Page 1514 - Politics
Britain to ban Hezbollah under anti-terror laws
Britain on Monday said it will ban the political wing of Hezbollah, making membership of the movement or inviting support for it a crime. The decision follows outrage over the display of the Hezbollah flag, which features a Kalashnikov assault rifle, at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London. "Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East," Home Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement. "We are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety," he said. The ban is subject to a vote in parliament this week. Hezbollah is a Shiite militant movement established in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war. Its capture of two Israeli soldiers in 2006 sparked a 34-day war in which 1,200 people were killed. The movement, now a major political party in Lebanon, holds three cabinet posts. "It is clear the distinction ...
Padma Rao elected Deputy Speaker of T'gana Assembly
Former minister and TRS MLA T Padma Rao was unanimously elected deputy speaker of Telangana Assembly on Monday. Speaker Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy announced the unanimous election of Padma Rao as deputy speaker as no other nomination was received (on Saturday last when the nominations were accepted) for the post. With the ruling TRS having reached out to opposition parties to make the election of deputy speaker a unanimous affair, they had agreed to support his candidature. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Leader of Oppositison M Bhatti Vikramarka and members of other parties conducted Padma Rao, MLA from Secunderabad, to the Chair after the Speaker made the announcement. Congratulating Padma Rao, the Chief Minister recalled that he had been a dedicated activist for the separate Telangana agitation and described him as a simple and down-to-earth leader. He had fought against the closure of toddy shops (a source of livelihood for about one lakh workers) in Hyderabad and
Cong, JD(S) begin talks on alliance for LS polls
Karnataka's ruling coalition partners, the Congress and the JD(S), Monday began the first round of discussions on seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The two allies, who had formed the government after striking a post-poll alliance after the May assembly elections threw up a hung verdict, have decided to fight the parliamentary polls together under a coalition arrangement. Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao and deputy chief minister G Parameshwara and public works minister H D Revanna and Janata Dal (Secular) state president Adagur H Vishwanath met and discussed the alliance issue. The two parties did not reveal the outcome of the meeting. However, Rao termed it fruitful while the Congress insisted that "winnability" would be the criteria while finalising the seat sharing formula. Later speaking to reporters, Rao said, "We had a very good discussion. It was in accordance with former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's wish, who had asked us to start the first phase ..
Trinamool youth leader shot dead in Bengal, party blames BJP
A Trinamool Congress youth leader was shot dead in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Monday, police said.
No political influence in deleting electors names: Election Officer
The exercise of deleting names of electors from their electoral roll pertaining to assembly constituencies of Delhi was done by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) without any influence by any political party or private agency, an Election Officer told a Delhi Court on Monday.
EU says military intervention in Venezuela must be avoided
The European Union on Monday urged countries to avoid any military intervention in Venezuela. "We must avoid a military intervention," Maja Kocijancic, the spokeswoman for diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini, told reporters. "What is explicitly quite clear, from our point of view, is that we need a peaceful political and democratic and Venezuelan-owned resolution of this crisis," she added. "This obvisouly excludes the use of force." Venezuela's opposition leader and self-declared president Juan Guaido is in Bogota for talks with allies in the regional Lima Group of countries on measures to compel President Nicolas Maduro to leave office. The EU reached its position at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels last Monday. On Sunday, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borell told the Efe news agency: "We have warned quite clearly that we wil not support and we will firmly condemn any foreign military intervention.
Armed forces suffered due to criminal negligence by previous dispensation: PM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the armed forces and national security suffered due to criminal negligence before his government came to power in 2014, in an attack directed at the Congress. In an address to a group of ex-servicemen ahead of the inauguration of the National War Memorial, Modi said the previous dispensation put "the family first" while for him it was India first. He said this while referring to the long delay in construction of the memorial mooted decades ago. The delay by previous governments in construction of national war memorial was an injustice to families of fallen soldiers, he said. The Prime Minister said crucial decisions related to defence procurement and strengthening the armed forces were pending but his government cleared them on priority basis. Addressing the ex-servicemen, he said the government will set up three super-specialty hospitals for them. On the Rafale deal, Modi said attempts are being made to stop arrival of the fighter aircraft
PM Modi acted tough against loot lobby: Naqvi
Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Monday said in Madhya Pradesh that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has blocked the "loot lobby" and controlled terrorism successfully. Addressing a convention of BJP workers here, the Minority Affairs Minister said the BJP will retain power after polls, as PM Modi has ensured "development without discrimination". "PM Modi's strong will power has ensured blockade of middlemen and the corrupt. Modi has taken a strict action against the 'loot lobby'. Each and every penny of public money is now spent on welfare of the poor," Naqvi stated in a release. The minister stated the prime minister's policy of "development without Discrimination" has ensured that every section of the society has become an equal partner in the development process. "The development works being carried out by the Modi government had not been taken place during 60 years of rule of the Congress governments," he said. Talking about the security scenario, the minister said .
