Page 127 - Politics
Posters asking Sidhu to keep his promise of quitting politics seen in Punjab
Posters asking for Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu to keep his promise of quitting politics 'if Congress President Rahul Gandhi loses from Amethi' were seen here on Friday.The posters have a picture of Sidhu and the caption states, "When are you quitting politics? Time to keep your words. We are waiting for your resignation."The posters with Sidhu's picture also state about his promise, "I will quit politics if Rahul Gandhi loses from Amethi."Rahul Gandhi has lost to Union Minister Smriti Irani from Amethi in the general elections.Recently, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had stripped the cricketer turned politician of the portfolios of Local Government and Tourism and Culture and gave him Power and New and Renewable Energy Sources ministry.
International Yoga Day celebrated in Kashmir
Several events were held in Kashmir valley on Friday to mark the fifth International Yoga Day, officials said. Yoga Day programs were held by various government departments, Army, CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir unit of BJP, the officials said. They said apart from functions at Army units, students from several Army Goodwill Schools in the valley celebrated International Yoga Day with full energy and enthusiasm. Yoga Day was celebrated at CRPF's subsidiary training centre at Humhama in the outskirts of the city here where the paramilitary personnel performed various Yoga asanas, the officials said. The Department of Health, Kashmir also organized a function to celebrate the day at the indoor stadium here, they said. BJP 's state unit office bearers and members performed Yoga at Gindun Park in Rajbagh area of the city. Party's State general secretary (organisation) Ashok Koul was the chief guest on the occasion and Mayor Jammu city Chandra Mohan Gupta was the guest of honour, a BJP ...
Georgia parliament speaker quits after mass rally: ruling party
Georgia's parliamentary speaker resigned Friday after protests erupted following a controversial address to lawmakers by a Russian MP, the country's ruling party said. "Speaker (Irakli) Kobakhidze's decision to step down is proof of the high standards of accountability set by our party and not a concession to irresponsible opposition parties' demands," the Georgian Dream party's General Secretary Khakha Kaladze told a news conference.
Rahul takes dig at PM Modi's 'New India' vision by sharing Army's dog squad performing yoga
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of 'New India' on the International Yoga Day by sharing the pictures of Army's dog squad imitating yoga postures done by their trainers, with a sarcastic jibe -- New India -- on the top of his post.The official handle of Defence spokesperson had shared the pictures of the dog unit practicing yoga on Friday.All the defence forces took part in the celebrations of International Yoga Day at various locations across the country on Friday. Battling the bone-numbing cold, the Indian Army personnel performed yoga in Siachen on to mark the 5th International Yoga Day.The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel from Animal Training School (ATS) performed 'asanas' with dogs on the river bank of Lohit Valley in Arunachal Pradesh.The dog squad of the Border Security Force (BSF) was seen performing along with their masters on in Jammu.Army personnel showed their grit and zeal by performing 'asanas' at ..
Airlines halt Hormuz flights amid US-Iran crisis
Some of the world's leading carriers including British Airways, Qantas and Singapore Airlines on Friday suspended flights over the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran-US tensions flare over the downing of a drone. The suspensions came after the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) "prohibiting US-registered aircraft from operating over the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman". The NOTAM was in response to "heightened military activities and increased political tensions that might place commercial flights at risk", an FAA statement said, as Tehran and Washington engaged in a war of words over Thursday's missile strike on the drone. The FAA's notice applies only to US-registered airlines, and United Airlines said it was suspending its Newark-Mumbai service in response. But European and Asian operators were taking no chances. "Our safety and security team are constantly liaising with authorities -- including the likes of the FAA -- around the world as ...
