Page 1171 - Politics
Congress announces two more candidates for Gujarat
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Tuesday announced two more candidates for Gujarat for the 2019 general elections.
EC removes three Andhra police officials from poll duty
The Election Commission on Tuesday transferred three top police officials of Andhra Pradesh and directed that they should not be assigned any election related work.
Russian troops in Venezuela violates constitution: Guaido
The presence of Russian soldiers in Venezuela violates the country's constitution, Juan Guaido, the opposition leader recognized as interim president by the US and many of its allies, said Tuesday. "It seems (the government of President Nicolas Maduro) doesn't trust its own troops, because it is importing others... once again violating the constitution," Guaido told lawmakers in the opposition-run National Assembly. The legislature, sidelined by Maduro, asserts only it has the legal power to authorize foreign military missions in Venezuela.
Telangana BJP seeks Owaisi's disqualification
Alleging that AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi possessed two votes, the Telangana BJP said it had complained to the election authorities on its claim. State BJP spokesperson Krishna Sagar Rao said his party had sought the cancellation of Owaisi's nomination. Owaisi is seeking re-election from the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency. Telangana goes to polls in the first phase on April 11. Monday was the last day to file nominations and their scrutiny was conducted on Tuesday.
Denied ticket, Cong MLA takes away chairs from party office
Apparently upset over denial of ticket for the Lok Sabha polls, Congress MLA Abdul Sattar Tuesday took away about 300 chairs from the local party office here in Central Maharashtra with the help of his supporters. Sattar, the MLA from Sillod, said he has quit the party and claimed the chairs belonged to him. The local unit of the Congress had called a joint meeting with ally NCP at its office 'Gandhi Bhawan' in Shahgunj locality. However, ahead of the meeting, Sattar with the help of his supporters removed about 300 chairs from the party office. The meeting was later held at the NCP office here. Sattar, considered a prominent leader of the Congress in this district, was hoping to get party ticket for the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat. However, the Congress decided to field MLC Subash Zhambad from the seat and this apparently irked Sattar. On Tuesday, he learnt about the meeting at the Gandhi Bhawan. Before the meeting, his workers took away all the chairs with them, claiming ..
Why are so many people poor despite Indira's 'garibi hatao' slogan? Goyal asks Rahul
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi why there were so many poor people in the country even decades after former prime minister Indira Gandhi coined the slogan of 'garibi hatao' (eradicate poverty). "Fifty years after his (Rahul's) grandmother giving the slogan of 'garibi hatao', why are there still so many poor people in the country? Rahul Gandhi should answer that first," Goyal told reporters here. The Union minister blamed the Congress and the Gandhi family for the poverty in the country. Goyal's comments come after Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the promise of minimum guaranteed income to the poor a "surgical strike on poverty". Goyal asked what about the future of the food security scheme if the minimum income scheme was implemented. "Rahul gandhi wants to snatch away that food for the people. Is he going to stop scholarship of the children?" he asked. "You look at the comments by his leaders. Kapil Sibal Jairam Ramesh all are saying ...
13 candidates in the fray for J&K's Srinagar seat
Ten candidates filed their nomination papers for the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday, taking the total number of those in the fray to 13, officials said here. "Ten nominations were filed today, the last day of the process, for the Srinagar parliamentary constituency," they said. Those who filed the nomination papers included Irfan Ansari of Peoples Conference, Abdul Rashid Ganie of National Panthers Party, Abdul Khaliq Bhat of Shiv Sena, Aga Syed Mohsin of Peoples Democratic Party, Nazir Ahmad Sofi of Manavadikar National Party, Showkat Hussain Khan of Janata Dal (United) and Abid Hussain Ansari of Peoples Conference. The remaining three are independents -- Abdul Rashid Banday, Bilal Sultan and Sajad Ahmad Dar. Farooq Abdullah of National Conference, Sheikh Khalid Jehangir of Bharatiya Janata Party and Nazir Ahmad Lone of Rashtriya Jan Kranti Party had already filed their nominations. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is March 29. Voting will be held in Srinagar ..