Father of IS teen says Britain must take her back
The father of London teenager Shamima Begum, who married an Islamic State group militant in Syria, insisted in an interview with AFP on Monday that Britain must take her back before deciding any punishment. Begum, who gave birth this month in a refugee camp, has said she wants to come home -- but the British government has decided to revoke her citizenship, calling her a security threat. The 19-year-old's father Ahmed Ali said that while his daughter had made mistakes, Britain was duty-bound to let her return. "The British government should take her back because she is a British citizen," said Ali, who has been following Begum's plight from a remote village in northeastern Bangladesh. "If she has committed any crime, they should bring her back to London, to her country, and punish her there." Begum left the UK for Syria with two schoolfriends in 2015, when she was just 15, and her case has caused political divisions in Britain. It highlights a dilemma facing many European countries, ..
Iraq received 14 French IS fighters from Syria Kurds: government source
Fourteen French nationals accused of fighting for the Islamic State group were transferred to Iraq by US-backed forces squeezing the jihadists' final Syrian bastion, an Iraqi government source said Monday. The Syrian Democratic Forces have taken hundreds of foreign IS fighters into custody as they bear down on the jihadists' shrinking pocket of territory in eastern Syria. Since Thursday, they have transferred 280 Iraqi nationals accused of fighting alongside IS to Iraqi authorities. An Iraqi government source told AFP on Monday that Iraq had also received 14 French nationals from the SDF. The source could not specify when the transfer took place or whether the suspects would be tried in Iraq or extradited to France, and the French embassy in Baghdad was not immediately available for comment. Hisham al-Hashemi, an Iraqi expert with intimate knowledge of the issue, said the transfer had taken place in coordination with the US-led coalition fighting IS. "Those transferred do not include .
HC asks Centre to give records on allegation of YSR Cong leaders' phone tapping
The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Centre to submit the records, if any, related to alleged tapping of phones of some YSR Congress party leaders and their associates who have filed a plea claiming that they have been placed under "illegal technical surveillance". Justice Najmi Waziri, who was hearing a plea by the party's former MP Y V Subba Reddy and five others including party chief Jaganmohan Reddy's personal and political assistants, granted time to the Centre to submit the relevant records and listed the matter for further hearing on March 19. The court made it clear that it was not issuing notice on the petition at this stage. It said if somebody is under surveillance, the reasons for it have to be covered under the provision of the Telegraph Act. During the hearing, central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul submitted that he would like to assist the court with reference to the relevant records. He also said the petitioners had given a representation to the central .
Arunachal CM blames 'forces' behind violence
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said Monday certain "forces" were behind the violent protests in the state over the granting of permanent residency to six non-native communities. In a statement, Khandu appealed to the people to end the protests and cooperate with the government in maintaining peace, saying the administration had already cleared its stand on the permanent residence certificate (PRC). "I believe that there are forces behind these incidents as Arunachal is a peaceful state, particularly Itanagar," Khandu said. Stating that the issue "is closed", the chief minister hinted at a communication gap for which the latest government stand on the PRC had not reached the people and led to violence. Khandu said a commissioner-level inquiry had been ordered into the incidents and damage caused by the protests. He announced an ex-gratia for the next of the kin of the deceased. The chief minister also talked over phone to leaders of various communities who were protesting
Bihar Assembly speaker questions relevance of NOTA in direct
Bihar Legislative Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary has questioned relevance of NOTA (None Of The Above) ballot option and urged the Election Commission (EC) to do away it in direct elections because it encourages voters to go for rejection instead of election of candidates. In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora written on Sunday, Choudhary welcomed the Supreme Courts judgement doing away with the NOTA in indirect elections such as Rajya Sabha and the state legislative council polls. Choudhary wrote to EC after the poll panel informed the assembly secretariat about the apex court's judgement doing away with the NOTA in indirect elections. While welcoming the scs judgement, the speaker favoured elimination of NOTA choice to voters in direct elections saying that how can NOTA be justified in direct elections if it is not held to be relevant in indirect elections. It has been around six years of NOTA system which is implemented after the apex courts ...