More Cong, TDP leaders in touch with BJP, says Muralidhar Rao
A day after four TDP MPs joined it, BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao Friday claimed many more leaders were in touch with the party and it will occupy the principal opposition space in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh within two years. "In the coming days, there will be a lot of changes in Telangana's political scenario. In both the Telugu states - Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, BJP is the only party which can fill the space of opposition in the next tpw years," he told a press conference here. His comments come in the backdrop of four of the six TDP MPs in the Rajya Sabha joining the BJP Thursday and seeking merger of the TDP Legislature Party with it in the Upper House. The Congress in Telangana has also been hit by desertions with 12 of its 18 MLAs in the state joining the ruling TRS. Congress is a fast-disappearing party in Telangana. Day by day, hour by hour it is getting reduced. Many leaders in the Congress as well as TDP believe BJP under the leadership of ...
Thousands converge on Hong Kong police HQ in anti-govt demo
Thousands of protesters converged on Hong Kong's police headquarters Friday, demanding the resignation of the city's pro-Beijing leader and the release of demonstrators arrested during the territory's worst political crisis in decades. The latest protest comes after the government refused to meet the demands of demonstrators who have marched in their millions to oppose a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland. Opposition groups, after putting on the biggest political rallies in Hong Kong's history, have called for the complete withdrawal of the extradition legislation and for city leader Carrie Lam to step down. But the movement has also morphed into a wider expression of public anger at Lam and party leaders in Beijing after years of sliding political freedoms. Throughout Friday the predominantly young, leaderless protesters used spontaneity and movement to up pressure on authorities, deploying peaceful civil disobedience. After meeting at Hong Kong's main ...
BJP forms 3-member committee to probe deaths in Bhatpara clashes in Bengal
BJP president Amit Shah on Friday expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of two persons in Bhatpara in West Bengal in "police firing", with the party asking a delegation of three MPs to visit the place and submit a report on the matter. BJP MPs S S Ahluwalia, Satpal Singh and B D Ram will be submitting a report to Shah after visiting the place, a party statement said. While Ahluwalia is an MP from the state, Singh and Ram are former police officers besides being MP from Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand respectively. West Bengal police has said it is investigating the reasons behind the deaths, claiming that its personnel had fired in air to quell violence. The BJP has said they died in police firing. Two people were killed and 11 others injured Thursday after clashes broke out between two groups suspected to be affiliated to the TMC and the BJP in the Bhatpara area of West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, police said. The ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP blamed each other for the ..
TMC to boycott all Centre-convened meetings till MHA stops sending advisory under Art 355
TMC member Saugata Roy Friday said the West Bengal government will continue to boycott meetings called by the Centre till the Union Home Ministry stops sending advisory to the state under Article 355. Speaking during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Roy said while the Centre seeks cooperation from states, it sends advisories to them under Article 355 twice a week. Article 355 of Constitution pertains to duty of the Union to protect states against external aggression and internal disturbance. "My party (TMC) boycotted the meeting called by Centre on 'one nation, one election'... As long as the Home Ministry does not stop sending notices, we will not attend meetings called by the Centre," he asserted. In the wake of violence in West Bengal post the general election results in May, the Home Ministry earlier this month issued an advisory to the state government seeking to know the measures taken by it to maintain law and order. Ravneet Singh of Congress raised the issue of alleged police .
Cong legislature party in Mizo dist council merges with BJP
All the 20 Congress members in the Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) have joined the BJP which set to form its next executive committee, MADC officials said at Siaha in south Mizoram on Friday. The 25-member MADC is one of the three autonomous district councils of Mizoram. MADC Chief Executive Member N Zakhai wrote to Council Chairman H Sahlo on Thursday that the 20-member Congress legislature party (CLP) merged with the BJP, which had two members in the Council. Zakhai said the CLP made the decision on Wednesday after the central government promised to amend the Sixth schedule of the Constitution to give more autonomy and direct funding to autonomous district councils. A CLP declaration in this regard was signed by 15 members as the remaining five were out of station. Their consent was taken over phone, party sources said. The CLP, which included three nominated members, was also dissolved on Wednesday. In the election to the MADC in May 2017, the Congress bagged .
