Page 1301 - Politics
AP CM Naidu launches election campaign from Tirupati
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu Saturday mounted a strong attack on the YSR Congress alleging it was colluding with the BJP-led NDA and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi against his government. Launching his campaign for the April 11 Lok Sabha and State assembly polls after offering prayers at the Lord Venkateswara shrine near here, Naidu said the people would give a fitting reply to these parties in the elections. Addressing a well-attended gathering of the Telugu Desam Party's associated 'seva mithras' and booth conveners of his native Chittoor district at Sri Venkateswara University stadium here, Naidu claimed that the ruling TDPwould win more than 150 assembly seats out of 175 and all the 25 Lok Sabha seats. Launching a scathing attack on the opposition YSRC party led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Naidu said the people would soon know the real culprits behind the killing of former minister YS Vivekananda Reddy who was found dead at his house .
India for elected political structure in Afghanistan before drawdown of US troops
India has conveyed to the US that it should not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan without putting in place an elected "political structure" to govern the country, official sources said Saturday. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale met US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad recently and apprised India's views about drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan, they said. The US has intensified its efforts in the past few months, including holding talks with the Taliban, to end the more than 17-year conflict in Afghanistan. In the meeting with Khalilzad, Gokhale conveyed that India's preference is for having an elected government in Kabul and not an interim arrangement when the US withdraws its forces from the war-ravaged country, the sources said. Khalilzad informed Gokhale about the issues under discussions with the Taliban and that Washington was insisting on an assurance that territory of Afghanistan will not be used for any terror activities. The foreign secretary told the US envoy ...
Allow us e-voting for LS polls, seafarers in letter to govt
Two seafarers' associations have urged the Union government to allow those out in the seas to e-vote during the April-May Lok Sabha polls. The Maritime Association of Shipowners Shipmanagers and Agents (MASSA) has written to Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandavia seeking a mechanism to allow sailing Indian seafarers to exercise their franchise through e-voting. "India seafarers seldom get an opportunity to exercise their franchise, which is considered to be the holiest of democratic rights under the Constitution. It may not be practical for them to vote through Indian missions abroad as ports they call at may not be near any such mission," the March 14 letter by MASSA CEO Captain Shiv Halbe to Mandavia states. "Nowadays, many ships are equipped with internet facility on board, therefore, e-voting may be an option," he wrote, adding that there are over two lakh seafarers. The country's oldest maritime grouping, the National Union of Seafarers of India ...
K L Chishi is Congress' candidate for Nagaland LS seat
The Congress Saturday announced that former chief minister K L Chishi would be its candidate for Nagaland's lone Lok Sabha seat. Chishi, who served briefly as chief minister of Nagaland in 1990, had quit the Congress to join the BJP. Chishi contested the 2018 state elections unsuccessfully as BJP candidate from Atoizu A/C under Zunheboto district. Chishi returned to the Congress' fold recently and said, I have rejoined Congress since my heart and spirit could never be separated from the party that has been the true epitome of secularism and upholding the sanctity of the Indian Constitution". The Congress also announced that Alemjongshi Longkumer, a former state bureaucrat, would contest the byelection from the 26-Aonglenden Assembly constituency seat in Nagaland. Announcing the candidates for both the elections, Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary G K Zhimomi said that their candidature was approved by the Central Election Committee of the All India ...
Rahul's campaign built on fake issues: Jaitley
Accusing the Congress and its President Rahul Gandhi of raising "manufactured issues" in their electoral campaign, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said if those "fake" issues were taken out of Gandhi's speech, nothing will be left.
Newbies may test regular J&K parties (Lead, correcting para 18) (Dangal 2019)
Although the main battle in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to be between traditional rivals, yet the fate of many new faces who have thrown their hats into the ring would be keenly watched.
AMMK ally SDPI to contest from Chennai Central LS constituency
TTV Dhinakaran-led Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) Saturday allotted Chennai (Central) Parliamentary constituency to its ally Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) for the April 18 Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, the two parties had entered into a poll pact under which the AMMK allotted one seat to the SDPI. A brief statement from Dhinakaran said SDPI has been allotted the Chennai (Central) constituency. Polls to 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry are scheduled on April 18.
Shiv Sena to contest Goa LS polls, Mandrem bypoll: Raut
The Goa Shiv Sena will field candidates for the state's two Lok Sabha seats as well as for the Mandrem bypoll, party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said Saturday. The two seats, North Goa and South Goa, are currently held by the ruling BJP. Elections to the two Lok Sabha seats and three Assembly seats will be held on April 23. In a press conference, Raut said Shiv Sena state chief Jitesh Kamat will fight from the North Goa seat while vice-president Rakhi Prabhudesai Naik will contest from South Goa. Raut, however, did not reveal who would be the party's candidate for the Mandrem bypoll. Incidentally the Sena and the BJP have an electoral tie-up in neighbouring Maharashtra for the April-May Lok Sabha polls and Assembly elections set to be held there later in the year.
