Page 1322 - Politics
Irani hits out at Congress over MPLAD allegations
Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani termed allegations levelled against her by the Congress of violating the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund (MPLAD) rules as a self-goal and accused Congress President Rahul Gandhi of committing a financial fraud in his constituency Amethi.
Venezuela accuses US of 'terrorist attack' on oil facility
A "terrorist attack" ruptured storage tanks at a heavy oil processing plant in eastern Venezuela, Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo said Thursday, blaming the United States and opposition chief Juan Guaido. No casualties were reported in the incident that occurred late Wednesday at the Petro San Felix facility located on the outskirts of the Venezuelan city of Barcelona in which three tanks caught fire. Quevedo blamed Guaido, the head of Venezuela's opposition-ruled legislature and self-proclaimed interim president backed by 50 countries, accusing him of collusion with the United States. "There was a terrorist act that we denounce at an international level," Quevedo told state television network VTV. He singled out a US senator, Marco Rubio, whom Caracas considers to be a leading politician in the US policies against Maduro's government. On Twitter, the minister said Rubio "ordered more violence in Venezuela." Guaido and the opposition, he said, were "intensifying terrorist incursions" ...
EC team to visit West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Manipur
To assess preparedness for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission on Thursday decided to send a high-level team led by Deputy Election Commissioner Sudip Jain to West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Manipur from March 16 to 19.
BMS says Cong's 'chowkidar chor hai jibe' insult to security guards; demands apology
RSS affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh Thursday claimed that the Congress' oft-repeated "chowkidar chor hai" jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an insult to all the security guards in the country and threatened to launch a nation-wide stir if the party did not stop using it. Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay, in a statement, said, "It has become a fashion to raise such derogatory slogans in poll meetings and the Congress should apologise to the watchmen in the country for their character assassination." Seeking an apology, he said security guard unions and associations affiliated with the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh have expressed their reservations against the slogan being used by the Congress. The BMS also feels that it is an insult to the watchmen, Upadhyay said. It is strange that Congress president Rahul Gandhi is using these "undignified" words "to insult the whole security guards community", which is condemnable, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh general ...
Cong accuses Irani of fraud, bungling in MPLAD funds; demands her sacking
The Congress Thursday accused Union minister Smriti Irani of "fraud and bungling" in MPLADs funds in Gujarat while citing a CAG report and demanded her immediate sacking from the Narendra Modi government and lodging of a case against her. Addressing a press conference here, Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Shaktisinh Gohil claimed the CAG has said that she has made payment of Rs 5.93 crore from MPLAD funds without tender including fraudulent payment of Rs 84.53 lakh. No immediate comment was available from Irani or her office on the charges. "There is major bungling, fraud and misuse of public funds allocated under MPLAD scheme to union minister Smriti Irani and she stands exposed by the CAG Report number 4 of 2018," Surjewala alleged. "Time has come to sack Union Minister Smriti Irani and lodge an FIR against her for proper investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and different provisions of Indian Penal Code," he demanded. Gohil claimed even the collector of .
Democratic rising star Beto O'Rourke announces White House run
Beto O'Rourke, a skateboarding former punk rocker feted as one of the Democratic Party's rising stars, announced Thursday he is running for president -- joining a crowded field of candidates vying to challenge Donald Trump in 2020. "The only way for us to live up to the promise of America is to give it our all and to give it for all of us," O'Rourke, 46, said in a video, filmed alongside his wife in their El Paso, Texas home. O'Rourke has been discussed as a potential frontrunner since dazzling the grassroots during an unexpectedly tight race last year to unseat Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, his charismatic stump performances and message of inclusion turning heads in Washington. On Thursday morning, he was already taking questions from voters in Keokuk, Iowa -- following in the footsteps of other Democrats keen to raise their profiles in the state that will vote before any other in the 2020 primary process. He has vowed to run a positive campaign that would seek to "bring out the
Hungary PM apologises for 'useful idiots' remark
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has apologised to European conservative parties for calling them "useful idiots" over an anti-EU billboard campaign that could see his party ejected from the European Parliament's dominant centre-right EPP bloc. "(Orban) has sent a letter of apology to the European People's Party (EPP)," a government spokesperson told AFP Thursday. In a newspaper interview earlier this month, Orban called critics within the EPP "useful idiots" and accused them of helping the group's leftwing and liberal opponents ahead of European Parliament elections in May. "I would hereby like to express my apologies, if you found my quote personally offensive," Orban said in his letter to the Belgian Christian Democratic & Flemish (CD&V) party which was published by the De Standaard newspaper. The letters were sent Wednesday to leaders of 13 member parties of the EPP who have proposed expelling Orban's ruling Fidesz party from the bloc, Orban's press chief Bertalan ...
