Page 1135 - Politics
People will vote for BJP as homage to Parrikar: CM
People of Goa will vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the coming Lok Sabha polls as homage to late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who died on March 17, incumbent Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday.
Legal residents held in detention camps in China, claims US
The United States on Friday claimed that its citizens have been held in detention camps of Xinjiang in China.US State Department sources told CNN that a few legal US residents were being held back in China. The sources, however, refused to divulge more information citing privacy concerns.While addressing a press briefing at the State Department, Sam Brownback, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom said that he has accessed a new, unconfirmed report about a legal US resident, who had not been heard since his visit to Xinjiang."He had legal status being here, travelled back to Xinjiang after being here with his son in California. And then has not been heard from since. And he's deeply concerned about whether what his treatment is. He has a number of chronic illnesses, he's a 75-year-old man and an intellectual," Brownback revealed.Expressing concerns about the detention camps in the south-Asian nation, Brownback said, "And it's not just the camps anymore. Entire ...
LS polls: Sharad Yadav to contest from Madhepura, Misa Bharti from Patliputra
The "Mahagathbandhan" on Friday announced its candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections in Bihar.While former JDU leader Sharad Yadav will be contesting from Madhepura on RJD ticket, Misa Bharti, daughter of Lalu Prasad Yadav will be contesting from Patliputra, a seat which she lost to Ram Kripal Yadav of BJP in 2014.Addressing a press conference here, Rashtriya Janta Dal leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejaswi Yadav announced the name of candidates.Senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh will be contesting from Vaishali.Hindustan Awam Morcha leader Jitan Ram Manjhi and Vikasshil Insan Party (VIP) leader Mukesh Sahni, popularly known as "Son of Mallah" will be contesting from Gaya and Khagaria, respectively.Kirti Azad, former BJP leader who won from Darbhanga Lok Sabha constituency was the notable absentee from the list. RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqi will be contesting from Darbhanga instead.Sources have said the Congress may field KirtiAzad from ...
CPI-M, Congress urge conducive situation in Tripura
The opposition Congress and the CPI-M on Friday separately urged the Election Commission (EC) to create a conducive situation in Tripura for the coming Lok Sabha polls and alleged that BJP workers and cadres have "unleashed a reign of terror" in the state.
NYAY scheme is aimed at empowering poor: Cong leader
AICC Secretary Sanjay Dutt Friday said the NYAY scheme conceptualised by the Congress would be of "big help to empower the poor." The NYAY scheme is "aimed at empowering the poor by guaranteeing minimum income of Rs 72,000 per annum" if the Congress was voted to power in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Dutt who is in charge of the party's affairs in Puducherry told reporters here. He said the NYAY scheme like the MGNREA "is intended to empower poor families and the amount of Rs 6,000 per month would be credited to the account of the woman member in the family." When his attention was drawn to the criticism of the scheme by union Minister Nitin Gadkari that it was "a political gimmick", the Congress leader said there was a saying that "a man suffering from jaundice would see everything yellow. Those who criticise the NYAY are only against the poor and protectors of affluent persons." The Congress leader also charged the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre with
Shouldn't I fight from Varanasi? Priyanka quips
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has thrown a hint that she is not averse to taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his own Lok Sabha constituency. "Shouldn't I fight from Varanasi?" Vadra said when a party worker asked her to contest from Rae Bareli, according to a participant at the meeting. During a visit to Rae Bareli, the constituency of her mother, Sonia Gandhi, Vadra held meetings with party leaders and workers late into Thursday night and faced fresh demands for entering the electoral battle from the constituency. On Wednesday, in a brief interaction with the media in Amethi, the constituency of her brother and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Vadra had said she would contest the election if the party wants her to do so. At the Bhueymau guest house in Rae Bareli on Thursday, the Congress incharge of eastern Uttar Pradesh had asked the party workers to highlight among the people the alleged failures and failed promises of the Modi government. There is no dearth ..
