Page 1430 - Politics
Use common sense, Modi tells Oppn on his Rafale remarks; no comments, says IAF chief
Asking opposition parties to use common sense, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday slammed them for questioning his statement that the presence of Rafale fighter jets would have given greater firepower to the IAF during the February 27 aerial engagement with Pakistan. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa declined to comment on the prime minister's statement that Rafale jets would have a made a difference. "I said if Rafale was acquired in time it would have made a difference (during the February 27 dogfight), but they(opposition parties) say Modi is questioning our air force strike," Modi said, addressing a gathering in Jamnagar. "Please use common sense. What I said was if we had Rafale at the time (of aerial dogfight), then none of our fighter jets would have gone down and none of theirs saved," he added. India lost one MiG 21 jet during the fierce dogfight in which one F-16 warplane of Pakistan Air Force(PAF) was also shot down. "If they(opposition) don't understand me what can I
Head of UN nuclear agency: Iran keeping to nuclear deal
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog says Iran is complying with the 2015 deal with major world powers aimed at preventing the country from building nuclear weapons. Yukiya Amano made his assessment in a regular update to the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors, confirming a confidential report distributed to member states last month. He said Monday that "Iran is implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," referencing the official name of the 2015 deal. Amano added that "it is essential that Iran continues to fully implement those commitments." The US unilaterally withdrew from the deal last year and re-imposed sanctions. The other signatories Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China are trying to keep alive the deal, which offered Iran economic incentives.
LS polls: Congress, JDS hold 2nd round of talks on seat sharing
The Congress-JD(S) ruling coalition in Karnataka Monday held the second round of talks on the tricky issue of seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, with Congress saying they were moving "in the right direction." The two parties had begun formal talks last week with the JDS insisting that 12 of the total 28 Lok Sabha seats be conceded to it, but party supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda indicated Sunday that they were ready to compromise. The two allies, who had formed the government after striking a post-poll alliance as the May 2018 assembly elections threw up a hung verdict, had announced earlier that they would fight the Lok Sabha elections together. The Congress-JD(S) coalition coordination committee chairman and former chief minister Siddaramaiah told reporters they had a good detailed discussion about every constituency. "We are moving in the right direction," Siddaramaiah said after the coordination committee meeting here. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, ..
Modi should apologise for questioning IAF capability: Congress
Questioning the BJP's claims of 250 causalities in the air strikes in Pakistan's Balakot, the Congress on Monday demanded of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise for claiming the India Air Force (IAF) felt the absence of Rafale fighter jets.
Will be there after 2019, don't worry: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party, under his leadership, would return to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Cong, JD-S discuss seat-sharing in Karnataka for LS polls
The Karnataka ruling alliance partners, the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), here on Monday discussed the seat-sharing strategy for the Lok Sabha elections, party leaders said.
BJP turning battle against terrorism into one against Kashmiris, Muslims: CPI-M
Accusing the BJP of politicising post-Pulwama developments, the CPI-M on Monday said it was turning a united India's battle against terrorism into one against Kashmiris and Muslims to deepen communal polarisation.
TRS dares Andhra CM, son to face probe in data theft case
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao on Monday asked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his son and IT Minister Nara Lokesh to face the probe in data theft case, instead of making baseless allegations against Telangana government.
Kerala CPI to field two sitting MLAs in Lok Sabha polls
The CPI's Kerala unit sprang a surprise here on Monday by recommending four names for the Lok Sabha seats the party contests and dropping the sitting MP.
Cong, AAP slam BJP for 'milking' air strikes for politics
Questioning BJP President Amit Shah's claims on the February 26 air strikes in Pakistan, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party here on Monday slammed him and his party for not trusting the armed forces and "milking the air strikes for politics".
