Page 1629 - Politics
Delhi government has right to appoint public prosecutors, says SC
The Delhi government has the right to appoint public prosecutors and the Lieutenant Governor should act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court said Thursday. Giving a split verdict on the contentious issue of who should control administrative services in a case pertaining to long-running conflict between the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and the AAP government in the national capital, the top court said that the LG should act on the advice of ministers of the Delhi government. A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan relied upon the Delhi High Court's verdict which held that in matters such as power to appoint a public prosecutor, the Delhi government has legislative competence and that the LG shall act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. The bench said: "The high court has rightly held that in respect of these entries, the Government of NCT of Delhi has legislative competence under Article 239AA of the Constitution and that
Gujjar stir to continue, Bainsla says bill has no provision to deal with legal challenges
Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla refused to call off the agitation for a government quota Thursday, saying the bill passed in the Rajasthan Assembly to meet their demand could face legal challenges. "We have studied the bill," Bainsla said, referring to the legislation that allows a five per cent quota in government jobs and educational institutes to the Gujjars and four other communities agitating for it. He said the legislation may be quashed in court following a writ petition. "What is the provision to deal with litigation? Therefore, we are continuing the agitation," Bainsla told reporters. He said the people of his community want "immunity" for the bill and assurance from the government that it will be responsible if the bill is challenged in court. Bainsla asked the government to clarify what it will do if the bill, passed Wednesday, is challenged in the court. Earlier in the day, IAS Neeraj K Pawan handed over a copy of the bill and the resolution passed by the Assembly and .
RSS spreads hatred, Congress love: Rahul
Congress President Rahul Gandhi here on Thursday accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of spreading hatred in the society. The Congress wanted to change the country by spreading love and harmony, Gandhi said.
On V-Day, Shiv Sena suggests new proposal for alliance with BJP
On Valentine's Day, a reluctant Shiv Sena on Thursday suggested a new proposal to forge an electoral alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - the demand for Maharashtra Chief Minister's post.
Norway to reconsider regulations for passport photos of Sikhs: Minister
The Norwegian government has agreed to re-examine regulations requiring Sikhs to have passport photos with totally visible ears, Union Minister of Food Processing Industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal said on Thursday.
NSG, NIA teams to join investigation in Pulwama terror attack
Experts of the anti-terror commando force National Security Guard (NSG) and investigators of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) are being sent to Jammu and Kashmir to join the probe into the terror attack in Pulwama in which at least 39 CRPF personnel were killed, officials said Thursday. The decision was taken in view of the high number of casualties in the worst terror strike in the state since the Uri attack in 2016. An NIA team with forensic experts is being sent to Srinagar to assist Jammu and Kashmir Police in forensic evaluation of the scene of crime, a home ministry official said. Explosive specialists of the Black Cat commando force NSG will also join in the investigation into the attack, another official said. At least 39 CRPF personnel were killed in Pulwama district when a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into their bus.
Delhi vs Centre: SC verdict split on control over services; AAP calls it 'tareekh pe tareekh'
In a major setback to the AAP government in Delhi, two judges of the Supreme Court on Thursday agreed that the Centre should have the final word on posting and transfer of bureaucrats in the national capital administration, but their disagreement on finer details resulted in a split verdict and the matter got referred to a larger bench. The bench, which was called upon to decide on six vexatious issues pertaining to a long-running feud between the central and the national capital governments, gave an unanimous verdict on the remaining five counts and ruled that the Delhi government's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) cannot probe the Centre's employees in corruption cases. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party has been accusing the Narendra Modi government at the Centre of appointing such officers who create hurdles in the works of the AAP government, termed the verdict as "unfortunate" and said it was ironic that a chief minister can't have power to appoint even a ...
BJP MLA Francis D'Souza dies, 3-day state mourning declared
Former Goa Deputy Chief Minister and BJP MLA Francis D'Souza died at a city hospital here on Thursday after a prolonged battle with cancer.
No links with Congress, says London journalist who organised EVM-hacking event
International Journalists' Association (IJA) President Ashish Ray on Thursday said he has never been part of the Congress and that he was only performing his duty as a journalist when he organised the controversial press conference involving an Indian techie who claimed that EVMs used in the elections here were hackable.
ACB cannot probe Centre's employees in corruption cases, says SC
The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government is not empowered to investigate the offences of central government employees under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Supreme Court said Thursday. The top court upheld the validity of notifications dated July 23, 2014 and May 21, 2015 of the Centre which had taken away the power of the city government's ACB to prosecute officials of the central government. On the issue of jurisdiction and power of the ACB, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said that public order, police and land do not fall under Delhi government's legislative and executive domain. "In respect of 'Police', National Capital Territory of Delhi does not have either legislative or executive power. This court is required to look into the substance of such an exclusion and cannot be guided by hyper technicalities ... Therefore, what has been specifically denied to GNCTD, it cannot venture to gain that power on such a plea," it said. "The only effect ..
No alliance with BJP now, can't say about future, says AGP
The Asom Gana Parishad on Thursday said that it had snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party over the Citizenship bill but did not rule out any alliance with it in the future.
British Islamic State schoolgirl 'wants to return home'
One of the three schoolgirls who left the UK in 2015 to join the Islamic State terror group has said that she has no regrets despite seeing "beheaded heads" in bins, but wishes to return to her home.
