Page 160 - Politics

BJP would admit leaders from other parties as per rules:Laxman

The BJP in Telangana would admit leaders from other parties only as per relevant rules, state party president K Laxman said Monday. "(Leaders) joining would be as per rules... Such admissions (of leaders from other parties) would continue as per the provisions of Constitution," he told reporters here. He was replying to queries whether BJP insisted on resignations, for leaders from other parties to join the party. He was asked the questions in the context of Congress MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy hinting that he might join the BJP. Twelve of the 18 Congress MLAs had already merged with the ruling TRS. Asked if he had information about reports that Rajagopal Reddy was in Delhi to meet party's national leaders, he said everything would be known soon and that many leaders, not just Rajagopal Reddy, were willing to join BJP. BJP is a party that adheres to principles and it admits leaders from other parties only after they resign (if resignation is required) or as per rules

Egypt ex-president Mohamed Morsi dies: official sources

Former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi died on Monday in a Cairo hospital after fainting during a session in court, judicial and security sources said. "He was speaking before the judge for 20 minutes then became very animated and fainted. He was quickly rushed to the hospital where he later died," a judicial source said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a strong ally of the Islamist president during his brief tenure as Egypt's leader, paid tribute to Morsi and called him a "martyr". The official Al-Ahram news website also reported the death of Morsi, 67, who was Egypt's first democratically elected president but spent just one turbulent year in office after the 2011 uprising before the army toppled him in 2013. The Islamist leader has been in prison since his ouster on trial for several cases including for spying for Iran, Qatar and militant groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip. He was also accused of plotting terror acts. Since his overthrow on July 3, 2013, his former ...

To boost def exports, govt to launch 'open general export scheme' in a month: official

To boost defence exports, the government will launch 'Open General Export License' scheme with a month, a senior Defence Ministry official said Monday. Speaking at the 'Workshop for Defence Export Promotion' organised by FICCI, Sanjay Jaju, Joint Secretary (Defence Infrastructure Panel) in the Ministry of Defence, said that through the new licence, the industry will be able to access international market and make the products more competitive. "We are working on launching the Open General Export License where the entire process of taking permission from the government will also be further reduced," he said. Jaju added that the production will become better qualitatively and also provide value for money for Indian customer. He stressed that Indian exporters should diversify the product line to be internationally competitive. "It is important for us to now look at platforms and while looking at these platforms, it is important that we are competitive and able to provide good value for ..

BJP appoints convener, co-convener for membership drive in Delhi

Delhi BJP general secretary Kuljeet Chahal and former East Delhi mayor Harsh Malhotra have been appointed as convener and co-convener for the party's membership drive in the national capital. The appointments were made by Shivraj Singh Chauhan, former MP Chief Minister and in-charge of the national membership campaign, Chahal said. Training sessions of IT teams of the party will be held across the country on June 19 for undertaking the membership exercise. All the district unit in-charges of the membership drive will be appointed by June 25. There are currently around 32 lakh registered BJP workers in the national capital. The party aims to increase the number by 20 per cent during the campaign. The drive will begin on July 6. "There is emphasis on states which are going for Assembly polls in coming months, including Delhi. We are looking to bring into party fold more dedicated workers to ensure that the party wins the coming Assembly elections," Chahal said. Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP .

Congress legislator approaches SC, seeking simultaneous by-polls of two RS seats in Gujarat

Gujarat Congress legislator Pareshbhai Dhanani moved the Supreme Court on Monday against a decision of the Election Commission (EC) to conduct separate polls for two seats vacated in the Rajya Sabha following the election of Amit Shah and Smriti Irani to the Lok Sabha.The plea, filed by Dhanani through an advocate Varun Chopra, has sought the direction to the EC to expeditiously hold simultaneous elections against the vacancies created in the Upper House in accordance with the provisions of the Representation of People's Act (RPA).The Election Commission had earlier slated the by-elections for six vacant Rajya Sabha seats to July 5.Two of the six seats which are from Gujarat were vacated following the elections of Amit Shah and Smriti Irani to the Lok Sabha.The petition stated that the lack of appropriate decision by the Election Commission despite several representations and exhortations by the petitioner Dhanani demonstrates "abdication, indecision and a complete absence of ...