BJP announces fresh list of 11 LS candidates
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday released its 12th list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and declared party's representatives from 11 constituencies.BJP announced names of three candidates each from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka and one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra.Jamyang Tsering Namgyal is BJP's candidate for the Ladakh Lok Sabha constituency.The three names announced for the Karnataka state include Anna Saheb Jolle, Raja Amresh Nayak and Sanganna Karadi for Chikkodi, Raichur and Koppal Lok Sabha constituencies, respectively.In Madhya Pradesh, BJP has fielded Dhal Singh Bisen from Balaghat, Roadmal Nagar from Rajgarh and Gajendra Patel from Khargone Lok Sabha constituency.Rahul Kaswan is BJP's candidate from Rajasthan's Churu constituency, Balak Nath from Alwar and Kanakmal Katara from Banswara seat.Ranjitsingh Naik Nimbalkar, former Congress president of Satara district who had recently joined BJP, is a candidate from Madha ...
No need to increase VVPAT count to match it with EVM: EC files affidavit in SC
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday filed its reply in the Supreme Court and opposed the petition filed by twenty-one political parties through which they had sought direction that 50 per cent EVM results should be matched and cross-checked with VVPATs before the declaration of results in the upcoming General Elections.The poll-body in its affidavit stated that "there is no need to increase VVPAT count to match it with EVM".The court had on Thursday directed the Commission to file by today an affidavit on why physical verification of VVPATs should not be extended to more than one polling station per Assembly segment.The court is hearing a plea filed by 21 opposition leaders led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, seeking a random count of VVPAT slips of at least 50 per cent EVMs in each Assembly constituency before the declaration of Lok Sabha election results.The petition has challenged the decision of the Commission to check VVPATs of only one randomly
Imran Masood takes dig at Yogi Adityanath for calling him relative of Masood Azhar
Congress candidate from Saharanpur Imran Masood on Friday lashed out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for calling him a relative of terrorist Masood Azhar.Addressing a rally here, Imran also mocked at Adityanath for his 'ignorance' and said, "Yogi Adityanath was calling me Azhar Masood while the terrorist's actual name is Masood Azhar."Taking a jibe at the Chief Minister, the Congress candidate said that if he is a relative of Masood Azhar then Adityanath should be ashamed of the fact that he is roaming freely."Speaking in favour of Congress candidate Harendra Malik, he said: "In the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the contest is between BJP and Congress and there is no middle path available for the voters. Hence, Malik will get votes of all sections of society."Hitting out at Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati for turning down Congress support, Imran said: "Mayawati says she will not talk to Congress. If that is so, then has she spoken to BJP (for an alliance)?"He ...
Ashok Kumar Dohre joins Congress, set to contest polls from Etawah
In yet another jolt to the Bharatiya Janata Party, sitting MP from Uttar Pradesh's Etawah, Ashok Kumar Dohre joined the Congress on Friday.Dohre, who joined the Congress in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi, will contest the upcoming polls from Etawah.Dohre had won the 2014 general elections from Etawah on a BJP ticket.Meanwhile, the Congress released another list of 5 candidates, including 4 for Assam and one for Uttar Pradesh.While Dohre will contest from Etawah, the four candidates from Assam are Abu Taher Ali Bepari (Dhubri), Sabda Ram Rabha (Kokrajhar), Abdul Khaleque (Barpeta) and Bobbeeta Sharma from Gauhati.Seven phase Lok Sabha elections will commence on April 11 and culminate on May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23..
Prashant Kishor denies handling JD(U) election campaign
Janata Dal-United vice-president Prashant Kishor on Friday clarified that he is not handling the election campaign of his party and would only learn and collaborate for now.Taking to Twitter, Kishor said, "In Bihar, the NDA is fighting firmly under the leadership of Honorable Modi ji and Nitish ji. JDU's responsibility for election campaigning and management is on the strong shoulders of the senior and experienced leader of the party RCP Singhji. My role in this early phase of politics is to learn and collaborate."Interestingly, RCP Singh is a bureaucrat-turned-politician who has also served as the private secretary of Nitish Kumar when the later was a union minister as well as the principal secretary of the state after Nitish became its Chief Minister. Singh, a Rajya Sabha member now, had taken voluntary retirement in 2010 to join JD (U).Kishor, on the other hand, is widely known as a political strategist and is credited for helping different political parties in important ...
