Page 1336 - Politics
J&K CEO seeks political parties' cooperation for smooth conduct of polls
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Shailendra Kumar Wednesday sought cooperation from political parties for the smooth conduct of Lok Sabha polls in the state. Kumar interacted with the representatives of recognised political parties in the state on various issues related to the conduct of parliamentary elections, an official spokesperson said. The CEO held wide ranging discussions with the political leaders for the smooth, peaceful and transparent conduct of the elections and sought their views and suggestions for further improvements and to ensure larger participation of voters, he said. While seeking cooperation from the political parties to ensure complete transparency in the electoral process, Kumar urged them to abide by the guidelines of the Election Commission (EC) with regard to the implementation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) which has been enforced with the announcement of parliamentary elections. He advised them to sensitise their workers, polling agents ...
Over 9,000 service voters in Delhi's electoral roll, list being updated: Officials
Delhi's electoral roll published this January has over 9,000 service voters, which include armed forces personnel and diplomats posted in other places, officials said Wednesday. The electoral roll is being continuously updated ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi scheduled on May 12, officials said. There are 9,023 service voters in the national capital's electoral roll published on January 18, according to data shared by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi. Personnel of the armed forces, central armed police forces and state police personnel deployed outside their constituencies are considered as service voters. Diplomats and other support staff serving in embassies abroad are also service voters. The Election Commission had in February said that there was a substantial increase in the number of service voters in the country enrolled ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as compared to 2014. In total 16,62,993 service personnel have been enrolled as service electors .
Ram Madhav holds talk with IPFT leaders
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, the party's pointsman for the north-east Wednesday held meeting with alliance partner Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) for the two Lok Sabha seats in Tripura. Madhav accompanied by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma held meeting with IPFT supremo NC Debbbarma and general secretary Mever Kumar Jamatia and told them that the BJP wants to contest both the Lok Sabha seats in Tripura and sought the IPFT's support, a BJP leader said. "The meeting was cordial but no final decision was taken in the meeting as both parties struck to their stand as far as parliamentary elections are concerned," said IPFT Assistant General Secretary Mangal Debbarma Wednesday evening. The IPFT wants to contest one Lok Sabha seat in Tripura. "If they (BJP) dont offer us East Tripura Tripura Parliamentary seat then there may be friendly fight between the two partners of the coalition government," he said. BJP general ..
Govt appoints five new Joint Directors in CBI
Five new Joint Directors have been appointed in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), according to a Personnel Ministry order issued on Wednesday. Those appointed are IPS officers Sampat Meena, Anurag, Rakesh Aggarwal, Violas Kumar Choudhry and D C Jain, it said. Meena, Anurag and Aggarwal are 1994 batch officers of Jharkhand, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh cadre, respectively. While Jain is 1991 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre, Choudhry is of 1997 batch and belongs to the Jammu and Kashmir cadre. Of the five officers, Anurag, Aggarwal and Jain have earlier worked in the CBI as Superintendent of Police or Deputy Inspector General level officers, officials said.
Cong to contest 20 seats and JDS 8 in LS polls
The Congress will contest 20 seats and JDS eight in the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka under a deal finalised by the two ruling coalition partners Wednesday, the JDS said. The seat sharing was hammered out at a meeting betweenCongress president Rahul Gandhi and JD(S) secretary generalDanish Ali at Kochi in Kerala this evening, party sources said. JD(S) will contest in Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Tumkur, Hassan, Mandya, Bengaluru North and Vijayapura, according to the sources. During a recent meeting with Rahul Gandhi at Delhi, JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda had scaled down his party's demand and asked the national party to allot at least 10 out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats to his party. JD(S) had earlier demanded that it be given 12 seats to contest. JD(S) has already announced Gowda's grandsons Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Prajwal Revanna as candidates from the party bastions of Mandya and Hassan respectively. While Nikhil is son of Chief Minister Kumaraswamy, ...
