Page 1360 - Politics
Model Code of Conduct: Muzaffarnagar admin removes hoardings of govt schemes
With the model code of conduct coming into effect after the announcements of Lok Sabha poll schedule, the district authorities have started to remove hoardings advertising central and state government schemes, officials said Monday. The Election Commission of India Sunday announced the schedule for the general elections according to which eight districts in western Uttar Pradesh including Muzaffarnagar will go to polls in first phase on April 11. City Magistrate Atul Kumar said that teams led by subdivisional magistrates removed several hoardings in the district including those put up by the central and state governments. The step was taken after the Model Code of Conduct kicked in Sunday with the announcement of the poll schedule. Among other restrictions, the model code bars the government from announcing any policy move that may impact voters' decision. Meanwhile, District Magistrate and District Election Officer Ajay Shanker Pandey told newsmen that 19,68,784 voters including ...
AIADMK interviews probable candidates for LS polls
Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Monday interviewed its probable candidates likely to contest from 10 of the 39 Lok Sabha constituencies on April 18.
Strive for AIADMK-led alliance's win in all seats in TN: PMK
PMK founder S Ramadoss Monday appealed to his party workers to strive for victory of the AIADMK-led alliance in all 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the April 18 elections, and also ensure the success of ruling party candidates in the Assembly by-polls. People will face many hardships if the DMK-led alliance was voted in good numbers, Ramadoss said in a statement. "It should be the foremost duty of PMK functionaries and workers to ensure the victory of the candidates of the AIADMK-led alliance in all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry," he said. The AIADMK-led NDA alliance in Tamil Nadu had the BJP, PMK, DMDK, Puthiya Neethi Katchi and Puthiya Tamizhagam as its constituents, besides the AINRC in neighbouring Puducherry, he pointed out. "Similarly, it is important (for the PMK workers) to make sure the AIADMK candidates won in the by-polls to 18 Assembly constituencies," he said. The by-polls are considered crucial as it would have a ...
Foreign Secretary Gokhale to meet Pompeo, top US officials
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale will call on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and meet other senior officials of the Trump administration here on Monday and exchange views on major foreign policy and security-related issues, officials said, amidst tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama terror attack. Gokhale arrived in the US on Sunday for the bilateral Foreign Office Consultation and Strategic Security Dialogue with his American counterparts, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson. While his 3-day US trip was scheduled much before the February 14 Pulwama terrorist attack, Gokhale's meetings with Pompeo and his counterparts here this week are considered significant in view of the escalated tension between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of India's preemptive air strike on the largest terrorist training camp of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot in Pakistan
"Vicious disinformation" campaign surrounding Bose's death confuses people: author
A "vicious disinformation" campaign surrounding the death of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose has left people "confused", author and grandnephew of the Indian nationalist leader has said. Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the Emirates Festival of Literature here, journalist and author of the book 'Laid To Rest: the controversy over Subhas Chandra Bose's death' Ashis Ray said he was fed up with the massive disinformation campaign mounted by people having vested interests about what had happened to Bose. Asked what prompted him to write the book, Ray said he wanted to "dispel" "one big misconception" that Bose had "died as a result of a plane crash". "It's a tragedy but the truth," he said. The nationalist leader, who was among the foremost Independence movement leaders, reportedly died in an air crash at Taihoku airport on August 18, 1945. This was not accepted by some members of his family and supporters. Conspiracy theories appeared within hours of his death and have persisted since ...
TRS banks on good show by regional parties in LS poll
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi Monday said most of the regional parties are confident of turning in a good performance in the Lok Sabha elections, giving a boost to its chief K Chandrasekhar Rao's idea of forging a non-Congress, non-BJP federal front post-poll. TRS spokesperson Abid Rasool Khan said most of the regional parties were confident of getting lot of seats, and claimed they were open to the idea of such a front proposed by the Telangana Chief Minister. "As soon as the (Lok Sabha election) results are out, there would be parleys and formation of a (federal) front. If it has the majority, it will form the government," Khan told PTI. If this proposed front falls short of numbers, it will decide what role it should play and "how it will have control over the government so that the states don't suffer and policies of the states are not affected," he said. TRS is counting on parties such as the SP, BSP, BJD and YSRCP to be on board the proposed federal front, party ..
