrisy document" which was "full of lies". Addressing his second rally in Arunachal Pradesh within a week, the prime minister said the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be about the choice between "trust and corruption, and about resolution and conspiracy". He charged that the Congress sympathises with those who insult India, and wondered whether its party symbol, the hand, is with the country or with those conspiring against it. "Those who burn the Tricolour and insult it, raise slogans of breaking India into pieces, play in the hands of foreign forces and vandalise statues of Baba Saheb (Ambedkar), the Congress sympathises with them, too," Modi further charged. Citing the Congress manifesto for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Modi said it had promised that every house would have electricity by 2009. "However, till 2014 around 18,000 villages in the country were unelectrified... Just like them .
Arunachal Pradesh remained backward due to Cong 'misrule': CM
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday hit out at the Congress alleging that the land-locked state remained underdeveloped in the last several decades due to "misrule" of the grand old party. Addressing an election rally where the Prime Minister also spoke, the chief minister claimed that the development process in Arunachal Pradesh picked up only after the NDA came to power in 2014. "Pasighat, the centurion town in East Siang district has been blessed with the visit of Prime Minister for the second time, the first being in 2014, to address an election rally and for the love of Modi to the people, the town had been selected under the Smart City Mission along with the state capital," Khandu said. Lashing out at the Congress, the chief minister said that the BJP had weakened the base of the grand old party in the state, that fielded candidates in 46 assembly seats out of total 60. With three BJP nominees - Kento Jini, Taba Tedir and Phurpa Tsering - ...
Congress fields ex-Jharkhand CM Koda's wife
The Congress on Wednesday named three of its seven candidates from Jharkhand for the Lok Sabha elections, with former Chief Minister Madhu Koda's wife Geeta Koda fielded from Chaibasa.
BC Khanduri's removal from parl panel 'symptomatic' of how BJP govt at Centre functions: Son
The sudden removal of veteran BJP leader B C Khanduri from the parliamentary committee on defence is "symptomatic" of the way the party's government at the Centre functions, his son Manish Khanduri, who makes his electoral debut as Congress's Pauri Lok Sabha seat candidate, said Wednesday. BC Khanduri, a former Uttarakhand chief minister and retired army general, was removed as the panel's chairman last year. Manish has made his father's "unceremonious" removal from the panel a major poll issue and said the action was "humiliation" for a leader who still serves the BJP. "My father had made an objective evaluation of the country's defence preparedness and come up with suggestions which could improve the situation. "However, the government did not just choose to ignore his suggestions but also removed him from the committee. This is symptomatic of the way this (BJP) government functions.The action shows its intolerance to critical appraisal," Manish told PTI in an interview. Pauri along
Cong fields Leader of Opposition Dhanani from Amreli LS seat
Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani on Wednesday filed his nomination to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha poll from Amreli constituency on the Congress' ticket. Dhanani, who is pitted against sitting BJP MP Naran Kachhadia, submitted his nomination papers to Amreli district magistrate and returning officer Aayush Oak. The 42-year-old MLA won the state election from Amreli Assembly seat in 2017, 2012 and 2002. After filing his nomination, Dhanani expressed confience of winning the Lok Sabha seat this time. "I thank the party leadership for selecting me from the Amreli Lok Sabha seat. The country is facing many problems and the solution is to change the regime," he said. A congress source said the state party leadership wants senior leaders like Ahmed Patel, Shaktisinh Gohil and state president Amit Chavda to also contest the elections to give a tough fight to the BJP in Gujarat. Kachhadia, a two-term BJP MP who won the Amreli seat in 2014 by a margin .
Mehbooba files nomination papers for LS polls
PDP President and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday filed her nomination papers for the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat.
Comments on NYAY proposal my personal opinion: NITI Ayog VC tells EC
Defending his comments criticizing Congress' Nyunatam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said that he made the comment "as an economist and not as a member of Niti Aayog".Talking to ANI, he informed that he has filed response to the Election Commission over his comments on the Minimum Income Guarantee scheme flagged by the Congress.Kumar in his response to the Election Commission, said he spoke in his "personal capacity" as an economist and his comments "should not be interpreted" as Aayog's stand on the Congress' scheme.The NITI Aayog VC also cited the example of Montek Singh Ahluwalia who, as the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission (the predecessor of the NITI Aayog), had commented on the 'Gujarat Model' in April 2014 when the EC's Model Code of Conduct was in force for Lok Sabha elections.The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) prohibits public servants from furthering the interests of any political party during election time. Following ...