Page 1204 - Politics
BJP axes Raman Singh's son, 4 other Chhattisgarh MPs
The BJP, which has already axed five of its sitting MPs in Chhattisgarh, on Sunday fielded new faces in five more constituencies, denying ticket to sitting MPs including six time Raipur MP Ramesh Bais and Abhishek Singh, son of former Chief Minister Raman Singh.
Unholy nexus between Cong, AIUDF in Assam: Ram Madhav
BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav Sunday accused the opposition Congress of having struck an "unholy alliance" with the AIUDF to defeat the ruling party in Assam. The senior BJP leader alleged that the opposition does not have any issue to counter the saffron party and that is why it is forming alliances everywhere. "In Assam, the Congress is in an unholy alliance with the AIUDF to face the BJP. We are confident that people of Assam will reject this unholy alliance," Madhav said at a press conference here. Though there is no official understanding between the Congress and the AIUDF, the BJP and its allies have been alleging that the two opposition parties have a "tacit" arrangement. "The opposition does not have the courage and strength to face PM Modi. That is why they have formed alliances... wherever possible," Madhav alleged. Assam Finance Minister and NEDA convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma alleged that both the Congress and the AIUDF were pursuing the politics ..
NC-Cong tie-up confined to LS polls only: Rana
National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana Sunday said the pre-poll alliance with the Congress was confined to Lok Sabha elections alone to fight the "divisive forces" in the larger national interest. "This arrangement (pre-poll alliance with Congress) is confined to Lok Sabha elections only as the nation is confronted with a huge challenge posed by those believing in divisive and hate politics," Rana said at a function organised to welcome youth into the party fold here. He said the tie-up with the Congress is a well thought out strategy for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections to unitedly fight the "divisive forces". "The country is passing through a difficult phase and it is incumbent upon the compatriots to save it from the elements inimical to its secular fabric and hell bent upon dividing the society on the basis of religion, race and caste. "This is an unprecedented scenario, totally against the very idea of India, which assimilates diverse religions, castes, ...
Israeli army targets two Hamas posts in Gaza Strip
The Israeli army claimed to have hit two targets of the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip early Sunday after Palestinian militants launched explosive devices at Israel.
Premalatha says contestants from Tuticorin 'good, hardworking'
DMDK treasurer Premalatha Vijayakanth Sunday said the two women candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Tuticorin were 'good and hard-working' and that she strongly supported women's participation in politics. Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan and DMK leader and Rajya Sabha MP M Kanimozhi would be locking horns for the seat in the elections scheduled April 18. Addressing reporters, Premalatha said, "It is a healthy thing. I am always a supporter of women's participation in politics. They (Kanimozhi and Soundararajan) are good candidates capable of hard work and are familiar." The ruling AIADMK inked an electoral pact with DMDK led by actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth, allotting to it four Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. Asked if her ailing husband would participate in the campaign scheduled to begin March 27, Premalatha said, "Yes, he will be taking part in the campaign. People also just want to see him.
Priyanka doesn't know meaning of 'chowkidar': Uma Bharti
Newly-appointed BJP vice-president Uma Bharti on Sunday hit out Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the latter's remarks that 'chowkidars' (watchmen) of the saffron party were working only for the rich people. Bharti said Vadra did not know the meaning of 'chowkidar', saying that watchmen work in villages for the security of the poor. Earlier in the day, Congress general secretary Vadra, who is also the incharge of east Uttar Pradesh, took a swipe at the BJP leaders, saying these "chowkidars" (watchmen) were only working for the rich and not bothered about the poor. Launching the BJP's campaign in Muzaffarnagar constituency, Bharti appealed to the people to support sitting MP Sanjeev Balyan. Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "vikas purush", Bharti expressed confidence that Modi would return as the prime minister with a thumping majority. Bharti, who represents Jhansi, was brought in as a senior office bearer after she conveyed to the BJP leadership her wish to not ...
PDP leader requests revision of party's decision to not field candidate for Udhampur LS seat
A day after PDP decided against fielding any candidate from the twin Lok Sabha seats of Udhampur and Jammu, its senior leader and MLC Firdous Tak Sunday requested the party high command to review its decision. "I will not talk about Jammu constituency but as far as Udhampur constituency is concerned, we have filed a review petition before the party high command especially the parliamentary board, requesting it to reconsider its decision for the good of the people of Chenab valley," Tak, who hails from Kishtwar district, told reporters here. Udhampur parliamentary constituency is spread over six districts of Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi and three districts of Chenab valley - Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar. On Saturday, PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said the parliamentary board of the party decided not to field any candidates from the two Lok Sabha seats of Udhampur and Jammu. "The opposition front is not functioning as it should have but we have taken a unilateral ...
CAIT to come up with National Charter of Traders
The Confederation of All Indian Traders (CAIT) on Sunday said it would shortly release a National Charter of Traders which would include the core issues of the trading community.
