Page 1260 - Politics

LS polls: All 10 BJP MPs in Chhattisgarh to not get tickets

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will replace all 10 sitting MPs with fresh candidates in Chhattisgarh and contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with "renewed enthusiasm", state BJP in-charge and National General Secretary Anil Jain said."Chhattisgarh unit has requested the CEC that they will field fresh candidates for Lok Sabha elections in the state. Respecting the last public mandate, we want to fight these elections with renewed enthusiasm and we will win all the 11 seats," Jain told ANI.He also stated that the Central Election Committee (CEC) has approved it.Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Central Election Committee (CEC) met on Tuesday to discuss seat-sharing allocation in 10 states.The meeting, currently underway, at the party's headquarters here is presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah.In Chhattisgarh, polling for the 11 Lok Sabha seats at stake will be conducted in three phases- April 11, April 18, April 23, and the counting of votes will ..

Pawar meets Rahul, AAP over opposition alliance

NCP chief Sharad Pawar had separate meetings with Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday amid speculation that the Congress and AAP could still come together in Delhi to fight the Lok Sabha elections.

NCP ex-Maharashtra Dy. CM's son to join BJP

After a major show of strength in his hometown Akluj here on Tuesday evening, Ranjitsinh, son of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP and former Deputy Chief Minister Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, announced he would join the Bharatiya Janata Party tomorrow.

EC appoints 2 retired I-T officers as spl expenditure observers

The Election Commission Tuesday appointed two retired IRS officers of the Income Tax Department as special expenditure observers for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. The poll body said it has appointed Shailendra Handa and Madhu Mahajan to "supervise and monitor work done by election machinery and ensure stringent and effective enforcement action" in cases where instances of usage of black money and illegal inducements to lure voters is detected. The two officers will monitor intelligence inputs and also supervise complaints received through the C-Vigil app, brought by the EC for the people to send to it video-based complaints of bribery of voters, and check instances that vitiate the election process. It said the officers have supervised many successful search and seizure actions leading to detection of tax evasion in "complicated" cases during their stint with the tax department. While Handa, a 1980-batch IRS officer, has worked as the director of I-T investigations in Delhi and as .

BJP CEC meets to finalise candidate list

The BJP's central election committee Tuesday met to deliberate upon the names of party's candidates in various states for the Lok Sabha elections. This is the second meeting of the BJP's CEC, which includes party chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP had almost finalised its candidates for seven north eastern states, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the last meeting and some more candidates are likely to be finalised in today's meeting, sources in the party said. Sources also said the party's CEC may also meet on March 20 to further discuss names of the candidates.

Chinese nuclear modernisation programme is destabilising: US

China's ongoing nuclear weapons modernisation programme, which lacks transparency, is destabilising in nature, the US said on Tuesday as it alleged that Beijing's militarisation is aimed at expanding its ability to coerce American allies. While the US has continued to reduce the number and salience of its nuclear weapons, other states, including China, have moved in the opposite direction, according to Yleem D S Poblete, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance. "Chinese military modernisation remains centrally focused on establishing regional dominance in order to expand its ability to coerce US allies, eventually pushing the United States out of the region, and becoming a military power capable of competing on the global stage," he said in his address to the 2019 Session of Conference on Disarmament, Geneva. This modernisation, he said, has resulted in an expanding and diverse nuclear force, with a new generation of delivery systems coming online as

Tawde attacks Raj for doubting Feb 26 IAF air strike impact

Maharashtra BJP leader Vinod Tawde Tuesday attacked MNS' Raj Thackeray and questioned whether he wanted to become a hero for Pakistan by doubting the February 26 IAF air strike on a terror camp in the neighbouring country. State Education minister Tawde also hit out at Thackeray for taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "By raising doubts on the impact of the air strike, I wonder whether he (Raj Thackeray) wishes to be a hero of Pakistan," Tawde said. Taking off from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' statement that Thackeray was parroting lines given to him by NCP president Sharad Pawar, Tawde quipped, "A parrot is green in colour. Does this green resemble the one on Pakistan's national flag?" Tawde added that Thackeray's speech here on Tuesday underlined the latter's "connection" with the NCP.

