Page 1628 - Politics
RSS seeks stringent action against Kashmir blast culprits
The RSS Thursday demanded stringent action against those behind the terror attack in Kashmir, which killed at least 39 CRPF personnel, and said it reflected their desperation due to the government's clampdown on terrorism. The Hindutva organisation's general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi strongly condemned the attack and said the RSS, an ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, is with the government and the security forces in this hour of crisis. In tweets, he also paid homage to the deceased CRPF personnel and expressed condolences to their family members. "The attack is clearly a sign of desperation and frustration due to the clampdown on terrorism. The government should take stringent action against culprits at the earliest," Joshi said. Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a RSS affiliate, blamed Pakistan, with its joint general secretary Surendra Jain seeking action against it. In one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's three decades of militancy, a Jaish suicide bomber ...
Vice Admiral Ghormade takes over as Chief of Staff, Eastern
Vice Admiral S N Ghormade Thursday assumed charge as Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, at Visakhapatnam. Prior to this, he was Director General of Naval Operations. A graduate of the National Defence Academy, Ghormade was commissioned into the Indian Navy on January 1, 1984. A defence release here said Ghormade held various operational and staff appointments over the past 35 years, including commands of guided-missile frigate INS Brahmaputra, submarine rescue vessel INS Nireekshak and minesweeper INS Alleppey. He was also Principal Director of Personnel, Director Naval Plans, and Joint Director Naval Plans at Naval Headquarters besides Director (Military Affairs) at the Ministry of External Affairs.
TMC's extended core committee meeting on Feb 25
A meeting of the Trinamool Congress' extended core committee will be held on February 25 to discuss strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls due in April-May this year, a senior party leader said Thursday. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls will also be discussed at the meeting, he said. The extended core committee meeting is of immense importance for the party as this will be the last one before the Lok Sabha polls. All TMC MPs, MLAs, chairmen of various municipalities, members of zilla parishads, panchayat samitis and councillors will participate in the meeting which will be held at Nazrul Mancha here, the TMC leader said. "Apart from chalking out a strategy, the manifesto for the polls will also be discussed," he said. The TMC has set target of winning all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state, with the aim to oust the Narendra Modi government and forming the next government at the Centre. TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is one of
Delhi vs Centre: AAP spells out LS polls strategy; to seek support for full statehood
Spelling out its strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the AAP said it will strongly rake up the issue of full statehood for Delhi among the voters and seek electoral support for its candidates and the "grand alliance" of opposition parties. AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai said winning all seven Lok Sabha seats by the Aam Aadmi Party will become a turning point in providing full statehood status to the national capital. The party has raised this demand on earlier occasions too, but this time it will come out with a "foolproof" pre-election strategy to up the ante, according to the AAP leader. The party intensifying the demand comes after the Supreme Court delivered a split verdict on the contentious issue of control of services in the city between the Delhi government and the Centre and referred the matter to a larger bench. He said that despite winning 67 seats out of 70 seats, the AAP dispensation cannot do anything, but a party (BJP) which won just three seats, "can do ...
Karnataka assembly passes budget amid BJP ruckus, adjourned sine die
The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the budget for 2019-20 amid ruckus by the opposition BJP over an attack on its legislator's house at Hassan, allegedly by workers of the ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) on Wednesday.
Vehicle-ramming a tactical shift in terrorism in Kashmir
The ghastly attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday killing 40 personnel indicates a significant tactical shift in the strategy of terrorists as security agencies fear that vehicle-ramming assaults, last seen in the 2001 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly car bombing, could become a new norm.
SC rejects Maharashtra's plea in Dabhol project case
More than two decades after the Maharashtra government scrapped the Dabhol Power Project, set up by the Enron Power Corporation, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the state government if it was inclined to inquire into its alleged inconsistent stand from time to time.
People have right to seek early SGPC polls: Amarinder
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said that people had the right to early polls to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the supreme body controlling gurdwaras.
Mamata attributes Mulayam's praise for Modi to old age
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dismissed remarks by Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament, attributing them to his old age. Yadav Wednesday created a flutter in Lok Sabha when he said he wished to see Narendra Modi back as prime minister, a sentiment acknowledged by the BJP leader with folded hands. Modi also thanked Mulayam Singh Yadav for his "blessings". "Leave it. Mulayam Singh has grown old. I respect his age. Leave him," Banerjee told reporters when asked about Yadav's remarks. Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi too indicated that age had caught up with the SP leader who is 79 years old. "Unki umar ho gayi hai. Yaad nahi rehta hai kab kya bol denge. Unki boli ka koi mayene nahi rakhta hai (Mulayam Singh Yadav is old now, his memory is fading. He does not remember what to speak and when to speak. His comments don't mean anything)," she told reporters in Patna. The "blessings" for Modi by Yadav
Mulayam has grown old: say Rabri Devi, Tariq Anwar
Embarrassed over Mulayam Singh Yadav wishing a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the opposition RJD-Congress combine in Bihar on Thursday sought to make light of his comment saying the Samajwadi Party patriarch had grown old and was no longer sufficiently mindful of his own utterances. Former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and ex-Union minister Tariq Anwar made statements to the effect when their reactions were sought to Yadavs remarks during his speech Wednesday inside the Lok Sabha. Umar ho gaya hai. Kuchh yaad nahin rahta hain. Jo bolte hain uska koi matlab nahin rahta hai (has grown old. Not able to remember things. What he says does not hold much meaning) was how Rabri Devi, RJD national vice president, responded to queries from journalists. Incidentally, the wife of party supremo Lalu Prasad shares filial ties with the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, whose grandnephew Tej Pratap Singh Yadav is married to her daughter Rajlaxmi. When the query was posed .