'Challenges not over yet, keep your guard up,' Pak Air chief tells PAF officers
Pakistan Air Force chief on Monday asked his officers to keep their "guard up" as the challenges facing the country "are not over yet", amid heightened tensions with India following the Pulwama terror attack and an aerial combat between the two forces. Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan made the remarks during a visit to the forward operating bases (FOB), where he met combat and ground crew, air defence and engineering personnel, troops and civilian staff, a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) spokesperson was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper. Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad killed 40 CRPF personnel in Kashmir on February 14. Amid mounting outrage, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting what it said was a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26. The next day, Pakistan retaliated with a large air formation, comprising 24 fighter jets, including ...
AAP-SAD (Taksali) tie-up of no consequence: Amarinder
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Monday dismissed the AAP-SAD (Taksali) alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Punjab as "of no consequence". Singh, while reiterating his stand on a tie-up in Punjab for the general elections, said that Congress did not require any alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. Asked to comment on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) decision to ally with SAD (Taksali) for the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, the Chief Minister said it was their prerogative, but as far as the Congress was concerned, it did not need any alliance. He dismissed the AAP-SAD (Taksali) coalition "as of no consequence". Congress in Punjab was fully ready for the polls and was well placed to win on its own, thus making it clear that he was not in favour of an alliance for the party, Amarinder said. "In a democracy, it is the performance of the government that matters and people vote for those whom they see working for their welfare," the chief minister said. Singh's remarks come at a time when ..
Kashmir parties for simultaneous assembly, LS polls
The political parties of Kashmir Monday impressed upon the Election Commission of India (ECI) to hold the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir simultaneously with the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The ECI Monday began a two-day visit to the state to assess the feasibility of holding the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls simultaneously. Delegations of National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Pradesh Congress Committee and other smaller parties met the EC team headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora to put forth their views about holding of assembly elections in the state. The officials said the team will leave for Jammu later in the day and hold similar interactions there tomorrow. "We impressed upon the Election Commission that there is no reason why Assembly elections cannot be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections. Not holding assembly polls will send wrong signals to people within and outside the state," NC leader Nasir Aslam Wani, who was part of his ...
Avoid "opposition-bashing", convince world on air strikes: Chidambaram to Centre
As the debate over India's February 26 air strikes in Pakistan rages on in the country, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram Monday asked the Centre to avoid "opposition-bashing" and convince the world on its stand. Chidambaram said he was prepared to "believe the government" as a "proud citizen", but the Centre has to "make efforts for the world to also believe" its stand. He recalled party chief Rahul Gandhi was the first to laud the Indian Air Force after the strikes. Chidambaram faced sharp rebuke from Union Minister Piyush Goyal for his comments, with the senior BJP leader charging the Congress with believing in "Pakistan propaganda," but not the Indian armed forces. "As a proud citizen, I am prepared to believe my government. But if we want the world to believe, the government must make the effort (to explain), not indulge in Opposition-bashing," Chidambaram said in a tweet. Chidambaram's response came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the opposition for doubting .
TRS slams Chandrababu Naidu on voters' data 'theft'
Attacking the ruling TDP on the alleged theft of voters' data in Andhra Pradesh, TRS working president K T Rama Rao here Monday said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu should be "ashamed of" his party's criticism of the Telangana government on the issue. The issue pertains to a case registered by the Telangana police against a city-based IT firm for allegedly "stealing" data of voters through the "Seva Mitra" mobile application, which was used by the TDP in Andhra Pradesh. Reacting to the development, Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Minister N Lokesh had said Telangana Police was "harassing" the companies that were hired to curate the information whose complete rights were held by the TDP. "It is TDP which committed the wrong. The government (AP) which is supposed to keep personal data secret, gives that data to a party, how should it be seen," Rama Rao told reporters here. "What was done was wrong. As if, 'ulta chor kotwal ko dante' (the pot calling the kettle black), they ...
