Page 1183 - Politics
Imran Khan says Indo-Pak relations to remain tense till elections in India
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said Indo-Pak relations would remain tense till the general elections in India are over. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the February 14 attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured an Indian pilot, who was handed over to India later. Khan said shadows of war were still hovering over Pakistan and India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration could go for "another misadventure" before the general elections. "The danger is not over. The situation will remain tense till forthcoming general elections in India. We are already prepared to avert any aggression from India," Dawn quoted Khan as saying. Khan also claimed that he cancelled his scheduled ...
PM, Shah, union ministers in BJP's list of campaigners for
A galaxy of BJP leaders led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah will hit the campaign trail in Telangana where the party is contesting the April 11 Lok Sabha elections on its own. Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitely, Sushma Swaraj, Nirmala Sitharaman, J P Nadda, Suresh Prabhu are among the leaders who will canvass votes for the candidates of BJP, which is fighting all 17 Lok Sabha seats in the southern state. The names of these leaders figure in the list of campaigners submitted by the BJP to the Election Commission, party sources said Tuesday. The list also includes among others Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath, other Union Ministers Uma Bharati, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Smriti Irani, BJP MP and renowned actress Hema Malini, party leaders Ram Madhav and Syed Shahnawaz Hussain. From Telangana, party MP and former union minister Bandaru Dattatreya, state BJP president K Laxman and others are among the campaigners, the ..
PM insulted veterans leaders like L k Advani by not letting them contest Lok Sabha polls: Kejriwal
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has insulted veteran leaders like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi by not letting them contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal noted that the attitude of the Prime Minister is against the Hindu culture which teaches people to respect their elders. "The way Modi is insulting L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, it is completely against the Hindu culture. Hindu culture teaches people to respect their elders and not insult them. "People are talking about why Modi is insulting Joshi and Sushma (External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj)," he said in a series of tweets. Former BJP president and Lok Sabha MP Murli Manohar Joshi has been asked by his party to not contest the upcoming general elections, a development in line with its decision to not field many of its veterans, including its founding member and longest serving chief L K Advani, in the polls. "Those elders who build the home have been ...
Cong will launch 'surgical strike' on poverty: Rahul Gandhi
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday promised a "surgical strike" on poverty and said his party had been working on how to eradicate it for the last six months. Addressing a rally in Suratgarh a day after declaring his party would roll out a minimum income guarantee scheme for the poorest 20 per cent households if voted to power, Gandhi said only the rich could dream under the Narendra Modi rule. "We will eradicate poverty in the country. This is a 'dhamaka'. No country has done this in history. There should not be a single poor person in the country," Gandhi said. He said his party would work to reduce unemployment if it comes to power. "If Modi gives money to the rich, the Congress will give money to the poor," Gandhi said. Alleging that Modi had helped those who had black money, the Congress president said those lifted from poverty by the UPA government had again been made poor in the last five years. According to him, 14 crore people were lifted from poverty by the UPA ...
Try to ensure common symbol to AMMK candidates: SC to EC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Election Commission (EC) to make all efforts to ensure the allotment of a common symbol, from amongst the 198 free symbols, to 59 candidates of the T. T. V. Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) party.
SP announces tie-up with Nishad Party, 2 other outfits for Lok Sabha polls
The Samajwadi Party Tuesday announced an alliance with the Nishad Party, Janwadi Party (Socialist) and the Rasthriya Samanta Dal for the April-May Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh. The SP has earlier tied up with the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) to take on the BJP. "Nishad Party, Janwadi Party (Socialist) and Rashtriya Samanta Dal will work for ensuring success of alliance candidates throughout the state," SP chief Akhilesh Yadav told a joint press conference with leaders of these parties here. Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats. Yadav alleged that the BJP was using governor, government agencies and the media for its campaign. Attacking the BJP, he said, "The main issue for BJP in these polls are only opposition and 'chowkidar' and campaigners of the BJP are governor, government agencies and media." He was referring to Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh's statement that Narendra Modi should become the prime minister once ...
