Page 1436 - Politics

Khurshid says Abhinandan 'matured' as fighter pilot under UPA, draws flak

Former union minster and Congress leader Salman Khurshid said IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman earned his flying badge in 2004 and "matured" as a fighter pilot during the UPA rule, remarks which attracted criticism on the social media. "Many kudos for Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the face of India's resistance to enemy aggression. Great poise and confidence in face of adversity. We are proud that he received his wings in 2004 and matured as fighter pilot during UPA," Khurshid tweeted Saturday. After attracting criticism on the social media for "taking credit", Khurshid Sunday said that he had only "stated the truth". "I had said that he (the pilot) joined the IAF during our tenure. I had only stated the truth," he told reporters. After being held in captivity for nearly 60 hours, Wing Commander Abhinandan was released by Pakistan and handed over to India at the Attari-Wagah border on Friday night. Days after Pulwama attack of February 14, which left 40 CRPF personnel dead, the ..

Assam govt offers job to Pulwama attack victim's daughter

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal Sunday offered a job to Didwmsri Basumatary, the daughter of Maneswar Basumatary who was killed in the Pulwama terror attack last month, by relaxing rules of the government. Sonowal visited the residence of Basumatary at Tamulpur in Baksa district on the occasion of his 'sraddha' ritual. According to an official release, the chief minister handed over an appointment letter to Didwmsri for the post of Assistant Tourist Information Officer under the Directorate of Tourism, Assam. "Her appointment has been approved as a very special case and in relaxation of existing rules, provisions and guidelines," the release said. Over 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 in a terror attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Congress accuses TRS of engineering defections

The Telangana state Congress staged a sit-in at the Assembly premises, here on Sunday, protesting against the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for allegedly engineering defections in the opposition party.

From Patna to Amethi: Modi flays Oppn, unveils several development projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday addressed rallies in political crucial states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and slammed the opposition for doubting the IAF air strike in Pakistan and trying to "finish" him off while he works for development of the country. In his first visit to Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, since coming to power in 2014, Modi inaugurated a manufacturing unit for AK-203 rifles, an India-Russia joint venture. Modi, who landed after addressing a rally some 350 km away in Bihar's Patna, said that Amethi, which has traditionally been loyal to the Gandhi family, was the best example of his 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (together with all, development for all) motto and his government has done full justice to the constituency in terms of the development. "We were not able to win elections the last time (2014) but won your hearts. Smritiji worked for the development here and did more work than that done by the one who (Rahul Gandhi) has won .

Baijayant Panda likely to join BJP

Former Biju Janata Dal leader Baijayant 'Jay' Panda is likely to join the ruling BJP, party sources said Sunday. Panda, who fell apart with the BJD chief Naveen Patnaik, had recently said that he is willing to join hands with anybody "committed to tackling the severe problems that Odisha now faces". BJP sources said, the Kendrapara MP could join the party in the coming days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

PM chairs National Security Council meet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the National Security Council on Sunday following heightened tensions with Pakistan. Official sources said the meeting was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Besides the union ministers, NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhle were also present. The NSA is tasked with advising the prime minister on matters of national security. It was set up by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998, with Brajesh Mishra as the first National Security Advisor (NSA). The NSC keeps meeting on regular basis but the latest meet assumes significance owing to the latest security scenario. Tensions between India and Pakistan soared after the country carried out air strike on terrorist camp across the border, after the Pulwama terror attack. In response to India's air strike, Pakistan air force intruded into Indian territory, ...

Egypt military court upholds sentence against former auditor

An Egyptian military appeals court on Sunday upheld a five-year sentence against the country's former auditor for disseminating false news about the military, his lawyer said. Hesham Genena can still challenge the ruling a final time at Egypt's highest military court of appeals, added Ali Taha. Genena was arrested in February last year following incendiary comments in which he claimed that the former chief-of-staff, Sami Annan, was in possession of documents incriminating the country's leadership. He said the documents were kept abroad. He was sentenced to five years in prison in April for insulting the armed forces. Annan himself was arrested in January shortly after he announced his intention to challenge President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in last year's election, which the president won with 97 percent of the vote. Genena led Egypt's top watchdog agency until el-Sissi fired him in 2016 following an investigation that concluded he had misled the public on the scale of government ...

