Page 152 - Politics
Om Birla all set to be elected LS Speaker unanimously, gets Congress support
Om Birla, the NDA candidate for the post of Speaker in the 17th Lok Sabha, will be elected unanimously on Wednesday with main opposition Congress also coming out in support of his candidature.With numbers clearly on his side, the election of Birla, a two time BJP member from Kota in Rajasthan, is expected to be a smooth affair but it will be a break with the past 10 years when women held the post from 2009.The BJP nominated 56-year-old Birla, who was also a Member of Assembly in Rajasthan for three terms and was the parliamentary secretary in the government of Vasundhara Raje between 2003-08 has the support of 10 parties including BJD and YSRCP which are not part of the NDA.The BJP on its own has 303 MPs and the NDA has 352. BJD has 12 while YSRCP has 22 members in Parliament. In all, the ruling combine has the support of 386 members in the 543-member Lok Sabha. With Congress, which has 52 MPs, also moving a motion in Birla's favour, the numbers would swell to more than 400. The ...
Former Andhra MP Kothapalli Geetha joins BJP
Kothapalli Geetha, the former YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) MP from Araku in Andhra Pradesh, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday.
Supporters of BJP MP Birla celebrate his nomination as Lok Sabha Speaker
Supporters of the BJP MP from Kota Om Birla gathered outside his house on Tuesday to celebrate his nomination as the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Trump says having 'extended meeting' with Xi at G20 summit
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had a positive phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and that they will hold an "extended meeting" next week at the G20 summit. Trump's tweet set a more upbeat tone for his talks with Xi at the summit in Japan after growing questions over whether the world's two leading economies will be able to resolve their differences and end a huge trade war. "Had a very good telephone conversation with President Xi of China. We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20 in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting," Trump said.
Congress backs NDA candidate for LS Speaker post
The Congress has come out in support of the NDA candidate Om Birla for the Speaker's post in Lok Sabha, election for which will be held on Wednesday.This was disclosed by Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, new leader of Congress party in the House.Choudhary told ANI, "Our party has already moved motion in favour of Om Birla as Speaker of Lok Sabha.
Saudi urges world powers to secure waterways after twin attacks
Saudi Arabia's cabinet urged world powers Tuesday for firm measures to secure shipping lanes across the region, state media reported, after last week's twin attacks on tankers that escalated regional tensions. The cabinet called for "decisive action to ensure the safety of navigation in the waterways of the region... in the face of threats to energy markets and the dangers to the global economy," the official Saudi Press Agency said. The request comes after the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous, loaded with highly flammable methanol, came under attack last Thursday as it passed through the Gulf of Oman along with the Norwegian-operated Front Altair. It was the second assault in a month in the strategic shipping lane. US President Donald Trump has said the operation had Iran "written all over it", rejecting Tehran's vehement denials. The view was echoed by Saudi Arabia, a close US ally and a bitter regional rival of Iran. In his first public comments since the attacks, Saudi Crown ...
Yogi welcomes life term for 4 Ayodhya terror attack accused
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday welcomed the life imprisonment awarded to four accused in the 2005 Ayodhya terror attack case.
Cong protests 'water and power' shortage in Delhi
The Congress' Delhi unit Tuesday staged protests in all 70 assembly constituencies of the national capital over alleged water and power scarcity in the city, with its president Sheila Dikshit terming it as "a matter of life and death". The former Delhi chief minister also accused the AAP government of not being able to come up with a contingency plan. In Sangam Vihar, one of the protest venues, Dikshit claimed city residents had been reeling under "frequent power cuts and water shortage during peak summers but the government is in a deep slumber". "It's a matter of life and death. The water and power shortage has affected the women, the elderly and the poor the most," she said. A Congress delegation led by Dikshit had recently met Chief Minister Kejriwal at his Flagstaff Road residence where they discussed issues related to water and power supply, and demanded withdrawal of fixed charge hike in electricity bills. The party's Delhi unit working president Haroon Yusuf, who staged a ...
Cong, UPA allies to support Om Birla's candidature as Lok Sabha Speaker
The Congress and the UPA allies have decided to support the candidature of Om Birla as the Speaker of Lok Sabha, party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said Tuesday but remained silent on the issue of Deputy Speaker. Birla, a BJP MP from Kota-Bundi seat in Rajasthan, is all set to be elected unopposed on Wednesday when the motion seeking his election is moved in Lok Sabha.
Sumitra Mahajan meets PM Modi
The outgoing Lok Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Tuesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi."Smt Sumitra Mahajan Ji met PM Narendra Modi earlier today," PMO India tweeted on Tuesday.NDA's candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post -- Om Prakash Birla -- also met Mahajan at her residence earlier today.Birla defeated Congress' Ramnarain Meena by over 2.5 lakh votes from Kota (reserved) parliamentary seat in the recently concluded General Elections.His candidature has so far got the support of ten political parties including Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
TMC MLA, 12 TMC councillors, Congress spokesperson join BJP
Trinamool Congress (TMC) Bongaon MLA Biswajit Das along with 12 TMC councillors and Congress spokesperson Prasanjeet Ghosh joined the BJP in presence of BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy on Tuesday."Many TMC leaders are joining our party because Mamata Banerjee has spread violence all across West Bengal and her party members are no longer in support of her, thus many other TMC leaders will also be joining BJP in the upcoming days," Vijayvargiya said.Trinamool Congress MLA Sunil Singh along with 12 TMC councillors on Monday joined BJP in presence of Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy on Monday.Along with MLA Sunil Singh from Nowpara, 12 TMC Councilors, four stage artists and as many doctors also joined the BJP.
