Page 1077 - Politics

Closure of "corruption shops" led to Mahagathbandhan: Jayant

Union minister and BJP candidate from Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency Jayant Sinha Tuesday said that "Mahagathbandhan" was mooted by the opposition parties as their "corruption shops" were closed after Narendra Modi government took over the reins of the country in 2014. Addressing a meeting at Barhi, the Union minister of state for Civil Aviation said, "The opposition is cooking 'Mahakhichidi' only to create hurdles in the continuation of the developmental works taken up by the Narendra Modi government. "But they (opposition) would fail in their objective as the people have resolved to continue with the Modi government as they have seen developmental works in the past five years which never happened in the last 60 years since independence." After the Modi government came to power, "corruption shops" of the opposition parties were closed and that was the reason why they went for Mahagathbandhan, Sinha asserted. He said, "Our politics evolve around development and we ..

BJD declares candidates for 2 LS, 7 Assembly seats

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday announced the candidates for seven Assembly and two Lok Sabha seats for the upcoming elections.

Uncertainty over alliance between Cong-AAP persists

Uncertainty persisted over alliance between the AAP and the Congress, even after party president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said the Congress is "open and very flexible" for a tie-up with other parties. Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit, and AICC in-charge of the Delhi Congress P C Chako met Gandhi at his residence to discuss the issue. Later, she huddled with other leaders of the Delhi Congress at her residence in a meeting that continued for several hours. However, Dikshit maintained silence over it. When asked about the Congress' stand on alliance in Delhi, Gandhi told reporters, "There is no confusion on this. The situation is actually very clear on this issue. We have constructed alliances." "We have been open to construct alliances and we have done it across the country. We are very flexible on this issue," he said. Chacko was present in both the meetings. He did not comment on whether a final decision was made on alliance with the AAP. "The process is on for selection of ...

Jayant Chaudhary holds roadshow for SP-BSP-RLD candidate of Ghaziabad seat

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) vice-president Jayant Chaudhary held a roadshow on Tuesday in support of Samajwadi Party candidate Suresh Bansal for the Ghaziabad Lok Sabha seat. Chaudhary's cavalcade started from the Raj Nagar extension here and ended at Duhai village near Muradnagar town of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district. Addressing the gathering, Chaudhary said people of the country have for the first time seen a government that only makes "false promises". The BJP-led government has only kept the public engaged in "jumlebaazi" (rhetoric) for five years. During the BJP's tenure, respect of farmers has decreased, Chaudhary alleged. Minorities and Dalits have been shunted out from the mainstream and they are feeling insecure. No step has been put forward to spread brotherhood in the society, the RLD leader said. Chaudhary claimed that the NDA government had only completed the developments plans of the previous regime. Public is paying the exorbitant rates of electricity, he added.

Hamas leader says rocket that hit Israeli house fired in error

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said Tuesday the rocket from Gaza that hit a house in Israel last week launched due to a technical error, his first official statement on the strike. The rocket that was fired from the Gaza Strip on March 25 destroyed a house north of Tel and injured seven Israelis. Israel responded by striking a series of Hamas targets in the Palestinian enclave, including flattening Haniya's office, before Egypt brokered a ceasefire that prevented a full conflict. In his comments on Tuesday, Haniya said the rocket was "due to a technical defect, but was a mini demonstration if (Israel) thought to commit folly against the Palestinian people." The statement from his office said he made the remarks during a meeting with political analysts. He did not provide further details on what type of technical defect could have caused the launch. Previously only unnamed officials from Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza, have said the rocket was fired due to a technical ...

Cong dismisses TRS plea for 16 LS seats

AICC spokesperson Sravan Dasoju Tuesday took potshots at the campaign theme of ruling TRS in Telangana that it should win all the Lok Sabha seats in the State to ensure that it gets funds and development projects. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi has failed to achieve anything though it had almost all the MPs on its side in the outgoing Lok Sabha, he alleged. Talking to reporters, the congress leader claimed that TRS had 16 MPs MPs on its side (after MPs from other parties switched over to TRS) in the outgoing Lok Sabha. "Before making a fresh appeal for 16 seats, KCR (TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao) and KTR (TRS working president K T Rama Rao) should first apologise to people for their failure in previous term," he said. Claiming that neither NDA nor UPA was in a position to form government post-Lok Sabha elections, the TRS has been urging people to elect its nominees in 16 Lok Sabha seats, leaving Hyderabad represented by TRS ally AIMIM, to ensure that Telangana gets a ...

