Page 1316 - Politics
SC seeks EC response on Opposition leaders' plea on counting of VVPAT slips
The Supreme Court Friday sought the Election Commission's response on a plea by Opposition leaders seeking the counting of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips of 50 per cent of EVMs in each constituency before the Lok Sabha results are declared. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna listed the plea of the opposition leaders for March 25 and asked the EC to depute an officer to assist the court. Several opposition leaders, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and others, had moved the apex court, seeking the verification of 50 per cent of votes by paper trail before announcing the results of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Naidu, the lead petitioner, had declared in February that the parties will be moving the apex court against the use of EVMs. The application has been moved by 21 Opposition parties, including the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Aam Aadmi ...
France to impose financial sanctions on Masood Azhar
In a significant development, France, which had made a fresh bid at the UN to get Masood Azhar banned, has decided to impose financial sanctions on the JeM chief, asserting that it has always been by India's side in the fight against terrorism. France along with the US and the UK had moved a proposal in the UN Security Council to designate the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief as a "global terrorist". However, the bid was blocked by China which put a technical hold on the proposal. "A deadly attack took place in Pulwama on February 14, 2019, claiming over 40 victims from the Indian police forces. The Jaish-e-Mohammed, which the United Nations has deemed to be a terrorist organisation since 2001, has claimed responsibility for this attack," said a joint statement by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the French Ministry of the Interior. "France has always been and always will be by India's side in the ...
North Korea may break off US talks: Top official
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may break off denuclearisation talks with the US and resume missile and nuclear testing, a senior official here said on Friday.
Mayawati, Akhilesh pay tribute to Kanshi Ram
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday paid tribute to Dalit leader Kanshi Ram on his birth anniversary.
Kharge not to attend Lokpal selection panel meet, says no provision of special invitee in Act
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has again rejected the government's offer to attend a meeting of the Lokpal selection panel, saying there is no provision for a special invitee attending the meet. The meeting slated on Friday evening would be boycotted by Kharge the seventh time since February 2018. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader alleged that the government has not made any attempt to amend the relevant provisions of the Lokpal Act to include the leader of the single largest party in the opposition as a member of the selection committee. "Since there is no provision under section 4 of the Lokpal Act, 2013, for a special invitee to be a part of the Selection Committee or attend these meetings, I am once again forced to respectfully decline this invitation," he said in his letter. Kharge, as a leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, was earlier invited to attend the selection panel meetings six times and he has rejected the offers on the same grounds
TDP leaders opt out of race to make way for successors (Dangal 2019)
The younger generation is all set to take up the mantle in Andhra Pradesh politics as ministers and senior leaders of ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have opted out of electoral race to make way for their political successors.
Cong approaches EC, seeks its intervention in removing hoardings of Modi govt at public places
A delegation of Congress leaders Friday approached the Election Commission and sought its intervention in removing hoardings projecting achievements of the Narendra Modi government, claiming it as a violation of the model code of conduct. "It has come to our notice that hoardings and advertisements featuring the prime minister and projecting his government's achievements are being displayed at public places and most notably petrol pump stations across the country despite the announcement of the schedule of the Lok Sabha elections. "The said display is not only in violation of the model code of conduct but also represent misuse of public funds and official machinery for campaign purposes," the memorandum submitted by the party leaders said. The Congress demanded that the Election Commission issue directions for immediate removal of all such hoardings and also seek a compliance report in the matter.
Terror-funding case: ED moves Delhi court to quiz Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law in Tihar
The ED Friday moved a Delhi court seeking its nod to quiz separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Shah in connection with a terror-funding case involving LeT chief and 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed. The Enforcement Directorate also sought to question Zahoor Watali, an influential businessman allegedly having friendship with Pakistani leaders and Kashmiri separatists, and Naval Kishore Kapoor, a UAE-based businessman. Shah, Watali and Kapoor were arrested by the NIA in the terror-funding case and are lodged in Tihar jail. The court will hear the matter on March 19. The NIA had earlier filed a charge sheet against the accused, including Hizbul Mujahideen head Syed Salahuddin, in the case accusing them of "conspiring to wage war against the government" and fomenting trouble in the Kashmir Valley. The agency has charged Pakistan-based terrorists Hafiz Saeed and Salahuddin, besides 10 others with criminal conspiracy, sedition, and under stringent provisions .
DMK announces list of LS constituencies allotted to self, allies
The opposition DMK Friday announced the names of the constituencies the party and its allies will contest from in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the April 18 Lok Sabha elections. DMK president MK Stalin released the list of constituencies allotted to the allies in the presence of coalition leaders, including TNCC chief KS Alagiri and MDMK's Vaiko, at the party headquarters here. Stalin also described his party-led coalition as the "Secular Progressive Alliance." There are 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and one in neighbouring Puducherry. Addressing a press conference, Stalin said the DMK's 20 seats will include Chennai (North), Chennai (South), Chennai (Central), Tuticorin and Pollachi among others. The Congress, which has been allotted the lion's share of seats among the allies, will contest from nine seats in the state, including Sivaganga, Tiruchirappally and Arani. The national party will also fight from the lone seat in neighbouring Puducherry. The CPI(M) has been allotted ...
