Page 1552 - Politics
Tired of trying to convince Congress for alliance, they refuse to understand: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal believes that only one candidate of the Opposition should be pitched against BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, he said that he is tired of convincing Congress for forming an alliance."There should be only one candidate against every BJP candidate, votes must not be divided. I am tired of trying to convince Congress for forming an alliance. But they refuse to understand. If today our alliance with Congress is done, BJP will lose all seven seats in Delhi," Kejriwal said during an event here on Wednesday.However, former Delhi Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit denied Kejriwal's claims and stated that he has not talked about forming an alliance even once."I want to ask Arvind Kejriwal on what basis has he said this because he has not talked about it even once," Dikshit said.
Mulayam takes dig at Akhilesh, questions SP-BSP alliance
In a veiled dig at his son Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi party veteran Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday questioned the newly stitched SP-BSP alliance and said that people within his party are destroying the outfit.Mulayam underscored that the Samajwadi Party was a strong party, which won several elections on its own."Who is destroying the party? Our own people from the party. It was such a strong party. Formed government alone for three times, all three times we (SP) became the Chief Minister, we were also the Raksha Mantri, and we were strong. I am not doing politics but saying what is correct," Mulayam Singh Yadav said at an event in SP office here.Speaking on the final day of the Budget Session of Parliament on February 13, Mulayam had created a flutter in the political corridor, saying, "I want to congratulate the Prime Minister that he tried to move ahead taking everyone along. I hope all members will win and return and you (Prime Minister Modi) become the prime minister ...
Andhra CM Naidu deserves award for betrayal, says Amit Shah
BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday said that if an award is to be given in the country for betrayal in politics, it would definitely go to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Pak resorts to shelling, firing for 3rd day along LoC in J-K's Poonch
The Pakistan army fired on forward posts and civilian areas along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Thursday, thereby violating the ceasefire for the third consecutive day, officials said. The Pakistan army resorted to mortar shelling and small arms firing on the forward posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector from 0100 hours, they said. Indian troops retaliated strongly, the officials added. There were five ceasefire violations by the Pakistan army during the past 24 hours along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts, they said. On Wednesday, the Pakistan army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by resorting to heavy shelling with mortars and firing of small arms along the LoC in Kalal sector of Rajouri district. The Pakistan army had resorted to unprovoked firing along the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri on Tuesday as well. The year 2018 had witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations -- 2,936 -- by Pakistani troops in the last 15 ...
Vote-on-account presented in Arunachal Assembly
Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minster Chowna Mein on Thursday presented the vote-on-account for the year 2019-20 for four months from April 1 to July 31 this year. The Assembly also paid tribute to the martyrs of the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14. With the Assembly elections due in later this year, Mein, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the vote-on-account for four months to meet the state's expenditure till a full-fledged budget is placed in the Assembly. The deputy chief minister also presented the supplementary demands for 2018-19 and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for the year ended March 2017. Four government bills were also introduced on the inaugural day of the three-day Assembly session. Home Minister Kumar Waii introduced the Arunachal Pradesh Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill 2019 to amend the Arunachal Pradesh Lokayukta Act 2014. Waii, who also holds the portfolio of Town Planning and Urban Local ..
Punjab to review 'excess' power bills of SC, Backward Class families: minister
Punjab government is set to review the "excess" electricity bills of the scheduled caste and backward class (SC/BC) families, state power minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar told the assembly Thursday. "I have just talked to the finance minister. We are going to review the excess electricity bills (of SC, BC families) for the last two years, Kangar informed the House. He was replying to the calling attention notice of AAP MLAs Harpal Singh Cheema, Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Gurmeet Singh Meet who sought to draw his attention towards "high cost of electricity" in the state. Kangar blamed the previous SAD-BJP government for the pending power bills. They (SAD-BJP) promised gullible people during poll campaigning (in 2017) that power bills will be waived if they come to power for the third time. This is the main reason behind the pending and excess bills, Kangar said. Notably, last month, the state government had decided to remove the upper annual limit of 3,000 units for electricity ...
