Page 1157 - Politics
Nose like Indira won't get Priyanka to power: Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya
Union Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said sporting features similar to former prime minister Indira Gandhi will not ensure that Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi gets to power."It is being said that she (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) has a nose like her grandmother (Indira Gandhi). If you get power by having a nose like your grandmother, then there would have been a President in every household in China," Mandaviya said while addressing BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp' rally here.Earlier, commenting on the Congress general secretary, Bihar minister Vinod Narayan Jha had said, "Votes can't be won on basis of beautiful faces. Moreover, she is the wife of Robert Vadra who is accused of involvement in land scam and several corruption cases. She is very beautiful but other than that she holds no political achievement.
TRS MP A P Jithender Reddy joins BJP
Ahead of the parliamentary election, TRS MP A P Jithender Reddy joined the BJP on Wednesday in the presence of party president Amit Shah. In 2014 elections, Reddy was elected from Mahbubnagar parliamentary constituency of Telangana on a Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) ticket. He was a BJP member from 1989 to 2006. In 2006, he joined the TRS.
Pakistan fully re-opens its airspace for all domestic and international flights
Pakistan has fully re-opened its airspace for all flights except for Bangkok, New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur, a month after closing it following escalating tensions with India in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack and the subsequent aerial strike by Indian jets in Balakot. Pakistan closed its airspace on February 27 following escalating tensions with India. After the initial tensions, the authorities reopened domestic and international flights from Islamabad, Karachi and Peshawar airports but kept the eastern airspace in Punjab closed due to security reasons except for some limited use of Lahore's Allama Iqbal International airport. A top official of the Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said flights to Bangkok, New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur would remain suspended until further notice. The CAA official said that now all domestic and international flight operations had resumed from all airports since Tuesday but transit flights were still suspended. Masood Tajwar, a spokesperson ...
'He is just a kid': Mamata scoffs at Rahul Gandhi's allegations
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday dismissed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's allegations against her government, saying "he is just a kid". She also refused to comment on Gandhi's minimum income promise ahead of the national polls. "He (Gandhi) has said whatever he felt like. I won't like to make any comment on it. He is just a kid. What will I say about it?" Banerjee said. Launching his party's Lok Sabha poll campaign in the state, Gandhi at last week's rally in Malda charged both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Trinamool Congress chief of failing to fulfil their promises. He had alleged that nothing has changed in Bengal as there has been no development in the state under Banerjee. Asked to comment on Gandhi's poll promise of minimum income, she said "They (Congress) have made an announcement and it would not be right for us to make a comment on it." Gandhi had called his party's announcement as the "final assault" and a "surgical strike" on poverty. The ...
56 nominations found valid for second phase of Assam LS polls
A total of 56 nominations for the second phase of polling in five Lok Sabha seats in Assam were found to be valid after scrutiny, an election official said on Wednesday. Altogether 60 candidates submitted their papers for the five seats in Assam till Tuesday, the last date for filling of nominations for the second phase. A spokesperson of the Election Commission said that nominations of Ratul Ahmed from Republican Party of India (A) and Bhupen Chandra Das from Purbanchal Janata Party (Secular) were turned down in the Mangaldoi constituency. The nominations of NPP's Dewan Rongpi in Autonomous District seat and Voter's Party International's Golapi Saikia in the Nowgong constituency have also been rejected, he said. Earlier, nominations of 43 candidates were found valid for the first phase of polling in five constituencies. The three-phase polls in Assam will take place on April 11, 18 and 23, while counting of votes will be on May 23. For the first phase, the EC fixed March
'India-Australia bilateral defence exercise will deepen strategic ties'
India and Australia would further deepen defence and strategic relationship with the third iteration of bilateral exercise AUSINDEX 19, which will see the largest Australian defence joint task force to visit India. The Australian High Commission, in a statement, said that Australia and India's cooperation on shared maritime security interests in the Indian Ocean is set to rise to a new level with the biennial, bilateral exercise. "It will see the largest ever Australian Defence Force Joint Task Force comprised of Navy, Army and Air Force Assets to visit India," the statement said. Australia's High Commissioner to India Harinder Sidhu said the exercise is part of the strong and growing Australia-India strategic partnership. "Australia and India are working together to promote peace and prosperity based on our shared values and interests in a stable, secure, rules-based and inclusive Indo-Pacific," she said. "Australia clearly sees India in the top tier of our international ...
