Page 1512 - Politics

T'gana govt will implement unemployment dole scheme in 4-5

The Telangana government would implement its election promise of providing unemployment dole in another four-five months after working out the modalities, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said Monday. "I had said in election meetings also. Unemployment dole. Who is unemployed? That needs to be defined. For that definition, we have told officials. It needs to be defined. We need to settle that (data) village-wise, mandal-wise, constituency-wise, district-wise," he said in the Assembly. The data and calculation needs to be fool-proof to avoid misappropriation of funds, he said. Citing an example, he said if the dole is given to those in the age group of 18-35, the assistance needs to be stopped once an individual attains the age of 36. "Since public fund should not be misappropriated like that, it will take time. We don't want to tell lies like that. I had said in election meetings that it will take minimum four-five months. In another four-five months, after doing all ..

BJP leaders to contact govt schemes' beneficiaries on Tuesday

BJP leaders, including Union ministers, will fan across the country on Tuesday as part of an initiative to light lamps at the houses and localities of the large number of beneficiaries of various government schemes, with party president Amit Shah slated to reach a newly-electrified village in Uttar Pradesh by boat. Shah will visit Tatarpur village in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh and BJP leaders said almost all elected members of the party, including MPs, MLAs, representatives in local bodies, and office bearers, besides workers, will travel to different localities of the country as part of the "Kamal Jyoti Sankalp Abhiyan". The party has put the number of beneficiaries of different government schemes, including the Mudra yojna, the Ujjwala project, opening of Jan Dhan accounts and the Swachh Bharat project, at over 22 crore and has claimed that its members will try to reach out to them. The initiative is a part of the saffron party's drive to mobilise people ahead of the Lok ...

Fear of war haunts Kashmiris even as weekend panic subsides

Although life started limping back to normal in the Valley on Monday after an intense weekend panic, most Kashmiris are keeping their fingers crossed over what might happen next between India and Pakistan.

Hooch tragedy rocks Assam assembly

Noisy scenes prevailed in the Assam Legislative Assembly Monday with the Opposition demanding suspension of Question Hour to discuss the hooch tragedy that has claimed 157 lives so far. After disallowing the adjournment notice initially,Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami later extended Question Hour and the House discussed the incident at length during which the members took a resolve to unitedly fight against illicit liquor trade and sought exemplary punishment to those responsible for the tragedy that also saw another 331 taken ill in Golaghat and Jorhat districts. At the beginning of the question hour, the main opposition Congress pressed for taking over its adjournment motion first suspending the scheduled proceedings of the house. The speaker, however, disallowed the motion which led the Congress to stage a walk out after displaying placards and heated words exchanged between them and the Treasury bench MLAs and some ministers. They rushed into the Well of the house ...

SC may hear pleas on Article 35A this week

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Article 35A, which provides special rights and privileges to natives of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, this week. The crucial hearing, which could be listed from February 26 to February 28, assumes significance in view of the toughening stand of the state-based political parties on the sensitive issue. The Supreme Court website, in its weekly list, has listed as many as six petitions including the lead plea of NGO 'We The Citizens' for hearing during the week. The state administration recently requested the top court to adjourn the hearing on the pleas on various grounds, including that there was no "elected government" in the state. "The present matter involves a sensitive issue regarding a challenge to Article 35A of the Constitution of India. A short reply has been filed by the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the lead matter 'We the Citizens' and notices have not been issued on the ...

Efforts on to forge anti-BJP 'grand alliance' in Maha: Pawar

NCP president Sharad Pawar Monday said attempts are still on to forge a "grand alliance" against the BJP in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Talking to reporters here, Pawar said his party and the Congress are against the ideology of the RSS and they will continue their fight against the ideological fountainhead of the ruling BJP. "We will continue to fight the RSS ideology. Our stand regarding RSS is very clear. We don't agree with the ideology. "What more commitment can one ask for," the former Union minister said when asked about Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar's pre-condition on joining the proposed Congress-led grand alliance in the state. Ambedkar, who heads the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh, had early this month said the Congress will have to come up with an "agenda" to "rein in the RSS" before seat-sharing talks could take place between the two parties. Asked about the contours of an anti-BJP front, Pawar said attempts are still on to forge a "grand ...

Jharkhand to file review petition against SC order to remove tribals from forest land

Considering the demand of the political parties including the Opposition, the Jharkhand government has decided to file a review petition in the Supreme Court against the eviction of tribal people from forest land.