US looks forward to working with India in dealing with terrorism: American defence officials
Top ranking US defence department officials Thursday said they were looking forward to working with India to deal with terrorism as it was a common threat to the interests of both the countries. "Counter-terrorism, I wouldn't call it necessarily just a strategy, it is an opportunity for cooperation with India to build interoperability, to engage in defence cooperation," US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia (DASD) Joseph H Felter said. He was responding to a query about counter-terrorism as a strategy in defence and security cooperation between the US and India, in the wake of the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. "Terrorism is a common threat to the interests of both the nations and we look forward to working with India to address that," Felter told reports on the sidelines of Aero India show here. US Defense Security Cooperation Agency Director Lieutenant General Charles Hooper said, "We look to work with our counterparts in the ...
NSS rejects CPI(M)'s offer for talks over Sabarimala issue
A bid by CPI(M)to reach out to Kerala's forward Nair community over the Sabarimala women's entry issue, failed Thursday with the leadership of Nair Service Society (NSS), rejecting its offer for talks. NSS, which is on a warpath with the LDF government over the issue, said there had been no favourable response from the ruling CPI(M) and the party-led government when it had made pleas seeking to protect the centuries' old traditions of the Ayyappa shrine. NSS, the outfit representing the Nair community, is a party to a case in the Supreme Court seeking review of its verdict permitting entry of women of all age groups into Sabariamala temple. The Society said it would not like to have a meeting or discussion with the leadership of CPI(M) or its government and no one had been authorised to hold such discussions. NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair said he had earlier spoken to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan many times over phone ..
One more held in connection with Youth Congress activists' killing
A day after the arrest of a local CPI(M) leader, one more person was arrested in connection with the recent killings of two Youth Congress activists in Kasaragod district, police said. The arrest of Saji C George, suspected to have provided logistics to the accused, was recorded on Wednesday night, they added. Besides the two arrested men, certain others were under custody and their interrogation was going on, the police said. In a setback to the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), its local committee member Peethambaran was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the killings of Youth Congress activists Kripesh (24) and Sarath Lal (21) on Sunday night. Soon after Peethambaran's arrest, the Kasaragod district committee of the CPI(M) expelled him from the party, following directions from the state committee. Meanwhile, the parents of the slain Youth Congress activists demanded a CBI probe into the incident and reiterated the allegation that the killings were executed with the ...
Rahul Gandhi to offer worship at Tirupati, address rally
AICC President Rahul Gandhi will offer worship at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala here on Friday, a senior party functionary said. AICC Secretary C D Meyyappan told PTI that Gandhi will land at the Renigunta airport here in the afternoon Friday and reach the hills by road. After offering worship, he will come down to address a public meeting at Taraka Rama Stadium, Meyyappan, who is also in charge of Andhra Pradesh, said Thursday. In the rally, Rahul Gandhi would speak out on the Special Category Status to thebifurcated Andhra Pradesh and other issues facing the nation, he said. Thereafter Gandhi would fly back to New Delhi, he said. It was going to be Rahul Gandhi's maiden visit to the holy hills as President of the Congress, Meyyappan said. He said in his capacity as AICC General Secretary Gandhi had visited the shrine.
Sisodia meets protesting DGEWA employees demanding restructuring of DASS
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Thursday met protesting employees of his government who are demanding restructuring of the Delhi Administrative Subordinate Services (DASS) and steno cadre. Three members of the Delhi Government Employees Welfare Association (DGEWA) have been sitting on a hunger-strike outside the Delhi Secretariat for the last four days in favour of their demands. Umesh Batra, general secretary of the DGEWA, said there are around 12,000 employees pertaining to DASS, steno and clerk cadre. According to a government statement, Sisodia expressed solidarity with the protesting employees. Addressing hundreds of protestors, the deputy chief minister rued that services do not come under the AAP government, adding that he was "pained" to see the DASS cadre has been continuously subjected to "injustice". "Since May 2015, we are fighting to retain the services with the Delhi government. This is not a personal fight, but a fight against the repressive system," the statement .
Omar slams withdrawal of security for mainstream politicians
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday condemned the withdrawal of security cover to mainstream politicians in the state in the wake of the suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF troopers.
Hry Budget session curtailed as BJP govt running away from discussion on burning issues: Cong
The opposition Congress on Thursday alleged that the BJP government in Haryana was running away from discussion on burning issues in the state Assembly, which is why the budget session's duration had been "curtailed". During the Zero Hour of the Assembly, Congress' Karan Singh Dalal said Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had earlier cited examples of other states which have longer duration of Assembly session and had claimed that the present BJP dispensation in Haryana too had started a similar practice. "However this time, the budget session which was to end on March 5 according to the tentative schedule fixed earlier, will now end on February 27. "During this short period, the MLAs will not have enough time to raise burning issues. The government is running away from discussion on these issues, which is why the duration of the session has been curtailed," he said in the House. According to the scheduled decided by the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the House, which has ...