All he does is abuse people, never said anything nice about anybody: Rahul on PM Modi
In a double attack on CPM and BJP-RSS, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said all of them use violence, which is a weapon of the weak. He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi only abuses people and has never said anything nice about anybody."In a way, BJP-RSS and CPM use violence. Violence is a weapon of the weak. Congress has always fought violence with non-violence. You might get a chance to listen to Mr Narendra Modi' speeches. All he does is abuse people. He has never said anything nice about anybody," Rahul said while addressing a rally here."You can even listen to his (Prime Minister Modi Modi) speeches about Mr (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee. You can see how he treats Mr (Lal Krishna) Advani. He only has respect for his friend Mr Anil Ambani," he added.Slamming the CPM, Rahul said, "I want to ask CPM where they were when Kerala was facing floods? I want to ask CPM what they did for the 10,000 families affected by floods. The only thing CPM is capable of doing is acting ...
Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur asks Indians to boycott Chinese products
Angered by China's move to block enlisting of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist in UN Security Council, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday asked people to boycott Chinese products in India and put pressure on them."It is time for Indians to send out a message to China that if you support those terrorists who attack our jawans/people, then every Indian should make up their mind, starting from Holi we're not going to touch a single Chinese product. If Mahatma Gandhi could drive the Britishers away through Swadesi Movement, every Indian should express anger by boycotting all Chinese products and putting pressure on China to take a decision either stand with India or make it clear they stand with global terrorist," she told ANI."India will boycott everything that these global terrorist organizations or people supporting them are related with. We are now not going to have anything to do with those products in India. Time is .
Indians should 100% boycott Chinese products: Ramdev
"Now there is a big challenge in front of India to teach a lesson to China which has done protection of a monstrous terrorist like Masood Azhar by standing with Pakistan at the international level. To teach a lesson to China, the most effective weapon is to boycott Chinese products. China does around Rs 20 lakh crore business with India. It is afraid of its economic loss more than war as it understands the language of economy more. That is why I would urge the people of India to 100 per cent boycott Chinese products," Ramdev told ANI here."If you will do this, then not just China, but the whole world will get to know the power of India... If we will boycott them, then China will have to think on which side it stands. The money we give to China is given to the American Army by them and from there it goes to the terrorists, who buy bullets from them and do attacks like Pulwama. The bullets bought from your money kill your jawans. We need to think about this. If we will boycott them, ...
SC reserves order on Centre's plea on Rafale documents
The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on the government's plea claiming privilege over documents filed by petitioners - former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, journalist-turned-politician Arun Shourie and activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan - in connection with the Rafale case.
SC to hear opposition plea on EVMs on Friday
The Supreme Court will on Friday will hear the plea of 21 opposition parties seeking audit of at least 50 per cent of EVMs with corresponding Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) before the Lok Sabha results are declared.
BJP, Cong target Odisha minister over bribe remark
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress on Thursday demanded action against Odisha Health Minister Pratap Jena for allegedly saying that his party would give money to voters.
Rahul launches campaign in Kerala, slams Modi, CPI-M
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched the party's Lok Sabha campaign in Kerala by attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Rafale deal and the ruling CPI-M over violence in the state.
European Parliament chief apologises for Mussolini remarks
The right-wing Italian president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani apologised Thursday for remarks defending dictator Benito Mussolini's record, as MEPs called for his resignation. "As a convinced anti-fascist, I apologise to all those who may have been offended by what I said. My remarks were in no way intended to justify or minimise an anti-democratic and totalitarian regime," Tajani, who is close to tycoon and former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, said in a statement in English. "I am deeply saddened that, despite my personal and political history, some may feel that I would choose to be lenient with regards to fascism," he added. Tajani was in hot water earlier after talking up dictator Benito Mussolini's contributions, in an Italian radio interview on Wednesday. "You don't have to agree with his methods... but let's be honest, Mussolini built roads, bridges, buildings, sports installations, he remade many parts of our Italy," said Tajani. "Generally speaking I don't ..
