Page 1553 - Politics
Modi to address public meeting in Rajasthan's Tonk on Feb 23
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public meeting in Rajasthan's Tonk city on February 23. A BJP spokesperson said party-level preparations for the public meeting have been completed. Senior police and civic officials also held a meeting to review the preparations for the proposed visit of the prime minister. Chief Secretary D B Gupta, DGP Kapil Garg, DG (law and order) M L Lathar, ADG (Intelligence) Umesh Mishra and others were present in the meeting held at the secretariat.
Bolton to visit S. Korea ahead of Trump-Kim summit
US National Security Advisor John Bolton will travel to South Korea later this week for a round of consultations ahead of President Donald Trump's second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vietnam.
Father slams Kamala Harris over pot-smoking joke
US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, has been slammed by her father for saying that she smoked marijuana in her younger years and supports it becoming legalized.
CPI(M) demands Tathagata Roy's sacking over Kashmir tweet
The CPIM on Thursday demanded sacking of Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy over his support for calls of boycotting Kashmir in the wake of the Pulwama attack. Describing Roy's comments as "outrageous", the CPI(M)'s Politburo in a statement said the governor's endorsement comes at time when Kashmiris, particularly students, across the country were being victimised. "Governor holds a constitutional office. As a representative of President he is expected to be a custodian of the Indian Constitution. This is not the first time he has made public comments which disgrace the post he holds and violate the fundamentals of the Indian Constitution," the statement said. Roy on Tuesday had tweeted his support for boycott of Kashmir and Kashmiris. "An appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army: Don't visit Kashmir,don't go to Amarnath for the next 2 years. Don't buy articles from Kashmir emporia or Kashmiri tradesman who come every winter. Boycott everything Kashmiri. I am inclined to ...
PM continued shooting for film in Corbett after Pulwama attack, alleges Congress
Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park for his "propaganda and publicity" and stayed put in the area till the evening of February 14 despite the Pulwama attack taking place in the afternoon that day, the Congress on Thursday alleged, citing reports in a section of the media. Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a press conference, also accused BJP president Amit Shah of "politicization of terrorism" in his speech in Assam on Sunday. At a public rally in Assam's Lakhimpur district, Shah had said the sacrifices of the 40 CRPF personnel will not go in vain as there is a BJP government at the Centre now and it, unlike the previous Congress dispensation, will not "compromise" on any security issue. On Thursday, attending a BJP event in Andhra Pradesh's Rajahmundry city, Shah hit back at the Congress and accused it of using the Pulwama terror attack for its "political interests". "They created an issue of PM Modi's ...
Why is PM silent on Kashmiri students being targeted in various parts of country: Omar Abdullah
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was silent on Kashmiri students being targeted in various parts of the country. Addressing the media, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also said talks with Pakistan cannot be held in the backdrop of attacks such as the one in Pulwama last week. "Our PM has talked about a 'muh tod jawab' but such a reply is not possible in the current situation," Abdullah said a week after 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in a terror attack in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on February 14. The Jaish-e-Mohammed has claimed responsibility for the attack. Abdullah also asked Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik to ensure the security of Kashmiri students who were forced to return home following alleged threats and attacks in various parts of the country in the wake of the Pulwama terror strike. Referring to the withdrawal of security to Kashmiri separatist leaders, he said it was a regressive step ...
NDA's Sankalp Rally in Bihar on March 3
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah will address a NDA Sankalp Rally here in Bihar on March 3 that will be a show of strength for the alliance and a reply to the Congress' Jan Aakansha Rally, garnering the largest ever political gathering in Patna.
Pakistan gifts gold-plated assault rifle to Saudi Crown Prince
At a time when Pakistan is under immense global pressure on terrorism, the country's cash-strapped government has gifted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman a gold-plated assault rifle, a media report said. The unusual gift for a visiting foreign dignitary was presented to Mohammad during his first official official visit to Islamabad. The News International reported that Pakistan's Senate delegation called on the Crown Prince at the Prime Minister's House where Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani gifted him a portrait and a gold-plated gun. The Prince is also Saudi Arabia's defence minister. In a similar gesture from the cash-rich kingdom in January, Saudi Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, also the Tabuk Governor, presented a gift of 'gold Kalashnikov' and bullets to Prime Minister Khan at the Prime Minister's Office here. Khan had thanked him for the gold-plated Russian gun. The Saudi Crown Prince's just-concluded high-profile visit to Islamabad came in the midst of ...
Poll panel chiefs of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh to be international observers for Moldova elections
The Election Commission has appointed Rajasthan's chief electoral officer Anand Kumar and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart VLK Rao as international election observers for the parliamentary polls in the eastern European country of Moldova. Moldova had requested the Election Commission of India for sending international observers and the poll panel appointed the two officers, a statement said. The parliamentary elections in Moldova will be held on Sunday.
Sack Meghalaya Governor: CPI-M
The CPI-M on Thursday asked President Ram Nath Kovind to sack Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy for calling for a boycott of Kashmir and Kashmiris following the suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF troopers.
Cross-LoC trade resumes after suspension in J&K
Trade across the Line of Control (LoC) between the divided Kashmir resumed on Thursday after two days of suspension.