BJP will choose LS poll candidates based on winnability: Sudhanshu Trivedi
BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi Wednesday said the party would choose candidates for the Lok Sabha polls on the basis of their capability and chances of winning. The BJP has a specific mechanism for ticket distribution under which local-level feedback of the candidate is taken, analysed and sent to central board of the party for its decision, he said at the party's New India Conclave on 'Empowered Modi-Empowered India' here. It will be party's effort to consider all possibilities, besides winnability while distributing tickets, Trivedi. To a question on Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir and limits Parliament's power to make laws concerning the state, he said appropriate steps will be taken at the right time under the Constitutional purview.
Sena's alliance with BJP a political compulsion: Raut
Senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut Wednesday said his party's alliance with the BJP was a political compulsion. Speaking to a news channel, the Sena's Rajya Sabha MP also said that no party can win an absolute majority on its own in the prevailing condition in the country, which is why the BJP has to join hands with other parties in every state. He said the despite being an ally, the Sena disagrees with the BJP on several issues. "We did not break the alliance in 2014, the BJP did it. And four years later, the BJP chief had to come to Uddhav ji saying we cannot reach the required figure without your support. Then Uddhav ji thought about it and we decided to give them another chance," he said. "We disagree with the BJP on several issues like demonetisation. Even the RBI was in disagreement because it was not in the interest of the country. We will continue to disagree on such issues despite our alliance. Being an ally does not mean being a servant to them or surrendering
Cross-LoC trade suspended in J&K's Poonch after Pak violates ceasefire
The cross-LoC trade was suspended on Wednesday after Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control by resorting to unprovoked mortar shelling and small arms firing in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said. Five mortar shells hit the trade facilitation centre at Chakan-da-Bagh, damaging a few sheds, including the one housing the X-ray scanner, custodian of LoC trade centre, Poonch, Fareed Kohli told PTI. He said the shelling took place around 12.30 pm, when the process of scanning of the trucks was almost complete. There were no casualties but the shelling caused panic among those present at the centre, he said, adding that the main building remained safe. Kohli said the cross-LoC trade was suspended for the day in view of the shelling. Officials said the shelling started in Krishna Ghati sector around 10.30 am and later spread to Poonch sector. The Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively, they said, adding that the shelling was continuing when ...
China offers to help Venezuela restore power after vast blackout
China on Wednesday offered to help Venezuela bring its collapsing power grid back online as President Nicolas Maduro sought to stave off rising public anger that is bolstering his US-backed rival Juan Guaido. A vast blackout that struck Venezuela nearly a week ago -- the worst in its history -- has deepened the South American country's already grave economic crisis, especially by disrupting the supply of drinking water. Although electricity has since been restored to most of the capital Caracas, water was having to be trucked in, and western swaths of the country remain without power. "No water, no power, no medicine, no cash, no transport. This has been dreadful," one Caracas resident, Victoria Milano, 40, told AFP. Guaido, an opposition leader whose claim to be Venezuela's interim president is backed by the US and 50 other countries, told supporters on Tuesday he expected to have military chiefs on his side and take over the presidential palace "very soon." "This desperation and ...
Madrid's N Korea embassy assailants linked to CIA: report
At least two of the 10 people who broke into Madrid's North Korean embassy in February, roughing up employees and robbing computers, are linked to the CIA, the El Pais daily said Wednesday. The mysterious incident took place on February 22 just five days before the start of a nuclear summit between North Korea and the United States attended, among others, by Pyongyang's former ambassador to Spain Kim Hyok Chol. According to investigators quoted by El Pais, they were specifically looking for information linked to Kim. "At least two of the 10 assailants... have been identified and have ties with US secret services," the paper said, citing sources from the police and Spain's intelligence agency, the National Intelligence Centre (CNI). It specifically identified the CIA. Contacted by AFP, the CNI refused to comment. According to El Pais, Spain asked for clarification from the CIA but the US spy agency denied any involvement. Spanish authorities however said the response was "not very ...
