Page 1203 - Politics
Mulayam, Akhilesh, Jaya Bachchan SP star campaigners
The Samajwadi Party on Sunday announced 40 top leaders, including party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, President Akhilesh Yadav and actor-MP Jaya Bachchan, will be the party's star campaigners for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress fields RS MP as candidate for Bengaluru south
: Amid suspense and dilemma in the BJP over its candidate for Bengaluru south constituency, the Congress Sunday announced fielding its controversial Rajya Sabha member B K Hariprasad from the constituency. Hariprasad's staunch loyalty to the party dates from his college days when he was associated with the youth Congress. "I have completed 40 years of service to the Congress. There was no specific Lok Sabha seat to contest. Party national president Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao decided that I should contest from Bengaluru South seat,"he told reporters after the party announced his name for the seat. The Bengaluru south Lok Sabha seat is not new for Hariprasad as he was defeated by former union minister Ananth Kumar in 1999. Exuding confidence about his victory this time, Hariprasad said the circumstances now were different from those of 1999 as things were at present in his favour. In most likelihood, Hariprasad may have to contest ...
Congress fields B.K. Hariprasad from Bangalore South
Senior Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad has been named the party candidate from the high-profile Bangalore South constituency.
Govt's new policy is to choke democratic space in Kashmir, says Mehbooba
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti Sunday said choking the democratic space and punishing people collectively was a new policy adopted by the Centre to deal with Kashmir. The purpose behind the "repressive measures being taken in Jammu and Kashmir by the BJP-led government is to show the electorate how tough the saffron party is against Kashmiris", Mufti claimed. "Choking democratic space and punishing people collectively is unfortunately a new policy adopted by the government of India to deal with Kashmir," the former chief minister said at a PDP youth convention here. Referring to a ban imposed on the JKLF and the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, she said it was ironical that while on one hand, the central government claims to have launched a rehabilitation scheme for militants who lay down arms, on the other, organisations like Jammat and JKLF, which have rejected violence as a method of achieving any goal, are slapped with bans. " The JKLF is committed to ...
BJP leader quits over Dadra and Nagar Haveli MP's renomination
A woman BJP leader Sunday resigned from the ruling party after it renominated sitting MP Natubhai Patel from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha seat. Ankita Patel, national secretary of the Mahila Samiti of the BJP Kisan Morcha, submitted her resignation to party chief Amit Shah claiming that MP Natubhai Patel had done nothing for the constituency despite being parliamentarian for two terms since 2009. Party leaders said the Kisan Morcha national secretary, who was appointed to the post about a year ago, was miffed as she was expecting to be fielded from the Scheduled Tribe reserved constituency. "There are thousands of youth who are unable to get jobs either in the private or government sector. Their domicile benefit was taken away but our MP (Natubhai Patel) did not raise the issue in Parliament," she said. Continuing her attack, Ankita Patel said, "The level of education is going down day by day. Our government schools do not have permanent teachers. People here are
Former Odisha DGP Prakash Mishra joins BJP
Former IPS officer Prakash Mishra, who served as Odisha Director General of Police (DGP), on Sunday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Mishra, who also served as CRPG DG (2014-2016) joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at the state party headquarters here.According to media reports, the BJP is likely to field Mishra as its candidate from Cuttack for the General Elections.Apart from Mishra, former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Brundaban Majhi also joined the BJP.Odisha will be going to polls in four phases--on April 11, 18, 23 and 29. The state will be voting simultaneously for parliamentary and assembly constituencies.There are 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats at stake in Odisha.
RJD, Cong announce candidates for five LS seats for 2nd phase
The RJD and the Congress, partners in the opposition Grand Alliance, Sunday announced the names of candidates for five Lok Sabha seats going to the second phase of polls in Bihar on April 18. The Congress has named its candidate for Kishanganj, Katihar and Purnea seats while the RJD has named two sitting MPs of the party as candidates for Banka and Bhagalpur Lok Sabha constituencies. Releasing ts ninth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress announced the candidature of Dr Mohammad Javed from Kishanganj, Tariq Anwar from Katihar and Uday Singh alias Pappu Singh from Purnea, Bihar Congress spokesman Harkhu Jha told PTI. Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav and Shailesh Kumar alias Bulo Mandal, both sitting MPs of the RJD, have been fielded by the RJD from Banka and Bhagalpur respectively, Bihar unit RJD president Ram Chandra Purvey told reporters here. The last date for filing nominations for the second phase of polling is March 26. Tariq Anwar, who won the ...