Row between Delhi govt, Centre on control of services remains unresolved
One of the most contentious issues between the Centre and the AAP-led government over the final authority on transfer and posting of officers of the Delhi government will remain in limbo for some more time as the two judges of the Supreme Court on Thursday differed on it and referred the crucial matter to a larger bench. Justice A K Sikri said there is no "Public Service Commission" in Delhi and it has never been in dispute that manpower in the form of public servants like IAS, IPS and DHANICS was being provided by the Centre. "Admittedly these officers/public servants do not belong to Union Territory of Delhi exclusively or, for that matter, at all. They are placed at the disposal of NCTD by the Central Government," he said. Referring to the dispute in question, Justice Sikri said the "bone of contention is about their mobility, that is their posting within Delhi itself from one place/ department to other". Justice Sikri spelled out in details as to how the issue of transfer and ...
Sangma says 'victory' on Citizenship Bill due to unity of people, political parties
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma Thursday said the unity of the people and political parties ensured that the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) was not tabled in Rajya Sabha and this was a victory for the northeast. Sangma arrived here from New Delhi along with Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leaders Atul Bora and Keshav Mahanta to a tumultuous welcome at the Lokopriyo Gopinath Bordoloi Airport. "The bill not being presented in the Rajya Sabha is a victory of the people and political parties who voiced their opposition to the bill," he said. This is definitely an emotional moment and "we were united for a cause and spoke in one voice to protect the interests and identity of the region," he added. He also thanked all the political parties across the country, who came together to oppose the the contentious legislation according Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after six years of residence in India ...
Yogi Adityanath slams Kerala govt over Sabarimala issue
Slamming the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala over the Sabarimala temple issue, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Thursday said the state needs to protect the faith and beliefs of the people and should introspect on the stand taken by it. Adityanath alleged that the state government was acting against the believers and trying to "destroy" their faith. He also alleged that in Sabarimala and Ayodhya, attempts were being made to insult the Hindu community. "The Karyakarthas of BJP have been jailed after being booked in false cases," Aditiyanath said, adding that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government has been using the September 28 Supreme Court verdict on the Sabarimala women's entry issue to act against the believers. He said in Sabarimala, the agitations should be on the lines of the years-long protest that is happening in Ayodhya. Adityanath also said the BJP workers were facing a "lot of challenges" in the state. "The whole nation is with you on the ...
CAG has allowed itself to become a 'joke': Chidambaram
Dubbing the CAG report on the Rafale jet deal as "useless", senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said Thursday the principal government auditor has allowed itself to become a "joke" and "failed" the people of the country. The report contains no useful information or conclusion and its motive is to hide the truth, he told reporters here. Chidambaram reiterated his party's demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the deal, saying only it can call for all relevant records. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is not "god", he said, apparently, rejecting the ruling BJP's contention that the national auditor's report should be the final word on the contentious issue. Even the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee can examine the CAG report and seek the redacted or masked details from CAG, the former finance minister said. "The government has given CAG the details ... it has the details but have not been made public," he said. The CAG "allowed itself to become a joke and .
PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif gets bail in 2 corruption cases
A top Pakistani court Thursday granted bail to Shehbaz Sharif in two corruption cases, in a major relief to the embattled Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and Leader of Opposition who is currently in a jail here. A two-member bench of the Lahore High Court headed by Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmed accepted Sharif's plea and granted him bail in the Rs 1,400 crore Ashiyana Housing and Ramzan Sugar Mills scams. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had taken 67-year-old Sharif, the younger brother of jailed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, into custody on October 5. He is accused of allegedly cancelling the contract of a successful bidder in the scheme and awarding the same to his favourite firm. The former Punjab province chief minister, who has been in the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, declared the verdict "a victory of truth". He said false cases were instituted against him on "political grounds". He said if a corruption of a penny is proved against him, he will quit politics. But .
US condemns terror attack in J-K's Pulwama
The US on Thursday condemned the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district and said it stands alongside India in defeating terrorism. In one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's three decades of militancy, a Jaish suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF bus in Pulwama district, killing at least 39 personnel and leaving many critically wounded. "The US Mission in India strongly condemns today's terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir. We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims," US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster tweeted. The US stands alongside India in confronting terror and defeating it, he said. More than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Valley, were travelling in the convoy of 78 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir around 3.15 pm. The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed ..
Brexit row risks ruining PM Theresa May's date with parliament
LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May could be defeated in parliament on Thursday over her plan to renegotiate the Brexit deal, undermining her pledge to the European Union that, with changes, she can get the agreement approved.
Rahul to meet G20 envoys
Congress President Rahul Gandhi will meet envoys of G-20 and neighbouring countries on Friday in a significant interaction ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
BJP will soon form strong electoral alliance in TN: Amit Shah
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will soon form a strong electoral alliance in Tamil Nadu to contest all 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state, its President Amit Shah said on Thursday.
Taking steps to lower TN's revenue deficit, says Dy CM
Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam Thursday said despite a slew of new projects announced in the budget, allocations for ongoing schemes have not been cut and asserted that steps were afoot to lower revenue deficit. Listing several new schemes like 2,000 solar power motors for farmers, Panneerselvam, who holds the finance portfolio, told the state assembly that the budget pegged the revenue deficit at Rs 14,314 crore, down from Rs 19,319 crore as per the revised budget estimates of 2018-19. In the 2019-20 budget presented on February 8, Pannerselvam had announced 36 new schemes worth Rs 20,000 crore. Also, the budget was prepared keeping fiscal deficit within the three per cent threshold of Gross State Domestic Product. "We have carefully projected that the State's Own Tax Revenue will only be 13.25 per cent for 2019-20," he said winding up general discussions on the budget. The government was leaning more on SOTR growth to cut revenue and fiscal deficits and have ...