AIMIM enters LS poll fray in Maharashtra
The Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM Tuesday announced its Maharashtra MLA Imtiaz Jaleel as the party candidate from Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency in the western state. Polling would be held in Aurangabad in the third phase of elections on April 23. "Imtiaz Jaleel will be AIMIM's candidate for the Aurangabad Parliamentary Constituency," Owaisi tweeted. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is contesting Lok Sabha elections for the first time outside Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It has fielded its Bihar unit chief Akther Ul Imam from Kishanganj parliamentary constituency in the state, party sources said here. Jaleel, sitting MLA from Aurangabad Central, tweeted he "will be contesting MP seat from Aurangabad on Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and MIM ticket". Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi is headed by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar, who has formed an alliance with the AIMIM. "It's time for my city to change. It's not about ME. From here on its always going to be WE. Let's all ...
'DGCA gave flight clearance to Malaysian PM, Pak blocked airspace'
India has categorically dismissed reports that Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's right to fly over India was denied by the authorities here during his recent visit to Pakistan.Sections of Pakistan media quoting government officials have been reporting that Mahathir's flight took much longer to reach Pakistan because India did not allow him to use its airspace.Calling the reports 'false and motivated', government sources said "The truth is that Pakistan has blocked its own airspace from flights which are overflying India. Therefore, even though DGCA had given overflight clearance to Malaysian PM's flight, it had to take a longer route because Pakistan denied permission."Mahathir's three-day official visit to Pakistan began on March 21. He was a guest on Pakistan National Day, government sources said. "It is strange that even for their National day guest from Malaysia, Pakistan could not make an exception thereby resulting in a longer flight by Malaysian Prime Minister," ...
Ghulam Nabi Azad flags off six-day 'Parivartan Yatra' in Haryana
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the country, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad led a six-day 'Bus Yatra' of his party leaders in Haryana on Tuesday.Speaking to media before beginning the yatra, Azad said, "From today the 'Parivartan yatra' begins in Haryana. The whole country wants to change the present BJP government in the Centre."Criticising the Narendra Modi government, the Haryana Congress in charge said that the present government has been in power for close to 5 years but has only caused disappointment among farmers and youth.He added that unemployment has increased under the BJP government and nothing has been done for the empowerment of women.Azad also claimed that Haryana turned "violent" after the BJP government came to power in the state.Seven phase elections in the country will commence on April 11 and will go on till May 19, while counting of votes will take place on May 23.Polling for 10 Lok Sabha seats at stake in Haryana is .
Pressure cooker symbol: SC refuses to acknowledge TTV Dhinakaran outfit's claim
The Supreme Court Tuesday refused to acknowledge the claim of the TTV Dhinakaran-led outfit over 'pressure cooker' as common election symbol. The apex court, however, directed the Election Commission (EC) to consider granting common free election symbol to the candidates of the Dhinakaran-led outfit for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and assembly by-elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also made it clear that its order asking the EC to consider granting common election symbol would not amount to granting recognition to his outfit as a political group and its candidates would be treated as Independents for all practical purposes. The bench, which also comprised Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, said that it was the duty and the rights of the Election Commission only to consider granting registration to Dhinakaran's outfit as a political party and it will be done in due course by the poll panel. The bench said that its directions to ..
LS Polls: Rahul, Sonia among Congress' star campaigners in Maharashtra
The Congress party on Tuesday released a list of 40 leaders who will be campaigning for the party's candidates during the first two phases of the impending Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, where 48 seats are at stake.Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh West Jyotiraditya Scindia and senior party leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Sushil Kumar Shinde are some of the key leaders who are a part of the list of star campaigners.The names of the newly-inducted president of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee Milind Deora and his predecessor Sanjay Nirupam are also mentioned in the list.Former Maharashtra Chief Ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan will also be campaigning for the Congress party's candidates during the first and second phase of polling in the state.The seven-phased Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held from April 11 and will ..
Pitroda to lead Congress campaign monitoring committee
Sam Pitroda will be leading Congress' campaign monitoring committee.Other members of this committee include Congress leaders Pawan Khera, Rohan Gupta, Praveen Chakravarthi, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Divya Spandana and Manish Chatrath.The team will be monitoring the publicity and campaigns by the Congress party during the Lok Sabha elections and inputs to the leaders.According to sources, Congress has also finalised an advertisement agency for the elections.Recently Pitroda, a close confidant of Rahul and chairman of Overseas Indian National Congress, had courted controversy after he questioned the death toll in the air strike carried out by the Indian Air Force on Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack of February 14.BJP president Amit Shah, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and several other party leaders had lambasted Pitroda for his comments on the air strike.
