Page 1155 - Politics
Nomination of one candidate in Srinagar rejected after scrutiny
Twelve contestants were left in the fray for the election to the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency after nomination papers of a candidate were rejected after scrutiny. The Returning Officer, Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Wednesday rejected nomination papers of Abid Hussain Ansari of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference after scrutiny, leaving 12 contestants in the fray in the constituency, an official spokesman said. Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference, Sheikh Khalid Jehangir of the BJP, and Aga Syed Mohsin of the PDP are among those contesting from the seat, the spokesman said. He said candidates can withdraw their nomination till 3pm on March 29. The constituency will go to polls on April 18.
LS polls: Meeting to review security in Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal held
A high-level meeting to review the security situation in Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh was held here Wednesday ahead of the general elections, a defence release said. The meeting by the Operation Group at Dinjan in upper Assam was attended by senior officers of the Army, Central Armed Police Forces and representatives of civil administration from the three states. Those present included Spear Corps Commander Lt Gen Rajeev Sirohi, Joint Secretary North East (MHA) Satyendra Garg, General Officer Commanding Dao Division Maj Gen Rajendra Sachdev, ADGP (Security), Assam Harmeet Singh and IGP (Law & Order), Arunachal Pradesh Sagar Preet Hooda, the release said. The meeting reviewed the overall security situation in the regions of Upper Assam, South Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland and also discussed the ongoing preparations to ensure incident free conduct of parliamentary elections, it added. During the meeting, officials from all the states analysed the possible security ...
BJD fields 4 RS MPs, assures LS member berth in Upper House
BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday assured sitting MP of Bhubaneswar Prasanna Patsani a Rajya Sabha seat, while fielding four members of the Upper House in the coming elections for Lok Sabha and Odisha assembly. "Patsani will be given a Rajya Sabha berth," Patnaik said while denying party ticket to the five-time MP from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat. Retired IPS officer and former Mumbai police commissioner Arup Patnaik replaced Patsani as the BJD candidate in the Bhubaneswar Parliamentary seat. Patnaik has named four Rajya Sabha MPs as candidates in three Lok Sabha seats and in one assembly constituency. RS member Prasanna Acharya has been fielded from Bargarh Lok Sabha seat while Achyut Samanta is the party candidate in Kandhamal Parliamentary constituency. The BJD has also made filmstar turned Rajya Sabha MP Anubhav Mohanty the candidate for Kendrapara Lok Sabha seat. Mohanty will face four-time MP Baijayant Panda of the BJP. Yet another ...
BJP minister hails shooting down of satellite that 'kept watch on India'
Maharashtra minister Girish Bapat Wednesday congratulated DRDO scientists for shooting down a satellite "which was keeping a watch on India". Apparently, Bapat, the BJP's candidate for Pune Lok Sabha seat, did not realise that it was a test of an anti-satellite missile and India had shot down one of its own low-orbit satellites. "India, using anti-satellite missile, successfully shot down a live satellite at 300 km from earth in outer space, which was keeping a watch on India," he tweeted in Marathi. He congratulated Defence Research and Development Organisation's scientists for the success of 'Mission Shakti'. After the post came in for trolling, the minister's social media team deleted it. According to the DRDO, a Ballistic Missile Defence Interceptor Missile successfully engaged an Indian orbiting target satellite in Low Earth Orbit in a 'Hit to Kill' mode. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced success of the test in a nation-wide broadcast.
TN Govt issues GO declaring April 18 as public holiday
The Tamil Nadu government Wednesday issued a government order, announcing a public holiday on April 18, the day the Lok Sabha polls will be held in the state According to the GO, the Election Commission has notified that the poll day for General Elections to Lok Sabha and Bye-Elections to 18 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu be declared as "public holiday" under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. ".. the Governor of Tamil Nadu hereby declares April 18, the date on which the polls for the General Elections and bye-elections to 18 assembly constituencies will take place in Tamil Nadu, to be a public holiday", the order issued by chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan said. Elections to 39 Parliamentary seats Tamil Nadu will be held on April 18 in a single phose polling. Tamil Nadu votes in the second phase of the seven-phase elections to a total of 543 Lok Sabha seats. The AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), its rival DMK-led Secular ...
16th Lok Sabha passed 240 bills, 23 remained pending: Report
Of the 273 bills introduced in the 16th Lok Sabha, 240 were passed and 23 remained pending, according to a report by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) released on Wednesday. Seven MPs from Delhi had the highest average attendance and on an average, they attended 289 out of the 312 sittings, the report stated. On an average, MPs asked 251 questions and attended 221 out of the 312 sittings. Two MPs from Nagaland attended 88 sittings on an average, the lowest in the last five years. With 264 sittings, two Indian National Lok Dal MPs had the highest average attendance. Two MPs from NPP attended 85 sittings, the lowest. Among states, 50 MPs from Maharashtra asked the maximum number of questions (534 each), while two MPs from Nagaland asked the least number of questions, 12 each. Supriya Sule from the NCP, a MP from Baramati in Maharashtra, asked the maximum number of questions - 1,181 . Among political parties, the maximum number of questions were asked by 18 Shiv .