Two-time MP Sher Singh Ghubaya quits SAD
Two-time Member of Parliament from Ferozepur and rebel SAD leader Sher Singh Ghubaya Monday resigned from the primary membership of the Akali Dal even as the party expelled him for "anti-party activities". Ghubaya in a press briefing held at Jalalabad in Punjab's Ferozepur district announced quitting the Shiromani Akali Dal and blamed its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal's "wrong policies" for resigning from the primary membership and all posts of the party. In a letter written to Badal, Ghubaya appealed to him to accept his resignation. Later, the Akali Dal issued a press note here in Chandigarh through which Badal expelled Ghubaya from the primary membership of the party for his "anti-party activities". Ghubaya is a two-time MP from Ferozepur parliamentary seat -- first in 2009 and then in 2014. His relations with Akali Dal had allegedly turned sour after his purported video clip appeared before the 2017 assembly elections. In December 2016, the vigilance bureau under previous SAD-BJP ...
Use common sense, Modi tells Oppn on his Rafale remarks
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday hit out the opposition for questioning his statement that the presence of Rafale fighters would have given greater firepower to the IAF during the February 27 aerial engagement with Pakistan. Modi said India would not sit quietly in the fight against terrorism and would do all to cure it from the root, which lies in Pakistan. "I said if Rafale was acquired in time it would have made a difference (during the February 27 dogfight), but they say Modi is questioning our air force strike," he said, addressing a gathering here. "Please use common sense. What I said was if we had Rafale at the time (of aerial dogfight), then none of our fighter jets would have gone down and none of theirs saved," he added. Lashing out at statements from opposition party leaders who demanded proof of the February 26 air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot, Modi said his objective was to end terror while that of the opposition was ..
JKNPP stages protest, alleges 'saffronisation of administration' ahead of polls in J-K
The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party staged a protest here on Monday to draw attention of the visiting Election Commission of India team towards alleged "saffronisation of administration" in the run up to the upcoming Lok Sabha and the assembly polls. It pressed for holding of parliamentary and state elections together and said the security scenario, which had deteriorated over the years in the state, could be retrieved to a large extent "if the concept of free and fair polls was translated into reality in the true sense". A high-level team of the EC, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, reached Srinagar on Monday on a two-day visit to assess the feasibility of holding the Lok Sabha and the J-K assembly polls simultaneously. "We organised the protest on the visit of ECI to draw the attention of the apex election body towards the abuse of position and authority by reckless government functionaries for furthering political prospects of their political masters," ...
IAF chief says MiG-21 Bison capable enough to take on enemy jets
Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa on Monday sought to downplay questions over the use of MiG-21 Bison fighters to take on F-16 jets of the Pakistan Air Force after the latter's transgression into the Indian air space on February 27, saying the aircraft is capable enough to fight the enemy planes.He said the MiG-21 Bison has been upgraded and has "better radar, air-to air missiles and better weapons system"."The Mig-21 Bison is a capable aircraft, it has been upgraded," Dhanoa said at a press conference here while responding to questions over why these fighters were used to counter the F-16s on February 27.One of the MiG-21 fighters, flown by Wing Command Abhinandan Varthaman, was shot down while it was chasing the Pakistan jets and he landed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) where he was taken into captivity."One is a planned operation in which you plan and carry out strikes, like the first strike (on Jaish-e-Mohammad camp in Balakot). Was any Bison used in ...
Opposition asking for operational details of Balakot strike
Union minister Prakash Javadekar Monday criticised opposition parties for questioning the Indian Air Force's bombing of a terror training camp in Pakistan, saying operational details cannot be shared as doing so will only help that country. He said seeking proof of the operation in Balakot amounted to showing lack of confidence in the armed forces. "The whole country is proud of our armed forces...the Air Force. When they have conducted air strikes deep inside Pakistan, raising doubt and asking for proof is actually helping Pakistan. Asking for proof amounts to not showing confidence in our Army and Air Force," he told PTI. Javadekar's comments came in the backdrop of growing chorus by opposition parties, especially Congress leaders, for showing evidence of the pre-emptive strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp by the Indian Air Force on February 26. Javadekar is in West Bengal's Burdwan district to attend a meeting of the BJP's intellectual cell. When asked about the ..