MP HC issues notices on pleas against Cong minister's poll win

The Madhya Pradesh High Court Monday issued notices to the state election office, district returning officer and others in connection with two petitions challenging the election of Health Minister Tulsiram Silawat. Congress leader Silawat had won the 2018 Assembly polls from Sanver constituency in Indore by defeating sitting BJP MLA Rajesh Sonkar by 2,945 votes. Sonkar and an Independent candidate, Rahul Silawat, filed petitions in the MP HC under the Representation of the People Act seeking that the minister's victory be declared null and void. The petitioners' counsel, Pushyamitra Bhargava, told reporters that Tulsiram Silawat filled the nomination form erroneously and concealed information about his social media account. Bhargava also claimed that the minister did not affix his photo on the affidavit filed along with the nomination papers. In addition, the counsel said, at one place, Silwata's stated his educational qualification as "MA, LLB Part-1", and in another place as "MA, ...

Mamata trying to 'convert' Bengal into Bangladesh: VHP leader Surendra Jain

Senior Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Surendra Jain Monday alleged that the TMC is the "biggest communal force" in the country and its chief Mamata Banerjee is trying to "convert West Bengal into Bangladesh". His comments came in the backdrop of West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee accusing the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the BJP of trying to "communalise" the atmosphere in the state. "The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is the biggest communal force in the country. The TMC is engaged in persecuting Hindus of the state just for the sake of appeasing the minority community. It is trying to convert Bengal into Bangladesh," Jain, who is the VHP's international joint general secretary, told PTI. During a Trinamool Congress extended core committee meeting here on Monday, Banerjee alleged that in the last over four-and-a-half years, the BJP, along with forces like the VHP and the RSS, has tried to divide the country on religious lines by injecting the "poison of hatred and communalism among the ..

Ensure no foreign influence in LS polls: Par panel tells Twitter; messaging platform agrees to appoint nodal officer

A parliamentary panel Monday asked Twitter to ensure that the upcoming Lok Sabha polls are not influenced by foreign entities and to address issues like political bias on a real-time basis after which the messaging platform agreed to appoint a nodal officer to work closely with the Election Commission. The move by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology(IT) comes against the backdrop of complaints of interference by social media platforms in the 2016 US elections. While Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey like before skipped appearance before the Committee, its Vice President and Head of Global Policy Colin Crowell was allowed to represent the micro-blogging site at the meeting. This followed a personal letter written by Dorsey to the panel head and BJP leader Anurag Thakur who read out its contents. Sources said the panel asked Twitter to ensure that Indian elections are not undermined and influenced by foreign entities. Thakur, they said, stressed that Twitter must work .

Weekly cross-LoC bus service resumes in J-K's Poonch

After remaining suspended for a week following the Pulwama terror attack, the weekly cross-LoC bus service resumed on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, with only 17 passengers availing the facility, officials said. No fresh Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) resident came here, apparently in view of the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan following Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed on February 14, they said. The officials said, while 13 passengers, including 11 PoK residents crossed over to the other side from the Chakan-da-bagh crossing point in Poonch district, only four Indian residents walked into this side after the gates were opened. The bus, connecting Poonch on the Indian side with Rawalakot in PoK, plies on Monday every week but did not cross the Line of Control (LoC). The passengers on either side reached the LoC by bus and then exchanged sides by foot to meet their relatives. The bus service was suspended ..

Sack CM, Rijiju, impose President's Rule in Arunachal: Congress

Blaming the ruling BJP of trying to turn Arunchal Pradesh into "another Kashmir", the Congress on Monday sought the dismissal of Pema Khandu-led state government for violence over the controversial permanent residence certificate (PRC) issue and demanded a judicial probe into the police firing on protestors killing three.

Left out by BJP-Sena alliance, other NDA partners demand due share

Left out in the Lok Sabha race with the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliance dividing Maharashtra's 48 parliamentary constituencies among themselves, the National Democratic Alliance's smaller constituents in the state on Monday also demanded they also be given seats to contest.