Kartarpur Corridor's engineering aspects discussed

Experts on Tuesday discussed the alignment of the Kartarpur corridor, the coordinates and engineering aspects of the proposed crossing points, government sources said.

Jet Airways pilots threaten to stop flying from Apr 1

The umbrella body of domestic pilots of crisis-hit Jet Airways Tuesday threatened to stop flying from April 1 unless there is clarity on the resolution process and salary dues by end of this month. As problems mount at the airline, the National Aviator's Guild (NAG) also expressed hope that a resolution plan would be reached by month-end. The guild, which came into being almost a decade ago, represents around 1,000 domestic pilots. "If there is no proper clarity on the resolution process and salary payments, by March 31, we will stop flying from April 1," the guild said in a statement. The decision was taken at the annual meeting of the NAG here that went on for more than 90 minutes. More than 200 pilots marched to Jet Airways' headquarters here after the meeting, which was held at a nearby hotel. NAG President Karan Chopra said the grouping would be informing the management of their decision. "As far as the dues are concerned, we have been paid only 12.5 per cent of December salary ..

MNM announces electoral alliance with RPI

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam Tuesday announced its alliance with the Republican Party of India and allotted it one Lok Sabha seat and three assembly constituencies out of the 18 bypoll seats going to the polls on April 18. Asked if he would contest as a candidate, Haasan told reporters: "I will tell you. I have not announced names of candidates." President of the Republican Party of India S K Thamizharasan, who was also present, asserted that the alliance led by MNM's Kamal Haasan would provide alternative politics. "In the upcoming parliamentary elections and 18 bypolls, the Republican Party of India would be supporting MNM and we have been allotted one lok sabha constituency and three assembly seats in Tamil Nadu," Thamizharasan said. The RPI said it would be contesting on the same symbol allotted to MNM, which was allotted 'battery torch' by the Election Commission recently. Commenting on aligning with MNM, Thamizharasan said, "Other parties ...

Pawar pitches in as Cong, AAP make fresh efforts for alliance in Delhi

The Congress and the AAP on Tuesday made fresh efforts with the help of NCP chief Sharad Pawar to forge an alliance in Delhi for the Lok Sabha polls, days after they unanimously decided to go it alone in the national capital. The NCP leader stepped up efforts for reconciliation between the two parties which have been making statements against each other, with AAP leader Sanjay Singh meeting Pawar at his residence here. Pawar also held talks with some senior Congress leaders, including party president Rahul Gandhi, for bringing the Congress and the AAP together in Delhi, sources said. In a separate meeting, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit held discussions with the party's state unit working presidents Devender Yadav, Haroon Yusuf and Rajesh Lilothia at her residence. Dikshit said she was against any alliance with the AAP but would abide by any decision taken by her party chief in this regard. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also made a fresh bid for alliance with the Congress in Punjab, .

UK played honest broker to avert recent India-Pak flash point: Minister

The UK government on Tuesday expressed relief at the "defusing" of tensions between India and Pakistan since the terrorist attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, due to its role of an "honest broker" between the South Asian neighbours. Mark Field, UK Foreign Office minister in-charge of Asia, told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) that there was a brief moment where the situation had reached the flash point of nearly 20 years ago during the Kargil War. "After the appalling terrorist attack in Pulwama on February 14, tensions were high. One of the most important things we were able to do was be a sort of honest broker, to be able to try and bring both sides together for connections not just politically but diplomatically and militarily, said Field, on being asked about the UK's role in the conflict during an evidence sessions before the ongoing "Global Britain and India" inquiry being conducted by the FAC. The February 14 attack by Pakistan-based ...