US toughens policy against foreign NGOs that perform abortions
The United States announced Tuesday it is toughening a policy denying funding to foreign NGOs that perform or promote abortions. When he came to power in 2017, President Donald Trump restored the policy first announced by then president Ronald Reagan in 1984 at an international conference in Mexico City. Since then, Democratic presidents have scrapped the rule and Republican ones have reinstituted it. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Tuesday a tightening of the policy, saying the US will refuse to provide assistance to foreign NGOs that give financial support to other foreign groups involved in what he called the "global abortion industry." "We will enforce a strict prohibition on backdoor funding schemes and end-runs around our policy. American taxpayer dollars will not be used to underwrite abortions," Pompeo told reporters. In 2017, progressive and women's advocacy groups criticized the Trump administration for reinstituting the so-called Mexico City policy. They expressed .
60 file nominations for 2nd phase of polls in Assam
Sixty candidates have filed nomination papers for Assam's five constituencies going to polls in the second phase on April 18.
Cong announces candidates for Rampur, Navsari and Kachchh seats
The Congress Tuesday night announce three more candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, pitting Sanjay Kapoor against BJP's Jaya Prada in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur constituency. Its Central Election Committee said Dharmesh Bhimbhai Patel will be the party's nominee from Navsari in Gujarat, while Naresh Maheshwari will be its candidate from Kachchh, a seat reserved for Scheduled Castes. The party has fielded Sanjay Kapoor from the Rampur seat in Uttar Pradesh.
Golden chapter of India, Bangladesh relations: Bangladesh High Commissioner
Ties between India and Bangladesh are currently passing through a golden chapter, the Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali said during the country's National Day celebrations here on Tuesday.The incumbent Speaker of Bangladesh's Jatiya Sangsad, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, was the special guest for the celebrations, while Gitesh Sharma, the Ministry of External Affairs' Secretary (West) was invited as the chief guest.The Bangladesh National Day on March 26 commemorates the country's declaration of independence from Pakistan in 1971.On Tuesday morning, High Commissioner Ali led the flag hoisting ceremony at the mission here in New Delhi, followed by the singing of the national anthem, "Amar Sonar Bangla," which was broadcast live from Dhaka.As part of the celebrations, the Independence Day messages by Bangladesh President Md. Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam were read out at the mission
KK Sharma, Retd DG BSF, appointed as Special Central Police Observer for West Bengal and Jharkhand
Election Commission of India has appointed KK Sharma, retired DG BSF as Special Central Police Observer for West Bengal and Jharkhand.Sharma, a 1982 batch IPS official, would oversee the deployment and other security-related issues in both the states.Election Commission also appointed Gopal Mukherjee as Special Expenditure Observer for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, DD Goel for Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.Shailendra Handa will be Special Expenditure Observer for Gujarat and Maharashtra and Madhu Mahajan for Tamil Nadu and KarnatakaThe 17th Lok Sabha election will be held in seven phases beginning April 11. The final phase of voting will take place on May 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.
Kejriwal: Would not have launched party if Sheila Dikshit govt worked well
Amid the possibility of an alliance between Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday hit out at former CM Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government and said he would not have had to launch a new party if she had run the government well."Many people say that Sheila ji also used to run the government in Delhi in the same condition. But she did not run the government well. If she was working well then we did not have the need to float a new party. From schools to hospitals, everything was in bad condition in her regime," the Chief Minister said addressing a public rally here.Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kejriwal said, "Modi government left no stone unturned to stop our work. We want to open new schools, construct hospitals and Mohalla Clinics, but they are not letting us do this. For three years, the Modi government did not pass the file related to CCTV camera installation in Delhi.""We need to take permission from the central ...
Giriraj Singh will contest from Begusarai only, says Sushil Modi
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said on Tuesday that BJP leader Giriraj Singh will contest the Lok Sabha election from Begusarai seat only."Giriraj Singh will contest from Begusarai only. He wanted to contest from Nawada. But I have faith that Giriraj Singh will not go against the party's decision," said Modi, while talking to media persons here.An emotional Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Giriraj Singh on Monday accused BJP's Bihar leadership of letting him down by "violating" his self-respect by denying him a ticket from Nawada, a seat which he won in 2014.A day after grand alliance's talks with left parties failed in Bihar, the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Sunday confirmed that former president of the JNU Students' Union Kanhaiya Kumar will contest the ensuing Lok Sabha elections from Begusarai constituency.Bihar will see polling in seven phases. The dates of polling in Bihar will be on April 11, 18, 23, 29 and May 6, 12 and 19. ..