Granted statehood, Delhi will be turned into model city, example for world: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday said if Delhi is granted full statehood, he will turn it into a model city and an example for the world with everyone in the national capital having their own flat. The Aam Aadmi Party chief alleged that the people of Delhi are insulted time and again by the central government which has given a "half status" to the national capital. He appealed to them to unite and join the movement towards full statehood. "At the time of Sheila ji's government (former chief minister Sheila Dikshit) the power tariff used to increase every year for 15 years but we reduced it to half," he said, addressing a rally in Kondli in East Delhi. Kejriwal claimed that if the city-state gets full statehood, he would "build a model city in which everyone would have their own flat and the national capital would be an example for the whole world". "The real Delhi resides beyond the ring road, the real Delhi is in small lanes where there were no proper roads earlier," he
Another Cong MLA quits party in Telangana; to join ruling TRS
In a fresh setback to Congress in Telangana, another party MLA announced his decision Wednesday to quit the party and join the ruling TRS. Jajula Surender, MLA from Yellareddy, met TRS working president K T Rama Rao here, TRS sources said. In a statement, Surender appreciated the TRS government's development and welfare initiatives. He said he has decided to join TRS after consulting all well wishers. Announcing his decision to quit Congress, he said he would resign from the MLA post if necessary. Surender is the 10th Congress MLA to announce his decision to leave the party and join TRS. Congress had won 19 Assembly seats among the total 119 in the Assembly polls held in December last. Hitting out at the TRS for allegedly encouraging defection of its MLAs, Congressrecently petitioned the Governor E S L Narasimhan on the issue. The party said it would complain to Lokpal on the alleged defection of its MLAs to the ruling TRS. Surender's decision came on a day Congress had ...
Rahul, Priyanka, Pawar, Nitish star campaigners in Manipur
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are among the star campaigners of various parties for the Lok Sabha polls in Manipur. In an official statement Wednesday, state Chief Electoral Officer's office said the Congress has submitted a list of 40 star campaigners who included Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Congress is holding the two Parliamentary seats - Outer and Inner Manipur - and elections will be held there on April 11 and 18 respectively. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has furnished a list of 29 leaders as star campaigners and Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Pawar featured in it, the statement said. The NCP has fielded Angam Karunga Kom for the Outer Manipur seat. Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar is included in the list of the 20 leaders who were stated as star campaigners by the party. Janata Dal (United) fielded Hangkhanpau Taithul to
BJP candidate Surya in controversy after Cong raises charge
BJP candidate from Bangalore South Tejasvi Surya found himself at the centre of a controversy Wednesday after the Karnataka Congress attacked him, citing allegations of 'abuse' by a woman against him and questioned the saffron party about his choice. Neither Surya or BJP has reacted to the allegations or Congress' tweet so far. "Is @Tejasvi_Surya another M J Akbar in the making? Dear @BJP4India, @Tejasvi_Surya seems to be a great choice. #BangaloreSouth will remember. #MeToo #LokSabhaPolls2019, Karnataka Congress tweeted with screen shots of comments made by a woman on Twitter. M J Akbar had stepped down as Minister of State for External Affairs last year following a spate of allegations of sexual harassment during his days as editor of several publications. The woman concerned seems to have deleted comments she made against Surya on Twitter. According to the comments, screenshots of which was shared by the Congress with its tweet, the woman, replying to questions raised
70 out of 89 nomination papers found valid for 2nd phase of
Nomination papers of all the prominent candidates were found valid Wednesday after the scrutiny for the second phase of polling to be held in five Lok Sabha seats of Bihar on April 18. Of the 89 nomination papers filed, 70 were found valid and 13 - mostly of independent candidates - were rejected. The papers of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate for Katihar, Mithilesh Kumar Singh, was also rejected, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kumar Singh told reporters here. Candidates can withdraw their nomination papers till March 29 for the five LS seats - Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnea, Banka and Bhagalpur. The Election Commission also held a meeting on Wednesday in Saharsa to review poll preparedness in five constituencies which would go to polls in third phase on April 23, Singh said.
Will contest elections if party asks: Priyanka Gandhi
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday said she will contest the elections if her party asks her. However, she said her own wish is to work for the party's organisation. "If my party asks me to contest the polls, I will definitely do so. But my personal wish is to work for the party's organisation as a lot of work needs to be done," the Congress leader told reporters. She said, "I have told party workers that it is very important you campaign properly this election. You should go to each and every house, and tell people that this election is to save the nation. Not Rahul Gandhi, but the nation should win this election." Taking on UP Chief Minister's Yogi Adityanath's jibe that she visits temples only during elections, Priyanka Gandhi asked whether he knows anything about her. The Congress general secretary in-charge of the state's eastern districts kicked off second leg of her campaign on Wednesday with the visit to Amethi, her brother Rahul Gandhi's constituency, and is ...