Reports on schools, hotels shutting down due to water shortage are wrong: CM Palaniswamy
Media reports on schools and hotels being shut down in the city due to the scarcity of water are wrong, said Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami in a press briefing here on Friday.The press briefing followed a high-level meeting on the prevailing water scarcity in the state which was chaired by the chief minister, with senior ministers, water department and other senior officials in attendance.Palaniswamy said, "The water table has drastically gone down in the city and the four reservoirs that were water sources to the city have completely dried up. In spite of this, 525 millions of litres per day (MLD) are being supplied to the city by Chennai metro and an additional 200 MLD of water is being supplied through desalinisation plants."Mr Palaniswamy also revealed that the government plans to bring an additional 10 million litres of water per day (MLD) through railway tankers from Jollarpettai."Tamil Nadu government is also working on strengthening Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala, to raise
No coming to the Well or placards in LS: Speaker
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday spoke against disruptions in the House and asked members not to come into the Well or raise placards even as he promised to provide protection to members without looking at the numbers.Addressing his maiden press conference here, Birla, who was elected as Speaker on Wednesday, also said that he will strive to improve the working of parliamentary committees and make the parliament library among the best digitised libraries.He defended his move to allow the introduction of triple talaq bill in parliament on Friday instead of the house taking up debate on the motion of thanks to the President's Address, saying that "rules were above tradition".Answering a question why the triple talaq bill was introduced instead of a debate on the President's address, he said the decision about the business in the House had been taken in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC).Birla said he will encourage all members to speak in the House and raise issues."We will try .
Pawar holds NCP meetings to prepare for Maha Assembly polls
Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and other senior leaders are holding meetings to identify candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly polls slated for later this year, a party functionary said Friday. The meetings, which began on June 13, are expected to go on till June 23, he said. Among those attending are state NCP president Jayant Patil, former Union minister Praful Patel, former deputy CM's Chhagan Bhujbal and Ajit Pawar, the NCP leader said. "The NCP president on Friday held discussions with partymen from Vidarbha region, covering Akola, Buldhana, Washim, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Nagpur and Bhandara-Gondia," he said. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, "Sharad Pawar ji is holding district-wise meeting with local NCP leaders and reviewing poll positions. All concerned party leaders and workers have been asked to attend the meeting." Pawar has already met party representatives from Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan, Navi Mumbai, Mira- ...
'One nation, one election' to divert people's attention from key issues: Chhattisgarh CM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposal on "one nation, one selection", or simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, is meant to divert people's attention from key issues concerning them, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said on Friday. Questioning promptness of the Modi dispensation in discussing such a crucial issue within one month of it assuming office for a second term, he said the priority should have been on matters such as unemployment and welfare of downtrodden people. "Are you dissolving Lok Sabha and all Assemblies? This one nation, one election should be discussed when polls are near," Baghel told PTI in an interview here. He said the talk on 'one nation, one election' is to divert people's attention from main issues. "Lok Sabha elections were recently concluded. Only two-three days back, all MPs took oath in Lok Sabha. And now they are talking about one nation, one election. What is the need? Are elections approaching anytime soon?" Baghel asked. He said the ...
Iran gave 2 warnings before downing US drone: general
Iran gave two warnings before downing a US reconnaissance drone over the Gulf of Oman, the commander of the aerospace arm of the country's elite Revolutionary Guards said Friday. "Twice we... sent warnings," Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh told state television. Hajizadeh said that even pilotless drones, like the one shot down on Thursday, had systems to relay warnings and other communications to their operators thousands of kilometres (miles) away in the United States. "This aircraft possesses a system which allows it to relay the signals and information it receives to its own central system," he said. "Unfortunately, when they failed to reply and the army gave a second appeal at 3:55 am (2325 GMT Wednesday) and they kept on getting nearer and the aircraft made no change to its trajectory, at 4:05 am (2335 GMT) we were obliged to shoot it down." Hajizadeh stressed that the order was given only after the aircraft had entered Iranian airspace. Thursday's downing -- which Washington
Iran has no right to answer diplomacy 'with military force': US
The US said Friday Iran has no right to respond to diplomacy "with military force", a day after Tehran shot down a US reconnaissance drone over the Strait of Hormuz. "Our diplomacy does not give Iran the right to respond with military force," Brian Hook, the US special representative on Iran, told reporters in Saudi Arabia. "Iran needs to meet diplomacy with diplomacy, not military force.