Changes in laws on political funding have serious repercussion on transparency, EC tells SC
The Election Commission informed the Supreme Court Wednesday that it had written to the Centre saying the changes made in several laws relating to political funding will have "serious repercussions" on transparency. It also said that the changes in the FCRA 2010, will allow unchecked foreign funding of political parties which could lead to Indian policies being influenced by foreign companies. EC, which has filed affidavit in the apex court, said that on May 26, 2017 it had written to the Ministry of Law and Justice about its views that the changes made in the Income Tax Act, the Representation of People Act and the Finance Act would be against the endeavour to have transparency in funding to political parties. The affidavit, filed by Director (Law) of the EC Vijay Kumar Pandey, said the EC had informed the ministry that "certain provisions of the Finance Act, 2017 and the corresponding amendments carried out in the Income Tax Act, the RP Act, 1951 and the Companies Act, 2013 will ...
PM to address BJP campaign rally in T'gana on March 29
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a BJP election campaign meeting at Mahabubnagar in Telangana on March 29, state BJP president K Laxman said Wednesday. "Prime Minister ji will address a public meeting at Palamuru (Mahabubnagar) on 29th, day after tomorrow. Public meeting at L B stadium in Hyderabad on 1st (of April)," he told reporters here. BJP Chief Amit Shah will address two public meetings on April 4 and participate in road shows at Nalgonda and Hyderabad on April 6, he said. Several other Union Ministers and national leaders would also visit the state for campaigning, he said. BJP is going it alone in Telangana. Polling would be held in Telangana in the first phase on April 11. Laxman hit out at comments of the ruling TRS that BJP would not get more than 150 seats in the Lok Sabha polls and that TRS can play a crucial role post polls if its wins 16 Lok Sabha seats in the state. TRS is only one among many regional parties, Laxman said. "Even if you win 16 ...
Modi 'miserably failed' to fulfil promises: Farooq Abdullah
NC chief Farooq Abdullah Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre had "miserably failed" to deliver on the promises made ahead of the 2014 general election. The National Conference (NC) president, who is seeking re-election from Srinagar Parliamentary constituency, said, "A failed government and a failed prime minister needs to be shown the door." Addressing a public meeting in central Kashmir's Budgam district, Abdullah said democracy is a humbling experience and the people of the country are seeking answers from Modi on the issues of price rise and unemployment. "During Modi's stint as chief minister of Gujarat, he used to mock the previous government on these issues, but now what has he done? The people of country especially our mothers and sisters across the country are finding it very difficult to run their households in view of soaring prices," Abdullah said. "Modi had promised to deliver on various issues concerning the nation during his 2014
Congress can win more than 20 seats in MP: Digvijaya
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh claimed Wednesday that the party would win more than 20 of the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh if it could snatch away Bhopal, Indore and Vidisha from the BJP. In 2014, the Congress had won only two seats in the state, and later added another seat to the tally in a by-election. Addressing a meeting of party workers, Singh urged them to ensure the party's victory in Bhopal, Indore and Vidisha so as to take the party's tally to over 20. Speaking to reporters later, Singh said, "Congress has not won these three seats since 1984. So if we win these seats the party would surely register a victory on over 20 seats." Singh, himself contesting from Bhopal, a BJP bastion, said he would present a vision document for the city's development before filing his nomination papers. To a question about polarisation of votes in Bhopal, Singh said, "BJP has no other option but to polarise the votes." Asked about the allegation that his father was a
Lanka has no escape from rights accountability: UNHRC
Sri Lanka must keep its focus on fulfilling its obligations to provide justice and accountability for the grave human rights violations stemming from nearly three decades of civil war in the island nation, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michele Bachelet said on Wednesday. The UNHRC last week allowed two more years for the country to implement the commitments in the 2015 resolution, which pledged to investigate the alleged atrocities by both the Lankan military and the LTTE during the civil war. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which led the separatist war for a separate Tamil homeland for three decades in the island nation, was finally crushed by the Lankan military in 2009 with the death of the rebels' supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran. Bachelet also expressed her disappointment over a senior Sri Lankan official misrepresenting her discussion of the recent UN Human Rights Office report on Sri Lanka with a government delegation attending the Human Rights Council in ...
