Page 1548 - Politics
Rahul Gandhi to take final call on choice of candidates for 7 LS seats in Delhi: Sheila Dikshit
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will take a final call on party candidates for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, for which 70 leaders have filed their applications, Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit said on Thursday. The Election Committee of the Delhi Congress on Thursday unanimously resolved to entrust the final choice of the party's Lok Sabha poll candidates for the national capital to Gandhi, she told reporters. "The resolution said Congress workers in Delhi will wholeheartedly support the candidates finalised by the Congress president and work tirelessly to make sure that the party is victorious on all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi," a statement from the Delhi Congress said. The 70 applications will be vetted by a screening committee and the numbers will be further brought down, a senior Delhi Congress leader said. "A list of around 25 names for the seven Lok Sabha seats will be sent to Rahul Gandhi for final decision. On average, three names from each seat will be ...
Haryana JD-U leader joins Congress
Janata Dal-United's (JD-U) Haryana unit chief Rao Kamalbir Singh on Thursday quit his party to join the Congress in the presence of senior Congress leaders here.
We should all work concertedly towards early conclusion of talks: Prabhu to RCEP members
India Thursday called upon all the members of RCEP, a proposed mega trade deal, to work concertedly towards early conclusion of the agreement to boost economic ties. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade agreement being negotiated by 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six free trade pact partners - India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said a successful conclusion of RCEP will help deal with the challenges of global trade in terms of increasing trade tensions and protectionism. "India is constructively engaged in RCEP negotiations and the country believes that ASEAN will remain central to the economic integration of the Indo-Pacific region through RCEP," he said. "As negotiations are intensifying, members are now engaged in bilateral pairing to achieve mutually satisfactory and balanced ...
Odisha farmers' strike hits life
Odisha Thursday witnessed a dawn-to-dusk strike called by a leading farmers' body and backed by the Congress as well the BJP to protest the state government's alleged lack of concern towards their demands. Though the strike organised by Navnirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) remained peaceful, the police picked up around 300 protesters from different parts of the state, including over 75 from the capital. Normal life was affected as educational institutions, shops and business establishments were closed and vehicles remained off the roads during the 12-hour statewide strike. The strike by farmers in Odisha ahead of the elections of the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly is considered politically significant, particularly keeping in view recent poll results in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan where the ruling BJP paid a heavy price mostly due to anger of the farming community. "The strike was total and peaceful. The people have joined the strike spontaneously on their own and ...
Will ensure full statehood for Delhi in 2 years: Kejriwal
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said he will ensure that Delhi gets full statehood in two years and within the next 10 years everyone in the city will have a house.
Germany's Merkel offers Juncker solidarity in Hungary spat
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the head of the European Union's executive branch has her full support in the face of a new Hungarian government campaign alleging that EU headquarters has purposely weakened the bloc's external borders to let in more migrants. The campaign by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, launched ahead of European Parliament elections in May, has added to long-running tensions between Budapest and Brussels. Government posters featuring EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Hungarian-American financier George Soros have recently started appearing in Hungary and in the country's newspapers and magazines. They claim that EU leaders, who Orban says are carrying out instructions from Soros, "are launching experimental immigration projects with African countries; want to introduce mandatory settlement quotas; want to reduce financial assistance for countries opposed to migration." EU leaders have rejected the claims, ...
BJP-Sena didn't spare even a single seat for RPI: Athawale
Union minister and Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athawale Thursday expressed his displeasure over the BJP and Shiv Sena not sparing any seat for his party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Athawale's party is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, he said, "I took efforts for the BJP-Sena patch-up and worked for the alliance. But they left us in the lurch by not giving any seat to the RPI." "I had demanded Mumbai South-Central (Lok Sabha) seat, but they refused to give any seat," the Dalit leader added. Mumbai South-Central constituency is currently represented by Shiv Sena's Rahul Shewale. Leaving behind the rancour, the BJP and the Shiv Sena Monday announced a seat-sharing pact for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Maharashtra. As per the seat-sharing deal, the BJP will contest 25 seats and Shiv Sena 23 of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Athwale .
Delhi Assembly's Budget Session on Friday likely to begin on stormy note
The Delhi Assembly's Budget Session Friday is likely to begin on a stormy note with both the ruling and opposition members planning to corner each other on a range of issues, including full statehood. During the session, the Delhi government has also planned to present the "Outcome Report" of the office of Lt Governor Anil Baijal, a move that the AAP dispensation called a 'white paper' to hold the institution accountable to the people. The session will start with Lt Governor Anil Baijal's address to the House, and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will present the annual budget on February 26. Addressing a news conference, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta said the AAP's "drama" over the grant of full statehood and the delay in granting sanction for prosecution in the JNU sedition case will be highlighted to corner the government during the budget session. Sources in the ruling AAP said the party MLAs might target the BJP over its pre-poll promise of full statehood status to ...