Uproar in Lok Sabha as Pragya Thakur takes oath as BJP MP today

An uproar started in the Lok Sabha on Monday when BJP's winning candidate from Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur was taking the oath as an MP under the name 'Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur Poorn Chetnand Avdheshanand Giri'.Thakur was suffixing her name with that of her spiritual guru which became a point of contention with the opposition.She was stopped twice, first by the Pro-tem speaker of the Lok Sabha, Virendra Singh and the second time by the shouts of the opposition MPs who stopped her midway.Thakur took the oath in her third attempt after Singh stated that he would remove anything which was found out to be "unofficial".She also took the oath in Sanskrit like Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Pratap Chandra Sarangi and others.Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as many as 313 newly-elected MPs on Monday took oath as members of the 17th Lok Sabha where linguistic diversity of India was on full display.Slogans like 'Jai Shri Ram' greeted Pro-tem Speaker when

US plans to send additional force in Gulf region after tanker attacks

Washington is expected to discuss in detail this week whether to send an additional military force of the United States to the Middle East in the wake of last week's attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.Quoting two US officials with direct knowledge of discussions, CNN reported that it is not clear when President Donald Trump will be briefed and when further decisions will be made.Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan hinted at the discussions on Friday."When you look at the situation, a Norwegian ship, Japanese ship, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, 15 per cent of the world's oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, so we obviously need to make contingency plans should the situation deteriorate but we also need to broaden our support for this international situation," he was quoted as saying.The officials further noted that the discussions are centred on the mission of deterrence and defence against Iranian aggression and what specific forces would be needed to conduct that .

Egypt TV says ousted president Morsi dies in court

Egypt's state TV says the country's ousted President Mohammed Morsi has collapsed during a court session and died. The state TV says the 67-year-old Morsi was attending a session Monday in his trial on espionage charges when he blacked out and then died. His body was taken to a hospital, it said. Morsi, who hailed from Egypt's largest Islamist group, the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, was elected president in 2012 in the country's first free elections following the ouster the year before of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. The military ousted Morsi in 2013 after massive protests and crushed the Brotherhood in a major crackdown, arresting Morsi and many others of the group's leaders.

Meteoric rise of Jagat Prakash Nadda

For Jagat Prakash Nadda, who had entered into politics as an ABVP activist, the appointment as BJP Working President on Monday marks a meteoric rise of a man who was known for his organisational abilities.Member of Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh, Nadda has replaced Amit Shah.Under his leadership in 1984, the ABVP for the first time defeated the Students Federation of India (SFI) in the Himachal Pradesh University and he went to become the student's union president.The former minister was appointed as the president of the BJP's youth wing -- the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in 1991.Born in Patna to a Brahmin family from Himachal Pradesh, Nadda was first elected to the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1993. He was subsequently re-elected in 1998 and then in 2007.After Prem Kumar Dhumal formed a government in 2007, he inducted Nadda in his Cabinet, as a minister responsible for Forest, Environment, Science, and Technology, from 2008 to 2010.Nadda did not seek ...

First session of 17th LS begins; PM, Shah, Rahul take oath

The maiden session of the 17th Lok Sabha commenced Monday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and Congress president Rahul Gandhi among the 320 of the 542 MPs taking oath during the first day of the two-day long swearing-in ceremony marked by some controversy, slip-ups and slogan shouting. Linguistic diversity was in full play with the oath being taken in different languages as several newly-elected members sported colourful attire, traditional shawls and headgears while a section wore a saffron look. As the Leader of the House, Modi was the first to take oath as member of the lower house, nearly four weeks after leading the BJP to a resounding victory in the Lok Sabha polls with the party retaining power winning 303 seats. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah, Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari were among the prominent members who took oath. The oath was administered by seven-term BJP MP Virendra Kumar shortly after ..

Low-profile Nadda rose from ABVP ranks (Profile)

Jagat Prakash Nadda (58), who has his roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates, was on Monday appointed BJP's Working President, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah would continue to be the party President.