Delhi Congress lodges complaint against AAP, BJP for poll code violation
Delhi Congress Wednesday lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) accusing AAP of putting pressure on parents of children enrolled in government schools to vote for their candidates in the Lok Sabha polls and sought action for violation of model code of conduct. The six member delegation of Delhi Congress headed by Mangat Ram Singhal also complained against Modi government for alleged violation of poll code ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. "The delegation complained to the CEO about the AAP government pressurising parents of students from Delhi government schools to vote for the candidates of AAP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," said a Delhi Congress statement. No reaction was available immediately from the AAP. The Congress leaders brought to the CEO's notice large number of posters and hoardings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at petrol pumps, Metro rail pillars, Mohalla Clinics, DTC buses, and other such places owned by ...
Cong hopeful of sorting out KC-M issue amicably: Chennithala
With differences cropping up in the Kerala Congress(M), a key partner of the UDF, over its candidate for the Kottayam Lok Sabha seat, Opposition Congress, heading the front, Wednesday said it was hopeful of sorting out the issue amicably. A sulking P J Joseph, KC(M) working chairman, who is peeved over the party's decision to field Thomas Chazhikadan and turning down his claim to contest from the Kottayam seat, had met Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala and Oommen chandy earlier in the day, seeking their intervention to sort of the issue. Soon after the meeting, Congress leaders-- Opposition leader in the state assembly, Ramesh Chennithala, former chief minister and AICC Secretary, Oommen Chandy, and KPCC President, Mullapally Ramachandran, went into a huddle to find ways to iron out the differences in the KC-M. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Chennithala said the UDF will sort out the issue amicably. "We will talk with other UDF partners also to find a solution," he ...
Rafale case: Documents filed by review petitioners sensitive to national security, govt tells SC
The Centre Wednesday told the Supreme Court that documents filed by the petitioners seeking review of its Rafale deal verdict are "sensitive to national security" and relate to war capacity of the combat aircraft. In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the government said the review plea filed by former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie as also activist advocate Prashant Bhushan has been widely circulated and is available to the country's enemy and adversaries. "This puts the national security in jeopardy. Without consent, permission or acquiescence of the Central Government, those who have conspired in making the photocopy of these sensitive documents and annexing it to the review petition/ miscellaneous application and thereby committing theft by unauthorized photocopying of such documents...have adversely affected the sovereignty, security and friendly relations with the foreign countries," the affidavit said. It said that even though the Centre "maintains secrecy",
PM was 'very angry', I showed him some affection: Rahul on hug to PM
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said he has "genuine" affection for Narendra Modi and that is what he tried to show when he hugged the prime minister after watching him become "very angry" in Parliament. Interacting with women students of a city college, he recalled the day he hugged Modi and said he cannot hate him since love "is in the country's grain, every religion, and the Tamil people". When a student asked why he chose to hug the prime minister, Gandhi said he watched a 'very angry' Modi in Parliament running down his party, his late father Rajiv Gandhi and mother Sonia. However, deep inside, he said, he felt affection for Modi and he thought Modi was angry "because he is not able to see the beauty of the world". "So I thought that at least from my side, I should show him some affection." When Rahul said, "I genuinely feel love for the Prime Minister," the students broke into laughter and raised their voices, to which he repeated "I genuinely do (love him)." The ...
Rafale: Review petition based on leaked secret documents jeopardised national security, Centre to SC
The Centre Wednesday told the Supreme Court that documents filed by the petitioners seeking review of its Rafale deal verdict are "sensitive to national security" and those who conspired in photocopying the papers have committed theft and put the security in jeopardy by leaking them. The Ministry of Defence said an internal enquiry commenced on February 28 and is currently in progress over the leakage of sensitive documents and it is of utmost concern to find out where the leakage took place. The affidavit filed by the ministry said documents attached by the petitioners -- former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie as also activist advocate Prashant Bhushan -- relate to war capacity of combat aircraft and have been widely circulated, available to the country's enemy and adversaries. "This puts the national security in jeopardy. Without consent, permission or acquiescence of the Central Government, those who have conspired in making the photocopy of these sensitive ...
