Page 1576 - Politics
SC asks WB govt not to take any coercive step against ex-IPS officer Bharati Ghosh
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the West Bengal government not to take any coercive steps against former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh, who recently joined BJP.A bench of the apex court, headed by Justice A K Sikri, passed the order and posted the matter for further hearing after three weeks.Ghosh had approached the Supreme Court for quashing various FIRs that have been registered against her alleging that the state government is acting malafide and with vengeance against her for political reasons.When the matter came up today, Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the petitioner, brought to the notice of the court the manner in which various FIRs have been registered against Ghosh.The state of West Bengal, represented by senior counsel Kapil Sibal, submitted that there is enough evidence with the police against the petitioner including her taped conversation.Due to the paucity of time, the court adjourned the matter for three weeks and directed the state government not to take any ...
Goyal enquires about Vijayakant's health
Union Minister and Tamil Nadu incharge for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Piyush Goyal on Tuesday called on DMDK leader A. Vijayakant and enquired about his health.
Sheila Dikshit demands compensation for crop damage due to hailstorms
Delhi Congress president Sheila Dikshit Tuesday demanded the AAP government to pay compensation to the farmers whose crops had been damaged due to recent hailstorms in the national capital. The former Delhi chief minister raised the demand after meeting a delegation of All India Kisan Congress that told her about farming losses incurred due to the hailstorms. The delegation also complained against huge electricity bills during the meeting, said a Delhi Congress statement. Dikshit told the delegation that she will write letters to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Anil Baijal to address the issues of the farmers without any delay. "The farmers affected by the hailstorms should be given proper compensation without further delay as they are passing through a difficult financial condition. They should also be provided power at subsidised rates," Dikshit said.
Will contest LS polls if kept away from Maha Cong-NCP front:SP
The Samajwadi Party in Maharashtra Tuesday threatened to field its candidates for Lok Sabha polls if the party is not inducted into the proposed Congress-NCP alliance. Maharashtra SP unit president Abu Asim Azmi also demanded that its arch rival Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) be kept away from the alliance, whose contours are being finalised. The Congress is not in favour of taking MNS on board for the party's stand against north Indians, whereas a senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader has said the Raj Thackeray-led party can be accommodated, as it can garner votes. "I want to warn the Congress-NCP grand alliance that if they induct MNS into the fold, my party would launch a massive campaign to sensitise voters about how MNS goons targetted north Indian migrants working in Mumbai and terrorised them," Azmi said in a press conference. He said SP workers would tell voters in Uttar Pradesh about ill-treatment being meted out to north Indian migrants by MNS in ..
France to move proposal at UN to ban JeM chief Masood Azhar
In a significant development, France will be moving a proposal at the UN in a "couple of days" to ban Masood Azhar, chief of the UN-proscribed JeM which has claimed responsibility of the Pulwama terror strike that left 40 CRPF personnel dead, French sources said on Tuesday. This will be the second time France will be party to such a proposal at the UN. In 2017, the US, supported by the UK and France, had moved a proposal at the UN's Sanctions Committee 1267 to ban the chief of the Pakistan-based terror outfit. However, the proposal was blocked by China. "At the UN, France will lead a proposal to put Masood Azhar on the terrorist list... It will happen in a couple of days," a senior French source told PTI. The French decision was discussed between Philippe Etienne, Diplomatic Advisor to the French President and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval this morning, French sources told PTI. While expressing his sincere condolences, the French leader, who called Doval, also emphasised that ..
Nehru, Modi became PM as they practised yoga: Baba Ramdev
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev Tuesday said yoga was instrumental in Jawaharlal Nehru and Narendra Modi becoming prime ministers. Yoga was the reason they became prime minister, the yoga guru claimed, noting that Congress president Rahul Gandhi is also a yoga enthusiast. The yoga-guru-turned-entrepreneur said politicians should embrace the ancient way of exercise to remain stress- free. "Only those who practise yoga will enjoy the 'Raj-yog' (a stint in power)," he told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of an apparel store, a venture of his Patanjali group. "Jawaharlal Nehru used to practise yoga and therefore his Raj-yog was good and he became prime minister. Indira Gandhi also practised yoga and she also had very good Raj-yog. "Similarly, Modi practised yoga, and the son of a tea-seller became the prime minister. Yogi Adityanath did yoga and became the chief minister of the biggest state in the country," he said. "Now Rahul Gandhi is also practising yoga. The struggle ...