Farmers' strike hits normal life in Odisha, 200 held
Normal life across Odisha was affected Thursday due to a dawn-to-dusk strike called by leading farmers' body Navnirman Krushak Sangathan (NNKS) to protest against the state government's alleged lack of concern towards their demands. Though the strike -- backed by both the Congress and the BJP -- continued peacefully, the police picked up about 200 protesters from different parts of the state, including 70 from here. There is heavy deployment in different places to maintain law and order, a police official said. Holding placards and raising anti-government slogans, agitating farmers blocked roads in the city as well on the national highways, prompting police to undertake preventive arrest of the farmers. "We have made elaborate security arrangements to maintain law and order in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack," Commissioner of Police Satyajit Mohanty told reporters. About 30 platoons of armed police have been deployed in Bhubaneswar and 15 in Cuttack, he added. Mohanty, however, claimed normal
Mulayam criticises his party alliance with BSP
Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav Thursday showed his displeasure over the alliance forged by his son and party president Akhilesh Singh Yadav with the Bahujan Samaj Party. Addressing party workers at the SP headquarters here, Mulayam Singh Yadav made clear that he was unhappy with Mayawati's BSP being given half of the seats in the alliance for Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The remarks come days after the SP patriarch created a stir in Parliament, saying he wished that Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to power.
When kin of slain CRPF men were mourning, BJP was busy in inaugurations: Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav Thursday alleged that the BJP was busy in inaugurations at a time the kin of the CRPF men killed in Pulwama terror attack were morning the loss of their dear ones. Addressing a press conference at the SP headquarter here along with Patidar leader Hardik Patel, the former UP chief minister said the government should explain how the bus carrying security personnel was hit by an explosive-laden vehicle. "When the personnel were travelling (in a bus) how was it hit by a vehicle? The government should reply. This (BJP) government is the one which gives certificate (of nationalism) to everyone. Now it should come up with an answer," he said. Patel too asked, "Why were the CRPF personnel were sent via road." Trying to corner the NDA government for laying foundation stones and inaugurating projects in the immediate aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead, Yadav alleged, "When the family of martyrs were mourning, they ...
Gujarat: Commuters stranded as GSRTC staff go on strike
Hundreds of commuters were left stranded as Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) staff went on an indefinite strike in Ahmedabad on Thursday, demanding immediate implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission and removal of GPS systems from buses.The protestors threatened to continue with their strike unless the state government agrees to all their demands.Several buses were seen stationed idle in the bus depots.Passengers had to bear the brunt of the strike as many were forced to cancel their planned trips.ST Karmachari Union general secretary PA Sutaria said that their demands include immediate implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission and removal of GPS systems from buses.Under the umbrella organisation State Transport Sanchalan Samithi, protests are being carried out by Gujarat ST Karmachari union, Gujarat ST Workers Federation and Gujarat ST Mazdoor Sangh.On being asked about the stranded passengers, Sutaria said, it is for the state government to look into the ...
People don't want Kashmiris to be part of Indians, irony is depressing: Chidambaram
Some people want Kashmir to be part of India but don't want Kashmiris to be part of Indians, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Thursday and asserted that the "irony of the situation is depressing". In a series of tweets, the former home and finance minister also took a dig at Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy's statement that he favoured a call for the boycott of Kashmiri products and visiting the state as tourists and Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar saying that students from the Valley faced no threats. "The irony of the situation is depressing. We want Kashmir to be part of India, but we do not want Kashmiris to be part of Indians," he said in a tweet. Chidambaram said the 'Statue of Unity', the182-metre statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, located near Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat, watchesover the governor of Meghalaya and others who seem to think that Kashmiris have no place in India. Patel, India's first home minister, is known as a unifier of the country and is ..
Opposition to discuss common agenda on Feb 26
Opposition leaders will meet here on February 26 to deliberate on a common minimum programme (CMP) to be presented by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, a TDP leader said on Thursday.
Saudi crown prince arrives in China
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Beijing Thursday as the monarch aims to seal partnerships on a high-profile Asia tour following a diplomatic crisis over a journalist's brutal murder. Mohammed is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on his two-day trip to the Chinese capital following visits to Pakistan and India. The tour has allowed him to show that Riyadh still has allies after the grisly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi -- a fierce critic of Mohammed -- at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul tarnished the image of the kingdom and the prince. The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road global trade infrastructure initiative will be on the agenda, as the two countries look to improve their economic ties. "Saudi Arabia has a lot of capital that needs to find profitable places to be deployed," Saudi energy and industry minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih told China's official Xinhua news agency. "China is a great place to ...
BJP to corner AAP govt in Delhi Assembly over JNU sedition case
AAP's "drama" over 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 Delhi Assembly's budget session which starts on February 22, BJP leader Vijendra Gupta Thursday said. Gupta, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the House said the BJP will force the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to answer about the delay in granting sanction for prosecution in the JNU sedition case. The Delhi Police in January filed a chargesheet against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the sedition case registered in 2016. The police also charged former JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya for allegedly shouting anti-India slogans during an event on the university campus on February 9, 2016 to commemorate the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru. Delhi Police has sought permission from the city government for ...
Arunachal govt has zero tolerance for corruption: Governor
Arunachal Pradesh Governor Brig (Retd) B D Mishra on Thursday lauded the Pema Khandu-led BJP government for its "pro-poor measures" and "crusade against corruption" in the state. In his customary address to the Assembly on the inaugural day of the three-day interim budget session, he said the state has taken active measures to redress the grievances of its people. "The government has made historic, transformational, systematic and structural changes in the state over the past two-and-a-half years. It has zero tolerance for corruption and takes popular views and suggestions into consideration before making decisions," he said. With a view to bring transparency in operations, the state purchases goods through an online portal, where records of all procurement are maintained, the governor said. Mishra also said that three new districts - Pakke- Kessang, Lepa Rada and Shi-Yomi - have been created recently for effective governance. The Pema Khandu-led government wants its ...