Page 1240 - Politics
Pulwama attack was 'conspiracy' to fetch votes: SP leader
Senior Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav Thursday alleged that the Pulwama terror attack was a "conspiracy" to garner votes, drawing sharp criticism from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Yadav, a general secretary in the Samajwadi Party (SP), also said once there is a change at the Centre, investigations will be conducted into the incident and claimed that prominent people will come under the scanner. Hitting out at the SP leader, Adityanath said this is an example of "atrocious politics" and Yadav should apologise for his comment.These kind of statements embolden terrorist organisations, the BJP leader said. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district after a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into their bus, which was part of a convoy going to Srinagar from Jammu, on February 14. "For the first time, it happened that there was no checking between Jammu and Srinagar. It was ...
Rival Fronts' spat over CPI-M's unholy nexus jibe at Cong,BJP
A spat has erupted between rival fronts in Kerala over the ruling CPI(M)'s allegation of an "unholy alliance" between the Congress and BJP, with former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy saying the Marxist party was coming out with wild allegations as defeat was looming large. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took potshots at the opposition Congress-led UDF and said the Front had been trying to forge an alliance with the RSS and the SDPI for the Lok Sabha elections even as it calls itself a "secular" party. CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had on Wednesday alleged that there was a secret understanding between the Congress-IUML-BJP due to which the latter had put up weak candidates in five constituencies. Balakrishnan had alleged that the RSS leadership had given instruction to the BJP to field weak candidates in five seats to help the Congress party. Earlier, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) allegedly had political discussions with the Secular ...
Picture of blank SSC signed by J-K officials goes viral; probe ordered
A photograph of a blank State Subject Certificate (SSC) signed by officials in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district has gone viral on social media, prompting authorities to order a probe into the matter, officials said on Thursday. Every permanent resident of the state is entitled to Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) or State Subject Certificate (SSC) under the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Permanent Resident Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 1968. The certificate is crucial to obtain admission to educational institutions, government scholarship, ration cards, purchasing property in the state and for voting. According to officials, the picture of the blank state subject certificate signed by Assistant Commissioner Revenue (ACR), Ramban Vivek Puri is in violation of the rules. Taking a serious view of the matter, Deputy Commissioner Ramban, Shoukat Ajaz Bhat ordered an inquiry and directed additional deputy commissioner, Ramban to submit the report within three days. "An inquiry has been
LS polls will see resurgence of Congress: PL Punia
Senior Congress leader P L Punia Thursday asserted that the Lok Sabha elections will witness a resurgence of the Congress across the country. Punia, who is also the Congress's in-charge for Chhattisgarh, also said the victory of the party in the Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assembly polls will be replicated in the general elections. "In Chhattisgarh, the Congress is going to win all the 11 Lok Sabha seats, and this type of performance will be replicated across the country.The performance of the Congress in the three states shows the mood of the public across the country," he told PTI. The people of the country have said they are not happy with the policies of the BJP governments at the Centre and in states, Punia claimed. "The people of the country have rejected the leadership of the BJP. At the time of elections, they (BJP) are presenting their report card. But they have to answer the people over the non-fulfilment of elections promises made at the time of the last Lok .
Modi stays with Varanasi, Shah in fray from Gandhinagar (2nd Lead)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight to retain his Varanasi seat while BJP President Amit Shah will make his debut in Lok Sabha polls from Gandhinagar, BJP leader J.P. Nadda announced on Thursday.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh to file nomination on Friday from J-K's Udhampur
Union Minister Jitendra Singh will file his nomination papers Friday from Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur constituency. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal is likely to accompany him to file the nomination papers, a senior leader said Thursday. The name of Singh, who holds multiple portfolios in Narendra Modi's government including Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, was announced by the BJP as its candidate from Udhampur. "I will file nomination papers tomorrow," Singh told PTI. He is a sitting Lok Sabha member from the Udhampur constituency. Polling in Udhampur is scheduled to be held on April 18.
Modi to fight from Varanasi again, Shah Gandhinagar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight to retain his Varanasi seat while BJP President Amit Shah will contest his first Lok Sabha polls from Gandhinagar in the 2019 polls, BJP leader J.P Nadda announced on Thursday.