Bernie Sanders launches second run for US president
Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday launched his second bid for the White House, taking direct aim at Donald Trump in an announcement that calls the US president a "pathological liar." Sanders, 77, joins an already crowded field of candidates seeking to win the Democratic nomination and take on President Donald Trump in 2020. He made the announcement in a radio interview with a station from his home state of Vermont. "I wanted to let the people of the state of Vermont know about this first," Sanders said on Vermont Public Radio. The self-described Democratic socialist gave an outline Tuesday of how he will campaign. "What I promise to do is, as I go around the country, is to take the values that all of us in Vermont are proud of -- a belief in justice, in community, in grassroots politics, in town meetings -- that's what I'm going to carry all over this country," he said. In a video announcing his candidacy, Sanders called Trump pathological liar and a racist. "We are living in a ...
Mandsaur firing: MP minister makes U-turn, says no clean chit
A day after defending the previous BJP government's stand in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on the June 2017 Mandsaur firing, the new Congress regime here Tuesday took a u-turn claiming it had not given any clean chit and was still scrutinising the inquiry report into the incident. Six farmers were killed on June 6, 2017 in Mndsaur district in police firing during protests over farm loan waiver and better crop prices. The killing had been one of the mainstays of the Congress' campaign for the Assembly polls held in November last year and party chief Rahul Gandhi had kick-started it with a rally in Mandsaur on June 7, 2018. In a written reply to a question in the state Assembly on Monday, MP Home Minister Bala Bachchan had said the firing was carried out by police in "self-defence" and "to protect government and private properties". He had also said that the police action was in accordance with standard procedure laid down. Congress MLA from Sailana, Harshvijay Gehlot, had,
France, Germany propose shake-up of EU competition rules
BERLIN (Reuters) - France and Germany have put forward plans for reforming EU competition rules to encourage the emergence of European industrial giants, French finance Miniser Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday.
Germany, France agree on joint manifesto for industrial policy in Europe
BERLIN (Reuters) - France and Germany agreed on a joint manifesto for a new industrial policy in Europe that aims to support local companies to compete with rivals from abroad, German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday.
Time for Pak PM to 'walk the talk' on terrorism, say political parties reacting to Imran's message to India on Pulwama
Pakistan Premier Imran Khan's message to India on Tuesday to share 'actionable intelligence' if his country was involved in the Pulwama terror attack for any action was met with skepticism by political parties which said it is time for him to 'walk the talk' on terrorism. While senior Congress leader and Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh asked what proof was Khan talking about and whether India should send the bodies of the soldiers killed in the attack last week, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said Pakistan was not being blamed without any evidence. Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said security agencies have "strong evidence" on Pakistan's involvement in the Pulwama attack and this has been clearly conveyed to the neighbouring country. The assertions by leaders across the political spectrum also came on a day when General Officer Commanding of Army's Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt General K J S Dhillon said the Pakistan Army and its espionage agency ISI were involved in the ..
Rajasthan minister demands repeal of Article 370
Rajasthan Soldier Welfare Minister and Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariyawas on Tuesday demanded the scrapping of Article 370, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir. "The Centre should withdraw Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. The Congress and other parties are with the Union government. Pakistan should be taught a lesson and it is high time we take revenge," he said. However, the repeal of the Article requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament. The minister made the comment on his Facebook page and also told reporters that sentiments against Pakistan are high and it should be "taught a lesson". "The NDA government should have withdrawn Article 370. It is high time now and the Centre should take the decision in this regard," he told reporters in Jhunjhunu at the funeral of Army Havildar Sheo Ram who was killed fighting terrorists in Pulwama on Monday.