BJP workers clash with police after bike rallies prevented

An unspecified number of BJP workers and policemen were injured in clashes in several districts of West Bengal Sunday after the saffron party's motorbike rallies held as part of its public outreach programme were denied permission. Police said they disallowed the motorbike rallies as permission had not been granted to them because of the ongoing school board examinations. Clashes between BJP workers and policemen took place at Durgapur and Asansol in West Burdwan district, Midnapore town and Goaltore in West Midnapore, and Balurghat in South Dinajpur when they took out the motorcycle rallies. The police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the saffron party workers at Asansol and Goaltore leaving some people from both sides injured. Among the injured were a DSP level officer and four other policemen, sources in West Midnapore said. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh accused the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of using the police and administration to prevent the party ...

Kejriwal only repeating what we said: Sheila Dikshit

Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday claimed that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is "just repeating" what the Congress party has said.She told ANI, "AAP is merely repeating what we have said."Her remarks come after the AAP, which was apparently snubbed by the Congress party, announced candidates for six out of seven Lok Sabha seats which are at stake in the national capital.However, Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed on Saturday had said that his party never had an alliance with AAP.On being asked about the hoardings that are being put by the state government, she said, "Kejriwal has all the courage to waste all the money of the government then it is his responsibility.

Naidu cries foul as police register FIR against 4 for accessing people's data through Sevamitra App

Whosoever speaks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces raids of the Income Tax Department (I-T) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said on Sunday.Chief Minister Naidu's statement comes close on the heels of the police registering a case after a complaint was received against the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for allegedly using the people's data illegally through 'Sevamitra App' to advance the party's electoral prospects in the coming Lok Sabha polls in the state. Police have named four persons in the case. "Whoever speaks against Modi faces I-T and ED raids. We won't be afraid of all this. KCR is threatening our people and businesses in Hyderabad to support Jaganmohan Reddy," said Chief Minister Naidu, also the president of TDP."We will fight for justice until we achieve it. I am speaking on behalf of 5 crore people. I will not tolerate any injustice to Telugus residing in any part of the world," he said.He also hit out at ...

'Pakistan has realized that if it doesn't control terrrorism, India will hit back'

"Pakistan has realized that if it doesn't control terrorist forces, India will hit back and not spare them," said Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday."Terrorist forces in Pakistan are being attacked. Pakistan is realizing that if they don't control this attack then India won't spare them," Goyal said while addressing an event in Mumbai.He went on to laud Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the leadership today is so strong that India can give a befitting reply to anyone who tries to harm the country. "As Prime Minister Modi said I won't let the country stop, I won't let the country drop. Let us all pledge that we won't let the development journey stop," Goyal added.Reflecting upon the works of the Railways in Mumbai, Goyal said, "Today, Parel station would also start as a terminus. It would be inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Railways along with the state government have come up with a plan to rehabilitate and redevelop Dharavi."Goyal, along with Maharashtra

TPCC accuses KCR of 'engineering' defection of 2 MLAs

The Congress in Telangana Sunday announced that it would wage a full scale constitutional battle against Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, accusing him of 'engineering' the defection of two party MLAs. The announcement comes days ahead of the Legislative Council elections in the state. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the party would stage a 'dharna' in Asifabad and Pinapaka constituencies on March 5 to protest against Rao's alleged action. He also said a complaint would be lodged with the Election Commission on the issue, seeking immediate disqualification of the two MLAs, Rega KanthaRao (Pinapaka) and Atram Sakku (Asifabad). Further, he said both the MLAs should not be allowed to vote in the MLC elections to be held on March 12. Meanwhile,Congress leaders, MLAs and MLCs staged a dharna before the Mahatma Gandhi statue in the Assembly premises Sunday to protest against what they alleged was the Chief Minister's latest ...

Case against IT firm in T'gana for 'data theft,' raids

A case was 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 said Telangana Police was "harassing" the companies that were hired to curate the information whose complete rights were held by the party. Based on a complaint from a data analyst, a case was registered against the firm on Saturday, under relevant sections of the IPC and the IT Act, police said. The searches, which began Saturday, continued for the second day Sunday, they added. The complainant alleged that after logging into the official Facebook page of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), he found party cadres using certain mobile phone and tab-based software applications, especially 'Seva Mitra' app, for "advancing the party's electoral prospects". The Andhra Pradesh government utilised the ...

Modi says 'Made in Amethi' has become a reality, takes jibe at Rahul Gandhi

In an apparent reference to Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that some people keep giving "Made in Ujjain, Made in Jaipur, Made in Jaisalmer" speeches but his government has given a reality stamp to "Made in Amethi".Modi was addressing a public rally after laying the foundation stone of a factory to manufacture advanced AK-203 rifles in Amethi, represented by Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha. The guns will be manufactured under an India-Russia joint venture."Some people keep giving "Made in Ujjain, Made in Jaipur, Made in Jaisalmer..." speeches but Modi walks the talk. We have made "Made in Amethi" a reality. This factory should have come into being 8-9 years back. But the full potential of the initiative was never realised," he said."Amethi will be known through the new scheme now. AK-203 Kalashnikov rifles will be manufactured in Amethi, it will Russia and India's joint venture," Modi said, adding people of Amethi are going to .