Modi, Shah, Rahul, Priyanka to campaign in Tripura
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will campaign for their respective party candidates in Tripura. State BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said Modi is scheduled to visit Tripura on April 6 and address a public rally at Udaipur in Gomati district. Modi had addressed a meeting here on February 9 and inaugurated several development projects. Besides Modi and Shah, party general secretary Ram Madhab and many others would hit the campaign trail, but the dates of their visit have not yet been finalised, Bhattacharya said. Pradesh Congress vice-president Tapas Dey said, AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik has sent a list of campaigners for Tripura. The campaigners include Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Navjyot Singh Siddhu and Sharmistha Mukherjee. The dates for their visit would be finalised soon, he said. Rahul Gandhi had addressed a
PM's announcement of anti-sat missile is to create fear psychosis in voters ahead of polls: CPI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to create fear psychosis in the minds of voters through warmongering, CPI leader D Raja said Wednesday, alleging that his announcement on 'Mission Shakti' showed his "desperation and panic". "He has politicised the achievements of the scientists, taken credit for it and used public broadcasting to do so. This is definitely a violation of the model code of conduct (for the Lok Sabha elections). The EC should take action immediately. "Also, he is trying to create a fear psychosis in the minds of the people ahead of the elections and is (resorting to) warmongering. This shows that they are desperate and panicky," Raja said. However, sources in the Election Commission have said that issues related to national security and disaster management do not fall under the ambit of the model code of conduct. India shot down one of its satellites in space on Wednesday with an anti-satellite missile to demonstrate this complex capability, Prime Minister ...
PM Modi unlikely to contest from Vadodra
Prime Minister Minister Narendra Modi is unlikely to contest election from Vadodra is spite of the demands from the BJP's Gujarat unit, a party leader here has said. Modi had won from Vadodara and Varanasi in 2014 and chose to retain the latter. As BJP president Amit Shah will be contesting from Gandhinagar, the chances of another national-level leader contesting from the state are very slim, a state BP leader said on the condition of anonymity. "I do not think that they will field two national leaders from one state. There is no chance of Modi fighting from a seat in Gujarat," the BJP leader said. State BJP leaders have requested Modi to contest from Gujarat to boost party workers' morale, especially in the aftermath of the 2017 Assembly elections when the Congress managed to restrict the BJP to 99 seats, lowest in two decades, and increased its own tally by 16 seats to 77 in the 182-member Legislative Assembly. Till Tuesday, rumours were doing rounds in BJP circles that Modi was ...
BJP drops Minister, two other sitting MPs in Gujarat
The BJP on Wednesday announced three more Lok Sabha candidates for Gujarat, fielding new faces and dropping all the sitting MPs including
Party will decide whether I should contest LS polls or not: Sukhbir Badal
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal Wednesday said his party will take a call on whether he will be contesting the general elections or not, amid speculation that he can be the party candidate for the Ferozepur Lok Sabha seat. Asked about possibility that he could contest from Ferozepur seat, Sukhbir Badal smiled and told reporters, "The party has yet not decided such things but whatever the decision the party takes will be final". In a lighter vein, Badal, the MLA from Jalalabad, quipped "I am already fighting from the front being the party president." Badal's wife and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal is likely to seek re-election from Bathinda parliamentary constituency. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP from Ferozepur, Sher Singh Ghubaya, had recently switched over to the Congress. Badal, along with his wife Harsimrat Kaur, paid obeisance at the Golden temple here Wednesday. On SAD (Taksali), he said the breakaway outfit from the SAD introduced all new faces for the Lok Sabha ...