Omar urges Guv for impartial threat assessment for leaders

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Tuesday asked the Jammu and Kashmir Governor to get an impartial threat assessment done for those leaders whose security cover was withdrawn by the state administration last month. "Governor Malik & his administration would be well advised to have an impartial threat assessment carried out & all security decisions based on such an assessment," Abdullah said in a series of tweets. The former chief minister said that in the absence of any logical reason for withdrawal of security to mainstream politiciains, the decision smacks of "personal vendetta & victimisation". "I wish to place on record my strong objections to the decision of @jandkgovernor & @JmuKmrPolice to withdraw security of politicians like @shahfaesal, @parawahid & Engineer Rashid among others," he added. Abdullah said the decision to withdraw the security was "all the more bizarre" at a time when the administration has used the "excuse of the security ...

Will restore northeast's special category status: Rahul

Congress President Rahul Gandhi has said that the special category status of northeastern states will be restored if his party comes to power after the Lok Sabha elections.

15 BJP Ministers, MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh join NPP

In a setback to the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh, 15 of its leaders including two ministers and 12 other sitting legislators joined the National Peoples' Party (NPP) on Tuesday.

Traders burn Chinese goods to protest China's UNSC move on Azhar

Traders across the country on Tuesday burnt Chinese goods to protest China's move to use its veto in the UN Security Council against declaration of JeM chief Masood Azhar as a "global terrorist", a statement of the Confederation of All Indian Traders said. China for the fourth time blocked a bid in the United Nations Security Council last week to designate the Pakistan-based chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed as "global terrorist" by putting a technical hold on the proposal, a move India termed as disappointing. "Traders are 'chowkidar' (watchman) of Indian economy, thus the trade from China will not flourish here any more," Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT secretary general, said. Whoever stands against the national security of India, the traders will boycott the goods of that country, he said. On the call of CAIT, traders across the country gave a strong message to China by burning Chinese goods ahead of Holi festival. In Delhi, the event was held at Sadar Bazar, the hub of Chinese goods, the ...

Gujarat BJP finalises panel of names of Lok Sabha candidates

Gujarat BJP's Parliamentary Board Tuesday finalised the panel of names of candidates for Lok Sabha seats in the state which will soon be sent to the central leadership for approval. The names will be sent to the BJP's central Parliamentary Board for final selection of candidates, a party leader said. Gujarat will vote in a single phase on April 23. "After deliberations spread over three days, the panel of names has been prepared for all the 26 seats of the state," Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya told reporters in Gandhinagar. "At a date given by the BJP's central leadership, top state leaders will go to Delhi and present the names before the central Parliamentary Board of the party," he said. "The final decision regarding candidates will be taken by the central Parliamentary Board," Pandya said. The panel of names may contain two to four names for each seat, party sources said. The BJP had won all the 26 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Chief Minister Vijay ...

Rahul questions Modi's patriotism, asks why he keeps silent on China

The Congress leader claimed the prime minister "did not utter a word" on the boundary question when he hosted President Xi in his home state Gujarat a few years ago

Social media ethics' code by Wednesday

The Election Commission (EC) here on Tuesday urged internet companies, including social media platforms, to come up with a model code document for themselves on the lines of the model code of conduct for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as well as for the future.

PM Modi pretending to 'chowkidar': Cong on BJP's 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign

The Congress Tuesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Main Bhi Chowkidar" campaign, alleging that he is trying to befool the people by pretending to be a "chowkidar". Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the Modi government does not have anything to offer to the people after being in power for five years and therefore, was resorting to such a campaign. "Modi is trying to resell his brand which has already flopped and is thus changing its packaging, name and colour to achieve his goal," he told reporters. Surejwala claimed that in 2013, Modi had promised to bring back 80 lakh crore of black money stashed abroad and putting Rs 15 lakh into the accounts of every individual. "In 2014, just ahead of the elections he promised the people of bringing 'achche din' (good days) in the country and in 2015, changed it to 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'. "In 2016, Modi ji said he will build a 'New India' and in 2017 said 'mera desh badal raha hai' (my country is changing), ..