Congress High Command to finalize all five candidates in Uttarakhand
The Congress, which lost all five Lok Sabha seats in 2014 in Uttarakhand, on Monday said its High Command will take the final decision on the selection of the five candidates for the April 11 election in the hill state.
Brexit talks deadlocked before vote on May's deal
Brexit talks between the UK and the European Union remain deadlocked, just a day before MPs are due to vote again on Prime Minister Theresa May's deal, the media reported on Monday.
BJP will return to power at Centre if it takes its allies along: Rajbhar
Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister and leader of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) Om Prakash Rajbhar has said the BJP will return to power at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi if it takes along all its allies. He lauded the BJP for following the coalition dharma. "If the BJP takes along all the alliance partners in this way, the NDA will form the government at the Centre in 2019 and Narendra Modi will become the prime minister (again)," Rajbhar said in a tweet late Sunday. The statement of the backward class welfare and empowerment of persons with disabilities minister came shortly after the BJP-led state government hurriedly announced the names of top office bearers in various commissions, councils and corporations. Rajbhar's son, Arvind, was appointed as the chairman of Uttar Pradesh Small Industries Corporation Limited. Rana Ajit Pratap Singh, another office-bearer of the SBSP, was appointed as the chairman of Uttar Pradesh Seeds Development ...
DMK seeks by-election in all 21 Assembly seats
The DMK on Monday said it will urge the Election Commission to hold Assembly bye-elections in all the 21 constituencies, and not just 18, in Tamil Nadu alongside the Lok Sabha polls on April 18.
Schools in Kashmir open after over 3-month winter vacation
Schools in Kashmir opened Monday after remaining closed for more than three months for winter vacations. The schools in the region were closed in December last year for winter vacations and were scheduled to reopen on March 5. However, the government decided to extend the winter vacation by a week in view of the inclement weather. The schools in Kashmir close usually for two and half months for winter vacation, while summer vacations are limited to a week or 10 days.
Imran Khan's income drops sharply in 3 years
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's net income has dropped sharply in the last three years from 35.6 million Pakistani rupees in 2015 to only 4.7 million Pakistani rupees in 2017, the media reported on Monday.
Iran's Rouhani hails 'special' ties with Iraq ahead of visit
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Monday described ties with Iraq as "special", as he prepared to travel to Baghdad on his first official visit to the neighbouring country. Rouhani's three-day visit comes as Iraq has been under pressure from Washington to limit ties with its neighbour, particularly after the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and hit Tehran with sanctions. "Iran-Iraq relations are special," Rouhani said at Tehran's Mehrabad airport, state television reported. "Whenever the people of the region had a problem and asked Iran for help, the people and government of Iran rushed to their help with all their power," he added. Iran has close but complicated ties with Iraq, with significant influence among its Shiite political groups. The two countries fought a bloody war from 1980 to 1988 and Tehran's influence in Baghdad grew after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. Iran was the first country to respond to Iraqi calls ...
Foreign Secretary on 3-day US visit
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Monday began his three-day visit to the US to carry out bilateral consultation and strategic security dialogues with American President Donald Trump's administration.
Patriotism not any party's monopoly: Shiv Sena
The Shiv Sena on Monday said patriotism is not the monopoly of a single party and falsely calling people "anti-national" just because they are political opponents is nothing but suppression of freedom of expression. The party's remarks come amid a row over politicisation of the air strike. "Patriotism is not the monopoly of a single party...we wonder when politicians will understand that the action (air strike) was part of duty (of soldiers) and not a task asked to be carried out," the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'. Those demanding proof of the air strike and the ones seeking votes donning military fatigues are equally wrong, the Sena said, referring to Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari who wore military fatigues at a recent rally. The Sena said it was an insult to the soldiers and their courage. "Why act frivolously by wearing soldiers' uniforms which they have obtained after rigorous training and hard work? It supports the allegations of the .