Cong delivers a change in manifesto - from making pledges in 2014 to making bold promises in 2019

Coming a long way from making pledges in 2014, the Congress's poll manifesto for 2019 promises a host of bold initiatives and delivery of a slew of welfare measures. From the theme of "Your voice, Our pledge" - a commitment made to the people of the country in the last general election, the party has now moved on to the promise of "Congress will deliver". The party said that this manifesto theme is in contrast to what it said was the BJP's "failures" to deliver on its promises made five years ago to the people of the country. While the Congress in its last manifesto had focussed on economic reforms such as bringing in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) -- the new indirect tax regime and the passage of direct tax code bill, it has now moved to a series of initiatives aimed at wooing the poor and the farmers, with the major selling point being its much-touted "NYAY" scheme (minimum income guarantee scheme). The party's focus in 2014 was of retaining power and had talked about its ...

TN CM hits out at Chidambaram

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Tuesday alleged that senior Congress leader P Chidambaram when he was Union Finance Minister did not do anything for his home state. Palaniswami made the remarks while campaigning for the BJP's H Raja who is contesting from the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency, where he is pitted against Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram. "When Chidambaram himself could not do anything for Tamil Nadu, how can one expect his son to do anything," the chief minister said. At Ramanathapuram, Palaniswami sought vote for the AIADMK front so that more development schemes and prosperity could be brought to the State with NDA ruling at the centre. Addressing an election meeting in support of the BJP candidate Nainar Nagendran, he listed the state's achievements. He claimed Tamil Nadu topped in various spheres including Health, Education and Agriculture. The State was among top producers of farm products in the country and it also had the best hospitals, ..

AAP to not contest LS polls in Maha, claim party functionaries

After month-long deliberations, the central leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided not to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. According to a senior party functionary in the state, the political affairs committee (PAC) on Monday decided to focus on those states where party is in sound position to defeat BJP. The situation in Maharashtra, the PAC believes, is not favourable. "A formal announcement will be made soon regarding the decision (of not contesting the election)," a party functionary added. With this decision, the AAP is slated to fight Lok Sabha polls in only four states - Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Goa. This decision has, however, disappointed several workers and volunteers who though the party would contest the general polls here. "The central leadership apparently has no interest to expand its base in Maharashtra. This is why it did not contest the Mumbai civic polls either," a worker said. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, AAP had .

Maha LS poll: Tawde asks Cong to declare its PM candidate

Maharashtra minister Vinod Tawde on Tuesday asked the Congress to declare its prime ministerial candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Speaking to reporters here at the state BJP office, he said former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had recently said Narendra Modi would not become the prime minister again. "Prithviraj Chavan is a highly educated man, who studied in a foreign university. If you have done a study on the political situation of the country, you should openly say who will be the next prime minister," he said. Tawde said the manifesto of the Congress will have no meaning unless the party defines who it means when it talks about "we will deliver". The 55-page manifesto of the party is titled 'Hum Nibhayenge' (We will deliver). "When talking about 'Hum Nibhayenge' the Congress should make it clear who it is talking about. Is it Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Chandrababu Naidu or leaders of Kerala and Tamil Nadu? Unless they ...

Maha: Uddhav calls for end to 'gundaraj' in Vasai-Virar

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray started his party's election campaign Tuesday for Palghar Lok Sabha constituency and called for an end to "gundaraj" in Vasai-Virar region. The Sena chief kicked off the campaign at Naigaon in Vasai. Thackeray embarked on a road show from Naigoan naka. and visited social and religious places. He also went to a Gurudwara and later had a dialogue with the Sikh community. Thackeray directed his party workers to observe "yuti dharma" and "mahayutidharma" and break the previous record of voting and remove "gundgiri" from Vasai-Virar. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and other alliance partners were participated in election campaigning wholeheartedly, adding that unprecedented crowds were seen in the Kolhapur rally held earlier. He claimed the party would get more votes (seats) in the election compared to previous one. Slamming the Congress party's manifesto, Thackeray said before coming up with a manifesto, the Congress ...

Allow under construction Rohtang tunnel for transporting poll material: HP CEO requests BRO

The state election commission has asked the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to allow it to use the under-construction 8.8 kilometre Rohtang tunnel to facilitate the transportation of polling personnel and poll related material. "The BRO has been asked to allow tunnel's usage for facilitating the transportation of men and machinery and election related material to Himachal Pradesh's tribal district Lahaul and Spiti," state Chief Electoral Officer Devesh Kumar said here Tuesday. Over ninety per cent work for Rohtang tunnel is completed and it may be allowed to use for short term for elections, another state official said. However, the BRO is gearing up to begin snow-clearance operation on the Manali-Leh highway and has assured to try getting it through by mid April before the elections to connect 13,050 feet high Rohtang Pass, an official spokesperson said. Himachal Pradesh has four Lok Sabha seats and goes to polls in a single phase on May 19. Simultaneously, in a meeting to review the

BCCI Ombudsman asks Ganguly to respond to conflict complaints

The BCCI Ombudsman Justice D K Jain has asked former India captain Sourav Ganguly to clear his stand on allegations of conflict of interest in his role as Delhi Capitals advisor while serving as president of Cricket Association of Bengal. There have been three specific complaints filed by cricket fans Bhaswati Santua, Ranjit Seal and Abhijeet Mukherjee on how Ganguly as CAB President can sit in Delhi Capitals dug out during IPL match against KKR at Eden Gardens on April 12. "Yes, I have asked Sourav Ganguly to respond to the complaints with regards to Conflict of Interest as DC advisor and state association president," Justice Jain told PTI on Tuesday. "He has been given seven days to file his reply," Justice Jain added. However, there could be some relief to Ganguly as the Ombudsman, who is also the Ethics Officer of the BCCI, is not taking into account the April 12 match which is a bone of contention. "I am not concerned about any specific match. It's a general complaint about his ..