At Saharanpur rally, Adityanath terms Oppn candidate 'Azhar Masood's son-in-law'
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Sunday said "opposition parties offered biryani to terrorists" while the Modi government fed them bullets, and termed a rival candidate from the Saharanpur constituency "son-in-law of Azar Masood". Addressing a rally in Saharanpur, he said the "son-in-law of (Jaish-e-Mohammed chief) Azhar Masood" has entered the constituency and he speaks the language of the terror mastermind. Imran Masood is the Congress candidate from the constituency. "You people have to ensure that the person who speaks the language of Azhar Masood is defeated in the Lok Sabha elections," he said, seeking votes for the BJP candidate from Saharanpur, Raghav Lakhanpal. Adityanath said Azhar would meet the same fate as Osama bin Laden. You must have heard about Osama bin Laden. He was killed brutally. Azhar Masood will be killed in the same manner," he said. The UP chief minister said the BJP is committed to nation building and will not allow "any traitor to dent India's ..
Congress fields Karti from TN, changes Maha candidate
The Congress on Sunday released its ninth list of 10 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, including Karti Chidambaram, son of former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, from Sivaganga constituency in Tamil Nadu.
Snubbed by Oppn alliance in Bihar, CPI fields Kanhaiya Kumar from Begusarai
The CPI Sunday announced the candidature of former JNU students' union leader Kanhaiya Kumar from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, days after the party was left out of the RJD-led opposition alliance in the state. The Communist Party of India (CPI), which was expecting to get the seat for Kumar as part of the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance), has now decided to go alone. "Kanhaiya Kumar will be our candidate from Begusarai seat. CPI(ML) has pledged their support to us too," senior CPI leader D Raja said. Candidates for two more seats are yet to be finalised by the central leadership, he added. As part of the seat-sharing pact of the 'mahagathbandhan', the Communist Party of India (MarxistLeninist) Liberation (CPI-ML), the biggest Left party in Bihar, got one seat from the Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) share of 20. In Begusarai, Kumar will be pitted against the BJP's Giriraj Singh. An influential upper caste Bhumihar leader, the Union minister has been shifted from his Nawada ...
Father served BJP with honesty, but removed from imp posts: Manish Khanduri
Manish Khanduri, former Uttarakhand chief minister B C Khanduri's son and the Congress candidate from Garhwal, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday of not being fair with his father. "My father served the BJP with total honesty, but he was removed from important positions by the party towards the fag end of his career. He (Khanduri) is my father and I have his blessings. My fight is ideological," Manish Khanduri, who will file his nominations in Pauri on Monday, said here. In his first interaction with the media after joining the Congress at party chief Rahul Gandhi's rally in Dehradun recently, Manish Khanduri described the BJP as an "one-man show" and alleged that the saffron party had not been fair with his father. Congress president Rahul Gandhi had also raised the issue of the senior Khanduri's sudden removal as chairman of the parliamentary committee on defence, citing it as the reason behind Manish Khandhuri joining the grand old party. Manish Khnaduri also said ...
Syria's return to Arab League not on summit agenda: Spokesman
The Arab League said Sunday it was not planning to discuss reinstating Syria's membership at a summit later this month, more than eight years after suspending it as the country descended into war. The pan-Arab bloc, which is set to hold its annual summit in Tunisia on March 31, froze Syria's membership in November 2011 over a bloody government crackdown on protestors. But several of the bloc's other 21 members have recently renewed ties with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and some have called for Syria to be re-admitted to the league. "The issue of Syria's return to the Arab League has yet to be listed on the agenda and has not been formally proposed," said the League's spokesman Mahmoud Afifi. He noted that the "Syrian crisis" however still tops the agenda, along with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the situation in Yemen and Libya. Syria's conflict flared in 2011 with anti-government demonstrations that sparked a brutal regime crackdown. It has since drawn in regional
Karnataka govt nixes suspension of Ola Cabs licence
: The Karnataka government Sunday revoked the suspension on mobile application-based taxi aggregator Ola Cabs after it agreed to pay a fine for the operation of bike taxis 'illegally'. The cabs would resume service from Monday. The state government had on March 22 suspended the licence of Ola Cabs for the next six months with immediate effect saying that it was running bike taxis without permission. The suspension was lifted after the executives of Ola Cabs had a detailed discussion with state chief secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar and other senior officials. Speaking to PTI, minister for social welfare Priyank Kharge said, Ola Cabs officials met the officials of state transport department, including the chief secretary, and the issue was sorted out." To a question when the services would resume, the minister said the suspension has been revoked and the cab operator can resume service from March 25. Asked why action was not taken against the other bike taxi services, which ...
