Page 155 - Politics

Goa speaker issues notice to Ajgaonkar and Pawaskar

Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar Tuesday issued notices to deputy chief minister Manohar Ajgaonkar and PWD minister Deepak Pawaskar on adisqualification petition filed against them by their former MGP colleague Sudin Dhavlikar for joining the ruling BJP. A petition seeking disqualification of Ajgaonkar and Pawaskar under anti-defection law was filed on May 3, days after they left their parent organisation, the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP), and joined the ruling party. While both of them were inducted into the Pramod Sawant-led government, Dhavalikar, who was deputy chief minister, was dropped. The speaker said he had asked Ajgaonkar and Pawaskar to remain present before him on July 1. "The petitioner Dhavalikar has also been issued a notice to remain present on the same day (July 1)," the speaker said, adding that he will hear all the parties in the disqualificationpetition. The MGP, which extended its support to the alliance government after the .

Tripura CM meets Shah, seeks spl package for tribal council

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has sought a special economic package from the Centre for the development of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) during his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi, an official release said. TTAADC constitutes one-third of the Tripura's territory and is home to the state's indigenous people. "Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has requested for a special package for the fast development of ADC (TTADC) He laid special emphasis on overall development of the ADC," the statement issued by the chief minister's office said. The BJP had promised to empower and financially assist the tribal council in the state ahead of the assembly elections in 2018. According to the release, Banerjee discussed schemes for uplifting tribal youths with Shah, while apprising him of the development work being undertaken by his government. Deb also pressed for expeditious completion of fencing work on the India-Bangladesh ...

Syria clashes kill 45 fighters: monitor

Clashes between pro-government forces and jihadist-led groups that control Syria's northwest killed at least 45 combatants on Tuesday, a war monitor said. The fighting flared on the edge of Hama province when the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched a dawn attack on regime positions, leaving 14 pro-government forces dead, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

In Birla Modi-Shah surprise again, forego seniority

Birla is a two-time Lok Sabha member from Kota in Rajasthan. His choice as the Speaker came as a surprise as the post is generally given to a leader who has substantial exposure of multiple terms in the lower house.

Ker Govt "in no hurry" to implement police commissionerates:CM

: The Left government in Kerala on Tuesday said it was yet to take a final decision on setting up metropolitan police commissionerates in the state and it would be implemented only after a consensus emerges on the issue. Under the metropolitan system, police commissioners will have magisterial powers like District Collectors. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the state Assembly that the proposal to set up the commissionarates in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi was under consideration, but the CPI(M)-led LDF government was in "no hurry" to implement it. The Chief Minister's statement comes days after CPI, the second largest coalition partner in the Left front, had reportedly come out against the Vijayan government's decision to give magisterial powers to police. When the Opposition UDF created a ruckus in the House over the issue, Vijayan said similar commissionerates had already been functioning in 44 cities across the country and its objective was to strengthen the .

Mamata not to attend tomorrow's all-party meeting convened by PM Modi

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not attend tomorrow's meeting of leaders of political parties convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.She wrote a letter to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday and informed him about her inability to join the meeting called to discuss the issue of "one nation one election".Earlier, Banerjee had declined to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Modi on May 23, objecting to families of BJP workers allegedly killed in political violence in the state being invited to the function.In the polls marred by violence in West Bengal, BJP made deep inroads into the Trinamool Congress territory winning 18 Lok Sabha seats and limiting TMC to 22 seats as against 34 it had won in the 2014 general elections.

Mamata Banerjee refuses to attend 'One Nation, One Election' meet in Delhi

Banerjee had skipped the Niti Ayog meeting also last week

China denies Xi's visit to N Korea aimed at gaining leverage against Trump

China on Tuesday refuted reports that President Xi Jinping's sudden move to make a rare visit to North Korea this week was aimed at using Beijing's close ties with Pyongyang as a "leverage" to deal with his US counterpart Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on more Chinese imports. China on Monday announced that President Xi would make his maiden visit to Pyongyang on Thursday - the first by a Chinese leader in 14 years - in a big boost to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who is under heavy pressure from the US to give up nuclear weapons programme. The sudden announcement of Xi's visit to Pyongyang ahead of his much-speculated meeting with Trump at the G-20 summit in Osaka on June 28-29 led to speculation that he wants to flaunt Beijing's importance in any future deal between US and North Korea over denuclearisation. Answering a spate of questions over Xi's visit to North Korea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang denied that the trip was aimed at using ...

