Page 1357 - Politics
Polls a fight between credibility and opportunism:YSRC chief
Terming the April 11 elections in the state a fight between "credibility and opportunism," YSR Congress president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy Monday asked people of Andhra Pradesh to vote for change to usherin welfare and development in equal measure. Kickstarting his partys election campaign in the coastal city of Kakinada, Reddy said the time has come for people to teach Chief Minister and TDP president Chandrababu Naidu a fitting lesson for having cheated people on all counts. "These elections are not between two political parties but a fight between credibility and opportunism. It is a fight between democracy and anarchy. It is high time that such an unscrupulous person (Chandrababu Naidu) should go, as people are vexed with his lies, U-turns, deceptions and cheating," the Leader of Opposition said. Jagan alleged Naidu was responsible for the division of the state and also stalling Special Category Status (SCS). "He defaced the Polavaram project and stood as a promoter of
LS elections: Haryana to issue notification on Apr 16
The notification for the single-phase general election in Haryana will be issued on April 16, an election commission official said Monday. The state, which has 10 Lok Sabha seats, goes to poll in the sixth phase on May 12. The state's Joint Chief Electoral Officer, Inder Jeet, said in a release that the last date for filing nomination papers is April 23. The documents will be scrutinised on April 24 and the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is April 26, he said.
Choice between Gandhi's India and Godse's, says Rahul
Terming the upcoming Lok Sabha elections a contest between the Congress' ideology of inclusivity and Narendra Modi and the RSS ideology of fear and hatred, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised a minimum income guarantee scheme for all the poor in the country if the party is voted to power.
Last mile connectivity, solution to air pollution problem demands of Delhiites: BJP
Last mile connectivity, solution to air pollution problem and implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme are some of the demands of Delhiites, the BJP said Monday, while claiming that the issue of sealing is not one of their grouses. The Delhi BJP collected suggestions from Delhiites as part of the month-long 'Bharat Ke Mann Ki Baat' campaign for the BJP's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections. "The manifesto will be made according to what people want. We received suggestions from lakhs of Delhiites and they wanted that the Ayushman Bharat health scheme be implemented. Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is not implementing the scheme thinking that it will benefit Modiji," said Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari. The party said nothing on Delhi statehood, which has been made a major poll plank by the AAP. Tiwari said Delhiites expressed concern over various news articles that they read on air pollution and how there is lack of transportation options. The "injustice" done to guest ...
Two leaves symbol: SC to hear Dhinakaran's appeal against HC verdict on March 15
The Supreme Court Monday said it will hear on March 15 the appeal of former AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran challenging a Delhi High Court order granting the 'two leaves' symbol to a faction led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami. A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khana said the matter will be listed on March 15 before an appropriate bench as per the roster. On February 28, the high court had dismissed the pleas of Dhinakaran and VK Sasikala challenging the Election Commission's order granting the 'AIADMK' name and the 'two leaves' symbol to the faction led by the Tamil Nadu chief minister, saying the figures showed the Palaniswami-led group "enjoyed a clear majority". It had upheld the EC's decision of November 23, 2017, saying none of the grounds of challenge raised by the Dhinakaran-Sasikala faction were made out and there was "no infirmity" in the poll panel's order allotting the party name and symbol to the group led by Palaniswami .
'Exposed' Modi won't be PM again, predicts Cong's Digvijay
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh Monday said Narendra Modi would not become prime minister again as he stands "exposed" after failing to fulfil promises during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He also predicted that the Congress, which was routed in the 2014 Modi wave, would do well this time around. "Modi stands exposed as he has not fulfilled promises he made during the last national elections. So he will definitely not become the Prime Minister again," Singh claimed while speaking to reporters here. The 72-year-old Rajya Sabha MP also said that the Election Commission of India should, if possible, change the voting time so as to avoid inconvenience to Muslims observing Ramzan fast. Asked that some Muslim leaders had objected to the Lok Sabha poll schedule as it clashed with Ramzan, Singh said it was a Constitutional necessity that election results had to be declared before May 26. "Despite this, I pray to the Election Commission (EC) that even if it does not change the .
Trinamool Congress to release its candidates' list for Lok Sabha polls on Tuesday
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said Monday that the candidates' list of her party for the Lok Sabha polls will be released on Tuesday afternoon. "We will release our candidates' list tomorrow," Banerjee told reporters at state secretariat 'Nabanna'. Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal will begin on April 11 and polling would be held over seven phases through May 19, the Election Commission announced on Sunday. The Trinamool Congress, the BJP, the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Congress will vie for 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Battle of alliances: BJP takes early lead over rivals in securing partners
Having firmed up alliances in several key states for the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has taken an early lead over its rivals, including the Congress, for an election where every single percentage point of votes brought in by small partners can have significant bearing on final results. While the BJP has had uneasy relations at times with some of its allies, many leaders feel the party president Amit Shah has walked the extra mile to ensure they remained in the ruling National Democratic Alliance by offering them a generous seat-sharing deal, as in Bihar, and by accommodating most of their concerns. In a big state like Tamil Nadu also, where the BJP has remained a minor player so far, it has risen into reckoning by stitching an alliance with the ruling AIADMK and by working on smaller Dravidian parties to join the NDA. In states like Bihar, Maharshtra and Tamil Nadu and where combination of allies will be crucial, a BJP-led alliance is already in place while the Congress is still working .