SP-BSP-RLD alliance to hold first joint rally on Apr 7 in Deoband
The three Uttar Pradesh alliance partners SP, BSP and RLD are to hold their first joint rally at Deoband in Saharanpur on April 7 with all three party chiefs - Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati and Ajit Singh - slated to address it. "We are declaring candidates separately on seats finalised by us (SP-BSP) and the first rally (with Mayawati) is planned during Navratra from West Uttar Pradesh," Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav told reporters here at the party office. Yadav had met Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati Wednesday and discussed plans to start campaigning with a joint rally during Navratra, which begins April 6. Asked about the possibility of an alliance with the Congress, SP chief said, "It's too late now. We have finalised our seats." Yadav also mocked at the BJP's claim of winning more than 73 Lok Sabha seats out of 80 in UP in the 2019 elections, saying, "They must be giving this number from the entire country." About his alliance with the BSP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, Yadav .
China's stand on Masood Azhar in UN a failure of PM's 'jhoola'
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi Thursday attacked Narendra Modi over China blocking a UN Security Council resolution to designate JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, alleging it was a failure of the Prime Minister's "jhoola" (swing) diplomacy. He also questioned about India reportedly placing orders for bulletproof vests for its Army from China when the latter refused to cooperate in blacklisting Azhar. "This is a failure of Narendra Modi's 'jhoola' (swing) diplomacy... and this 'jhoola' diplomacy is so fantastic that China refuses to cooperate in blacklisting this terrorist," he told reporters here, apparent reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Modi sitting on a swing in Ahmedabad during his visit to India. India's bid to designate the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief as a global terrorist suffered a setback with China on Wednesday putting a technical hold on a proposal to ban him following the Pulwama terror attack. Referring to .
Cong Spokesperson Tom Vadakkan joins BJP; says 'hurt' over party's stand post-Pulwama strike
In an embarrassment to the Congress, Tom Vadakkan, once seen as a key aide of Sonia Gandhi, joined the BJP on Thursday, saying he was "deeply hurt" over the opposition party's stand post-Pulwama terror strike, and that his decision was "not about ideology but patriotism". Jolted by the surprise announcement, the Congress was quick to dismiss Vadakkan's criticism of the party saying that till now he used to "abuse" Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and hoped that all his "desires may be fulfilled" in the BJP. Vadakkan, who joined the saffron party in the presence of Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and later met its president Amit Shah, said, "I am deeply hurt and that is why I am here." Claiming that the Congress questioned the integrity of the armed forces, he said, "the attack by Pakistani terrorists on our land and the reaction by my party was sad indeed. It hurt me deeply when the integrity of armed forces was questioned. That is precisely the reason why I am here. It is not about ..
Bilawal accuses 3 Pak ministers in Khan govt of having links with banned outfits
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday demanded the resignation of three ministers of the Imran Khan government, who he alleged have close links with the banned terror outfits. He also termed the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) action against the two main opposition parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PPP as "political engineering". Bilawal, addressing a press conference here, alleged that the three ministers were known to have close links with the banned outfits. "The three federal ministers are hands-in-glove with the terrorists. I don't want to disclose their names, but will do so if the government fails to take action against them," he said. Pakistan is under intense international pressure to reign in terror groups in the country after the Pulwama terror attack.
India-Pak hold talks on Kartarpur corridor but J-K bearing brunt of hostilities: Mehbooba
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Thursday said India and Pakistan were holding talks on Kartarpur corridor but the people of Jammu and Kashmir were bearing the brunt of the hostilities between the two countries. "This is what we have been talking about that why is it only that Jammu and Kashmir bears the brunt whenever there are hostilities between India and Pakistan. If Kartarpur is opening, Wagah is open, (then why) the Poonch-Rawalkote is closed, Uri-Muzaffarabad road was closed," she told reporters here. India and Pakistan held their first meeting Thursday to finalise the modalities for the corridor linking Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistani town of Kartarpur with Gurdaspur district in Punjab. Mehbooba said the PDP wants that assembly polls be held as soon as possible in the state. "Our party's stand is clear that elections should take place and take place sooner. People are facing tremendous difficulties -- when there are arrests going on and hardships in every way. The polls should