Stage set for simultaneous elections in Arunachal Pradesh
The stage is set for Arunachal Pradesh to hold Lok Sabha and Assembly polls simultaneously on April 11, election officials said Monday. With the model code of conduct coming into force, the election authorities have issued do's and donts to all political parties and urged all government machinery to strictly follow it. Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act would be mandatorily imposed by all deputy commissioners, election office sources said. A total of 7,94,162 voters, including 4,01,601 women, would exercise their franchise in the April 11 simultaneous polls in 2,202 polling stations across the state. Polling Station no 52 at Naharalagun, under Itanagar Assembly constituency, has the highest number of voters at 1340, while Malogam polling station under Hayuliang constituency in remote Anjaw district bordering China has only one female voter. Luguthang polling booth under Mukto constituency in Tawang district is the highest polling station located at an ...
Democracies spend more on health, education than dictatorships: Study
Democratic governments tend to spend more on healthcare and education than authoritarian regimes do, according to an MIT study that used data from 184 countries. The study, published in the Journal of Political Economy, also found that countries switching to democratic rule experience a 20 per cent increase in gross domestic product (GDP) over a 25-year period, compared to what would have happened had they remained authoritarian states. Democracies employ broad-based investment, especially in health and human capital, which is lacking in authoritarian states, the researchers found. "Many reforms that are growth-enhancing get rid of special favours that nondemocratic regimes have done for their cronies. Democracies are much more pro-reform," said Daron Acemoglu from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. "Democracies do a lot of things with their money, but two we can see are very robust are health and education," Acemoglu said in a statement. The researchers ...
Seoul closely monitoring N Korea for 'missile launch': military
South Korea's military said Monday it was closely monitoring North Korean facilities after a series of satellite images triggered international alarm that Pyongyang might be preparing a long-range missile or space launch. Analysis indicates increased activity at two key sites -- the Samundong missile research facility and the Sohae rocket-testing facility. Any launch could send stuttering talks on denuclearisation into disarray. South Korea is "closely tracking and looking into all activity for possible scenarios including a missile launch" across the border, in close coordination with the US, said Kim Joon-rak, spokesman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Satellite images of Samundong taken on February 22 showed cars and trucks at the site, as well as rail cars and cranes at a yard, US news outlet NPR reported. "When you put all that together, that's really what it looks like when the North Koreans are in the process of building a rocket," Jeffrey Lewis, a researcher at the Middlebury ...
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in US, discuss bilateral, regional issues
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale is visiting Washington D.C from March 11 in connection with the bilateral Foreign Office Consultation and Strategic Security Dialogue with the United States.During his three-day visit, the Foreign Secretary will meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Department of State on Monday morning (local time) and discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of common interest.In Washington D.C, Gokhale would also hold Foreign Office Consultation with his US counterpart, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale and the Strategic Security Dialogue with the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Andrea Thompson."These are regular high-level dialogue mechanisms to review bilateral relations, exchange views on major foreign policy and security-related developments and coordinate respective positions on issues of common interest," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.Gokhale is ...
Shiv Sena slams BJP for using uniform, pictures of soldiers to seek votes
Shiv Sena on Monday criticised its ally BJP and other political parties for using the uniform and pictures of soldiers to seek votes ahead of Lok Sabha polls and claimed that they are "as guilty as those demanding proofs of the operations of armed forces"."Those using the uniform and pictures of soldiers to seek votes are as guilty as those demanding proofs of the operations of armed forces," the latest editorial in Shiv Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamana' said."Photographs have been published of BJP leader Manoj Tiwari donning Army uniform. He is saying that BJP will win the election...This gives strength to the Opposition's allegation that the air strike (in Balakot in Pakistan) was done for political benefit," it said.The editorial said, "Political parties have put up posters claiming that they have taken the revenge of the Pulwama terror attack from Pakistan. IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman shot down Pakistan's F-16 because BJP is in power -- this publicity is being openly done. ...