Over 50 lakh farmers deprived of benefits under PM-KISAN due to 'anti-farmer' policies of govt: BJP
Former Rajasthan agriculture minister and BJP leader Prabhu Lal Saini on Sunday alleged that more than 50 lakh small and marginal farmers of the state were deprived of the benefits under the PM-KISAN scheme due to the "anti-farmer" policies of the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government. He said nearly 32 lakh farmers had applied for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi but their applications are pending at the offices of district collectors. "Not a single farmer of the state got the benefit of financial assistance of Rs 6,000 annually under the scheme. They are deprived of this because of the anti-farmer mentality of the Gehlot government," he claimed. Saini also alleged that officials did not clear the applications as they were under pressure from the government. "Administrative officers too are dilly-dallying in certifying the farmers. They are rejecting farmers which reflects the narrow-mindedness of the government," he alleged.
TDP not to contest Lok Sabha polls in Telangana
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will not contest Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, party sources said on Sunday.
Israel says Trump to recognise Golan as its territory Monday
US President Donald Trump will sign an order recognising Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights when he meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday, Israel's foreign minister said. "President Trump will sign tomorrow in the presence of PM Netanyahu an order recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
Treatment meted out to Advani 'shameful', people will give befitting reply: Shatrughan Sinha
Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, the sitting BJP MP from Patna Sahib who has been denied a ticket by the party this time, has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of treating party patriarch L K Advani in a "painful" and "shameful" manner. In a series of tweets on Saturday, Sinha claimed that the BJP's decision to not give ticket to Advani, the sitting MP from Gandhinagar, and to field party president Amit Shah from the seat "has not gone down well" with many people. "Sirji... it is worrisome, painful and according to some even shameful... that which your people have done was the most expected and awaited... orchestrating the departure of a most respected friend, philosopher, guide, father figure and ultimate leader of the party, Shri L K Advani from the political arena/election," Sinha tweeted. Advani, 91, has served as Union home minister and deputy prime minister. He was also the national president of the BJP more than once. He is often credited with helping the party ...
AAP names Shweta Sharma as Gautam Buddh Nagar LS nominee
The Aam Aadmi Party Sunday announced nominating Shweta Sharma for the Lok Sabha election from Gautam Buddh Nagar, where she will be pitted against BJP leader Mahesh Sharma, among others. Shweta Sharma is a professor with an MBA in Human Resources, an M.Phil, UGC-NET and pursuing PhD, the AAP said. "She is working to remove corruption in education and other irregularities," the party's Uttar Pradesh unit tweeted. Union minister and sitting MP Mahesh Sharma had won the seat in 2014 after a stint as Noida MLA when he secured 5,99,702 votes, 50 per cent of the total votes polled that year in Gautam Buddh Nagar. On March 22, Mahesh Sharma filed his nomination as the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate, on the same day Arvind Kumar Singh from the Congress and Satveer Nagar as the joint nominee of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party completed the formalities. In 2014, the AAP had fielded Kishan Pal Singh as its candidate from this seat and he ended up winning 32,358 votes, a 2.70 per cent .
Thai junta party takes shock lead with over 90% votes counted: Election Commission
Thailand's junta-linked party took a shock lead in the popular vote with nearly all ballots counted, the Election Commission said late Sunday, edging ahead of its pro-democracy rivals in the first election since a 2014 coup. The Phalang Pracharat party, which wants junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha to return as premier, gained more than 7.3 million votes with 91 per cent of votes tallied, according to the EC -- nearly half a million more than Pheu Thai.
BJP will win Amethi: Goyal
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal exuded confidence on Sunday that the Bharatiya Janata Party would win the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, which is represented by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. "In the past five years, notable work has been done in every sector. The BJP will win more seats as compared to the previous election. The BJP will also win Amethi -- the traditional seat of the Congress," Goyal said at the party's "vijay sankalp sabha" here. The Union minister attacked Gandhi over reports that the Congress leader might also contest from Wayanad in Kerala. "He (Rahul) is running away from UP. Far from UP, he is going to Kerala and will contest the elections from there. Smriti Irani will register a massive win from Amethi," Goyal said. The BJP leader described the Congress as beng a party of "one family". "It is now involved in saving the family," Goyal added. The railways minister claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has capability to control terrorism. "Our armed forces have destroyed
Grand Alliance announces five more candidates in Bihar
Bihar's opposition Grand Alliance on Sunday announced candidates for five more Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, taking its total to nine out of the total 40 seats.