Rijiju rules out Prez rule in Arunachal, says state govt couldn't convince people on PRC issue
Union minister Kiren Rijiju Monday ruled out the imposition of President's rule in Arunachal Pradesh, which witnessed widespread violence in the past four days, and said the state government could not communicate properly to the people on the contentious PRC issue, leading to the unrest. Rijiju also said the Pema Khandu-led BJP government in the state should take all possible steps, including initiating dialogue with the civil society, to bring normalcy as early as possible, as there was confusion on the issue of granting Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) to six communities. "There is no question of imposition of President's rule. The state government should immediately work for restoring peace and bringing back normalcy. The protests took place as the state government could not communicate properly to the people on the issue of PRC," he told reporters here. Rijiju also denied that there was any move to replace Chief Minister Pema Khandu by the ruling BJP. The Congress has ...
Nepal: Protests outside Pak embassy to condemn Pulwama attack
The civil society in Nepal on Monday staged a silent protest in front of the Pakistan embassy here condemning the deadly terror attack in Pulwama in south Kashmir that took place on February 14.The members of the civil society held banners and pamphlets condemning the attack."We held the silent protest because silence speaks louder than the words. It's an inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and silence is the one which wins overall," one of the participants wanting to remain unidentified told ANI.Around 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives after a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the convoy of the security forces. The Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a terror outfit based in Pakistan, claimed the responsibility of orchestrating the attack.The ghastly attack was widely condemned by the international community.
Situation in J-K will be worse than Arunachal if Centre interferes with Article 35 A: Omar Abdullah
Former chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Monday said Jammu and Kashmir might find itself in a situation that is worse than what Arunachal Pradesh is presently facing, if the Centre interferes with Article 35 A of the Constitution, which gives special rights and privileges to people in Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah said, "You keep threatening us with article 35 A. Look at what is happening in Arunachal Pradesh now where there is no militancy. They have interfered with their Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) as we have. See what is now happening there. If you interfere with 35 A in Jammu and Kashmir, the situation here might be worse than Arunachal Pradesh. ""I am telling you this is a reality. The Centre and the Governor have only one responsibility right now that is to hold elections. So, hold elections, let people take the decision, the new government will itself work towards safeguarding Article 35A," he said.A bunch of petitions challenging the .
I have no idea about Dalit remark by K'taka deputy CM: Siddaramaiah
Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday asserted that he did not know in what capacity did Deputy Chief Minister G Paramaeshwara made the statement that he was "denied the chief Minister's post because he was a Dalit""It is the Congress party which is taking care of Dalits and other neglected sections of society. I do not know in what context he (G Paramaeshwara)made a statement like that. It is better you ask him," he said while to ANI.Parameshwara on Monday said he was denied the chief minister's post thrice as he belonged to the Dalit community. "PK Basavalingappa and KH Ranganath missed the chief ministerial post. Mallikarjun Kharge also couldn't become the CM. I missed it thrice. Somehow, I was made the deputy CM," Parameshwara said at an event in Davangere on Sunday," he said."Dalits are being discriminated at the government level too. Even though the reservation is facilitated, there has been injustice in promotions," he added.
PMK changed strategy as people didn't vote for it: Anbumani Ramadoss
PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday said his party, which has tied-up with Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and state assembly bypolls, had to change its electoral strategy as the people did not support it in the previous four elections.
Modi, Centre had prior information about Pulwama attack: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing politics over the blood of the slain CRPF troopers ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, and claimed that the Centre had "prior information" of the February 14 Pulwama terror strike.
Punjab minister's alleged involvement in CLU scam; AAP stages walkout
Demanding the resignation of Punjab minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu for his alleged involvement in the change of land use (CLU) scam in Ludhiana, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday staged a walkout from the Assembly.