China urges restraint as India-Pakistan ties worsen
China on Tuesday urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and engage in dialogue as tensions mounted between the neighbours over the Kashmir suicide bombing.
Imran seeks actionable intelligence over Pulwama terror attack; warns against any retaliatory action
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday assured India that he would act against the perpetrators of the deadly Pulwama terror attack if it shares "actionable intelligence" with Islamabad, but warned New Delhi against launching any "revenge" retaliatory action. In a video message to the nation, five days after the Pulwama terror attack, Khan responded to the India's allegations on Pakistan's involvement in the suicide strike carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, said that he understood it was India's election year and the narrative of blaming Pakistan would make it easier to get votes from the masses. He hoped that better sense will prevail and that India would be open to dialogue with Pakistan. India has firmly told Pakistan that dialogue and terrorism cannot go hand in hand. Dismissing Islamabad's involvement in the Pulwama attack, Khan said that Delhi holds Pakistan responsible ..
SC wonders over allegations of illegal migrants being taken to Indo-Bangla border by train
The Supreme Court Tuesday wondered as to how activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan has alleged that illegal migrants from detention centres in Assam were transported by train to India-Bangladesh border for pushing them across the border. Bhushan, who made such statement by citing a report of the Peoples' Union of Civil Liberty (PUCL), said hundreds of people from detention centres are taken to borders by keeping them in train bogey and forced to run across the border. No sooner he made the submission, a bench headed by chief justice Ranjan Gogoi asked "which report says that people are taken to Indo-Bangla border by train and made to run acorss the border". "As far as we know no part of the Indo-Bangladesh border could be reached or is approachable through train," the CJI said. Bhushan quickly added that after train, they are taken by road till the border. He said the migrants are forced by Border Security Force to run across the border with a threat that they will be shot otherwise. The ..
Sena smoking the peace pipe with BJP is grist for social media
The U-turn by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray in agreeing to the BJP for a pre-poll tie-up has spurred many a joke on the social media, targeting the avid photographer-turned-politician. Thackeray, who had publicly announced that his party will go solo and have no alliance with the BJP, had to eat his words as he shared stage with BJP chief Amit Shah Monday to announce that the ruling allies have reached a pre-poll pact. When Thackeray announced last year that the Sena would contest forthcoming elections solo, it was presented in social media as the tiger (Sena symbol) calling the shots. After the alliance announcement Monday, NCP's Mumbai wing put up billboards near his residence, offering tributes to his announcement of 'going solo' in elections. A social media comment read: After the killing of Avni tigress, today one more tiger has been hunted down. Some social media posts took potshots over Thackeray's initials UT, calling him U-turn Thackeray. Some trolls also ..
Pulwama incidenthas bolstered US resolve to cooperate with
The United States Tuesday said the Pulwama incident in Jammu and Kashmir has bolstered its resolve to cooperate with India on counter terrorism matters and work with it to get to the bottom of the terror attacks. The US also called on Pakistan to end immediately its support and safe haven provided to all terrorist groups operating on its soil. "We are working closely with the government of India in terms of getting to the bottom of the terrorist attacks," US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster told reporters here. Noting that the US had been cooperating with India on the issue of terror, he said, "We have condemned them; we have previously condemned terrorist sanctuaries that exist in Pakistan and we have suspended military assistance to them" "This incident bolsters our resolve to cooperate with India on counter terrorism matters and work with them to get to the bottom of what occurred last week," he said on the Pulwama incident,in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in
Pyongyang has no plans to denuclearise: Ex-North Korean diplomat
A former North Korean diplomat here on Tuesday said Pyongyang has no intention of giving up nuclear weapons.
Congress to get 10 LS seats in TN, Puducherry
The Congress is likely to get nine Lok Seats under an agreement with the DMK in Tamil Nadu in the coming Lok Sabha elections besides the lone seat in Puducherry.
AIADMK, PMK, BJP to contest Lok Sabha battle as allies (Roundup)
Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Tuesday announced it will fight the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the PMK and BJP, allotting seven and five of the 39 seats respectively to them.