Amit Shah slams Congress for 'politicising' Pulwama
BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday slammed the Congress "politicizing" the Pulawama terror attack and raising doubts about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to national security.
Kashmir issue unresolved because of Nehru: Amit Shah
Kashmir remained an unresolved issue only because former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru tackled it in the wrong way, leading to Pakistan indulging in terrorist acts, BJP President Amit Shah said here Thursday asking the Congress not to politicise the issue. "Kashmir remained a problem only because of Jawaharlal Nehru. Sardar Patel tackled Hyderabad and it is now respectfully part of India but Jawaharlal Nehru tackled Kashmir and it continues to be a problem," he said. Addressing a large meeting of BJP workers here, Shah said Pakistan was indulging in terrorist acts because of Kashmir. "Kashmir is simmering because of Jawaharlal Nehru. Had Patel been the prime minister at the time, Kashmir would not have remained a problem," he added. Lashing out at the Congress for "politicising" the recent terrorist attack on CRPF personnel in Pulwama, the BJP president said the opposition party was not to going to derive any benefit out of it. "With what face is the Congress raising .
Bandh hits normal life in Itanagar, 21 detained
Normal life was hit in Itanagar Thursday as several students' bodies and civil societies called for a 48-hour bandh, seeking changes in the proposals made by a government-appointed panel on the issue of granting permanent residence certificate (PRC) to non-Arunachalees. The Joint High Power Committee, after holding parleys with the stakeholders, has recommended granting PRC to six communities, who are not natives of Arunachal Pradesh but has been living in Namsai and Changlang districts for decades. The proposal has evoked resentment among several community-based groups and students'organisations, who claimed that the rights and the interests of indigenous people will be compromised if the state government accepts it. A senior officer said that the agitators, on the first day of the two-day bandh, hit the streets in the state capital and pelted stones at government vehicles, prompting the police to detain 21 of them. They demanded that the government reconsider the JHPC .
Brexit breakthrough possible within days: UK minister
Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond said Thursday there had been "some movement" by the European Union that could lead to a breakthrough in Brexit talks in "the next few days". Hammond said progress in the ongoing negotiations could result in a fresh vote next week on prime minister Theresa May's EU divorce deal, which was rejected by lawmakers last month. "There may be an opportunity to bring a vote back to the House of Commons," he told the BBC. "But that will depend on progress that's made over the next few days. These discussions are ongoing." May and the other 27 EU leaders approved a Brexit withdrawal agreement at a summit on November 25 last year, but the British parliament voted against it overwhelmingly on January 15. Since then, she and her ministers have repeatedly urged EU leaders and their negotiator Michel Barnier to revise a "backstop" clause in the text on the Irish border that is hated by eurosceptic MPs. EU chiefs have insisted they will not reopen the ...
BJP MLAs walk out of MP Assembly over EWS quota
The opposition BJP Thursday staged a walk-out from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, demanding implementation of the 10 per cent quota for the poor in the general category introduced by a recent Constitutional amendment. As Question Hour ended, Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava demanded that the quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category be implemented in government jobs and educational institutes. Ten states have already implemented this quota, the BJP leader claimed. The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh was trying to deny this benefit to the unemployed youth by resorting to the ruse of forming a committee on the issue, Bhargava alleged. Other BJP MLAs supported him. Speaker N P Prajapati, in the meanwhile, expressed displeasure over Congress MLAs and ministers roaming in the House and flocking around treasury benches and talking to each other. When his appeal to them to return to their seats went unheeded, he adjourned the House for ...
BAE Systems warns of risk from German stance on Saudi arms
LONDON (Reuters) - Leading British defence contractor BAE Systems said German moves to block exports to Saudi Arabia could damage its major deals with the country and weigh on its financial performance.
Sack Meghalaya Governor: CPI-M tells Kovind
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Thursday asked President Ram Nath Kovind to sack Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy for "disgracing" his post and violating the "fundamentals of Constitution".