Amarinder govt 'reneged' on poll promises: SAD
With the Amarinder Singh-led government completing its two-year tenure, the opposition SAD Saturday accused the Congress regime of "reneging" on its poll promises made during the 2017 assembly elections. "The Congress government has cheated and betrayed the trust of the people of Punjab by reneging on each and every promise made to farmers, khet mazdoor, youth, dalits, industry and government employees during the last two years," senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said while addressing media on the occasion of completion of two-year tenure of the Congress government. "The government was characterised by repression, corruption, misgovernance, hypertaxation and non-performance," he alleged. "If there is one thing, the Congress government has delivered upon it is the politicisation of the probe into the Kotkapura and Behbalkalan incidents by first forming the Ranjit Singh Commission and now SIT which is controlled by the Congress party. All serious issues like forming a Lokpal, ...
Danish Ali joined BSP with JD-S assent: Kumaraswamy
Karnataka Chief Minister and JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday said party General Secretary Danish Ali joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with the party's consent.
LS election: Cong discusses poll preparedness in J-K
The state election management committee of the Congress held its meeting here on Saturday and discussed the preparedness of the party in Jammu and Kashmir in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, a party spokesman said. Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha and chairman of the committee Ghulam Nabi Azad chaired the two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting at his official residence, chief spokesperson of the state Congress Ravinder Sharma said. He said the committee chalked out the strategy for the campaign in the three regions - Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir - and discussed the measures for activating the organisation structure so that the party cadre is geared up for the polls. The members of the committee who attended the meeting included state Congress president G A Mir, Rigzin Jora, Saifuddin Soz, Tara Chand, Madan Lal Sharma, G M Saroori and Asgar Karblai, Sharma said. He said the meeting threadbare discussed over all political scenario in the state besides the preparedness of the ..
People murmuring whether airstrike had political purpose: Pawar
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said there were "murmurs" of doubt among people on whether the post-Pulwama attack airstrike on February 26 on a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Pakistan had a "political purpose". In an interview to PTI, the Maratha strongman said cross-border surgical strikes took place every year, adding that had he been the defence minister now, he would not have milked the issue for political benefits, but would only have worked in the interest of the nation. Pawar said being a former defence minister, he was aware of the capabilities of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, adding that no one could challenge their might. "However, this government has lost credibility in the eyes of the public at large. That is why there are murmurs among the people whether it (the airstrike after the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama) was for a political purpose or not, whether certain actions were taken just to regain credibility," he claimed. "Such surgical ...
Aussie senator egged over anti-immigration stance
Far-right Australian Senator Fraser Anning who blamed the New Zealand terror attack on Muslim immigration was egged at an event in Melbourne city on Saturday and slammed by the country's politicians for his comments.
Congress stakes claim to form govt in Goa
On a day when reports suggested that ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's condition has worsened, the Congress in Goa on Saturday staked claim to form the government in the coastal state.
SCO members to hold joint anti-terror exercise
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) member states, including India and Pakistan, will participate in a joint anti-terrorism exercise this year, officials have said.
Vikhe Patils: A powerful family in Maha with cross-party loyalties
Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's son joining the BJP may be seen as a setback for the opposition party in Maharashtra, but it does not come as a surprise to the political pundits who point to the family's history of shifting loyalties. The Vikhe-Patils, based in Ahmednagar district, are a formidable name in Maharashtra's political history and also considered pioneers of the sugar co-operative movement in the state. Sujay Vikhe Patil, the son of the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, joined the BJP on March 12 and is tipped to be its candidate from his preferred Ahmednagar Lok Sabha constituency. Members of the Vikhe Patil family, whose interests go beyond politics, have been part of almost all major parties in the last 70 years. The biggest contribution of the family in Maharashtra has been its role in setting up Asia's first cooperative sugar mill in Ahmednagar right after independence by late Vitthalrao Vikhe Patil under the guidance of then ..
Countering terrorism top priority of BRICS
The first BRICS Sherpa meeting, under the presidency of Brazil, has identified countering terrorism as one of its priority areas, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.
Newbies may test regular J&K parties (Dangal 2019)
Although the main battle in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to be between traditional rivals, yet the fate of many new faces who have thrown their hats into the ring would be keenly watched.
Congress stakes claim to form government in Goa
On a day when reports suggest that ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's condition has worsened, the Congress in Goa in a letter to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha on Saturday staked claim to form government in the coastal state.
Modi was posing for cameras at the time of Pulwama attack: Rahul
Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched his party's campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Uttarakhand on Saturday, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi was posing for cameras at the Corbett National Park for a documentary when CRPF jawans were being killed in Pulwama. At a rally here, in which BJP veteran and former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri's son Manish Khanduri joined the Congress, Gandhi also said his party would introduce a scheme of guaranteed minimum income for the poor if elected to power. "Immediately after the Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed, the Congress had said it was with the government and the country. I had cancelled all my programmes. "Everyone knows what Narendra Modi was doing when our jawans were being killed in Pulwama. He was posing for the cameras to shoot for a National Geographic documentary," Gandhi said to loud cheers from a large gathering at the Parade Ground. "Modi shoots for three-and-a-half hours on a ..