YSR Cong to file defamation case against Farooq Abdullah
The YSR Congress Wednesday said it would file a defamation case against National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for alleging that Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy offered Rs 1,500 crore to the Congress if it made him Chief Minister of the then united Andhra Pradesh. Abdullah levelled this allegation while addressing an election campaign meeting in support of the ruling Telugu Desam Party at Kadapa on Tuesday. The National Conference leader alleged Jagan Mohan Reddy made the offer soon after the death of his father (former Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy). "Jagan once came to my house when AP was united. I want to remind him that he told me he was ready to give Rs 1,500 crore if Congress made him the Chief Minister," Abdullah had claimed. Reacting to this, YSRC general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy alleged that Abdullah levelled the charge as per the direction of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. "What is Abdullahs connection with AP? He doesnt even belong to our ...
Former J&K IAS officer joins Cong, vows to strengthen 'secular ethos'
Retired senior IAS officer Vinod Koul, instrumental in the creation of 659 new administrative units in Jammu and Kashmir during the Omar Abdullah regime, joined the Congress on Wednesday. Son of former Congress minister Manohar Nath Koul, a prominent politician from south Kashmir, the 62-year-old former bureaucrat joined the party in the presence of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Gulam Ahmed Mir. "I have joined Congress party at a function in Srinagar today. It was a home coming, in a way, for me as I belong to a family connected with the Congress party in Jammu and Kashmir," Kaul told PTI. The former relief commissioner of the state, Koul said he wanted to strengthen the secular forces in Jammu and Kashmir and continue the legacy of his father. "If at all I wanted to join politics, it was only Congress. So, I commenced the journey following in the footsteps of my father," Kaul said, adding that his joining the Congress was a homecoming. Koul, who attained .
Why U-turn on Delhi statehood issue, AAP asks Sheila Dikshit
A day after the Congress ruled out making Delhi's statehood as its poll plank for the Lok Sabha election, the Aam Aadmi Party Wednesday asked its leader Sheila Dikshit what "are her latest compulsions" behind the U-turn on the issue. Noting that Dikshit, a former chief minister, had promised full statehood for Delhi when she was in power, senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said she had argued in 2013 that Delhi faced problems in coordination between different agencies and such problems would have been resolved had Delhi been a full state. "Was she lying back then or is she lying now?" Rai asked. "Dikshit should tell the people of Delhi whether the 2015 manifesto was a lie or what are her latest compulsions in going back from what her party had been promising to the people of Delhi for decades?" the senior AAP leader said. "It is shocking that somebody who has been a chief minister of Delhi is today saying that statehood for Delhi cannot be an issue for Lok Sabha elections. If one were to ...
Priyanka congratulates DRDO 'founded by Pandit Nehru' for Mission Shakti
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday congratulated the DRDO scientists for "Mission Shakti" while reminding that DRDO was founded by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1950."I am very, very proud of DRDO, one of India's great institutions founded by Pandit Nehru in 1950," she said while speaking to reporters here.Asked if it was being politicised, she said, "You know, several issues are being politicised which should not happen. According to me, elections should happen on real issues and I am saying that wherever I go."Reacting to BJP's allegations that the promise of Minimum Basic Income is a bluff, she said: "Congress said farm loans will be waived and our governments did it in 10 days. Congress does not bluff. We do what we say. Those who actually bluff accuse us of bluffing.""It is very important that this election is about saving the country. It will not be Rahul's (Congress president Rahul Gandhi) victory, it will be the country's victory," she added.Priyanka remained