LS polls: EC appoints Special Expenditure Observers
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday appointed former civil servants Gopal Mukherjee and DD Goel as Special Expenditure Observers for the Lok Sabha elections.Mukherjee, a former member of CBDT, has been deployed in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Goel, former DGIT(Investigation) has been deployed in Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland."Both these officers have extensive knowledge of search and seizure operations conducted by the I-T Department," a statement said on Tuesday."The Special Observers will be supervising and monitoring the work being done by the electoral machinery and ensure that stringent and effective enforcement action is undertaken based on intelligence inputs and complaints received through C-VIGIL and Voter Helpline 1950 against all persons/entities trying to induce voters by distributing cash, liquor and freebies etc., in order to vitiate the poll process," the statement added.The electoral body has given additional charge of Gujarat and Karnataka to ...
Rahul, Sonia among Cong's star campaigners for Chhattisgarh
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress party has released a list of 40 star campaigners in Chattisgarh led by its president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.Besides them, the list also includes former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Motilal Vohra, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Anand Sharma, and Raj Babbar.Chhattisgarh is all set to go to polls on April 11, 18 and 23. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.
DGP visited Anantnag and Shopian to review security
Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh on Tuesday visited Anantnag and Shopian districts to review security preparedness for the upcoming parliamentary elections.During his visit, he addressed darbar of officers/jawans at respective District Police Lines. DGP also visited IRP Battalions 17th at Kheribal and 10th at Mattan and District Jail Anantnag.DGP said : "Policemen are always prepared for any challenges whether it is law and order, election or any routine duty. Policemen have to mould themselves according to the situation". He said Jammu and Kashmir Police is capable to tackle any challenge but have to be more sensitive and to do extra hard work during the tough times.Six Lok Sabha seats of Jammu and Kashmir will go to polls in five phases. Baramulla and Jammu constituencies will go to polls in the first phase while Srinagar and Udhampur constituencies will go to polls in the second phase.Anantnag constituency will go to polls in third, fourth and fifth phases given the ...
Politicians switching sides: It's advantage BJP
In this election season, parties are seeking to create political momentum for themselves through high-profile inductions. Both Congress and BJP have seen leaders from other parties joining them, and the ruling party appears to have an edge in the political game playing out ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Chouhan slams BJD, Cong for showing "no respect" to Pulwama
A number of BJP leaders Tuesday hit out at the ruling BJD and the Congress accusing their leaders of showing scant respect to the victims of Pulwama terror attack and questioning India's retaliatory air strike. BJP vice-president and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister R K Singh and party vice-president Baijayant Panda slammed the two parties during poll rallies in Nimapara, Jajpur and Balasore respectively. Criticising Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Chouhan claimed that a BJD MLA had manhandled a relative of a CRPF jawan of Odisha, who was killed in the Pulwama attack. The incident took place shortly before the funeral of the slain soldier Manoj Kumar Behera. "It is unfortunate that the chief minister did not take any action against the MLA. He did not even condemn the action which triggered public outcry," Chouhan said. The BJP vice-president said Sam Pitroda, the technical advisor to the Odisha Government, had also raised .
100 TMC legislators will switch over to BJP soon: Arjun Singh
West Bengal BJP leader Arjun Singh, who has recently crossed over from the TMC, claimed on Tuesday that about 100 Trinamool Congress MLAs would switch over to the saffron party "very soon". The TMC declined to attach much importance to his statements and suggested him to see a doctor. "Around 100 legislators from the ruling party are set to join the BJP. They are in touch with the BJP leaders on a regular basis. Some will join before the elections, the rest after," he told reporters. Reacting to his statement, senior TMC leader Jyotipriyo Mullick said Singh had lost his mind and should go and see a doctor. Singh, the former four-time Trinamool MLA from Bhatpara, switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party earlier this month and has been nominated as a BJP candidate from the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency. He will take on two-time sitting MP and senior TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi. Meanwhile, Trinamool Youth Congress general secretary Samrat Topadar lodged a police complaint against ...