Page 1226 - Politics

PM Modi sends greetings to Imran Khan on eve of Pak National Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday sent a message to his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, greeting people of the neighbouring country on the eve of its National Day, official sources said. The prime minister, in his message, said it was time for the people of the sub-continent to work together for a democratic, peaceful, progressive and prosperous region, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence, they said. Modi's message to Khan comes in the midst of severe strain in ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following the Pulwama attack and the subsequent air strikes by India on a JeM terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot. Significantly, India Friday boycotted a reception at the Pakistan High Commission here to mark Pakistan's National Day, objecting to invites extended to several separatist leaders from Jammu and Kashmir for the event. Imran Khan also tweeted PM Modi's message. "Received msg from PM Modi: 'I extend my greetings & best wishes to the people of Pakistan on ...

TDP local leaders file Chandrababu Naidu's nomination papers

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) local leaders on Friday filed nomination on behalf of party chief N Chandrababu Naidu from Kuppam Assembly constituency from where he has won the polls six times in the past.Earlier, it was expected that Naidu's wife Nara Bhuvaneswari will file the nomination papers. But she opted to go for her son Nara Lokesh's nomination at Mangalagiri.Before submitting Naidu's nomination papers in Tehsildar office, Kuppam TDP leaders offered prayers at local deity Gangamamba Temple.Naidu is going to contest from the Kuppam seat in Chittoor district for the seventh consecutive time. He had contested from the seat for the first time in 1989.The elections to the 175-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly are scheduled to be held on April 11 simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls. The counting of votes for both will take place on May 23.

LS polls: Congress screening committee meet in Delhi cancelled

Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda and his party colleague Paresh Dhanani Friday dropped their plan to go to New Delhi upon learning that a meeting of the party's screening committee to finalise Lok Sabha candidates for the state has been cancelled. While the screening committee was supposed to meet Saturday morning, both the leaders were scheduled to leave for New Delhi Friday. "The meet was scheduled for tomorrow morning and we were supposed to attend it. Now, that meeting stands cancelled. "We may be called again by central leadership once the new schedule for the screening committee gets finalised," said Dhanani, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. Till now, the Congress had declared its candidates for four seats in Gujarat for the April 23 general elections. While the state party unit has already sent names of all the probable candidates to the central leadership, a decision on remaining 22 seats is still pending. According to Gujarat Congress ..

Run-up to voting day

We have a political party in power that is implementing its ideology and agenda of dividing our nation and our society on the basis of faith

BJP likely to field wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt in Lok Sabha polls from Haryana

The BJP is likely to field wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt in the Lok Sabha election from a constituency in Haryana, party sources said Friday. His name was recommended by the BJP's state unit to the party's central election committee which met here, they said. Dutt, who won the bronze medal in the 2012 Olympic Games, is likely to be fielded from either Sonepat or Rohtak, the sources said. In Friday's meeting attended by top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, the party discussed names of its nominees in several states, including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat and Goa. The BJP had on Thursday released its first list of 184 candidates for the elections to 543-member Lok Sabha.

Statistical Institute submits report on paper trail count to EC

The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) on Friday submitted a report to the Election Commission on the number of paper trail machine slips that should be matched with EVM results to enhance voters' confidence. In view of the varying demands for enhanced percentage of VVPAT slip count during elections in the country, the Commission had engaged the Indian Statistical Institute to analyse and scientifically examine the issue of VVPAT Slip verification with electronic count of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Refusing to divulge much, sources in the poll panel claimed the ISI was of the view that "five per cent" match would be sufficient to enhance voters' faith in the EVMs. But senior functionaries dealing with the issue refused to confirm the figure indicating that the matter would come up in the Supreme Court on March 25 where the EC would place its views. The apex court is hearing petitions on use of VVPATs. An EC statement said on Friday that the ISI was tasked with the job to ..

Speculation over Jitin Prasada quitting Cong; Party debunks reports

Speculation was rife on Friday that Congress leader Jitin Prasada may join the BJP but the Congress rejected such reports, while the former union minister termed them as "hypothetical". Sources said some senior Congress leaders including Jyotiraditya Scindia met Prasada on Friday afternoon in a bid to placate him and Prasada relented after senior party leader Ahmed Patel spoke to him later in the evening. Prasada, who has been been fielded by the party from Dhaurahra Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, is reportedly unhappy at not being given a senior responsibility within the party, whereas his peers have been made PCC chiefs or in-charges in many states. His name was earlier doing the rounds for the post of PCC chief in Uttar Pradesh. Prasada is the son of Congress veteran Jitendra Prasada who had unsuccessfully contested against Sonia Gandhi for the post of Congress president in 2000. When asked about the speculation regarding Prasada quitting, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep ...