RS rejects private member's bill on improving Parliament productivity
The Rajya Sabha Friday rejected by voice vote a bill seeking setting up of a system to improve productivity of Parliament. The Parliament (Enhancement of Productivity) Bill, 2017 was introduced by Naresh Gujaral (SAD) and the House discussed it for two and half hours. Since, Gujaral was not present, Deputy Chairman Harivansh put the bill to vote, which was defeated by voice vote. In his reply, Railways and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said, "All leaders and members should sit together and decide. But we cannot pass a private member bill on this." The bill seeks for establishment of an effective system to prevent and address the decline in productivity of Parliament due to disruptions of sittings, by means of an appropriate legal framework to fix the minimum number of days in a year for which Parliament shall be in sessions, introduction of special session in addition to the existing three sessions, compensation for the hours unutilised due to disruptions, and to provide obligations .
Philippine ex-official critical of China denied Hong Kong entry
Former Philippine foreign minister Albert del Rosario was denied entry to Hong Kong on Friday, in what critics called retaliation for his attacks on Beijing's contested claims over the South China Sea. Del Rosario was behind two prominent legal initiatives against China, including a 2013 case at an international tribunal which ultimately ruled against Beijing's claim to most of the resource-rich waterway. His deportation comes as anger is still bubbling in Hong Kong over a proposed bill that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, raising fears of people being ensnared in China's opaque court system. Del Rosario said he flew to Hong Kong early Friday using a Philippine diplomatic passport but was taken to an immigration holding area on arrival, where he remained "for nearly three and a half hours". Del Rosario's lawyer Anne Marie Corominas subsequently told AFP: "He's been excluded and deported." She said that authorities had given no reason for denying him entry, and he was .
Rajya Sabha puts on record its appreciation of Manmohan Singh's contribution as MP
With former prime minister Manmohan Singh's term as Rajya Sabha MP ending after nearly three decades, the Upper House of Parliament Friday put on record its appreciation of the contribution made by the renowned economist. On the first day of the maiden session of Parliament under Modi 2.0 government, Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu mentioned that Singh, along with another member Santisue Kujur, has retired on June 15 after completion of their terms of office. "The House will certainly miss the presence of these two members, who have through their significant contributions, enhanced the dignity and prestige of this august House," he said. Naidu said Singh was a member of Rajya Sabha for five consecutive terms from 1991 to 2019 and has the distinction of holding the coveted post of Prime Minister for two consecutive terms. "A very gentle, calm and composed personality, Dr. Manmohan Singh through his participation in the debates of the House has contributed ...
Pompeo dials Jaishankar; underscores Trump admin's commitment to work closely with India
Ahead of his India visit, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has underscored the Trump administration's strong commitment to work closely with New Delhi to advance the bilateral strategic partnership, as he telephoned External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss the US-India security and economic partnership. Pompeo, who will be visiting India from June 25-27, spoke with Jaishankar to congratulate him on his appointment as the External Affairs Minister, State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said Thursday. The congratulatory call from Pompeo came nearly three weeks after Jaishankar was appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his External Affairs Minister. "Pompeo underscored the strong US commitment to working closely with the new Indian Government to advance our strategic partnership," Ortagus said in a readout of the call. "Secretary Pompeo and Minister Jaishankar also discussed shared US and Indian objectives in safeguarding a free and open Indo-Pacific, US-India ...