Will quit politics if Maval firing allegations are found true:

NCP leader and former chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said he would quit politics if allegations that he ordered the firing on farmers in Maval were proved true. The allegation was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Wardha on Monday. Police had fired on agitating farmers in Maval on August 9, 2011, killing three of them. Hitting back, Pawar said, "Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has all the police machinery under him. He has CID, CBI and other institutions. I am the son of a farmer and I will never do something which is against farmers." "If it is proved that I had given orders of firing, I will quit politics," Pawar asserted. He also dared those making the allegation to do the same if the allegations were found to be false. "When I am saying that I will leave the politics if the allegations are proven right, I would like to ask all those who are levelling allegations against me to keep their careers at stake. Here I am not talking about the Prime .

LS polls: Kumar Vishwas may campaign for BJP in Delhi

Disgruntled AAP leader Kumar Vishwas is considering the Delhi BJP's proposal of campaigning for the party in the Lok Sabha polls, sources said Tuesday. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari had a meeting with Vishwas on Monday where the latter said he would require another meeting to put things in perspective, the sources in the BJP said. The sources also claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might consider the option of giving Vishwas a ticket from the east Delhi parliamentary constituency as he is a good orator and can hold the crowd captive with his wordplay. He was a key part of Aam Aadmi Party's campaign during the Vidhan Sabha elections and if he campaigns for BJP in the polls, it will be a huge asset, the sources said. Haryanvi singer Sapna Chaudhary is also likely to campaign for the saffron party in Delhi. The Lok Sabha polls being conducted in seven phases will begin on April 11 and continue till May 19. Delhi will vote on May 12 and the overall results will be declared on ..

BJP to take out 'Ayushman March' in all booths in Delhi

The BJP's Delhi unit will take out rallies in 13,816 booths across the national capital targeting the Delhi government over the non-implementation of the central government's schemes such as Ayushman Bharat health insurance programme in Delhi. At a meeting of office-bearers of the Delhi unit of the party, it was decided that the party will take out 'Ayushman March' from next week and the voters will also be told about the achievements of the Modi government in the past five years, party sources said. Questions will be raised to the Delhi government about why Delhi'ites are being deprived of the benefits of the Ayushman Bharat scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker sections, the sources added. As part of the march, Delhi BJP office-bearers will be visiting metro stations, bus stops, shopping malls, markets and meet resident welfare associations. Pamphlets highlighting the Modi government's achievements will be distributed during ..

Thangkhiew takes over as Meghalaya Chief Secretary

Senior bureaucrat Parmarsan S. Thangkhiew has taken over as the new Chief Secretary of Meghalaya, an official said on Tuesday

Sikkim to be first state free of kutcha houses: Chamling

Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling on Tuesday promised to complete work related to drinking water and electricity on priority and said the SDF government would make the Himalayan state the first in the country completely free of 'kutcha' (temporary) houses.

145 cos of central paramilitary forces, police from other

As many as 145 companies of central paramilitary forces, besides security personnel from other states would be on duty for the April 11 Lok Sabha elections. This was stated in an official release here Tuesday The Lok Sabha polls for Telangana will be held on April 11. The release said Chief Secretary S K Joshi held discussions with two senior deputy commissioners of the Election Commission, Umesh Sinha and Sudip Jain, on the arrangements being made for the elections. Telangana Director General of Police Mahender Reddy was also present in the meeting, it said. The Chief Secretary assured the EC officials that the government would allot required personnel for election duty if needed for Nizamabad, where 185 contestants, including 10 farmers, are in fray.

Pompeo to skip G7 foreign ministers talks in France

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will skip a meeting of Group of Seven ministers this week in France, the State Department said Tuesday, amid persistent tensions between Europe and President Donald Trump. Officials did not explain Pompeo's absence. But the move comes amid a long list of disagreements, including the US rejection of international agreements on ending Iran's nuclear program and fighting climate change. The State Department said that Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan would represent the United States and be joined by David Hale, the top-ranking US career diplomat, at the talks Friday and Saturday in Dinard on the coast of Brittany. Sullivan "will engage in discussions on a broad range of issues, including the deteriorating situation in Venezuela, destabilizing Iranian behaviour in the Middle East, the responsible conduct of states in cyber space and the final denuclearization of North Korea," a State Department statement said. Pompeo will already be seeing several of .