AIADMK seeks probe into 'human rights violations' in Sri Lanka
AIADMK Sunday reiterated that it would seek a credible international probe into alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka during the three-decade long ethnic conflict, which ended in 2009. "We will urge the government of India, United Nations and international communities to press for a credible international probe into human rights violations, war crimes and genocide in Sri Lanka," the party said in its 10-page annexure of the manifesto, released on March 18. The AIADMK said it would urge the union government to impress upon the United Nations for a referendum on various demands of the Eelam Tamils and also for devolution of administrative powers to Tamil dominated areas. Sri Lanka Army along with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been accused of war crimes during the final phase of the military conflict that ended in 2009 with the killing of LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran. The island nation had faced the United Nations Human Rights Council's ...
Ker Cong leaders keeping fingers crossed on whether Rahul
Congress leaders in Kerala are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that their request to party chief Rahul Gandhi to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad constituency would be accepted. Senior party leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the presence of Rahul Gandhi in the poll arena in Kerala would give a huge boost to party workers and that was why they wanted him to contest from Wayanad as a second constituency. "However, the final decision has to be taken by Gandhi. He returned to Delhi late after campaigning in Patna," Chandy told reporters on Sunday. The Congress has already announced that Gandhi would be contesting from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. Another senior leader P C Chacko said the party chief was yet to confirm if he would contest from Wayanad. "Nothing has been decided on Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Wayanad. He is the one who should decide on that. It's not right on the part of certain leaders making statements that Rahul has agreed or
Former Odisha DGP Prakash Mishra joins BJP
Retired IPS officer Prakash Mishra whose removal as Odisha police chief in 2014 had triggered a major controversy joined the BJP on Sunday ahead of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state. Mishra, who served as Odisha DGP from 2012 to 2014, joined the saffron party in the presence of senior leaders, including Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Biswa Bhushan Harichandan and Damodar Rout at the partys state headquarters here. Mishra's entry into the BJP comes amid speculations that he may be fielded as the saffron party's candidate from Cuttack Lok Sabha seat. The former IPS officer, who had also served as the CRPF DG for about two years from 2014 to 2016, said he had no plan to join politics, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's style of working highly impressed him. PM Modi is concerned for the countrys security and Indias response to Pulwama terror strike was befitting, Mishra said. Regarding Odisha, Mishra, said "Governance in the state has touched
Congress pits daughter against father in Andhra's Araku
Congress party on Sunday fielded Shruti Devi from Araku Lok Sabha constituency pitting her against her father Vairicharla Kishore Chandra Deo who left Congress to joined Telugu Desam Party (TDP) weeks ago.Vairicharla Kishore Chandra Deo joined TDP in the presence of N Chandrababu Naidu on February 24. The Congress party, however, in a smart move gave the party's ticket for Araku constituency to daughter- Shruti Devi.Kishore is a six-time Member of Parliament (MP) and a former Union Minister, while her daughter is a New Delhi-based lawyer and social activist.Araku is a Scheduled Tribe (ST) reserved constituency, formed in 2008.In 2009, Kishore Chandra Deo won the seat but in 2014, he lost the seat in the strong anti-incumbency against Congress due to backlash over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.Just ahead of the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, Deo joined TDP.
Congress blocked release of compensatory funds to anti-Sikh riots victims: Rajnath Singh
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday accused the Congress of blocking the release of compensatory funds meant for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots.Speaking at an event here, Rajnath said: "When I took the office of Home Ministry in 2014, I got to know that the ministry had the extra fund of Rs 90 crore that was meant for the victims of anti-Sikh riots victims, but the Congress had not released it.""I ordered the release of the fund. And we have given Rs 2 lakh to every family of the victim," he said."It is the first time, that a leader of the then ruling party has been convicted for his crime during the riots. It could be possible because the BJP was at the Centre. And I had also ordered the formation of SIT to investigate the riots."He further criticised the Congress for questioning Balakot strike conducted by Indian Air Force. "I can assure you every action was taken after the intelligence input. I don't understand the attack was conducted in Pakistan, why Congress is feeling ...