Sabarimala issue will help BJP make big gains in Kerala: T'puram candidate K Rajasekharan
The controversy over the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple will help the BJP make inroads into Kerala, says the party's candidate K Rajasekharan while stressing that the disconnect between the people and the governments of the Congress and Left is an ever widening one. Rajasekharan recently resigned as governor of Mizoram to contest as the BJP's candidate from Thiruvananthapuram against Congress' Shashi Tharoor, a two-term sitting MP from the constituency. He said the people of Kerala have understood the BJP stands for the preservation of their culture and traditions and will never play with their sentiments. People from all religions in Kerala want to have the liberty to maintain their traditional customs. They want the liberty to observe, perform their customs and traditions, may it be temples, mosques or churches, Rajasekharan told PTI in an interview. The 66-year-old, who began his career as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker in the 1970s, said only the BJP can ...
Jolt to Andhra as HC refuses to intervene in EC order
In a setback to the Andhra Pradesh government, the High Court on Friday refused to intervene in the Election Commission's order transferring three police officials including Director General, Intelligence A.B. Venkateswara Rao.
Dinakaran's AMMK gets 'gift pack' as symbol
The Election Commission has allotted 'gift pack' as the common symbol for candidates of T.T.V. Dhinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK).
Algerians march against president and political system
Algerians taking to the streets for their sixth straight Friday of protests aren't just angry at their ailing president they want to bring down the entire political system. Small crowds started filling the boulevards of Algiers on Friday morning, and their numbers are expected to swell after midday Muslim prayers. The Algerian army chief called earlier this week for a constitutional process to declare President Abdelaziz Bouteflika unfit for office. Other politicians and parties backed the idea as a solution to the gas-rich country's political crisis. But protesters see the proposal as a way for the secretive political elite to keep their grip on power and name a hand-picked successor to Bouteflika, who has been largely out of the public eye since a 2013 stroke. Anger at the constitutional process issue is central to Friday's protest.
Vote for New Bharat, says Modi in Telangana; enlists NDA's
Asking the people of Telangana to vote for a "new Bharat" where the people of the state will also benefit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said the citizens in the country were moving forward sans any fear as the 'chowkidar' has been 'alert.' Addressing a mammoth public rally here, Modi took a swipe at Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao for the delay in forming the cabinet after securing a massive win last year, saying the latter must have been influenced by some astrologer. Rao is said to be a firm believer in rituals and astrology. The Prime Minister described Rao as the "face" of dynastic and appeasement politics. In his first rally here post the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls, Modi said despite abuses and attacks against him, he has steadfastly moved ahead with his development agenda due to the 'blessings' of the people. "Your blessings allowed me to tolerate all kinds of pressures. That's why I could run a decision-making government," he said. He assserted .
Modi protects rich, Congress bats for the poor, weaker sections: Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he protects the rich while his own party bats for the poor, the weaker sections and the farmers. The 2019 polls are a fight between two ideologies. On one hand are the BJP, the RSS and Narendra Modi and on the other is the Congress," he said. Gandhi is on a day's visit to Haryana to be part of Congress state unit's ongoing Parivartan Yatra. He was scheduled to address a series of meetings. "During the past five years, Modi has made several promises to the people of this country. Wherever he goes, he spreads hatred," Gandhi said. "He promised putting Rs 15 lakh into every Indian's bank account. Did anyone get anything? he said at a public meeting in Yamunanagar district's Jagadhri town. He said unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress keeps its promises. Gandhi recalled the recent Congress announcement on NYAY, a minimum income guarantee scheme, that it plans to introduce if
Jaitley slams Congress over 'Hindu terror' slogan
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday slammed the Congress, while accusing it of coining the "Hindu terror" slogan and filing cases based on fake evidence to gain political mileage.
Wrong to say we shelter terrorists, says China
China on Friday said it was wrong to accuse it of sheltering terrorists because it put a technical hold on the resolution to blacklist Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group chief Masood Azhar as its decision was in line with the rules of an anti-terrorism panel at the UN.
Russian hoax is finally dead: Trump tells rally
US President Donald Trump told supporters at a rally that he had vanquished a corrupt group of Democrats, the news media and the Washington elite, who tried to "nullify" his "historic" election victory by painting him as an "agent of Russia".