Army porter injured on LoC in Pakistan shelling
An Army porter was injured on Friday in heavy firing exchanges between India and Pakistan on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, police said.
Besides Amethi, Rahul may contest from south India too
Amid demands from party activists, Congress President Rahul Gandhi may contest the Lok Sabha polls from a seat in Karnataka apart from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh where his candidature has already been announced.
LS poll: Over 12 BJP MPs may not get tickets in Madhya Pradesh
The BJP is mulling axing over 12 sitting MPs for the April-May Lok Sabha polls to tide over anti-incumbency, a party leader said Friday. He added that the BJP faced defeat after 15 years in the Assembly polls in November last year because it had ignored a survey which suggested at least 80 MLAs not be repeated due to various factors like lack of performance and anti-incumbency. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the party had swept 27 of 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state on the back of a strong Modi wave. Only current chief minister Kamal Nath and the Congress's chief whip in the Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia managed to hold on to their political citadels of Chhindwara and Guna respectively. In the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had changed sitting MPs in 18 seats, including one due to the death of a lawmaker. "The party's central election committee might not give tickets to more than 12 sitting MPs as there are reports of anti-incumbency against them," a BJP ...
Syria death toll tops 370,000 in 8 years of war: monitor
Eight years of war in Syria have left more than 370,000 people dead including 112,000 civilians, a monitor said Friday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of sources across the country, said more than 21,000 children and 13,000 women were among the dead. The conflict flared after unprecedented anti-government protests in the southern city of Daraa on March 15, 2011. Demonstrations spread across Syria and were violently suppressed by the regime, triggering a multi-front armed conflict that has drawn in foreign powers.
EC response sought on plea for 'Pressure Cooker' symbol
The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Election Commission's response on a plea by AMMK leader T.T.V. Dinakaran seeking "Pressure Cooker" as a symbol for both the Lok Sabha polls and Assembly by-elections.
EC's humane move, bans live animals in campaign
The Election Commission has imposed a blanket ban on the use or live demonstrations of animals during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, delighting animal lovers across the country.
Congress 'election chariot' arrives in Lucknow
The 'Election Chariot' that proved to be lucky for the Congress party during the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh arrived at the party's Lucknow office on Thursday for poll campaigning ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.The top leadership of the party including party president Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Raj Babbar will be reaching out to voters in various Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh riding on the 'Chariot'- a luxury bus specially equipped for campaigning purposes."We are fully prepared and we will win the elections in Uttar Pradesh and all other states. The time is for the change as the youth, farmers and all others want to change. They have sold dreams and we are riding this chariot for realizing the dreams of people. All the top leadership of the party will be campaigning on it," said Ashok Singh, Congress leader.Priyanka Gandhi will be kick-starting her campaign for Lok Sabha elections 2019 from Prayagraj on .
Israel says hits 100 Hamas targets in Gaza in reprisal attack
Israel said Friday its aircraft hit around 100 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip overnight in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave, including toward its economic capital Tel Aviv. "Fighter planes, attack helicopters and (other) IDF aircraft attacked overnight about 100 terror targets of the Hamas terror organisation in the Gaza Strip," Israel's military said in a statement. It said targets included an office complex allegedly used by Hamas to coordinate militant operations in the occupied West Bank. Another was a "the main manufacturing site of standard-grade rockets in the Gaza Strip," an underground location, it said. A security source in Gaza said dozens of strikes targeted bases belonging to both Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad throughout Gaza. More than 40 locations were targeted with about 100 strikes, the source said. A couple was injured when their house was damaged in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the source. Residents reported a number of ...
JD(S) seeks to expand base in LS polls by capitalising on it being in power
Limited to a couple of constituencies in the old Mysuru region in the successive Lok Sabha polls since its formation in 1999, the JD(S) in Karnataka is aiming to break new ground in the coming parliamentary elections capitalising on the party being in power. After the Janata Dal split in 1999, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's JD(S) has been winning two to three Lok Sabha seats in the old Mysuru region, largely from party bastions of Hassan and Mandya, dominated by the Vokkaliga community, its solid vote base, as also from Bangalore Rural and Chamarajanagara once. The JD(S), the lone surviving active offshoot of the erstwhile Janata Dal in the state, which has seen a revival with it coming to power in Karnataka in alliance with the Congress after the May 2018 assembly polls, wants to use the opportunity to expand its horizons. The party's presence in the coalition government with the Congress and H D Kumaraswamy's stature as chief minister will help the party in increasing its ...
US Ambassador to Germany receives threats
Richard Grenell, the US Ambassador to Germany, has been receiving threats including at least one against his life, the media reported on Friday.
Google benefiting Chinese military: US officials
Top Pentagon officials have slammed Google, saying its work with China is "indirectly benefiting" the military in that country.