Iran's Rouhani seeks to counter US pressure on first Iraq visit
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani hit back Monday against pressure from the "aggressor" United States on Iraq to limit ties with its neighbour, during his first official visit to Baghdad. Shiite-majority Iraq is walking a fine line to maintain good relations with its key partners Iran and the United States which themselves are arch-foes. It has been under pressure from Washington not to get too close to the Islamic republic next door, particularly after the United States last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and hit Tehran with sanctions. Baghdad was given limited waivers to continue buying electricity and natural gas from Iran, but Washington has urged Iraq to partner with US companies to become energy independent. Rouhani, who is on his first trip to Iraq since becoming president in 2013, hailed his country's "special" ties with its neighbour. These relations could not be compared to Iraq's ties "with an aggressor country like America", he said before flying Monday ..
Maratha quota valid, legal: Maha govt tells Bombay HC
The Maharashtra government Monday told the Bombay High Court that its decision of granting reservation to the Maratha community was legal and valid. The government concluded its arguments before a division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre, which is hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the quota decision. On November 30 last year, the Maharashtra Legislature passed a bill proposing 16 per cent reservation in education and government jobs for the Marathas, declared socially and educationally backward class by the government. "The quantum of reservation granted to the Maratha community is valid and legal and the petitioners have failed to make out a case to show that the government's decision was malafide and dishonest," government counsel Anil Sakhare argued Monday. The petitioners, in their pleas challenging the quota, had said that no state government could exceed the 50 per cent mark in reservations. At present, the percentage of reservation in Maharashtra stands .
Congress to boycott MLC election
Congress in Telangana Monday announced it would boycott the MLC election Tuesday, accusing ruling TRS of poaching four of its MLAs and a TDP legislator 'in a brazen manner by adopting all illegal means.' The decision was taken in protest against the defection of its MLAs being 'encouraged' by the ruling TRS ahead of the MLC polls, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said. "KCR ji (Chief Miniser K Chandrasekhar Rao), who assumed office after swearing in as per Constitution, violated the oath of office and admitted Telugu Desam and Congress MLAs into the TRS in a brazen manner by adopting all illegal means," he told reporters here. "In protest against this, Congress is boycotting this MLC election so that Telangana people know the undemocratic, and anti-Constitutional, illegal actions being resorted to by the Chief Minister in this MLC election," Reddy said. He was referring to the announcement of Congress MLAs -- MLAs -- Rega Kantha ..
JSP announces names of two LS candidates
Making a head start, actor-politician Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena Party Monday formally announced names of two candidates who would contest the April 11 Lok Sabha election from Andhra Pradesh. The party also finalised names of seven other Lok Sabha candidates and 32 for the Andhra Pradesh state assembly polls but the entire list would be made public in a day or two, Kalyan said in a statement. Kalyan later tweeted: "After a diligent process, the general body of our party has finalised the first list of candidates for 32 Assembly and 9 parliamentary constituencies." Akula Satyanarayana, former BJP MLA from Rajamahendravaram (Rural), has been chosen as the JSP nominee for the Rajamahendravaram Lok Sabha constituency. Satyanarayana had quit the assembly membership and the BJP last month and joined the Jana Sena. Kalyan also announced that D M R Sekhar, a retired ONGC official, would be the JSP candidate from Amalapuram (SC) Lok Sabha constituency. "Sekhar has been a supporter .
Cong MLA joins BJP in Arunachal
A Congress MLA in Arunachal Pradesh defected to the BJP on Monday, a day after the Election Commission announced simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the state on April 11. Markio Tado represented Tali constituency in Kra Daadi district of the BJP-ruled state. Tado said he submitted his resignation letter to state Congress president Takam Sanjoy and joined the BJP. "The Congress has no vision for the future of the state. So I joined the BJP in the larger interest of the state and the people of my constituency," he told a press conference. The state has witnessed rapid development under the Pema Khandu government, he claimed. Tado had won from Tali as a Peoples' Party of Arunachal candidate in the 2009 Assembly elections and as a Congress nominee in the 2014 polls. The MLA asserted that he would not contest the election this time and extend his unconditional support to an aspiring BJP candidate. With Tado resigning, the Congress in the state has left with four ...