Naidu a "confused man" and is on his way out, says KTR
Describing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu as a "confused man,"TRS working president KT Rama Rao has said he was at the fag end of his political career and on the way out after the coming elections. Maintaining that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi has no role to play in Andhra politics, he said Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will soon appeal to the people of the neighbouring state to make a 'wise' choice in the coming elections. Assembly elections are to be held in Andhra along with the parliamentary polls. "The writing on the wall (the outcome of AP polls) is clear. If people are not willing to see, it is a different thing. Naidu is on his way out... He (Naidu) is at the fag end of his political career. I think people of Andhra will decide to basically grant a long leave to Chandrababu Naidu," he told PTI. As the TRS is a Telangana-based party and does not have any plans to expand footprint in Andhra, he said it is not fair on the part of ..
Gehlot flays PM for dubbing Congress' culture as 'antithesis of Gandhian thoughts'
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Wednesday flayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for dubbing the Congress culture as an "antithesis of Gandhian thoughts". "The allegations made by the prime minister in his blog against the Congress are unfortunate and condemnable. It is in his habit to make arbitrary interpretations to suit his political agenda, Gehlot tweeted. The prime minister had Tuesday said in his post that the Congress culture is an antithesis of the Gandhian thoughts. While Mahatma Gandhi did not believe in inequality and caste divisions, "the Congress sadly has never hesitated from dividing society", Modi had said. Criticising the PM's remarks, Gehlot asserted that the Congress with its "wonderful history" is both the present and the future of the country. "The same tri-colour party of Mahatma Gandhi kept the country integrated and united. Our history is about sacrifices and commitments. The people of the country know the Congress role from the independence to the ...
Owaisi ridicules NDA govt over holding polling in Anantnag LS
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi took potshots at the BJP-led NDA government over holding polling in Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir over three phases. "Have you ever heard that election to a parliament seat would be held in three days, in three phases... there are four districts in Anantnag. Two districts in one phase, one district in second phase and one district in third phase... Wah Modiji Wah. What have you made of Kashmir. Because of your governance, the election of a parliament seat is held in three phases," he said addressing a gathering here Tuesday night. The BJP was in power in the state in partnership with the PDP and it has been Governors rule since the BJP-PDP government fell, he said. Though Assembly polls are due in Jammu and Kashmir, it could not be held as the Election Commission expressed inability as the situation is bad, Owaisi said. The Jammu and Kashmir assembly was dissolved in November last year, months after the Mehbooba ...
BJP will fight elections on issues of terrorism, corruption: Javadekar
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar Wednesday said the BJP will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on issues of freeing the country from terrorism, poverty, filth and corruption. The BJP is progressing with confidence towards victory in the upcoming elections and nervousness in the opposition Congress is clearly visible, Javadekar said on the sidelines of party's core committee meeting here. Javadekar, who is also the BJP's election in-charge in Rajasthan, said public meetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and other prominent leaders will be organised in the coming week. He claimed that the BJP was growing stronger with the support of regional players, whereas the Congress-led grand alliance was weakening. Prominent leaders including V Satish, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Avinash Rai Khanna, Madan Lal Saini and others also attended the BJP's core committee meeting.
BJP can't win single seat in WB, they are trying to hide behind central forces: Mamata
Slamming the BJP for urging the poll panel to declare West Bengal "super sensitive state", Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee Wednesday alleged the saffron party was trying to hide behind central forces as it can't win any seat in the state. The BJP has urged the Election Commission to declare West Bengal "super sensitive state" to enure fair Lok Sabha polls and demanded that central forces be deployed at all polling stations in the state. "What is the reason behind demanding that all booths be declared sensitive in the state? This is an insult to the people of Bengal. The BJP can't win a single seat in West Bengal. That is why they are trying to hide behind the central forces," Banerjee told reporters. Mockingly advising the BJP to deploy one para-military personnel behind every voter, she said even then the TMC will emerge victorious in all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. "How are they preparing the list of sensitive booths? Since we are fighting (BJP president) ...