Pakistan bans Hafiz Saeed-led JuD and its charity wing FIF
Pakistan on Thursday banned the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud-Dawa and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, amid intense global pressure to rein in the militant groups following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers. A spokesman of the Interior Ministry said that the decision to ban these groups was taken during a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan at his office on Thursday. "It was decided during the meeting to accelerate action against proscribed organisations," the spokesperson said in a statement. "It was further decided that Jamat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation be notified as proscribed organizations by the Ministry of Interior," he added. Earlier, the two outfits were kept on the watchlist of the interior ministry. According to officials, JuD's network includes 300 seminaries and schools, hospitals, a publishing house and ambulance service. The two groups have about ...
Iran announces 3-day navy drill from Gulf to Indian Ocean
Iran is to launch a three-day annual navy drill from Friday in a vast area of the Gulf and the Indian Ocean including a sensitive global shipping route, state TV reported on Thursday. "The drill will be held in the waters of Strait of Hormuz, Makran coast, Oman Sea and the north of the Indian Ocean, covering 2 million square kilometres and going on for three days," said Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, Iran's navy commander. The exercise aims to evaluate the navy's equipment, practice launching weapons and "enable the troops to gain readiness for a real battle," he added. The strait at the mouth of the Gulf is crucial to global energy supplies, with about a third of the world's seaborne oil passing through it every day. The show of military might comes at a time of heightened tensions with Iran's main regional rival Saudi Arabia and with Washington, which last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The Strait of Hormuz is an ..
Agri-economist Gulati for direct support to farmers
Agricultural economist Ashok Gulati has advocated direct support to farmers saying it is better than waiving their loans. The comment comes amid announcements from the Centre and state governments of cash benefit to farmers, and demand from various political parties about waiver of loans taken by peasants. "Direct support to farmers is better than loan waivers," Gulati said at an interactive session with The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Wednesday evening. In the interim-budget, the Narendra Modi government has announced Rs 6,000 per year assured income support to small and marginal farmers having less than two hectares of land in the interim-budget. A few months ago, the West Bengal government offered direct benefits such as cash assistance of Rs 5,000 per acre to farmers. Besides, the state government will also pay premium for farmers adopting its crop and life insurance schemes. "The policy reforms should be to augment farmers' income and change focus .
Demo against PM:Petitioner moves HC seeking action against
A petitioner has moved the Madras High Court seeking action against some political parties that he alleged were responsible for flying black balloons to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit here last month. The petitioner I Mohammed Razvi submitted that such demonstrations against the visit of the prime minister were unbecoming and against the interest of the nation and its people. A division bench of the Court's Madurai bench, comprising Justice N Kirubakran and Justice S S Sundar, before whom the plea came up Thursday, directed Razvi to implead the parties.
SAD-BJP stage walkout of Punjab Assembly
The SAD-BJP legislators Thursday staged a walkout of the Punjab Assembly over the issue of electricity bills of Scheduled Caste and Backward Class families. Raising the matter during the Zero Hour of the ongoing Punjab Budget Session,Akali MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu tried to target the Congress government for imposing a condition on availing free power up to 200 units by the SC and BC families. "On November 9, 2017, the state government decided that the SC and BC families consume in excess of 3,000 units then free power up to 200 units per month could not be availed," Tinu claimed in the House while noting that it was the previous SAD-BJP government which had provided free power of up to 200 units to the SC and BC families. "Then in the wake of the Lok Sabha polls, the government withdrew the condition last month," Tinu said, claiming that Rs 500 crore of "excess" amount was charged from the SC and BC families. The Akali and the BJP members were wearing black robes, affixing power bills and
LS polls crucial not just for BJP, but also country; Amit Shah
BJP president Amit Shah Thursday asserted that victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls was crucial not only for the party, but also for the country, as 55 years of Congress rule could not protect India. Addressing BJP 'Shakti Kendra Pramukhs' at nearby Devanahalli, he said intrusions into the country had been going on since 1970, but no one took any action. "After we came to power we brought NRC. Congress, JDS, Communists, Mamata and Rahul Baba don't want to drive the intruders away. They see them as vote banks. For us, they are not. They are a threat to the nation," Shah said. Shah appealed to the people to pave the way for formation of the BJP-led government in 2019 and said that in five years, it would identify each intruder and drive them away. In Assam alone, 40 lakh intruders had been identified, he added. Shah slammed the 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance against BJP), calling it an unholy alliance devoid of any ethics or morality. "Nobody knows who's their prime ...