Smriti accuses Rahul of not speaking for Amethi's people in Lok Sabha

Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani on Sunday accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of not uttering even a word for the people of Amethi in the Lok Sabha.Speaking at an event here, Irani said: "It is saddening indeed that the person who has been elected by the people to the Lok Sabha from Amethi has never spoken a word either about the place or the people in the Lower House of Parliament.""For the last five years, he has only uttered foul language against the Prime worker (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) of the country," said Irani, who lost the last Lok Sabha poll to Rahul from Amethi.She also accused Rahul of not coming forward to help Amethi which every summer witness fire due to heat. "I have seen at least 500 houses being gutted during summer time every year, and only the BJP workers come forward to help them. Rahul Gandhi was nowhere," she said.Speaking on the occasion, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lauded Prime Minister Modi for February 26 Indian Air Force (IAF)

MoS Defence Subhash Bhamre meets Wg Cdr Abhinandan

Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamre on Sunday met Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman at Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi Cantonment on Sunday. Bhamre met Abhinandan a day after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa met the IAF pilot.As per the latest health report of Abhinandan, no bugs have been found implanted in the pilot during an MRI scan, a source said on Sunday. The security agencies were understood to have been checking for any bugs which could be present in Abhinandan.The scan also showed an injury in his lower spine which could have happened following his ejection from the MiG-21 fighter plane after a dogfight with Pakistani F-16 jets on Wednesday, the source said.He also has a rib injury due to an assault by the Pakistani locals soon after he landed on the ground in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after his aircraft was shot down.Varthaman will undergo more check-ups and treatment at the Research

PM Modi, Sushma got India labelled as 'terrorist state' at OIC, alleges Congress

The Congress party on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj of getting India labelled as a 'terrorist state' at the recently concluded conference of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi."What happened in Abu Dhabi is extremely disturbing for India and every citizen of this country," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, while addressing a press conference here on Sunday.Tewari said that the OIC chose to state in its resolution, which reads: "Condemn in the strongest possible terms recent wave of Indian terrorism."The Congress leader also referred to the use of expressions in OIC resolution like: "Indian terrorism in occupied Jammu and Kashmir that have resulted in the deaths of 48 people in November alone, making 2018 one of the deadliest years in the history of occupied Jammu and Kashmir in more than a decade over 450 casualties.""Is this your great diplomatic achievement that you go to OIC meeting, you lend ...

Iran slams Pak for harbouring terrorists after suicide attack on IRGC personnel

Iran has slammed Pakistan for harbouring terrorists and terror outfits after Jaish ul-Adl, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, claimed responsibility for an attack on an IRGC convoy which claimed the lives of 27 IRGC members while wounding 13 more.The terrorist attack, which took place in mid-February, has invited the ire of Iran's top military brass, with most promising "revenge" in the wake of the attack.The Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari lashed out against Pakistan, stating that the Pakistan intelligence organisation was accountable for sheltering Takfiri groups, including Jaish ul-Adl."We believe this silence is kind of support for this grouplet and the Pakistani intelligence organization should account for it," Major General Jafari said, according to Far News Agency."Pakistan should also know that it should pay the cost for the Pakistani intelligence organization's support for Jeish al-Zolm (as Jaish ul-Adl is called in Iran) ...

2 LeT terrorists killed in Handwara encounter

Two terrorists affiliated to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), including a Pakistani national, were gunned down in an encounter that took place earlier today.Officials said the identity of the other terrorist is being ascertained.Five security personnel and one civilian also lost their lives in the gunfire that ensued between security forces and terrorists in the encounter which entered its third day in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.CRPF has recovered incriminating materials including arms and ammunition from the site of encounter.Police have registered a case in this matter. The incriminating materials retrieved from the site of the encounter have been taken in the case records for further investigation and probe their complicity in other terror cases.

AAP not allying with Jannayak Janta Party in Haryana

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday ruled out the possibility of coming together with Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) in Haryana. AAP's Haryana Unit President Naveen Jaihind said, "JJP was giving 2 Lok Sabha seats out 10 to AAP. They were also asking for one parliamentary seat in Delhi."In the recent assembly elections of Jind by poll, AAP had extended its support to JJP's Digvijay Chautala.Meanwhile, AAP has already announced candidates for six out of seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.