AP headed for multi-cornered contest
Andhra Pradesh appeared headed for a multi-cornered contest in the state assembly and Lok Sabha elections to be held on April 11, a do-or-die battle for major political parties, including ruling TDP. Over 3.71 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise for electing 25 Lok Sabha members and 175 members of the state assembly in the polls, the first after the state was bifurcated to create Telangana. With no major alliances on cards till now, the state is poised to witness a multi-cornered contest as the main parties, including ruling TDP and main opposition YSR Congress, are expected to jump into the fray on their own. For the TDP, which won the 2014 elections comfortably, retaining power is crucial while for the principal opposition YSR Congress its a must-win situation to ensure its political sustainability. The Congress is seeking a resurrection in Andhra after the rout it suffered post-bifurcation of the state in 2014. Stakes are not high for the BJP, but it .
Choose between Mahatma's India and Godse's India: Rahul Gandhi
The choice is between Mahatma Gandhi's India or Godse's India with love on one hand and hate on the other, Congress president Rahul Gandhi told his party's booth workers here on Monday, a day after the Lok Sabha elections were announced. In an all out attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi flayed him on a host of issues such as the Rafale deal, employment generation, national security and alleged agrarian distress. "You have to decide, you want Gandhi's India or Godse's India. On the one hand there is love, brotherhood, on the other is hate, fear. Gandhi ji was fearless, stayed in jail for years, but spoke with the British with love, while (Veer) Savarkar wrote letters to Britishers apologising and asking to be let off," he said. He said Modi keeps talking about Make in India, but his shirt, shoes and phone, with which he takes selfies, are made in China. Gandhi said 40 CRPF personnel were killed in the Pulwama terror attack carried out by the Jaish-e-Mohammed whose chief
Demonstrators gather for Heathrow expansion court challenge
A challenge against British government plans to expand Heathrow Airport through the construction of a third runway has begun in one of the country's highest courts. A coalition of local councils, environmentalists and London residents claim the government has failed to properly address the impact on air quality, climate change, noise and congestion that expansion would bring. London Mayor Sadiq Khan is also backing the lawsuit. Demonstrators gathered outside the High Court on Monday for the first day of a two-week hearing. Parliament approved plans last year for the third runway, backing what the government described as the most important transportation project in a generation. Prime Minister Theresa May has said the expansion will boost economic growth.
Maharashtra Congress leader's son on way to BJP
Sujay Vikhe Patil, son of senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, is likely to join BJP, a functionary of the Amit Shah-led party said here Monday. Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil is also the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly. Sujay is set to join the BJP Tuesday in presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a district BJP leader said. The development follows the Sharad Pawar-led NCP spurning a request by Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil to leave aside the Ahmedanagar Lok Sabha seat for his son. Sujay last week held meetings with BJP leader Girish Mahajan. Dilip Gandhi is BJP's sitting MP from Ahmednagar LS seat.
Barnier says Brexit talks now in hands of Britain
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told AFP on Monday that negotiations to break a deadlock on a deal to leave the bloc are now between British Prime Minister Theresa May and members of her parliament. "We held talks over the weekend and the negotiations now are between the government in London and the parliament in London," Barnier said as he arrived at EU headquarters in Brussels to discuss Britain's exit from the bloc with envoys from the other 27 member states. Hopes had been high that May would come to Brussels to finalise a deal with the EU on Monday, but a European source these plans had been shelved due to a lack of progress. With time running out, May had hoped for a signal from Brussels to help get a Brexit deal over the line in time for Britain's looming departure from the European Union -- scheduled for March 29. Instead, she spoke to European Commission chief Jean-Claude Junkcer late Sunday by phone, with both sides agreeing to stay in touch. "No further ...
Clear picture of proposed federal front after LS polls: Rama Rao
A clear picture of the proposed 'non-BJP, non-Congress Federal Front' being mooted by Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will emerge after the general election results are out on May 23, TRS working president K T Rama Rao said Monday. Thanking the Election Commission (EC) for scheduling the elections in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on the same day, he said the possibility of duplication of votes will be eliminated. He said the chief minister had travelled to five or six states and held preliminary discussions with a number of leaders. "We have exchanged ideas, we have exchanged opinions... beyond May 23, 2019, a clearer picture would emerge on how this (Federal Front) can shape up," the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader said. "Because our belief is that NDA in this election will possibly not cross between all of them together 160 or 170," he said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might end up with 140 or 150 seats and all of its allies put together would contribute ...
Bilawal Bhutto meets ailing Sharif in jail; demands best treatment for 3-time PM
In a significant development in Pakistan's political scene, Opposition leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met Nawaz Sharif at the Kot Lakhpat jail here on Monday and asked the Imran Khan-led government to provide the best medical treatment to the ailing former prime minister. Sharif, 69, has been imprisoned at the high security Kot Lakhpat jail since December 2018 following his conviction in a corruption case. Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz, quoting cardiologists sent by the government to examine Sharif on Thursday said, the 3-time former premier's heart disease has "worsened". Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal's meeting with Sharif is being seen by political observers as a step to form a major opposition alliance against the Imran Khan in days to come. After the meeting, Bilawal told reporters outside the jail that he came to to inquire after Sharif's health. "Although there are political differences but Mr Sharif is not well and I have come here to see him and inquire after his ...