Veteran Cong leader demands removal of Sheila Dikshit as Delhi unit chief

Infighting surfaced in the Delhi Congress on Monday when a veteran leader demanded the removal of Sheila Dikshit as its president over the party's debacle in the national capital in the recent Lok Sabha poll. In a letter to party chief Rahul Gandhi, ex-chairman of the erstwhile Delhi Metropolitan Council, Purushottam Goyal, asked for her removal and suggested that the party contest assembly polls early next year with a "fresh face"at the helm. Goyal's letter comes after a Delhi Congress leader Rohit Manchanda demanded replacement of PC Chacko, the AICC incharge of the city unit, over the poll drubbing. "It's alright. It's his opinion," Dikshit told PTI. Dikshit and Chacko had serious differences over an alliance with the AAP for the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. While Dikshit opposed an alliance with the AAP, Chacko favoured it. The tie-up ultimately did not materialise. "Dikshit lost the Lok Sabha polls by over 3 lakh votes. This time she cannot escape responsibility for the party's .

Rahul forgets to sign Parliament register after taking oath as MP

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday took the oath for his fourth consecutive term as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha but forgot to sign the Parliament register.

Lok Sabha members take oath in different languages

Linguistic diversity was witnessed in the Lok Sabha as newly-elected MPs took their oaths in English as well as different Indian languages, including Sanskrit.

India vows to shun 'blood diamonds'

India on Monday assured the global community that it would reject 'blood diamonds' stained by even a single conflict, and would actively help in the evolution and transformation of the Kimberley Process (KP), transiting from 'conflict diamonds' to 'peace diamonds'.

Junior doctors call off strike in West Bengal

The week-long junior doctors' strike across state-run hospitals in West Bengal was called off on Monday following a meeting between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and representatives of the agitating medics.

Amit Shah to remain BJP chief, J.P. Nadda made Working President

The BJP on Monday announced Jagat Prakash Nadda as its Working President, while Home Minister Amit Shah will continue to be the party President.

Joseph faction in KC(M) gets stay order against Jose K Mani

Setting the stage for a prolonged legal battle, the P J Joseph faction in the Kerala Congress (M) Monday secured a stay order from a local court against election of Rajya Sabha MP Jose K Mani as party chairman. Challenging the Joseph faction, Jose K Mani said the legal battle in connection with the election of the party chairman would continue. Necessary legal steps would be taken after examining the court order, he said. The court order comes a day after the party suffered a split following a faction supporting Jose K Mani electing him as the party chairman. The temporary prohibitory injunction was issued by a munsif court at Thodupuzha on a plea filed by two state committee members of the party Philip Stephen and Manohar Naduviledath. A senior party leader, who did not wish to be named, said the court hasissued the order restraining Jose K Mani from officiating as chairman of KC(M) and from discharging any function and powers attached to the office of the chairman ..

Tejashwi Yadav 'missing' when Bihar battling with encephalitis, heatstroke

As Bihar grapples with rising number of deaths due to encephalitis and heatstroke, speculation is rife over the whereabouts of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who has been not been seen or heard ever since the party's rout in Lok Sabha elections.According to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) sources, Tejashwi may to be in Delhi for hearing in a disproportionate assets case in a Delhi court.He was seen campaigning for the party on May 17 but failed to exercise his vote on May 19 in Patna. However, the only time Tejashwi was seen in the public domain after May 17 was during the meeting to review the poll drubbing at his mother and former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi's residence on May 28.RJD failed to win a single seat in the state during the recently-held Lok Sabha polls while its ally Congress could win only one seat.Sources said even senior party leaders were annoyed with the "neglect" by Yadav at a time when it was ripe for Opposition to pull up the JD-U-BJP coalition government over the ..

Nadda appointed as working president of BJP, replaces Amit Shah

In a surprise decision, the BJP on Monday announced the appointment of senior leader and former union minister J P Nadda as Working President of the party, replacing Amit Shah, who has now entered the Cabinet.Nadda's appointment came at a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board held in the evening Lok Sabha concluded its proceedings on an opening day. The announcement was made by senior leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh."BJP has won several elections under the leadership of Amit Shah. But since the Prime Minister has appointed him the Home Minister, Amit Shah himself has said the responsibility of party president should be given to someone else. BJP Parliamentary board has selected J P Nadda as working president," said Singh addressing a press conference after the Parliamentary board meeting.The choice of 59-year-old Nadda, who was health minister in the first Modi government, has come as a bit of surprise as the party had indicated last week that it could take a call on the ..