Pakistani Press Freedom
Islamabad [Pakistan], Jun 18 (ANI): Muhammad Bilal Khan was 22 when he was killed by 'unidentified' people in Islamabad.Killed, like many others before him, because he was a blogger and a freelance journalist well known for criticising the country's powerful military and the spy agency (ISI).Few days before another journalist from the Pakistani daily The Dawn escaped an attempt by ISI to take him-- his fault was having a coffee with a foreign diplomat.In the past fifteen days, a television show hosted by one of the most respected Pakistani journalist, Najam Sethi, has been closed overnight without any explanations.Followingly, a note has been issued by the government forbidding any media from cracking jokes or doing satire on a certain list of 'sensitive' topics. Media, electronic and printed, have also been told not to cover the protests of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, the protests of Balochs and in general everything that goes against the narrative promulgated by the Pakistani Army
Andhra Assembly passes resolution on SCS
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution urging the Centre to accord Special Category Status (SCS) to the state without any further delay.
Om Birla--From Kota MP to LS Speaker
The BJP-led NDA's nominee for the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla --a two-time BJP MP from Rajasthan-- is a relative newcomer for the post traditionally held by seniors. A surprise pick, Birla's name, sources said, was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself for the post.The Rajasthan leader is considered to be close to both Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. Starting his political journey as a student leader, the 57 year old leader has also been elected to Rajasthan assembly for three consecutive terms in 2003, 2008 and 2013. Birla, who won his first Lok Sabha election in 2014 and was again elected this year from Rajasthan's Kota-Bundi seat. He defeated Congress's Ramnarayan Meena with a margin of over 2.5 lakh votes in the Kota-Bundi Lok Sabha seat in the recently concluded general elections. A conscientious parliamentarian, Birla has registered a 86 per cent average attendance in the House, has asked 671 questions, participated in 163 debates and introduced six private member's
Mamata to skip party chiefs' meet on simultaneous polls; asks Centre to first prepare white paper
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday declined an invitation to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with the chiefs of political parties on simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls among other subjects and asked the Centre to instead prepare a white paper on 'one nation, one election' for consultations. Banerje had skipped a NITI Aayog meeting last Saturday and also did not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a second term on May 30. She had called the NITI Aayog meeting "fruitless". The TMC supremo's decision to stay away from Wednesday's meeting in Delhi comes against the backdrop of heightened tussle between the ruling party and the BJP in West Bengal after the saffron party made inroads into the eastern state. Modi has invited the heads of all the political parties that have at least one member either in the Lok Sabha or in the Rajya Sabha for a meeting on June 19 to discuss several issues, including the "one nation, one ...
Delhi Congress, Sheila Dikshit protest against Kejriwal govt
Delhi Congress organised demonstrations in all the 70 assembly constituency of the national capital to protest against alleged power cuts and water shortage problem in the city.The protestors, led by former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, broke earthen protests to register their protest against the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government."We are holding protest in order to remind the current government to improve Delhi's water and electricity issues and solve the problems of the citizens. Nobody should suffer because of the scarcity of these basic necessities," Dikshit told reporters.The members of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee are now expected to meet Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi.Congress leader Rajesh Lilothi said that the main agenda of this meeting would be the electricity and water problem that the people of Delhi have been facing.
KCR to skip party chiefs' meet convened by PM, deputes son
TRS President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would not attend Wednesday's meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the "one nation, one election" issue, among others. K T Rama Rao, Working President of the party and son of the Chief Minister, would represent the TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samiti) in the meeting, a senior leader said Tuesday. "Working President K T Rama Rao will attend", TRS Parliamentary Pary leader K Keshava Rao told PTI. KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known as, had skipped the Prime Minister's swearing-in ceremony on May 30 and also the NITI Aayog meeting last week. Sources in TRS said KCR is busy with preparations for the June 21 inauguration of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation project that would utilise water from the Godavari river, which flows through Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. He has personally invited Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Jagan Mohan Reddy, ...
MP: Shivraj Chouhan slams govt for stopping tribals from holding protest against atrocities
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday slammed the state government for stopping the tribal people from holding a silent march against the atrocities meted out to them.Speaking to media persons, Chouhan said: "Tribal people wanted to hold a silent protest in the state, for which they had taken permission from the state authorities. Despite that, they were stopped a few kilometers back and told to walk barefoot to the venue where the protest was going on. We will not spare the state government if they continue to act this way with the tribal people."He also accused the forest officials of taking away their land and charging them with fake cases.Tractors carrying scores of children, woman, and men were stopped earlier today. Chouhan came to the rescue and boarded the tractor to show his resentment. The tractors were later allowed to enter the state.
Kona Raghupati elected Dy Speaker of AP Legislative Assembly
: Kona Raghupati was on Tuesday unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative assembly. As Raghupati's nomination was the only one filed for the post, Speaker Tammineni Sitaram formally announced the former's election in the House in the afternoon. Leader of the House Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, ministers Buggana Rajendranath, P Ramachandra Reddy and other YSRC legislators then escorted Raghupati to the Speaker's chair. Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu also came to Raghupati and hugged him before joining the others in leading the new Deputy Speaker to the Chair. The TDP leader had faced flak for not following "tradition" in escorting Sitaram to the Chair when he was elected Speaker on June 13. Raghupati was elected to the Assembly for the second successive time from Bapatla constituency in Guntur district. Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy offered the Deputy Speaker's post to a Brahmin as the community could not be accommodated in the state .
HK chief's apology rejected, protest to continue
A civil rights organisation, coordinating demonstrations against a contentious extradition bill, on Tuesday rejected a public apology by Hong Kong's leader and announced that the protests would continue.