DITI to monitor poll expenditures in NE states
) The Directorate of Income Tax Investigation (DITI) has appointed 160 officials to monitor expenditure of political parties and candidates during the Lok Sabha polls in the seven northeastern states, an official release said here on Thursday.
Senior Punjab CPI-M leader Balwant Singh dies
Former MLA and ex-state CPI-M Secretary Balwant Singh (82) passed away on Thursday at his residence here after a brief illness.
Colours, sprinklers and balloons: People revel in Holi celebrations
People in several states across the country smeared each other with colours, exchanged greetings and savoured sweets to celebrate Holi. Revellers hit the streets, danced to popular songs and to the beat of drums as children ran with sprinklers and water balloons to celebrate the festival of colours. "Holi hai!" rent the air as revellers zoomed their motorcycles across the streets and danced to popular songs. Colours of all hues and the smell of 'gulal' pervaded the streets as people of all ages celebrated the festival. The famous Holi fair in Sujanpur town of Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district was cut to a three-day affair instead of four days due to the one-day national mourning after the demise of former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar. President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished the people. "Greetings and best wishes to fellow citizens in India and abroad on the auspicious occasion of Holi. The festival of colours, Holi ..
Pawan Kalyan,4 ministers file nomination for AP assembly polls
Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan, ministers Ganta Srinivasa Rao, D U Rao, P P Rao, K Ravindra and a host of others Thursday filed their nomination papers for the April 11 Assembly election in Andhra Pradesh. For the Lok Sabha election, YSR Congress' Y S Avinash Reddy, TDP's M Sri Bharat and Congress' V Shruti Devi filed their papers for the Kadapa, Visakhapatnam and Araku (ST) seats respectively. Actor-politician Kalyan, who is fighting his maiden electoral battle, filed papers from Gajuwaka in Visakhapatnam district. This is one of the two constituencies that he will be contesting, the other being Bhimavaram in West Godavari where he will file the nomination on Friday. Ministers Ganta, D U Rao, P P Rao and Ravindra are contesting from the Visakhapatnam North, Mylavaram, Chilakaluripeta and Machilipatnam Assembly seats respectively. There will be a rush of nominations on Friday as it is considered an auspicious day. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, his son Nara Lokesh and
PM Narendra Modi to contest from Varanasi again, BJP president Amit Shah from Gandhinagar in LS polls
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday released its first list of candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.The BJP released the list on the auspicious day of Holi.Prime Minister Narendra Modi will contest from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh while BJP president Amit Shah will contest from Gandhinagar in Gujarat.Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, VK Singh and Nitin Gadkari will contest from Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Nagpur respectively.The seven-phase Lok Sabha elections for 543 seats across the country will begin from April 11 and conclude on May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Amid Holi celebrations, TDP candidates file nominations for Assembly polls
Making the most of Holi celebrations, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders on Thursday filed their nomination papers for the ensuing Assembly polls in the state.Colorful rallies, drum beats, and dancing workers just added festive grandeur to the occasion. Thousands of their supporters, who took part in the rallies, waived colourful flags and raised slogans in favour of TDP. The party cadres were of the view that filing of nominations on the day of Holi would turn out to be 'holy' for the party.Jaggayyapeta MLA Sriram Rajagopal and Vijayawada East MLA Gadde Rammohan Rao filed nominations from their own constituencies. TDP youth wing president Devineni Avinash filed nomination from Gudivada, Palla Srinivas Rao from Gajuwaka, and Vamsi from Gannavaram.Before filing his nomination, Avinash first offered prayer at the temple of Lord Balaji. He also performed all religious rituals at his residence earlier in the day, took the blessings of his mother.His nomination procession, starting from his .
Biju Janata Dal MP's son Rishabh Nanda joins BJP
Rishabh Nanda, son of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Rajya Sabha MP Prashanta Nanda joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, ahead of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.Rishabh joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP Vice-President, Baijayant Jay Panda, at the party headquarters here."The main purpose (of joining the BJP) is progress. The BJP has set a strong example of giving a strong government in the last five years. It is a personal decision for me to join the BJP," Rishabh told ANI after he was formally inducted into the BJP.Earlier today, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA from Nalwa, Hisar (Haryana), Ranbir Gangwa joined the BJP in New Delhi. Gangwa joined the party in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala.Welcoming him, Khattar praised Gangwa for his rich experience in politics and being a ground-worker."He (Gangwa) is a worker connected to people on the ground. He is from OBC ...