New Goa CM allots portfolios; keeps home, finance with himself

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant retained home, finance and all other portfolios held by his predecessor Manohar Parrikar as he Friday allotted departments to his Cabinet colleagues, three days after taking charge. Sawant, who has two deputies, distributed portfolios to all the 11 ministers who were sworn-in along with him in the wee hours of Tuesday. All these ministers were members of the Cabinet led by Parrikar, who died Sunday last. A notification issued Friday stated all the ministers will retain portfolios which they held under Parrikars chief ministership. This means Sawant has also kept with himself all the portfolios which were earlier with Parrikar. These included departments like home, finance, personnel, vigilance and general administration, among others. Deputy Chief Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, an MLA of the BJP ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), will look after transport, PWD, river navigation and museum departments. Another Deputy Chief Minister ...

Mahesh Sharma files nomination from Gautam Buddh Nagar

Union minister and BJP leader Mahesh Sharma on Friday filed his nomination from Gautam Buddh Nagar for the Lok Sabha polls. Sharma, 59, is the sitting MP from the constituency and will take on Congress' Arvind Kumar Singh and SP-BSP's joint candidate Satveer Nagar. Singh and Nagar also filed their nominations before the district magistrate and returning officer for the poll, B N Singh at the collectorate office in Surajpur on Friday. The Congress had last week announced the name of Singh, who fought for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Aligarh on a BSP ticket. Nagar will be putting up a tough fight against heavyweight Sharma, relying on the support of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) in Gautam Buddh Nagar, which has witnessed an addition of over five lakh new voters this time. Before filing the nomination, Sharma visited a Shiva temple here where he performed prayers with his family. "I have filed my nomination from Gautam Buddh Nagar as the BJP candidate. I ...

Names of nearly 40 lakh Maha voters missing from list: JD(S)

The Janata Dal (Secular) Friday said names of nearly 40 lakh voters in Maharashtra have gone missing from the voters' list as part of a "conspiracy hatched by the BJP" for political gains. Party's national general secretary Justice (retd) B G Kolse Patil, while citing the findings of a survey conducted by a Hyderabad-based firm, said that names of 39,27,882 or 4.6 per cent of the total number of voters- were missing from the voters' list. "Out of the 39,27,882 names, 17 lakh voters are Dalits, while 10 lakh are Muslims. This is a conspiracy hatched by the BJP for political gains," Kolse-Patil, the former judge of Bombay High Court, said in a news conference. The survey was conducted by IT engineer Khalid Saifullah, founder of the Missing Voter App, to assess the number of missing voters. He claimed that names of approximately 12.7 crore voters in the country, including three crore Muslims, has gone missing from the voters' list, who may not be able to vote in the May ...

One person detained from outside Pakistan High Commission in Delhi

One person was detained from outside the High Commission of Pakistan here on Friday, where Pakistan National Day was being celebrated.The arrested person has been identified as Mohammad Hassan Antu with separatist leanings.However, no separatist leader was seen inside the High Commission of Pakistan during the event.Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood, during the event, said that Kashmir is an important issue between the two neighbouring countries.Earlier in the day, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar during the weekly press briefing on Friday confirmed that India has decided not to send any representative to attend the Pakistan National Day."The decision was taken after Pakistan High Commission decided to call Hurriyat leader to the reception. In February we were very clear, any attempt by Pakistan High Commission or Pakistani leadership to engage with Hurriyat leaders will not be taken lightly," he had added.Pakistan Day is celebrated to mark the .

West Godavari: Violent clash breaks out between TDP and YSRCP supporters

A violent clash broke out between the supporters of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) here on Friday.The clash broke out after TDP MLA Mantena Sivarama Raju and YSRCP candidate PVL Narasimha Raju met each other face to face at tehsildar's office in Undi constituency to file their nomination for the upcoming legislative assembly elections in the state.A small disagreement sparked between supporters of the two leaders which snowballed into heated arguments. Soon it went out of control.Local police had to intervene and lathi-charge the warring supporters of the two leaders.Lok Sabha and legislative assembly polls will be held in the state simultaneously on April 11. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

No person will accept the allegations levelled against him or her: Siddaramaiah to Yeddyurappa

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday hit back at state BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa, asserting that no person will accept the allegations levelled against him or her.Earlier during the day, the Congress alleged that some top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had received Rs 1,800 crore from Yeddyurappa, who rubbished the charges as "atrocious and malicious" and threatened to file a defamation case. He said that an inquiry had found the documents, cited by the Congress, as fake."Income Tax Department officials have already probed the issue and found that the documents and signature and handwritten notes are forged. The Congress leaders are apt in carrying out all these atrocious and malicious campaigns. They planted the story in the media to gain political mileage in the coming elections," Yeddyurappa said earlier in the day.Responding to his remarks, Siddaramaiah said, "Any person against whom allegations are made, have you seen the person owning ...