Burundi suspends last independent civil rights group

The East African state of Burundi has suspended the country's last independent civil rights group, accusing it of "disturbing peace and public order." A ministerial order, seen by AFP on Tuesday, applies to an NGO called Parcem, which campaigns for good governance. Its activities "are suspended" indefinitely, according to the document, signed by Interior Minister Pascal Barandagiye. Burundi has been in crisis since 2015, when President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for a third term and was re-elected in elections boycotted by most of the opposition. At least 1,200 people were killed and more than 400,000 displaced in violence that the UN says was mostly carried out by state security forces. Independent NGOs were suspended for contesting Nkurunziza's plans for a third term. Parcem was also initially suspended in 2015 but was allowed to resume its activities when its legal representative accepted conditions imposed by the authorities. Barandagiye said that despite several warnings, the ...

UP govt to issue press notes, CM Adityanath's speeches in Sanskrit as well

In an attempt to promote Sanskrit language, the Uttar Pradesh government will now issue press releases in Sanskrit along with Hindi and English.Besides, the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, an institution for promoting Sanskrit studies, will help the state information department in translating Chief Minister's speeches for the press releases.So far, information and the publicity material released by the state government was largely in Hindi with a few in Urdu and English.

Trump asks NYT to disclose sources that US is ramping up cyber attacks on Russia

US President Donald Trump has asked The New York Times to disclose its sources behind the report that claimed that his government was ramping up cyber attacks on Russia's electric power grid as a sign of warning to President Vladimir Putin."The story in the @nytimes about the U.S. escalating attacks on Russia's power grid is Fake News, and the Failing New York Times knows it. They should immediately release their sources which, if they exist at all, which I doubt, are phony. Times must be held fully accountable!" Trump wrote on his official Twitter handle on Monday (local time).Citing unofficial sources, The New York Times report claimed that the US has placed a malware inside the Russian systems operating the nation's power grid so as to conduct cyber attacks if a conflict arises between the two countries in the future.The report adds that Trump himself has not been briefed about the details of the "implants" inside the Russian grid, in fear that he might countermand the operation or

Mamata to skip meeting of presidents of political parties

Indicating that she would skip the meeting of presidents of all political parties convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wrote to the Centre saying it should not go about "hurriedly" on a "sensitive and serious subject" like "one country and one election".

Hong Kong leader offers 'most sincere apology' over law turmoil

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam apologised Tuesday for the political unrest sparked by a proposed Beijing-backed law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. Unprecedented mass rallies against the bill have rocked the city's government -- plunging the city into its biggest political crisis in decades -- with protesters calling for Lam to step down. "I personally have to shoulder much of the responsibility. This has led to controversies, disputes and anxieties in society," Lam told a press conference. "For this I offer my most sincere apology to all people of Hong Kong." Lam suspended the bill after the city saw massive rallies on June 9 and 12 -- with bouts of violence between the police and some protesters. But that failed to quell public anger, and was followed by an even bigger protest Sunday that organisers said drew over two million people -- more than a quarter of the population -- to the streets. Lam gave no indication she was prepared to step down, saying instead ...

West Bengal MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury tipped to be Cong leader in LS

Congress leader from West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is tipped to be the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, top sources in the grand old party said on Tuesday. Chowdhury's name has been cleared by the top party leadership, the sources said, but the party did not confirm it officially. When asked, Chowdhury said the issue of who would lead the Congress in the Lower House of Parliament was not discussed at a meeting of party leaders at Sonia Gandhi's residence. The Congress failed to get the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha as it did not get the benchmark 10 per cent seats required to stake claim for the post. This is the second time in a row that the grand old party has failed to get the post. Chowdhury is a five-time MP from West Bengal and has not lost the Lok Sabha election since 1999. He currently represents the Berhampore Lok Sabha constituency in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Chowdhury has also been a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from ..

Members raise slogans during oath-taking

Many newly-elected members on Tuesday raised slogans after concluding their oath in Lok Sabha, with some even engaging in raillery and heated exchanges, ignoring the Chair's direction to desist from it. The presiding officer directed that no slogans will go on record. While many BJP MPs ended their oath with chants of 'Bharat mata ki jai' and Jai Shri Ram, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Shafiqur Rahman Barq objected to Vande Mataram slogan, drawing protests from members of treasury benches who demanded an apology from him. The Chair asked the members several times that they should not raise slogans, but in vain. Taking a dig, Congress President Rahul Gandhi asked BJP Arun Kumar Sagar, who chanted 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' twice, to raise the slogan "one more time". Gandhi again repeated "one more time" after the next BJP MP Ajay Kumar also raised the slogan of "Bharat Mata ki Jai". Kumar than retorted that he will say the slogan again if Gandhi can complete it by chanting ...