NCP's Bharati Pawar to join BJP
After the defection of Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil, another NCP leader is set to join the BJP in Maharashtra. Bharati Pawar, who had contested the Lok Sabha election from Dindori in 2014, said she would be joining the saffron party in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis here Friday. Pawar, as NCP candidate, had lost to the BJP's Harishchandra Chavan in 2014. This time, the NCP has denied her ticket, fielding Dhanraj Mahale from the seat instead. She is currently a vice president of the state NCP unit. Earlier this week, Ranjitsinh, son of NCP stalwart and former deputy chief minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, joined the BJP. Before that, Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, had joined the BJP. As media reports speculated about other opposition leaders who could be on their way to the BJP, former Union minister of state for coal Pratik Patil denied that he was among them. "I will continue to ..
Pulwama attack 'conspiracy' to fetch votes: SP leader
Senior Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav Thursday alleged that the Pulwama terror attack was a "conspiracy" to garner votes, drawing sharp reaction from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Yadav, a general secretary in the Samajwadi Party (SP), also said once there is a change at the Centre, investigations will be conducted into the incident and claimed that prominent people will come under the scanner of the probe. Hitting out at the SP leader, Adityanath said this an example of "atrocious politics" and Yadav should apologise for his comment. Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district after a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into their bus, which was part of a convoy going to Srinagar from Jammu, on February 14. "For the first time, it happened that there was no checking between Jammu and Srinagar. It was for the first time that the CRPF jawans were sent in simple buses. The ..
UK facing 'national emergency' on Brexit: business, unions
Britain faces a "national emergency" as the risk of a no-deal Brexit rises, business and union leaders warned in an open letter to embattled Prime Minister Theresa May. The heads of Britain's biggest employers' grouping, the Confederation of British Industry, and union umbrella organisation the Trades Union Congress, urged May to change tack and find a "Plan B" to avert the country leaving the European Union without a deal. "Our country is facing a national emergency.Decisions of recent days have caused the risk of no-deal to soar," read the letter from CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn and TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady. "Firms and communities across the UK are not ready for this outcome. The shock to our economy would be felt by generations to come," added the pair, who have demanded an "urgent meeting" with May. The grim warning, contained in a rare coming together of two organisations usually at odds with one another, comes as May meets the other 27 EU leaders in a ...
BJP will be thrown out of power after elections, says Raja
Kicking off his campaign in this tourist town, former Union Telecom minister A Raja Thursday claimed that the BJP would be thrown out of power after the elections. There was need to oust both the "dictatorial" government at the Centre and "corrupt" government in Tamil Nadu, Raja, the DMK candidate for the Nilgiris Lok sabha constituency, said. Later talking to reporters, Raja said efforts would be taken to set up a medical college on the premises of Hindustan Photo Films, which, he alleged, was closed by the BJP government. He also alleged that public sector institutions like the BSNL were being handed over to private entrepreneurs by the NDA goverment at the Centre.
Soldier killed on LoC, armies trade heavy fire
An Indian soldier was killed in Pakistan firing on the Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, leading to heavy firing exchanges as the Indian side retaliated, an official said.
INLD MLA Ranbir Gangwa joins BJP
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA from Nalwa, Hisar (Haryana), Ranbir Gangwa joined BJP on Thursday.He joined BJP in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Haryana BJP chief Subhash Barala.Welcoming him, Khattar praised Gangwa for his rich experience in politics and being a ground-worker."He (Gangwa) is a worker connected to people on the ground. He is from OBC community and holds a good reputation in the community," Khattar said.Speaking on the occasion, Gangwa said that it became difficult to work in INLD after factionalism plagued the party lately."In the prevailing situation, I had to either leave the party or politics. After discussions with my friends, I decided to join BJP. I assure the party leaders that whatever duties they assign me, I will work for that with all my might," Gangwa said.Describing himself as someone from "backward class", Gangwa praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Khattar for their leadership quality and developmental works.The ..