Rahul Gandhi to kick off Cong poll campaign in Bengal Saturday

AICC president Rahul Gandhi will officially kick off the party's Lok Sabha poll campaign in West Bengal on Saturday with a rally at Chachal in Malda district. "Campaigning has started in 11 seats where we have announced candidates. But tomorrow our party president Rahul Gandhi will officially launch the poll campaign of Bengal. He will also give out a message for our party workers," state Congress president Somen Mitra said here on Friday. The rally comes in the backdrop of the Left Front- Congress seat sharing deal falling apart in the state and both the sides deciding to go it alone. The Congress so far has announced candidates in 11 Lok Sabha seats of the state including Raiganj and Murshidabad which were won by CPI(M) in 2014 general elections. The CPI(M)-led Left Front on the other hand has announced candidates in 40 seats including Malda North and Jangipur Lok Sabha that the Congress had won last time. The Congress had emerged victorious in four seats in the state .

Irish PM: EU solidarity let bloc extend Brexit

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says some European Union leaders were against giving Britain a delay to Brexit, but agreed out of solidarity with others in the bloc. Varadkar says EU nations that lie farther from the UK "are kind of sick of this" and were reluctant to prolong the Brexit process any further. But Ireland and other neighbours of Britain are intent on avoiding a chaotic and economically disruptive U.K. departure. He says the doubters "came with us in the end because of European solidarity." EU leaders agreed late Thursday to give British lawmakers a few more weeks to try to approve the divorce deal that British Prime Minister Theresa May has struck with the bloc. Varadkar told reporters the extension "gives a little breathing space" for Britain to decide among three options: "no deal, the withdrawal agreement or a much closer relationship with the EU." He says "I honestly don't know what the most likely option is." European Council President Donald Tusk is happy about ..

Irish authorities find parcel bomb similar to UK packages

Authorities in Ireland say a parcel bomb found at an Irish postal depot appears identical to a series of devices sent to Britain earlier this month. Irish leader Leo Varadkar said it was found at a return mail office in Limerick. The Irish police, the Garda, called military bomb disposal experts after the package was discovered Friday morning. Irish Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan says a stamp on the package was similar to small letter bombs sent to the UK earlier this month. Those devices had been designed to cause fires at Waterloo rail station in central London, offices at Heathrow and London City airports, and the University of Glasgow. One of the devices partially burned when opened. An Irish dissident group claimed responsibility.

TRS RS MP's son to contest on BJP ticket against KCR's daughter Kavitha

D Aravind, who is the son of TRS Rajya Sabha MP D Srinivas, is set to contest from Nizamabad on BJP ticket and will face off against Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha.Speaking to ANI, Aravind, who recently joined the party, said: "I have become an admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He influences the youth pretty well and no leader like Modi Ji has ever existed in India before. My grandfather was associated with the Jana Sangh party. Later my father was inspired by Indira Gandhi and joined the Congress party. I was inspired by Modi Ji and now I have joined BJP."He said that the people here were benefitted by the policies and schemes initiated by the BJP-led Centre."The (TRS) government in Telangana is scared to implement the BJP's schemes. They take the funds from the BJP and will not give credit to them," Aravind claimed.Launching an attack on the TRS government, Aravind said: "Farmers are not getting their minimum prices and I have also protested several ..

Mehbooba criticises ban on JKLF

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday criticised the central government's decision to ban Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) which had kidnapped her sister Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989."Yasin Malik renounced violence as a way of resolving J & K issue a long time ago. He was treated as a stakeholder in a dialogue initiated by then PM (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji. What will a ban on his organisation achieve? Detrimental steps like these will only turn Kash (sic) into an open-air prison," Mehbooba, the chief of PDP, tweeted.Earlier today, the central government banned the JKLF led by Malik, saying the outfit is actively engaged in inciting secessionism and illegal funnelling of funds for fomenting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.The government declared the outfit as "an unlawful association under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Prevention Act 1967", Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba told reporters here.The JKLF was involved in the kidnapping of Mehbooba's sister ..

Protests rock Algeria for fifth consecutive week

Thousands of Algerians took to the streets for the fifth Friday in a row to demand the resignation of the country's ailing President.

US sanctions Iran nuclear researchers, warns of future work

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Iranian nuclear researchers, saying it wanted to warn young scientists to steer clear of any future effort to build a bomb. Sanctioning 14 individuals and 17 entities, US officials acknowledged that the nuclear work was in the past but said Washington wanted to make the targeted figures "radioactive." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Twitter called the sanctions part of the "maximum pressure campaign" on Iran as the United States tries to roll back the clerical regime's regional influence. "We'll be relentless in denying Iran the ability to engage in WMD proliferation and all its outlaw activities," said Pompeo, who is on a Middle East tour to build a united front against Iran. President Donald Trump last year pulled out of an international accord negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, under which Iran drastically scaled back its nuclear program, and instead imposed sweeping sanctions. But European nations still back the accord