Post Chavan audio clip, Cong replaces Chandrapur LS candidate
The Maharashtra Congress Sunday replaced its Lok Sabha candidate from Chandrapur, Vinayak Bangade, with Shiv Sena MLA Suresh Dhanorkar who recently defected to the party. Dhanorkar will be pitted against the BJP's Hansraj Ahir, sitting MP and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs. Bangade's candidature had come under a cloud and caused severe embarrassment to the Congress after a audio clip of Maharashtra state unit chief Ashok Chavan raising apprehensions about it went viral on social media platforms. A miffed and despondent Chavan was heard telling a party worker in the audio clip that his suggestions were being ignored in the Congress and he was planning to resign as state unit chief. The worker can be heard telling Chavan that Bangade was a weak candidate. Chavan acknowledged the voice in the clip was his but added it was a private conversation. Incidentally, despite Dhanorkar stating a week earlier that he was willing to take on Ahir in Chandrapur, the Congress ..
Theresa May under pressure to step down over Brexit
British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing intense pressure from within her own Cabinet on Sunday to step down over her handling of the Brexit process. According to numerous UK media reports, disgruntled ministers and MPs are plotting to give her an ultimatum to resign as the price for backing her controversial withdrawal agreement in a third Parliament vote next week, a move which could even see her forced out to make way for a caretaker Prime Minister in the form of her deputy David Lidington. Downing Street has dismissed reports of any such plot, with Lidington, Britain's Minister for the Cabinet Office, stressing he is "100 per cent behind the Prime Minister". "This is not about the Prime Ministerchanging Prime Ministers wouldn't help, changing the party of government wouldn't help," said UK Chancellor Philip Hammond, calling on MPs to unite behind May. Asked about calls for a second referendum after nearly a million people marched through the streets of London on Saturday to ...
3 jihadists blow themselves up in north Iraq: Army
Three suspected Islamic State group suicide bombers blew themselves up Sunday in northern Iraq, the army said, a day after the jihadists' "caliphate" was wiped out in neighbouring Syria. Army spokesman Yahya Rassoul said the incident took place in a region near the Syrian border, where jihadist sleeper cells are believed to be present. He said the suspects died as troops surrounded them but there were no casualties among government forces. Local officials said the suspects were killed as they were trying to attack troops in the village of Qayrawan, south of the mountainous region of Sinjar which borders Syria. Fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Saturday pronounced the death of the nearly five-year-old IS "caliphate" which once stretched across a vast swathe of Syria and Iraq. Their victory was hailed as a major landmark in the battle against the jihadists but there have also been numerous calls for "vigilance" with many saying the fight is far from over. Top SDF ...
Oppn grand alliance has reached 'expiry date' even before its manufacturing: Naqvi
Taking a swipe at the opposition grand alliance, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Sunday said the "so-called mahagathbandhan is an adulterated product" which has reached its expiry date even before its manufacturing. Addressing the Vijay Sankalp Sabha in Rampur, Naqvi said the country doesn't need a "Mahamilawati (super adulterated) government", and instead wants a tested and decisive government that can move forward towards commitment to aNew India. People of the country will again bring a stable government committed to good governance under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the union minister was quoted as saying in a statement from his office. The so-called mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) is a mahamilavati maal (adulterated product)" which has reached to its expiry date even before its manufacturing, the minority affairs minister said. Naqvi said some people, who were indulging in an abuse competition against Prime Minister Modi,
Cong to give final shape to manifesto for LS polls at CWC meet
The top Congress leadership will Monday discuss and give a final shape to the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha election starting April 11. According to sources, the contents of the manifesto will be discussed at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) at its headquarters at Akbar Road. The CWC is the highest decision-making body of the party and is chaired by Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Top Congress leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, A K Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Ambika Soni and Anand Sharma, will be present at the meeting. Former chief ministers Siddharamaiah, Oomen Chandy, Tarun Gogoi and Harish Rawat will attend the meeting. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia, who took charge last month as AICC general secretary UP east and UP west respectively, will also be present. The Congress's young brigade, who have been given the charge of various states, are also ...
Will keep a telescopic view on Rahul's income in election nomination: BJP
The BJP Sunday said it will keep a "telescopic view" on Congress president Rahul Gandhi's election affidavit, a day after the saffron party alleged a rise in his income between 2004 and 2014. There has been a "huge jump" in the income of the Congress leader, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged at a press conference, but did not provide any evidence or document to substantiate his claim. Patra challenged Gandhi to file a defamation case against him, claiming that he is stating facts with evidence. There was no immediate response from the Congress on the charges levelled by the BJP. "The people this time in the country and the BJP in particular will keep a telescopic view on the nomination of Rahul Gandhi... Where ever he contests elections," Patra told reporters. Gandhi's income has risen from over Rs 55 lakh in 2004 to Rs 9 crore in 2014 as per his election affidavits, he alleged, asking "how can an MP, who is not a professional, witness such a jump in his income". Patra ...