Pak PM discusses security situation with army chief, key ministers
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting during which he discussed security situation with army chief and key ministers. "Security matters were discussed during the meeting," according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office here. Officials said that latest security on both eastern and western borders as well as internal security matters were discussed. Citing sources, Dawn reported that progress on the implementation of the Finance Action Task Force (FATF) action plan, the National Action Plan, and the ongoing crackdown on banned organisations were also discussed. The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Asad Umar, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood, MoS for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi, Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen. Asim Munir, Foreign Secretary Tehmina janjua and other senior officials.
Mamata flays appointment of Sharma as police observer
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday criticised the appointment of former BSF Director General K.K. Sharma as special police observer for the coming 2019 polls in West Bengal and Jharkhand, accusing him of being "an RSS man" and said her government will write a "strong letter" to the Election Commission about the same.
AAP exploring options over rejection of Noida LS candidate's nomination
AAP leader Shweta Sharma, whose nomination for the Lok Sabha election from Gautam Buddh Nagar has been rejected, Wednesday said that she was exploring remedial options and discussing the matter with party leaders. Sharma's nomination was rejected by district poll officials Tuesday for failing to have her nomination proposed by ten supporters, a legal must for candidates of political outfits not recognised as a national or state party. "We are thinking of options and will let you know about the decision, she told PTI over phone, adding she was in a meeting in Delhi over the issue. Meanwhile, AAP's Noida unit spokesperson Sanjeev Nigam alleged the poll officials were under "some pressure" and the ruling BJP had got scared of Sharma's nomination, whose candidature was announced Sunday. He said Sharma had reached the district collectorate's office to file her papers on March 25, the last day for nomination, in time, but only five people along with her were allowed to enter the district ...
PM not admitting Pulwama intel failure: Digvijaya
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday blamed the Pulwama attack on the government's intelligence failure and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no explanation for it and his party was instead busy fanning Hindu-Muslim tensions.
BJP did not spilt MGP, their MLAs wanted to join our party: Pramod Sawant
Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday claimed that the BJP has not split the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) instead its MLAs had approached them as they felt unsafe in their party.Addressing media here, Sawant said, "We did not split the party. Two of their MLAs Babu Ajgaonkar and Deepak Pauskar split the party, formed a different group and came to us. They said they felt unsafe within their party."Manohar Ajgaonkar and Deepak Pauskar have joined BJP for the stability of the government. Automatically, our strength has grown to 14, said Sawant.The support of the MGP was crucial for the stability of BJP-led dispensation in Goa. The merger of the two-member legislative unit into the BJP brings the saffron party on par with the Congress with 14 seats each. The MGP is an alliance partner of the BJP in Goa since 2012.The MGP has three lawmakers in the 40-Member Goa Assembly and its senior leader and Marcaim legislator Sudin Dhavalikar is the deputy chief minister in the ...
AAP attacks Sheila Dikshit for taking U-turn on full statehood to Delhi
Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday hit out at former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for taking U-turn on Delhi statehood and said if full statehood to Delhi is not possible, then why she included this issue in her manifesto of 2015 assembly elections."Sheila Dikshit in a press conference on Tuesday said that full statehood to Delhi is not possible nor it should be made an issue in the Lok Sabha elections. If full statehood to Delhi was not possible, then why did Dikshit in her statement of November 21, 2013 stated that due to Delhi not being a full state, there has been a problem of coordination between different agencies and such problems would have been resolved had Delhi been a full state," Rai said while addressing a press conference here.The Delhi Cabinet minister further attacked Congress on including Delhi statehood in their manifesto for assembly elections held in 2015 and not now.Rai said: "In the Congress manifesto in 2015, it was .
Conrad cross swords with predecessor on coal mining ban
Coal mining ban in Meghalaya has become a major poll issue in the state with both Chief Minister and NPP president Conrad K Sangma and his predecessor Mukul Sangma of the Congress harping on the issue. Conrad K Sangma Wednesday accused Mukul Sangma of failing to challenge the coal mining ban in the state by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) when he was chief minister. The ban has not only affected livelihood of the people but also led to financial loss for the state, Conrad, also National People's Party (NPP) president, said while addressing election rallies in South Garo Hills district. The NGT had imposed a blanket ban on mining and transportation of coal in Meghalaya in 2014, citing unscientific methods and absence of safety measures. Mukul Sangma was the chief minister at that time. An NPP-led coalition, Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) which includes the BJP, ousted the Congress government in the state in the assembly election held early last year. "In 2014, the ..
SPO sacked in J-K's Kishtwar for politically biased post
A Special Police Officer (SPO)was sacked in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district Wednesday for uploading a post, allegedly favouring a political party, on a popular photo-video sharing app, officials said. Kishtwar SSP disengaged SPO Vinod Kumar from rolls as he uploaded a post on his personal Instagram account showing his support towards a particular party, they said. This was against the norms of a disciplined force, they said. The officials added that the action was aimed to "tighten the nose" around the police personnel showing "elegance towards a particular political party" and to assure that the model code of conduct is followed.