Military action against Pakistan won't help India: CPI-M
It is doubtful if military action against Pakistan will serve the strategic purpose of curbing terrorism propped up by Islamabad, the CPI-M has said.
Sinster campaign on to prove Gumnami baba as Netaji : Family
Some family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Thursday alleged that a "sinister campaign" is on by certain sections in the country to prove that 'Gumnami Baba' was the nationalist leader and urged the Centre to release all Intelligence Bureau (IB) files on the recluse. Claiming that it is a "criminal offense" to term 'Gumnami Baba' as Netaji in disguise without any documentary or photographic evidence to support it, BJP leader and Bose's grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose said the Centre must also start an inquiry to find out who are supporting such false campaigns against Bose. "There has been an on-going sinister campaign to dishonour Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as being one 'Gumnami Baba of Faizabad' who reportedly lived in Uttar Pradesh since the 1950s for over three decades. The fact is Gumanmi Baba was not Netaji," Chandra Kumar Bose, who is also the BJP state unit vice-president told a press conference here. The "sinister campaign" is an attempt to damage the ...
SC to hear Friday PIL seeking protection for Kashmiri students; Omar hits out at PM, Cong for silence
The Supreme Court Thursday agreed to hear tomorrow a PIL seeking protection for Kashmiri students being targeted following the Pulwama terror attack in different parts of the country over which the NC leader Omar Abdullah accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remaining 'silent'. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), meanwhile, issued notice to the Union Ministries of Home and Human Resource Development seeking a report over the reported ill-treatment of Kashmiri people in the aftermath of the attack. Forty CRPF personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14 when a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus. An apex court bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices L N Rao and Sanjiv Khanna took note of senior advocate Colin Gonsalves' submission that the plea for protection needed to be heard urgently as it relates to the safety and security of students. The bench, which ..
Voters should check electoral rolls instead of believing 'misleading' phone calls: Poll officer
Voters should themselves check electoral rolls instead of believing "misleading" phone calls claiming deletion of names from the voter list, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi Ranbir Singh said Thursday. In accordance with the Election Commission of India direction, the office of the CEO will hold special camps on February 23-24 in all the 2,696 polling stations across Delhi to enrol voters whose names have been left out of electoral rolls, the officer said. Singh said that around 25 complaints of misleading calls alleging deletion of names from the electoral roll have been received by his office. "The complaints have been forwarded to Delhi Police. But, people should themselves check their names in electoral rolls than believing in the misleading calls," he said at a press conference here. The ruling AAP has been alleging mass deletion of voters' names in Delhi after the 2015 Assembly elections, claiming the BJP's hand in it. The BJP, in turn, has accused AAP volunteers of making
Cannot even think of scrapping Article 370: Nitish
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Thursday strongly opposed the demand for abrogating Article 370, amid the clamour for doing away with the special provision granting autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. The assertion by Kumar, who is the national president of the JD(U), came at a time when a Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court with the request for scrapping the article and demands to this effect have been raised by a number of leaders of the BJP, his ally in the state. We can never think in terms of abrogating Article 370. Our party's stand has been clear on this issue. There has been a terror attack and whatever action is required to punish those guilty besides preventing such incidents in future should be taken, Kumar told reporters here. But this does not mean that Jammu and Kashmir should be deprived of a provision that has been in place, he added. We can never support such a move, or even demands made to this ...
LS polls: BJP may drop five sitting MPs in Maharashtra
The BJP, which has inked a pre- poll alliance with the Shiv Sena, is likely to replace its five sitting MPs in Maharashtra in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections due to various reasons, including their performance, sources in the party said Thursday. As for the Sena, its MP Anandrao Adsul may not be able to contest the upcoming elections due to his health condition, sources said. "The BJP, which currently has 22 Lok Sabha members in Maharashtra, is set to bring in maximum changes as at least five sitting MPs are unlikely to get another chance in the 2019 general elections," a senior party functionary said. Some of the reasons for changing the sitting MPs include their shortcomings, their performance in Parliament as well as during the various events organised by the party in the last five years, the BJP leader said. "Kirit Somaiya (Mumbai North East), Anil Shirole (Pune), Sharad Bansode (Solapur), Sunil Gaikwad (Latur) and Dilip Gandhi (Ahmednagar) are the five sitting Lok .