Cong demands sacking of Arunachal govt for 'failure' to curb violence

Opposition Congress in Arunachal Pradesh Monday demanded the sacking of the BJP government in the state for its alleged failure in curbing the recent violence and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incidents. In a memorandum submitted to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the Congress claimed there has been "gross mismanagement" by the Pema Khandu-led government in handling "peaceful protests" against the move to grant Permanent Resident Certificates to six communities, leading to loss of human lives and damages to properties of such magnitude which the state has never witnessed in its history. The Congress demanded setting up of a Commission of Enquiry, preferably by a sitting high court judge or a retired chief justice of high court, on firing and killing of innocent and unarmed protestors. It also sought immediate sacking of Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, who hails from the state. The memorandum was ...

Union Minister slams Saifuddin Soz over Article 370 warning

Union Minister Giriraj Singh Monday alleged Congress leader Saifuddin Soz does not aspire for an undivided India given his warning over any repealing of Article 370 that accords special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Soz, a former Union Minister who hails from the militancy-affected state, had Sunday warned that Kashmir's ties with India will get severed if Article 370 of the Constitution is scrapped. Singh, a BJP leader, said anyone who believes in a united India will not say such a thing. "Jiske dil mein bharat ke prati, akhanda bharat ke prati, Soz ke dil mein nahi hai, wahi aisa shabd keh sakta hai jiske zuban mein akhanda bharat ki kalpana hai woh aise shabda ka prayog nahi kar sakta (Soz does not aspire for an undivided India that's why he can say so)," he said. Singh was talking to reporters on the sidelines of a government event to promote entrepreneurship among women here. Singh, who holds the portfolio for micro, small and medium enterprises, asked the Congress ..

Several SP, BSP leaders join BJP in UP

Several leaders of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) Monday joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here. BSP leaders including former ministers Mukul Upadhyay (Hathras), Ramhet Bharti (Sitapur) and zonal coordinator Dhruv Parashan (Agra) along with former SP MLA Bina Bharadwaj joined the saffron party in the presence of Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey, the party said in a statement. Welcoming the new members, Pandey said, "The welfare measures initiated by the Narendra Modi government and the Yogi Adityanath government in the state, have increased the faith of the people in the BJP." Pandey also claimed that the opposition parties were fearing defeat and therefore, forging alliances. "Eyeing a possible defeat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the opposition parties are forging alliances," the state BJP chief said.

NDA hires 17 trains for 'Sanjalp Rally' at Patna

Thanks to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s proposed "Sankalp Rally" at Patna on March 3, the Indian Railways has bagged a big business opportunity, as the Alliance has hired 17 trains to ferry its supporters to the state capital, a senior JD-U leader said on Monday.

Athawale seeks two Lok Sabha seats for RPI(A) from NDA quota

Union minister Ramdas Athawale Monday reiterated his demand that the Shiv Sena and the BJP leave one seat each from the alliance quota for his party, the RPI (A), for upcoming Lok Sabha contest. The Dalit leader, whose party is a constituent of the BJP-led NDA at Centre and in Maharashtra, lamented the Sena and the BJP didn't take his party into confidence when they recently sealed a seat-sharing pact for Lok Sabha elections. "RPI (A) will like to contest two seats in Lok Sabha polls. We demand the BJP and the Sena leave one seat each from their quota for us," he told reporters after attending a meeting of his party leaders here. He said a negative message has gone to RPI (A) cadres in the wake of the Sena-BJP combine not taking his party along while announcing the seat-sharing deal. As per the agreement, the BJP will contest 25 of total 48 LS seats in Maharashtra and the Shiv Sena 23. The ruling allies also announced to share number of assembly seats equally for ...

Punjab to check loudspeakers during exam time

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday assured the state Assembly that all possible measures to check noise pollution, especially from loudspeakers at religious places and marriage venues, would be taken during the examination time of students.

Palaniswami says he expects DMDK to join AIADMK front

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Monday said talks were on with several parties, including DMDK, to strike alliances for the coming Lok Sabha elections and the AIADMK expected such outfits to join them. A day after DMDK hinted that parallel talks were on with DMK as well, Palaniswami told reporters here, "we wish several parties join us." Asked about his cabinet colleague and party leader D Jayakumar's reported remark that AIADMK would be happy if DMDK joined hands with them and no worry either if they did not, the Chief Minister said "it is his opinion, I don't know." Palaniswami said the AIADMK's wish was to forge a mega alliance of several parties and talks were on with outfits, including the DMDK. To ensure continuance of ongoing growth projects and for new projects to take off in Tamil Nadu, the top ruling party leader said the AIADMK-led alliance should send a robust number of MPs to the Lok Sabha. On Sunday, DMDK senior leader Premalatha,referring to DMK ...