Prez condemns J-K terrorist attack; says entire nation stands united against forces of terror
President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday condemned the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district and said the entire nation stands united in the fight against the forces of terror and evil. He also wished speedy recovery of those injured in the attack. "Strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Pulwama, J&K. Thoughts and prayers with the families of martyrs and wishing an early recovery to those injured. The entire nation stands united in the fight against the forces of terror and evil," he tweeted. At least 30 personnel of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed in Pulwama when a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a bus they were travelling in.
Cong likely to go for alliance with CPI, CPI-M, JMM in Odisha
OPCC has negotiated with the state leadership of CPI, CPI(M) and JMM for seat sharing for the coming simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Odisha, party sources said Thursday. The state party leadership has already completed several rounds of talks with like minded parties for an alliance, they said. "Yes, we have been in touch with like minded parties for seat sharing for the next Lok Sabha and assembly elections," OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said when asked. The state has 21 Lok Sabha seats and the assembly 147 seats. Sources in Congress said that the party could keep three Lok Sabha seats and 20 assembly seats for the alliance partners. CPI National Council member Ramakrushna Panda said Though we have not yet finalised the seat sharing arrangement with Congress, the party has proposed to field its candidates in 12 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats. CPI sources said that the party may field its candidates in Aska and Jagatsinghpur Lok Sabha ...
Swaraj to visit Bulgaria, Morocco and Spain from Feb 16-19
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will undertake a four-day visit to Bulgaria, Morocco and Spain from February 16, the ministry said Thursday. In the first leg of her visit, Swaraj will be in Bulgaria on February 16 and February 17. The visit is a follow-up to the state visit of President Ram Nath Kovind to Bulgaria in September last year. This is the first ever visit of an Indian external affairs minister to Bulgaria, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. During the visit, Swaraj will meet with the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Bulgaria. The two leaders will discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. She will pay floral tributes at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the South Park in Sofia. The statue was unveiled last year by President Kovind along with his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev to mark the celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. She will also interact with the Indian community and Friends of ...
TMC, BJP want to wipe out Cong: Mitra
West Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra on Thursday said the BJP and the TMC were "evil forces", which had the common goal of wiping out his party, even as Congress president Rahul Gandhi and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee have agreed to work together to prepare a common minimum programme for a national pre-poll alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. "On one hand, Mamata Banerjee calls for a united fight against the BJP and on the other, she takes steps to help the BJP in Bengal. This is nothing but double standards. The TMC and the BJP are two sides of the same coin," Mitra told a press conference here. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) talked of a "Congress-mukt Bharat" (Congress-free India) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), since it came to power in Bengal in 2011, had poached on Congress MLAs and MPs with the sole aim of weakening the party, he said. "The BJP wants to wipe out the Congress from the country, whereas the TMC wants to wipe out the Congress in the state. Both are ...
AASU demands scrapping of three orders on foreigners issued in
The North East region is for its indigenous people and not for Bangladeshis, asserted NESO and AASU Chief Advisor Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya, who demanded that the three orders pertaining to foreigners issued in 2015 be scrapped. Addressing a press conference here on Thursday after the Citizenship Amendment Bill was not tabled in the Rajya Sabha Wednesday, Bhattacharya claimed, "the black cloud over the existence of the people of the north east region is still there as the orders granting protection to Bangladeshis are still active". "Citizenship (Amendment) Order, 2015, Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules 2015 and granting of long term visa to Bangladeshi Hindus are still there, they have to be scrapped", stated the North East Students Organisation (NESO) leader. "Yesterday's victory is due to the north east peoples' united unflinching fight against the CAB. It proved that the north east people don't get anything without agitation. If there was no widespread ...
Argentina President to visit India from Feb 17 to 19
Argentina's President Mauricio Macri will be paying a state visit to India from February 17 to 19, during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind, the Ministry of External Affairs said Thursday. A high-level delegation comprising the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Emilio Monzo, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Faurie, Government Secretary of Modernisation Andrs Ibarra, Government Secretary of Agriculture Luis Etchevehere, and senior officials will be accompanying Macri during the visit. Argentina's first lady Juliana Awada will also be accompanying Macri. Macri will visit Agra on February 17. A day later, he will hold delegation-level talks with Modi and have other official engagements. He will travel to Mumbai on February 19. The state visit of Macri is taking place in the 70th year of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries. Macri's visit to India follows Modi travelling to Argentina in late 2018 for the G20 summit,
Take concrete steps to prevent terror attacks: Priyanka
Strongly condemning the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 30 security personnel, the Congress on Thursday called the Modi-led BJP government the "weakest" and demanded concrete steps to prevent a recurrence of such attacks.
Priyanka calls off her first press conference, expresses grief over CRPF deaths
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Thursday called off her first press conference after being inducted in the Congress as a Congress general secretary, expressing grief over the deaths of 30 CRPF personnel in a terror attack in Kashmir. The press conference was meant to wrap up her four-day visit to the state, the first after being appointed in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. This conference was called for political discussions. But when our jawans have been killed in a terror attack in Pulwama, I feel it would not be right if we have political discussions at this time," she told reporters at the press conference venue. I want to tell their families that every single countryman is with them in their hour of grief, she said. They should have faith... we are standing by them, she added. A two-minute silence was also observed as a mark of grief. The Congress leader has held a series of discussions with party workers over the past four days, with at least one session .