Actor-politician Jaya Prada joins BJP
Actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada joined the BJP on Tuesday and may be fielded by the party from the Rampur parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Jaya Prada, a close associate of former Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, had been elected from Rampur on SP ticket twice. If fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Rampur, she will take on senior SP leader Azam Khan.
Priyanka Gandhi to campaign in Maharashtra
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi will be one of the star campaigners in Maharashtra for the first and second phase of Lok Sabha elections, a party leader said on Tuesday.
Former BJP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari to join Congress in Jaipur
Former BJP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari will join the Congress in Jaipur on Tuesday. Tiwari told PTI that he will join the Congress in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi, who is scheduled to meet party workers in Jaipur's Ramlila Maidan on Tuesday evening. "I struggled in the BJP but now I feel that it is important to join Congress for the protection of democratic values," Tiwari said. He said he would not contest the Lok Sabha elections. In 2017, Tiwari had opened a front against BJP leader and then chief minister Vasundhara Raje and resigned from the party in June 2018. He had openly criticised and accused Raje of corruption and made several complaints against her to the party high command. He alleged that he was not heard in the party. Tiwari had floated Bharat Vahini Party ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly elections in 2018. He contested the election from Sanganer seat from where he not only lost but also got his security forfeited. During the meeting this evening, some ...
Messy days ahead as Thai factions jostle to lead next government
Rival political camps jostled for position Tuesday, hoping to form a government after Thailand's first election since a coup -- a vote clouded by allegations of a bungled counting process and chicanery under junta-written rules. The junta is in pole position to return to power as a civilian administration after preliminary results from Sunday's poll showed its proxy party had secured an unexpected majority of the popular vote. Around 7.6 million votes went to Phalang Pracharat with 94 percent of ballots tallied, the Election Commission has said. That gives it -- and its prime ministerial candidate, junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha -- a strong claim to legitimacy from a poll held under new junta-scripted rules. It is more than 400,000 ballots ahead of Pheu Thai, the populist party toppled from power by the 2014 coup and affiliated with self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. But Pheu Thai still appeared set to become the largest party in the lower house, on track for 137 ...
People wonder why Modi insults elders: Kejriwal
Hours after BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi announced he had been denied ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that people were wondering why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "insulting elders".
7 NPF MLAs declare their support to PDA LS candidate
Seven opposition Naga People's Front (NPF) MLAs have declared their support to the NDDP nominee and ruling People's Democratic Alliance (PDA) consensus candidate, Tokheho Yepthomi for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland. The seven NPF MLAs are Kejong Chang, EE Pangteang, Eshak Konyak, CL John, BS Nganlang, N Thongwang Konyak and Toyang Chang. The NPF has 26 MLAs in the 60-member Nagaland Assembly. "We extend our fullest cooperation to the PDA government and we also endorse the PDA Governments stand as a facilitator to the ongoing Naga peace process for an early, honourable and inclusive political solution," they said in a statement issued Monday night. They appreciated all the developmental and progressive initiatives that have been undertaken till date by the PDA government under the leadership of Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. Yepthomi of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDDP) is seeking reelection to the lone Lok Sabha seat in the state. He is the consensus
A coffee house with old-world charm and endless political discussions
In first glance it may not seem like a regular coffee house, but this six-decade-old building with its church-like facade has been attracting scores of people who sit for hours over endless sips of steaming tea or coffee and debate over politics. At a time when election frenzy is gradually building up, the Indian Coffee House is brimming with people discussing the SP-BSP alliance and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's foray into active politics. Located in the upscale Civil Lines, often referred to as the heart of the city, regular patrons describe it as a safe place where one can air their views freely. The guests boast that their favourite haunt sets the tone for political discourse in the city, saying it is a place where even those with opposing views can speak freely. Opened in 1957, the Indian Coffee House has an old-world charm to it, one that stands out in the times of air-conditioned, swish cafes. Old-timers say that even former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and V P Singh came to the .
BJP passes MoS Gohain to fields young Surya
The BJP on Tuesday issued its ninth list of four candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, denying ticket to Union Minister Rajen Gohain from Nowgong in Assam and fielding 28-year-old Tejasvi Surya from the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha seat.