Defectors 'greedy and corrupt', BJP collecting TMC's 'garbage': Mamata

Coming down heavily on TMC leaders who joined the BJP post the Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday called them "greedy and corrupt" and said the saffron party was "collecting garbage". The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo also said she would be replacing the "traitors" with "dedicated members" and asked those "undecided about joining the BJP" to leave her party at the earliest. Banerjee's remarks came in the backdrop of three MLAs and a majority of councillors from five municipalities in the state defecting to the BJP from the TMC since the declaration of general election results last month. "We are not bothered about a few corrupt and greedy leaders who are switching to some other party. They joined the BJP as they were afraid they might face consequences for their activities," the chief minister said. She said her administration is contemplating action against those involved in corruption. "We are throwing out our garbage and the BJP is collecting

We don't want thieves in our party: Mamata Banerjee

A day after 12 TMC councillors and MLA Sunil Singh joined the BJP, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said she does not want thieves in her party."TMC is not a weak party. I don't care if 15-20 councillors leave the party after accepting cash. If party MLAs want to leave the party, they can. We don't want thieves in our party. If one person leaves, I will prepare 500 more," Banerjee said while addressing her party councillors here.On Monday, TMC leaders joined the BJP in the presence of senior leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Mukul Roy here."TMC party members are joining the BJP in large numbers. Mamata Banerjee has ruined West Bengal's peace by propagating violence...That's why her party members are now leaving her side and joining our party," Vijayvargiya had said.West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said: "The tension between BJP and TMC in West Bengal is escalating. TMC leaders started joining our party at the beginning of Lok Sabha polls and even during the elections. Since ..

Review of UN System's operations in Myanmar points towards 'failures'

An independent review into how the UN System operated in Myanmar in the years leading up to the mass exodus of the Rohingya minority community following serious human rights abuses has concluded that there were "systemic and structural failures" that prevented a unified strategy from being implemented. The report by former Guatemalan foreign affairs minister Gert Rosenthal, a former UN Ambassador and top executive at the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said the UN System overall had been "relatively impotent to effectively work with the authorities of Myanmar, to reverse the negative trends in the areas of human rights and consolidate the positive trends in other areas". The review, published on Monday, covers the period 2010-2018, encompassing the UN's response to the systematic and brutal abuse of hundreds-of-thousands of mainly-Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine state by the national army and security forces which began in August 2017, described by the

Oppn leaders to hold strategy meeting for Parliament session Tuesday

Leaders of various opposition parties will meet in Parliament House Tuesday evening to chalk out their joint strategy for the Parliament session. UPA chairperson and leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party Sonia Gandhi has convened the meeting of various parties this evening at 6 pm, where they would discuss their joint strategy to corner the government on key issues. This is the first time the opposition leaders will sit together to evolve their joint strategy for the Parliament session. The meet comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling a meeting of various parties to discuss the 'one nation, one election' issue, celebration of 75 years of Independence in 2022 and 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary this year. It will be followed by a dinner-meeting with all MPs on June 20. Earlier in on Tuesday, top Congress leaders led by Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi met and decided on the party's strategy for the session. Sources said the ...

10 parties to support Birla's nomination as Lok Sabha speaker

The NDA candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker's post, Om Birla from Rajasthan's Kota constituency, has got the support ten political parties including Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for his candidature.Government is confident that the main opposition Congress would not oppose the NDA candidate."BJD, Shiv Sena, Akali Dal, National People's Party, Mizo National Front, Lok Janshakti Party, YSRCP, JDU, AIADMK and Apna Dal have given the notice to support Birla's candidature for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker."I have spoken to Congress leaders K Suresh and Gulab Nabi Azad. They have not signed till now but I think they would not oppose Birla's candidature," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters here.YSRCP and BJD are part of the NDA coalition at the Centre but have extended their support to Birla's candidature.NDA has 352 parliamentarians in the lower house of Parliament and BJP alone has 303. The ruling combine is unlikely to witness any ...